Random observations from seeing the game in person:
Rutgers stadium is a soulless as the RAC. Compared our Colossus on the Prairie, it’s a great nothing. Memorial Stadium has gravitas, a true presence. Rutgers’ stadium is literally a hole in the ground. The
top of the main stands are at ground level. Only the balcony is above ground level.
On the other hand, seats 20 yardline to 20 yardline have backs, and the steps have a handrail. We can do that, can’t we?
Rutgers’ pregame hype is wholly uninspired. The Scarlet Knight mounted on his steed makes a very brief and unanimated appearance. You got a horse? Ride him around the field, like Chief Osceola at Florida State. Give him a lance with a banner. Nope. And fireworks, do more than drive to Pennsylvania with a $78 debit card and an empty back seat in a VW Jetta. And get some that go boom. Overall your high school could do better.
The seats are cheap. We paid $25 each on SeatGeek. For seats on the 50-yardline.
Close-in parking is silly expensive, like $200 for what isn’t really close-in. The $25 lot is far enough away that they have a fleet of buses between it and the stadium. But the drop-off point is
a mile away from the stadium so you have to walk through the Rutgers Boardwalk, a long line of food and carny stands. It’s a cool idea, But a mile walk? Oh, and it’s a mile from the stadium to the shuttle bus pickup point.
The PA system is too loud but makes up for it with crappy sound quality. The rap or hip hop or whatever it is is incessant, not stopping even for when the announcer is talking. That’s not a problem when the visiting team gets a first down or touchdown because it wasn’t fit to mention. At least that we could tell.
Speaking of the band, when they played the visiting team’s school, they don’t play much. They got to “sand” in Illinois Loyalty and called it a day.
It’s fun to be an Illini at an away game. Everyone in Orange is indeed FamILLy. It’s even more fun if you win. I-L-L-
And if you were me today just by random chance you wound up seated next to Jeff Hollenbach.
