8. Tennessee Game day in Knoxville certainly has it all, with Volunteer fans storming Neyland Stadium by land and by sea. With more than 105,000 people heading to the stadium – behind only Michigan and Penn State – many UT fans decide to travel to the game as part of the "Volunteer Navy." Approximately 200 boats set up on the Tennessee River to tailgate each game day. Inside the stadium, there's enough orange to make you go colorblind, and the band appears to be playing "Rocky Top" on a loop. When the Volunteers are winning, it's as loud as any place in the country, as it should be. No wonder Sports Illustrated on Campus anointed it the "Best College Football Weekend" in 2004. But recently the enthusiasm of Volunteer fans has seemed to turn into a perpetual state of shock. Granted, five losses at home in the last two seasons and narrow escapes against UAB, Memphis and Air Force in that time frame will do that. But there's no excuse for only 17,409 people showing up for this year's spring game. 7. LSU There's nothing like a Saturday night in Death Valley, and LSU fans have the Richter scale to prove it. Simply known as "The Earthquake Game," LSU fans went so crazy after a game-winning score against Auburn in 1988 that it registered as an earthquake at the school's Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex. With a full day of tailgating (and drinking) before almost every game, these Cajuns are ragin' by the time they enter Tiger Stadium. There's only one knock against these Tiger fans: They have a reputation for being fair-weather. Death Valley became a shell of its former self during the 1990s while the team suffered through a sub-.500 decade (54-58). Things got so bad that Baton Rouge Advocate columnist Sam King questioned in 1992 whether the stadium would ever reclaim its mystique. Now we know the answer. 6. Notre Dame What's more absurd than 50,000 people showing up to watch the spring game in South Bend? Those same people paying up to 15 bucks just to get in. Despite a ridiculous admittance charge, a record crowd showed up in April to watch a team many people don't think will reach a bowl game. After losing nine straight of them, maybe it's a reason for optimism. The Irish will always have Touchdown Jesus, the Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne, the Gipper and Rudy. But they've been through a lot in the last 15 years. Talking about the 2005 USC game is still like bringing up a death in the family. And give credit to the student section. With an undergraduate population less than 10,000, the student body is exceptionally vocal for a group often stereotyped as choir boys and Catholic school girls. No fans on this list are prouder of their schools, but in this case, that's not a good thing. Fair or not, the Irish faithful will always be known as pretentious. But hey, what do you expect when your band plays the 1812 Overture during games?
|