Very good post BTW. I probably should have said somewhat less enjoyable. I attend at least one game at BDS every season, the remainder I watch on TV. Chalk it up to old age, but the game day experience, IMO, has more of a carnival like atmosphere and less like a football Saturday afternoon, but that's me.
Part of it is because the expansion of BDS allows more fans and more people show up - and I like crowds less than in my younger days, too.
I didn't go to the Michigan State game here in Dallas on NYE because I didn't want to fight the traffic leaving. (I could have sat nosebleed for about $80 or so - buying a ticket three hours before kickoff online). I was like, "If Arlington had the DART, I'd go."
So I get that part.