The fourth west coast swing in as many years for the UC football team ended in a way that no other west coast game had. A trip to San Diego State in 2007 resulted in Brian Kelly’s fifth straight win to open his first campaign as Bearcat head man.
In 2008 the regular season finale was on the way out West coast in Hawaii, a game that saw UC trail until a late-game flurry of points put the Cats ahead for good. Last season the Bearcats took the Oregon Trail to Corvallis and beat the Oregon State Beavers.
This year it was a new coach, new team and a new result.
But I’m not here to chat football (surprisingly so) but more so about the interesting set up of Fresno State’s stadium. And of course, to show you what you missed by not traveling out to California with me and the rest of the football team.
The stadium at Fresno State is basically built from the ground up. The field is lower than everything else. It’s an interesting set up that allows the noise to be funneled down to the field. It also helps the scoreboard at the end of the stadium to be up not as high.
So I was stuck up on that big beautiful blue monster, and had to climb a ladder to get up there. What a fun time it was to hang out in the night sky in Fresno…until the second half of the 28-14 loss.
I enjoyed the atmosphere that Fresno State’s fans brought out to the game. I compared the area the teams had to walk through to Gasoline Alley on Brickyard 400 weekend. Security personnel held up ropes preventing fans from running across where the teams walked down to the field, but let fans walk across the walk way to get to the other side of the stadium when everything was clear.
And the people there are so nice. Well, some of them. I enjoyed getting asked where Brian Kelly was, and where Notre Dame was by each and every Fresno fan dressed in red. I’m sure it won’t be the last time that happens.
In exactly one week it’s another road stadium, and another fun trip to what should be a hostile environment in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Bearcats take on NC State, and former Elder Panther Jeff Rieskamp (more on that next week). Pictures and more will follow. Stay tuned.
In 2008 the regular season finale was on the way out West coast in Hawaii, a game that saw UC trail until a late-game flurry of points put the Cats ahead for good. Last season the Bearcats took the Oregon Trail to Corvallis and beat the Oregon State Beavers.
This year it was a new coach, new team and a new result.
But I’m not here to chat football (surprisingly so) but more so about the interesting set up of Fresno State’s stadium. And of course, to show you what you missed by not traveling out to California with me and the rest of the football team.
The stadium at Fresno State is basically built from the ground up. The field is lower than everything else. It’s an interesting set up that allows the noise to be funneled down to the field. It also helps the scoreboard at the end of the stadium to be up not as high.So I was stuck up on that big beautiful blue monster, and had to climb a ladder to get up there. What a fun time it was to hang out in the night sky in Fresno…until the second half of the 28-14 loss.I enjoyed the atmosphere that Fresno State’s fans brought out to the game. I compared the area the teams had to walk through to Gasoline Alley on Brickyard 400 weekend. Security personnel held up ropes preventing fans from running across where the teams walked down to the field, but let fans walk across the walk way to get to the other side of the stadium when everything was clear.
And the people there are so nice. Well, some of them. I enjoyed getting asked where Brian Kelly was, and where Notre Dame was by each and every Fresno fan dressed in red. I’m sure it won’t be the last time that happens.In exactly one week it’s another road stadium, and another fun trip to what should be a hostile environment in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Bearcats take on NC State, and former Elder Panther Jeff Rieskamp (more on that next week). Pictures and more will follow. Stay tuned.
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