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What I saw at Rutgers

Pennsyhusker

Athletic Director
Aug 6, 2009
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Harveys Lake, PA
Got back from the game late last night completely exhausted. But I had a great time, especially since we manage to win. Here is what I thought of the environment at Rutgers:

1. Tailgating was lame, but they have built an area just outside of the stadium called "The Boardwalk" which is pretty cool. Lost of good vibe and lots of good food. But it was grossly overcrowded.

2. Rutgers fans were super nice. Met some really friendly folks and they were great to visiting Husker fans.

3. The porta potties outside of the stadium all had Penn State stickers in the urinals so you could piss on the PSU logo. On every third down for the opposing team the entire crowed chants "**** Penn State". It seems they hate PSU.

4. Fan support was strong and they were loud among those who were there. But the stadium was only about two thirds full. A good number of Husker fans to be sure but we certainly did not "take over" the stadium,.

5. Nice and comfortable stadium. Small, but very nice. Easy access to concessions and bathrooms.

6. They have a nice big screen but they do not use it well. There were never any replays of previous plays, even when a call was being reviewed. Most of the time the thing just blared out really, really loud music non stop in between plays. I know I am an old fart, but even some of the younger Husker fans around me were complaining how completely obnoxious it was after a while. And they would play the super loud music right up to the time that both offenses came to the line. I can understand them doing that against us, but for their own team? Made no sense to me.

7. They have a version of the tunnel walk -- as all teams do these days -- and it was not as good as ours but it underscores the fact that this "tradition" at NU that we harp on all the time is very, very common in college football these days. They also did a tunnel walk at the end of the half. Nobody paid much attention to it.

8. They also do tons of fireworks and light shows with cell phones lit up in the dark. Heck, they even did "Thunderstruck". It really did come across as "big time" college football. For as crappy as they have been historically, the fans they do have are pretty damn loyal and vocal. I really liked them.

9. The fans showed a lot of class in the loss. Took it in stride and congratulated me on the way out. I guess when you lose at home as much as they do they have developed a sense of resignation to how much they suck most of the time. Still, despite the fact that they serve beer at the stadium there were no drunken frat boys running around causing mischief.

10. It was a complete traffic nightmare getting out of the parking lots after the game. It took us one hour to get out of the stadium area and on the road. If I ever went again I would just go back to the car and tailgate for another hour before leaving. However, last night it was already late so we just packed up and tried to leave. Fail.

11. Overall it was a great experience and I would go back again. Nice people, nice stadium, good food and beer, and an overall vibe of just folks out having a good time.
 
Glad you enjoyed your trip. My wife and I were in NJ last weekend. We made a quick day trip to Easton, Bethlehem, Nazareth and Stroudsburg on Monday so my wife could check PA off her list. Nice little towns
 
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I went to the Rutgers game in 2015. Don’t know what I was expecting, but it instantly became one of my favorite Big Ten road trips. Underrated stadium, and the Rutgers fans were great. The only drawback is the one you already described: the traffic after the game was the worst I’ve ever seen exiting a stadium.

Now that we’re done playing them, I wouldn’t mind at all if they won the rest of the games on their schedule.
 
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