My boyfriend wants to go to a University of Tennessee football game this fall and I was thinking about buying tickets since some are still available. Anyone been to a game there w/ any advice on tailgating there, time it will take to travel to stadium, etc.? Any details at all would be awesome.

I saw this on their official site and it made me VERY excited:

Quote :

"In 1962 former Vol broadcaster George Mooney found a quicker and more exciting way to get to Neyland Stadium other than fighting the notorious Knoxville traffic. Mooney navigated his little runabout down the Tennessee River to the stadium and spawned what would later become the "Volunteer Navy." Today, approximately 200 boats of all shapes and sizes make up this giant floating tailgate party. Tennessee, Washington and Pittsburgh are the only institutions with stadia adjacent to bodies of water. "

[Edited on July 25, 2006 at 6:08 PM. Reason : .]

7/25/2006 6:04:15 PM

Make sure you buy some clothes in an extremely homosexual shade of orange.

7/25/2006 6:08:01 PM

Thanks Brian

7/25/2006 6:08:35 PM

My little child... come with me, and I will show you the light.

I have been to dozens of games there.

There are tickets left for Cal (first game) because Cal didnt sell all of theirs so they returned a couple sections worth. Got 4 yesterday morning for $50 each, which is about half of what you would normally pay.

The tailgating is a lot different there because the stadium is right in the middle of campus so most people hang out on Cumberland Ave. (the main campus road). There is a lot of tailgating, but not everyone does it, since its around bars/clubs most people just bar hop before the game because there arent huge open lots everywhere, its a lot more "urban" than Carter Finley.

As for time it will take to travel to the stadium, that matters where you stay. There are only a handful of hotels close to campus that are affordable. Let me know if you need some names.

As for the Vol Navy, yeah its cool as shit, but you pretty much have to know someone with a boat or just get hammered and stumble on one. You can see a little bit of it in this pic, but it goes on down way past the bridge.


The river is on the other side of the stadium from Cumberland so its a bit of a hike. I would suggest just getting trashed on Cumberland.



[Edited on July 25, 2006 at 7:06 PM. Reason : s]

7/25/2006 6:58:58 PM

^haha i was gonna make the pitch for ya

7/25/2006 8:16:19 PM

Quote :

"Tennessee, Washington and Pittsburgh are the only institutions with stadia adjacent to bodies of water. ""

Yeah, they should really pitch Heinz Field as the stadium w/ the best location in all of football.

-at the corner of the 3 rivers
-overlooked and overshadowed by mt. washington
-accessible by water

its a beautiful area, in case youve never been there. not the same w/o the steel mills, tho (then again, their absence makes it MORE beautiful).

7/25/2006 8:32:16 PM

awesome, thanks! Jaybee1200 feel free to send me the names of those hotels! Price isn't too much of an issue... location without having to drive (i plan on being DRUNK) would be my #1 priority

7/25/2006 8:43:26 PM

Quote :

"Tennessee, Washington and Pittsburgh are the only institutions with stadia adjacent to bodies of water. ""

and Clemson

7/25/2006 8:44:08 PM

^^ the one place that was really easy walking distance is closed for now, had some fire damage I think


couple places downtown are somewhat walking distance to the stadium but they are on the other side from Cumberland Ave.... so you would probably have to take a taxi back to the hotel.

we usually stay at "America's Best Inn", which is exactly opposite of what they claim to be, its a dump, but its somewhat close to everything and its somewhere to pass out drunk.

7/26/2006 11:37:33 AM

you better go this year

its fulmer's last year

cause he's gonna get fired

7/26/2006 11:39:18 AM

going to the game at Georgia this year. holla.

7/26/2006 11:40:24 AM

How long does it take to get there from Raleigh (not on game day)?

7/26/2006 2:28:37 PM

^^I may be going to that one as well.

7/26/2006 2:36:33 PM

used to go there a lot when i lived in winston salem, took about 4-5 hours then, so probably 6-7 from here depending on traffic/your speed.

7/26/2006 2:40:16 PM

the fastest I ever made it was right at 5 hours, which I somehow did in a U-Haul when I was moving from Knoxville to here... aside from that weird time, its usually around 5.5-6 depending on traffic. The thing that kills you is how many trucks get in your way in the mountains...

7/26/2006 3:55:29 PM

I've been to about 7 or 8 games there. Everytime, we've left from Hickory and it takes around 3.5 hours. A lot of 40 across the mountain is 4 lanes so you have chances to get around the trucks, but it never fails to get behind one on the 2 lane road.

7/26/2006 4:52:30 PM

yeah, it can be a bitch in a few places. We are leaving here around 2pm on Friday to get to the Cal game, hopefully we can get past all the bigger cities along 40 before rush hour

7/26/2006 4:56:32 PM

I've been once. That place is nuts, with more drunk rednecks per capita than any other place in the US on gameday. Fun, drunk, rednecks in silly orange shirts.

I can't stand listening to Rocky Top now, but otherwise the game was fun to go to from what I can remember.

7/26/2006 5:19:57 PM

yeah, after a game, you either love Rocky Top or hate it with a passion because its played literally 200-300 times a day

7/26/2006 7:28:59 PM

I really gotta get up there for another game

7/26/2006 9:30:15 PM

try the Marriott in downtown knoxville...probably a 5 minute walk.

i'll be there sept 16 for the game vs. florida

7/26/2006 11:30:45 PM

awesome, awesome.... thanks y'all!

7/27/2006 4:54:36 PM

what game are you all going back for?

7/27/2006 5:01:01 PM

5-6 last year

7/27/2006 5:09:43 PM

Tennessee games are fun as hell.

LSU and Tennessee are the best places I have ever seen a football game. LSU has crazier people, but Tennessee was nicer and wasn't so goddamn hot when I was there.

7/27/2006 5:16:37 PM

yeah, LSU is one of the places left where I really want to see a game.

7/27/2006 6:09:23 PM

While an undergrad at Florida, I went to the '94 Florida-Tennessee game in Knoxville, with a group of friends (when the Gators gave UT their worst home loss in decades). It's the only place I've ever been to a game where I feared for my life.

That being said, it's a great place to go see a game, provided you're not wearing blue & orange, red & black, or crimson. As with most of the SEC schools, you'll have a blast going to a game.

7/27/2006 6:13:33 PM

yeah, that game sucked, as did the 95 game, the 96 game, the 97 game, but the 98 game was fucking sweet

7/27/2006 6:15:54 PM

I was at the '93, '94, '95, and '97 games ... what a rivalry in those days! However, I'm glad that the out-of-control behavior in the stands (both places) has settled down a little.

7/30/2006 4:45:34 PM

yeah, probably had to do with the teams pretty much splitting the last 5-6 years and Georgia coming back to be a good team again... mutual enemy

7/30/2006 5:53:32 PM

Back then, it seemed like the mid-September rivalry was the SEC Championship Game. Now, with 3 (maybe even 4, including SC) good teams in the eastern division alone, and the other division at least that tough, it's not a one-game season anymore.

7/31/2006 12:57:11 PM

yeah. If you lost that game you could have a "nice" season, but nothing spectacular

7/31/2006 1:02:37 PM