The 2017 College football season will have its first kick-off in less than 2 weeks (but who’s counting?)!!! NOTHING in sports is more exhilarating, to me, than cheering on your alma mater (or wanna be alma mater) at the big game! The roar of the crowds, the smell of BBQ in the air from the tailgaters, the marching bands, cheerleaders and mascots… Whether you live close to your favorite school, or are across the country, fall brings a unique opportunity for those of us who love football AND love to travel!
Every year, stats come out announcing which schools have the most traveling fan base; for 2016 it was: (1) Alabama Crimson Tide; (2) Ohio State Buckeyes; (3) Nebraska Cornhuskers; (4) LSU Tigers; followed by (5) Texas A&M Aggies [notice that there are no sunny California beach schools with fans wanting to travel out of the perfect whether on that list, just sayin’, lol]. Not a die-hard fan of one of those programs? No worries – ALL of the NCAA schools have travel opportunities (for those coming in from out of town for home games, or traveling to root on their team for away games). Many university athletic programs have Fan Travel packages available on their websites that include multi-night deluxe hotel accommodations, game tickets in your team’s stadium section, ground transportation to and from the game, pre-game parties, and more (some have air add-ons), and, those who don’t could probably direct you to a travel agent who plans group travel for their games. The price is usually a bit inflated, but, in exchange, you get one-stop packaging for a smooth and fun trip.
I’m a UCLA fan and alumna. My husband and I try to get in an out-of-town road game every season or two, and, usually, make all of the arrangements on our own. In 2014, we HAD to travel to Texas for the UCLA/Texas game – why? Well, as I said, college football is the BEST, but, in addition, it was being played at a VERY cool stadium – AT&T Stadium, aka “The House that Jerry Built.” On that day, it was the house that ANOTHER Jerry built (our stand-in quarterback, Jerry Neuheisel, that is). I suppose we would have had a great time regardless of which team won; luckily for us, UCLA came out on top in a squeaker! But, I digress ….
Our self-planned Fan Travel getaway included roundtrip air, lodging for 2 nights at a hotel within walking distance of the stadium (NOTE: make sure to check the area of the stadium for safety before deciding where to stay and how to get to the there), a shuttle between the airport and hotel, a pre-game catered tail-gate buffet and UCLA section tickets to the game. The buffet and game tickets were purchased through the University’s website, everything else was planned, easily, on our own. The 3 most prominent memories from that quickie vacation – (1) we won the game!, (2) the stadium, itself, was jaw-dropping, and (3) the Texas fans were AMAZINGLY friendly – many inviting us to join them at their pre-game parties as we walked around the stadium!
So, get out your fan shirts, your pompoms, your binoculars and your team hats and earrings (but, PLEASE, in the name of all that is holy, LEAVE THE FACE PAINT AT HOME!!), and get some fan travel arrangements in place NOW! Kick-offs are in 11 days!!!
(BTW, this same plan can work for Pro games too – just not as much fun and the game tickets are generally a LOT more expensive!)
