Full Name: Vanderbilt Stadium
Capacity: 39,790
Home Team: Vanderbilt Commodores
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Constructed: 1981 (last renovated in 2003)
Playing Surface: grass
Game: Vanderbilt 10 - Alabama 24
Date: 08 September 2007
Attendance: 39,773 (99.9% capacity)
My home team record: 4-2 (.667)
Distance Travelled for Game: 495 miles
(click on this or any photo for a larger version)
The Journey:
I planned on heading up to Nashville on Friday night to visit some friends there. They’re Kentucky fans, and barely care about football, but I love ‘em anyway. My car breaks down while still in Tuscaloosa before I’m even on the interstate. Smoke is pouring out from under the hood and the temperature needle is redlining. Basically, I’m thinking “This probably isn’t good.” I pull over, pop the hood and notice that the cap on the coolant reservoir has come off and coolant is sprayed all over the engine.
I’m fairly certain there’s an auto parts shop in the vicinity but the engine is way too hot to drive. I have a quart of Gatorade in the car and pour it on the engine in an attempt at external cooling. It brings the temperature down some, but it mainly achieved creating a warm sugary smell akin to cotton candy. Then, it starts raining, so I just leave the hood open and let it rain on my engine for about five minutes and then the temperature is back to normal.
I drive over to Napa, get some coolant and hear a speech from the guy working there about how I won’t even get to the next exit, much less to Nashville. I told him this had happened before and he didn’t seem to believe me. Oh well, I filled the reservoir back up and headed to Nashville. Thankfully, there were no more engine problems the rest of the trip. That didn’t negate the fact that my air conditioner is broken though. 4+ hours in an unairconditioned car. I guess it was better for everyone that I was making the drive alone.
Friday night is fairly low key. We go out for Japanese food and a few beers and then call it an early night since there’s an 11:30 a.m. kickoff.
Gameday:
Even though I’m staying a mere 10 miles or so from the stadium, I am in complete freak out mode when I don’t wake up until almost 10:00 a.m. I am an Alabama fan after all and trying to get within 10 miles of Bryant-Denny Stadium 90 minutes before kickoff is an accomplishment so I’m kind of in panic mode. My friends I’m staying with tell me not to worry. There formula was “much smaller stadium + big city infrastructure = no problem.” They were completely correct too. There was a little bit of traffic on the exit for the stadium, but otherwise, it was a breeze to get to the place. I parked for free within a few blocks of the stadium at a Methodist church. They asked for donations (which I gave), but it was technically free as they weren’t badgering or anything. Just a few people sitting around with buckets for money.
Campus entrance
My first impression when walking around was “Where are all the Vanderbilt fans,” because there really didn’t seem to be any around. It was crimson in all directions and it only got worse as I got on campus. I had to walk past a few frat houses and they were certainly rocking the Vanderbilt gear, but besides them, it seemed like we were at a miniature Bryant-Denny North.
Bama fans lay siege to Nashville
Tailgating was virtually non-existent from what I could tell. The frat houses had grills going, but outside of that, it was few and far between. I saw huge tracts of land right by the stadium with one or two tents on them. Even most of the vendors outside were selling Alabama gear…exclusively. I saw one or two Vanderbilt merchandise tents, but probably half a dozen or more Alabama merch vendors. I figured Alabama fans would be in the majority in the stadium, but I didn’t think the vendors would be selling their stuff. I guess that’s the epitome of capitalism when it’s easier to buy the vistor’s merchandise than it is the home team’s.
The outside of the stadium was rather underwhelming. It basically looked like a really big high school football stadium. There were banners hanging on the outside though commemorating bowl game appearances as well as a banner to inspire the Vandy faithful. I also saw their “Star Walk” where the players enter the stadium:
Stadium banners
Once inside the stadium, it was insane how many of the tickets Bama fans managed to get their hands on. I feel like I’m slighting Vanderbilt by continually talking about Bama, but it was kind of the dominant theme of the day. There was no shortage of media reports about it and the fans of both teams were talking about it a lot too. Here are a couple of tell tale shots of the crowd:
One thing I really have to credit the Vanderbilt student section with, they kept going the entire game, even when the game was out of reach, they were still cheering and supporting their team, and that’s pretty awesome considering they don’t typically win more than a few games a year. I liked their chest painting of “Steamroll the Tide.” If you zoom in on the picture on the Flickr page, you’ll notice a guy whose chest is painted with “Suck it Bama.” Didn’t see that one coming from Vanderbilt fans:
My seat was on Row 71, the last row of the stadium, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal since it’s such a small stadium. I was surprised the stadium only have four gates, but it wasn’t too congested. I wound up sitting next to two guys from Alabama law school and another guy from Florence (Alabama, not Italy) and it was nice to chat football with guys my age.
It’s difficult to comment on the atmosphere of Vanderbilt Stadium, because it was essentially, an Alabama home game. Any time Vanderbilt fans started chanting, the Alabama fans would drown them out. Vanderbilt even got booed when they took the field, which was a completely bizarre experience to witness (and I must admit, to take part in.) A few things that were particularly memorable:
1. The concession stand people were completely unprepared for a crowd of this size. I waited in line almost during the entire halftime for a drink and something to eat only to reach the front of the line to discover that they were out of every food item except for popcorn. So, I went to another concession stand a bit further down and they were out of most everything too (including souvenir cups), but I did manage to get a bottle of water and a pretzel that tasted like wet cardboard (what a breakfast!)
2. When leaving the stadium, I overheard the following statement from a Vanderbilt fan:
“This is so embarrassing. They buy up all of the seats, boo our team and kick our butt on the field. I hate Alabama.”
I’m not going to lie, I like that our fans have the ability to turn road games into home games, but I also understand and sympathize with Vanderbilt’s plight. I’m a huge US Soccer fan and the USA’s opponents often have more fans turn up to games in the US than the home team does. Of course, USA soccer is a lot better than Vanderbilt football, so I at least don’t have to suffer a bunch of losing on top of not being able to create a home field advantage.
One anecdote that really has nothing to do with the game, but was amusing anyway was toward the end of the game, this guy stands up in head to toe orange with a sign reading “I’d rather be in Knoxville.” Needless to say, he was thoroughly booed by Vanderbilt and Bama fans alike. We might’ve been enemies on the field that day, but everyone can agree on hating Tennessee.
The Game:
I’m not going to pretend like this was the most exciting game I’ve ever witnessed, because it wasn’t. It had an 11:30 a.m. kickoff for a reason. Statistically speaking, Alabama dominated the game, but Vanderbilt hung around longer than they should have. Alabama had a few opportunities to nail the coffin shut, but never quite got there. Vanderbilt had a couple of big plays called back (a punt return for a TD and long pass that put them in scoring range), but the penalties appeared to be legit, especially on the big pass play. Terry Grant of Alabama had a massive day, rushing for 173 yards. Quarterbacks for both teams struggled with neither teams gaining 200 yards passing. It was your typical “Bama grinding it out over Vanderbilt win.” I suppose it should also be pointed out that Vanderbilt wore white. I assume they did this because they thought it was going to be sunny and hot and therefore, not a good time to wear black. It turned out to be overcast and it poured down rain during the fourth quarter. I guess Bama being in their traditional crimson uniforms just added to the feeling of it being a home game for them. Oddly enough, this was my third Bama road game and they’ve worn crimson every time. Strange.
Another Terry Grant TD
Conclusion:
I had a good time and I can see myself going back in the future when we play there since I like Nashville, but I wouldn’t go if we played them there every other year. As is stands, we play Vanderbilt on the road about every six years and that allows for enough time to pass between visits that you’d want to go again.
More pictures:
Project stats after this game:
Stadiums Visited: 7
Total Miles Travelled: 2875.8
Miles Travelled Per Game: 410.8
Total Spent on Tickets: $141.00
Cost Per Ticket: $20.14
