Well I could imagine Joel Coliseum being not so great this year. I went a couple of years ago and it was a decent atmosphere, but not great. Like I said, I really didn't know who to put at the 25 spot. Marquette is pretty good. Texas is getting there, and Texas A&M was decent this year. Mizzou has a fairly strong basketball fanbase, and they used to really rock their old building, the Hearnes Center. I saw an ESPN Classic game of Kansas @ Mizzou back when Roy was there, I think it was the 1998 game, and the crowd was loud the entire time. I haven't seen much of Mizzou's new place, Mizzou Arena. It looks like a poor man's Comcast Center though. Washington has a decent student section setup, even though it's not too large.

In regards to justifying UNC being #21, which some might think is low, I talked to this 2nd year resident today at work that went to UNC for medical school, and asked him about the Dean Dome. He said it was a great place to watch a game in terms of sightlines, but he didn't think it was all that tough of a place to play in, and said that it never got real loud in there, except for on rare occasions.

7/30/2007 6:30:56 PM

I don't remember if you listed Gonzaga or not but they should be ranked in the top 20

7/30/2007 6:39:37 PM

I don't know about Top 20, but Gonzaga could perhaps fill the 25th spot.

7/30/2007 7:14:54 PM

1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Maryland
4. NC State
5. Michigan State
6. Oklahoma State
7. Syracuse
8. Illinois
9. Indiana
10. Kentucky
11. Louisville
12. Stanford
13. Pitt
14. Arizona
15. Oregon
16. Rutgers
17. Iowa State
18. Wisconsin
19. Arkansas
20. Virginia
21. North Carolina
22. Cal
23. UConn
24. Florida
25. TBD


So what do you think? Also who deserves the 25 spot? Wake, Texas, Marquette, Gonzaga, Ohio State, others? Let's see how you'd rank them. Besides Gonzaga, what other teams from non-conferences should be considered? Memphis maybe? St. Joe's, while small, has a good atmosphere with an old school gym.

7/31/2007 7:27:58 PM

NFL, who ya got?

8/11/2007 9:02:18 AM

Probably some of the toughest places, in no particular, are Kansas City, Seattle, Minnesota, Washington (largest venue in the NFL), New York (Jets and Giants), Oakland (more due to the fans rather than stadium design), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Green Bay (maniacal fans and often times freezing weather), Cleveland (b/c of the Dawg Pound), etc.

8/14/2007 6:09:56 PM

NFL by division



AFC East
1. The Meadowlands (NY Jets) - Capacity: 80,242
2. Ralph Wilson Stadium (Buffalo Bills) - Capacity: 73,967
3. Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots) - Capacity: 68,756
4. Dolphin Stadium (Miami Dolphins) - Capacity: 76,500


AFC South (what a pathetic collection of home fields)
1. RCA Dome (Indianapolis Colts) - Capacity: 60,272
2. Reliant Stadium (Houston Texans) - Capacity: 71,500
3. LP Field (Tennessee Titans) - Capacity: 68,798
4. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (Jacksonville Jaguars) - Capacity: 67,174


AFC North
1. Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland Browns) - Capacity: 73,200
2. Heinz Field (Pittsburgh Steelers) - Capacity: 64,450
3. Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati Bengals) - Capacity: 65,535
4. M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore Ravens) - Capacity: 71,008


AFC West (now this is a conference)
1. Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs) - Capacity: 79,451
2. INVESCO Field at Mile High (Denver Broncos) - Capacity: 76,125
3. McAfee Coliseum (Oakland Raiders) - Capacity: 63,026
4. Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego Chargers) - Capacity: 71,294

9/10/2007 8:36:19 PM

you mean AFC by division

9/10/2007 8:38:16 PM

^^ I would have LP by far and away number one in the south. The team has been shit the last few years but that place has always had a rep as on of the loudest places to play

9/10/2007 9:04:22 PM

so this is basically brass monkey's "toughest places to play based on hearsay and conjecture because i have not actually been to these places" thread?

9/10/2007 9:07:22 PM

NFC East (this division is rivaled only by the AFC West)
1. FedEx Field (Washington Redskins) - Capacity: 91,704
2. Giants Stadium (NY Giants) - Capacity: 80,242
3. Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles) - Capacity: 68,532
4. Texas Stadium (Dallas Cowboys) - Capacity: 65,675


NFC South (lots of potential but nowhere near cream of the crop in the NFL yet)
1. Bank of America Stadium (Carolina Panthers) - Capacity: 73,298
2. Raymond James Stadium (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - Capacity: 66,321
3. Georgia Dome (Atlanta Falcons) - Capacity: 71,228
4. Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans Saints) - Capacity: 69,703


NFC North
1. Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) - Capacity: 72,515
2. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota Vikings) - Capacity: 64,111
3. Soldier Field (Chicago Bears) - Capacity: 61,500
4. Ford Field (Detroit Lions) - Capacity: 65,000


NFC West
1. Qwest Field (Seattle Seahawks) - Capacity: 68,175
2. Edward Jones Dome (St. Louis Rams) - Capacity: 66,000
3. University of Phoenix Stadium (Arizona Cardinals) - Capacity: 63,400
4. Monster Park (San Francisco 49ers) - Capacity: 69,734


^well I looked into what most of the players said were the toughest places to play, and as well what I've heard the analysts say.

here's one of the things I used in deciding.
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Features/NFL+Features/2004/question100904.htm

Quote :

"you mean AFC by division"

I did the AFC first, and hoped to get the NFC in a second post right behind it.

[Edited on September 10, 2007 at 9:12 PM. Reason : ]

9/10/2007 9:08:37 PM

that article is three years old

9/10/2007 9:13:30 PM

So, it hasn't changed that much. Most of the ones mentioned (KC, Oakland, Green Bay, etc.) are still considered tops in the league.

I'll move LP Field up to two for you Jaybee, but I'm not ready to put it over the RCA Dome just yet. A lot of players have talked about how loud Indianapolis has gotten in recent years. The AFC South though kind of sucks when you look at the home fields.

9/10/2007 9:17:54 PM

it's an absolute joke that you would put soldier field below the metrodome

vikings fans are pussies

chicago in december is colder and windier than anywhere on earth

and the bears are pretty good

9/10/2007 9:21:08 PM

Quote :

"Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles) - Capacity: 68,532"

Toughest place in the world to play.

For the home team.

9/10/2007 9:24:49 PM

I had a hard time judging those two. I considered putting Chicago higher than the Metrodome, but I didn't see too many things on the internet from players about Chicago being tough, unlike the Metrodome which was nicknamed "The Thunderdome" due to it's noise. Of course the new Soldier Field has only been around for a few years, and hasn't gotten the reputation that the Metrodome has over the years. I'd be happy to put Soldier Field above the Metrodome, since you are participating in this discussion. It'd be great if everyone did their own rankings and we could tally them all up for a more concise opinion.

9/10/2007 9:29:23 PM