Blogging with the Devils

After covering Arizona State’s game at Oregon on Nov. 3, I have visited every Pac-10 stadium. Here is one man’s opinion on how they rank:

From the campus scenery to pregame atmosphere to crowd noise, Autzen Stadium is, far and away, the best place to see a Pac-10 football game. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)

1. Autzen Stadium, Oregon: Frankly, this was going to be a no-brainer No. 1, especially after the visit lived up to everything I had been told about attending a game there. The press-box view of the fall foliage is gorgeous, and the crowd noise is as advertised. Several times while sitting in the open-air press box during the ASU-Oregon game, I had to yell while talking to Tribune columnist Craig Morgan, who was sitting next to me.

2. Martin Stadium, Washington State: The town of Pullman gets a bad rap for being in the middle of nowhere, but a visit to this intimate facility is worth the two-hour drive from Spokane. I get a kick out of when the public-address announcer leads the fans in the “That’s a Cougars! First! Down!” cheer.

3. Memorial Stadium, California: Strawberry Canyon is the prettiest press-box view in the Pac-10 (with Oregon a close second). Whenever I visit California and Stanford, I wish that I had been smart enough to go there. 

4. Rose Bowl, UCLA: I love college football history, and this place just oozes it. The surrounding Arroyo Seco area is beautiful. The only drawback: Long bleachers due to the exit rows being so far apart. If you are sitting in the middle, there are a lot of people to scoot by on the way to the concession stand or restroom.

5. Husky Stadium, Washington: The setting is one of the best anywhere, with a view of Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains. When I visited two years ago, the stadium rocking shook the press box only a handful of times. I cannot imagine what it was like during the Don James glory days. This quote from Southern California quarterback Todd Marinovich after a 1990 game remains a classic: “I saw purple. That’s all I saw. No numbers, no faces, just purple.”

6. Reser Stadium, Oregon State: The expansion of the facility, which was spearheaded by the success of Dennis Erickson’s teams from 1999-2002, has turned it into one of the more impressive ones in the conference. Like at Autzen, there is a pretty view of the Oregon countryside from the press box.

7. Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State: This probably should be higher, but I have been there so many times, any novelty wore off long ago. Among teams and media from other Pac-10 schools, the Tempe trip rates near the top.

8. Memorial Coliseum, Southern California: This is another place where the history is poured on thick, particularly from the two Summer Olympics the venue has hosted. Tommy Trojan galloping in on his white horse and the USC band’s constant playing of “Conquest” are among college football’s most enduring sights and sounds.

9. Stanford Stadium: The renovated facility is sharp, but the sparse crowds make for a comatose atmosphere. The walk to the stadium — while passing the tailgates featuring wine, cheese and crackers and wireless Internet connections — remains an interesting experience.

10. Arizona Stadium: This seems to be a consensus No. 10. There is not really anything that makes the facility unique, other than the dorm halls at the South end. I will say this, however: the ASU-UA game is a lot more fun when it is in Tucson.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 12th, 2007 at 11:57 am and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.