Never been to a Tide game before. I'm flying into Atlanta then driving the rest of they way. Whats going on Friday nights? Where to go for pre game activities and where to stay pretty close to stadium thats not gonna cost an arm and a leg? Thanks for the advice in advance.
Going to first game in Sept
- Thread starter xxsechxx
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I'm sure you'll get some great advice here but we also have a 'Gameday' tab on the menu bar above that offers tons of guidance wrt traveling to Bama games:
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Hampton Inn University is reasonable if you book soon enough. You might bump into Eli @ breakfast.
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Went last year for the home opener against Arkansas State. We stayed just across the river at the Best Western - cost was very reasonable, and only about a 10 minute drive to the stadium. The hotel was just refurbed, so it was very nice for a BW.
Walked the entire campus the night before so we could get pictures of everything without the throngs of people. The kick-off was at 2:30, so we could also have just come onto campus early and done the same. The crowds for the non-SEC games are lighter, and begin arriving at the stadium later, so if you also get a 2:30 kick-off you could do the picture thing in the morning. However, if you are looking at an 11am kick-off, I suggest the evening before for pictures.
If you are an Alabama fan who appreciates the older history of the program, the Bryant Museum is a must do, but be aware of the opening/closing times. The hours are not great for folks just coming into town for a game.
The Walk of Champions is great, but be prepared to stand in the direct sun for an hour or more if you want to be able to see the players. My wife loves this, but I did it twice and doubt that I would do it again in September - too hot.
There are hundreds of tents to buy Alabama stuff, and they begin setting up a couple of hours before the game. If the SEC Network has a set going, swing by and check that out (it would be on University). Tailgating will probably be lighter than for SEC games, but I still met a bunch of great people walking the quad before the game. You just have to be willing to walk up to strangers and introduce yourself.
IMO, you will have a lot more fun if you socialize with other fans than if you just roll into and out of the campus for the game. The thing that makes college football so amazing - the fans. Arrive early, walk around, introduce yourself - then do the same thing after the game. Folks who tailgate are not in a hurry to get out because of the traffic, so this is another great time to meet some fans and maybe grab a beer before heading off campus.
Hope you have a great time. Roll Tide!
Walked the entire campus the night before so we could get pictures of everything without the throngs of people. The kick-off was at 2:30, so we could also have just come onto campus early and done the same. The crowds for the non-SEC games are lighter, and begin arriving at the stadium later, so if you also get a 2:30 kick-off you could do the picture thing in the morning. However, if you are looking at an 11am kick-off, I suggest the evening before for pictures.
If you are an Alabama fan who appreciates the older history of the program, the Bryant Museum is a must do, but be aware of the opening/closing times. The hours are not great for folks just coming into town for a game.
The Walk of Champions is great, but be prepared to stand in the direct sun for an hour or more if you want to be able to see the players. My wife loves this, but I did it twice and doubt that I would do it again in September - too hot.
There are hundreds of tents to buy Alabama stuff, and they begin setting up a couple of hours before the game. If the SEC Network has a set going, swing by and check that out (it would be on University). Tailgating will probably be lighter than for SEC games, but I still met a bunch of great people walking the quad before the game. You just have to be willing to walk up to strangers and introduce yourself.
IMO, you will have a lot more fun if you socialize with other fans than if you just roll into and out of the campus for the game. The thing that makes college football so amazing - the fans. Arrive early, walk around, introduce yourself - then do the same thing after the game. Folks who tailgate are not in a hurry to get out because of the traffic, so this is another great time to meet some fans and maybe grab a beer before heading off campus.
Hope you have a great time. Roll Tide!
Thanks for all that info... I'm going Sept 28th, Ol Miss game. I live in NY so its a little bit of a hike for us to get there.
We were also at the aTm game (had a great time at a TideFans tailgate party put together by tattooguy21). Hope for a night game, because it is HOT!
Book your hotel soon for that game. We went for an AinNB booking, and even that cost us more than $500/night.
Be careful! There will be ELECTRICITY flowing in the air on Gameday! Don't get SHOCKED while walking around on campus.
We did it for the aTm game because we picked up extended family at the airport for the game. It wasn't that bad as long as everyone in the car gets along.
You might just catch a break that late in Sept. and actually get one of the first, early season cool fronts to knock down some of that thick humidity. It could still be super hot then, but hopefully it'll be a pleasant, late September day.
Fair warning: depending on how long you've been a fan and your level of love for the Crimson Tide, be prepared to experience a cool tingling (no matter how hot the weather is) and the hair standing on your neck when you walk into BDS, hear "Yay Alabama" and see the Crimson painted pre-game traditions. I'm telling you, outside of just a few other things in life, it's a very moving experience.
Just guessing, but you'll save enough money just going to ATL rather than B'ham to pay for your car rental for the weekend. That'll probably be a 2:30 game or later so I'd fly to ATL, drive over to Anniston, AL (about an hour outside of B;ham) and get a hotel and then drive to T-town the next morning early.
I just checked the other games that day.
Ole Miss at Alabama
Mississippi State at Auburn
Texas A&M vs. Arkansas (at Arlington, Texas)
Towson at Florida
Kentucky at South Carolina
Northern Illinois at Vanderbilt
We are PROBABLY going to be the 230pm kickoff. The only real competition "might" be from MSU-Auburn (depending on how both start the season), and I'd still say it's 90% or higher going to be us at 230pm.
1) Tickets are the least of your worries.
This sounds backwards, but it isn't. You can get tickets on Gametime or StubHub (now that the stadium allows phone swipe tickets) hours before the game in a worst case scenario, and you can usually find a scalper if nothing else. DO NOT PANIC AND BUY EARLY!!! Tickets will start around 40% higher than you'll have to pay (at a minimum, Auburn is usually MUCH higher).
2) I fly into games from Dallas all the time.
I fly Southwest when possible. They're cheap (right now they're selling through August 6), and unlike most airlines if you cancel, it costs you nothing and you can use the travel funds elsewhere as long as you use them before one year from the date of purchase passes.
Flying into Birmingham MIGHT be "inexpensive" from LaGuardia IF you fly in on Friday night. It's a crapshoot. I don't know how many of you there are or how much you consider expensive, but there's some August flights right now on SWA round trip for $234 per person. Atlanta tends to be cheaper from up there, but you'll spend extra gas driving, of course.
3) I highly advise you to prepay your rental car in Atlanta.
I have had more bad rental car experiences than could fit in a John Hughes movie. But the one thing that has always worked is PRE PAY at the lower rate. I've actually been in Atlanta at noon when they had no cars, and everyone had to take a wait ticket. I got one eventually.
4) Since you're flying into Atlanta, I would advise you to stay east of Birmingham for your hotel.
Others will disagree - and if they can help you with what works better that's fine.
But the fact is that as you get closer to T-Town on game weekends, the hotel prices will skyrocket like the Space Shuttle. There's usually a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton you can find for reasonable cost in some of the smaller towns 'close' to Birmingham. And then you just leave earlier in the morning to get the BDS.
You need to worry about your hotel room the most at this point. The flights will come down later, and they likely won't let you prepay a rental car for next September right now.
It seems backwards, but it's true: tickets are the least difficult thing to get.
It could be interesting to go back. They have several good hotels and places to eat right along I-20 that probably weren't there when you were if it's been a long time ago.
I've heard hotels in T-town are just ridiculously expensive on game-day weekends so that's why I'd probably avoid there and even going all the way into B'ham.
Don't know if you play golf, but Cider Ridge Golf Club is one of my favorite places to play in Alabama. It's 10 minutes off the interstate there at Anniston. Fantastic course!
https://www.ciderridgegolf.com/
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Oxford is $120 per night for 09/27 check-in with 09/29 check-out at Hotels. com
Hampton Inn & Suites Oxford Anniston is $111 per night for same dates at Hotels.com
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