WARNING: this is long and definitely not for you if you hate people asking for free advice.
My buddies and I are big college football fans, and we love traveling to new places for games. We’re working on a B1G blog that gives tips to other football fans when they travel to away games, and I was hoping you’d indulge me on some questions about Michigan football. Basically, what I am asking is that if you and I met randomly on an airplane and I told you all about my trip to a Michigan football game, you wouldn’t have to say, “You did it all wrong, next time you should …”
NOTE: Let me explain why I took this research approach over simply Googling. The idea for the blog is to compile game-day tips for fans by fans, not simply an aggregation of Google search results (which are too often based on which restaurant or hotel has the best SEO team). Simply slapping some Google results on the blog would be easier, but I believe it would lack a certain amount of richness that can only be obtained through human feedback. This is my attempt to get some human feedback from those who are most familiar with Michigan Football.
Feel free to answer any or all of the questions that you’d like, and if you can think of any other info I’ve overlooked feel free to throw that in there too!
TRAVEL
1. What’s the most convenient/cheapest airport to fly into? Is there a specific airline that is best/cheapest to fly in on?
2. Suppose some travelers are a little more adventurous and don’t mind flying into an airport that’s a 3-4 hour drive away from the game if it would make for a cool drive or takes them by some cool sites/attractions – anything like that people should know about when they’re booking flights?
3. Is a rental car necessary? How is the public transportation system/Uber in the area?
HOTEL
4. What’s the hotel situation like over the weekend of a game? How good is airbnb, vrbo, etc? Are there any great resort towns nearby to stay at for a couple days?
FOOD
5. What are your favorite places to eat at during the college football season? How is the food in the stadium (anything a one-time visitor can’t leave the stadium without eating)?
TICKETS
6. What is the best option for visiting fans to buy game tickets? School Ticket office? StubHub? Local Classifieds?
TAILGATING
7. Any general tailgating advice for a first-timer at game? Specific areas for visiting fans?
TRADITIONS
8. Some schools have unique game day traditions – do you guys do anything that’d be worth a visitor planning their schedule around? Are there any buildings or sites near campus or the stadium that visitors should check out?
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
9. If fans decide to make this more of a family vacation, what local sites/attractions should they make room for on their schedule? Any can’t-miss Historical/Educational or Fun/Entertainment sites?
SAFETY
10. Are there any general safety issues fans should be aware of? Any areas visitors should avoid for parking, walking, etc? I know every fan base has its share of bad apples, but would you classify your general fan base as hospitable/neutral/in-hospitable?
OTHER BIG TEN SCHOOLS
11. Lastly, since I'm trying to do this for all the teams in the B1G, I thought I'd ask if you have any experience traveling to other schools in the conference? Favorite/Least Favorite B1G school to visit for games? Any horror or success stories or general advice you'd give from your experiences?
As mentioned, feel free to answer any/all/none of the questions, and throw on any extra info that I may have overlooked. I’ll be sure to report back when our blog is posted so that you can see the finished product!
My buddies and I are big college football fans, and we love traveling to new places for games. We’re working on a B1G blog that gives tips to other football fans when they travel to away games, and I was hoping you’d indulge me on some questions about Michigan football. Basically, what I am asking is that if you and I met randomly on an airplane and I told you all about my trip to a Michigan football game, you wouldn’t have to say, “You did it all wrong, next time you should …”
NOTE: Let me explain why I took this research approach over simply Googling. The idea for the blog is to compile game-day tips for fans by fans, not simply an aggregation of Google search results (which are too often based on which restaurant or hotel has the best SEO team). Simply slapping some Google results on the blog would be easier, but I believe it would lack a certain amount of richness that can only be obtained through human feedback. This is my attempt to get some human feedback from those who are most familiar with Michigan Football.
Feel free to answer any or all of the questions that you’d like, and if you can think of any other info I’ve overlooked feel free to throw that in there too!
TRAVEL
1. What’s the most convenient/cheapest airport to fly into? Is there a specific airline that is best/cheapest to fly in on?
2. Suppose some travelers are a little more adventurous and don’t mind flying into an airport that’s a 3-4 hour drive away from the game if it would make for a cool drive or takes them by some cool sites/attractions – anything like that people should know about when they’re booking flights?
3. Is a rental car necessary? How is the public transportation system/Uber in the area?
HOTEL
4. What’s the hotel situation like over the weekend of a game? How good is airbnb, vrbo, etc? Are there any great resort towns nearby to stay at for a couple days?
FOOD
5. What are your favorite places to eat at during the college football season? How is the food in the stadium (anything a one-time visitor can’t leave the stadium without eating)?
TICKETS
6. What is the best option for visiting fans to buy game tickets? School Ticket office? StubHub? Local Classifieds?
TAILGATING
7. Any general tailgating advice for a first-timer at game? Specific areas for visiting fans?
TRADITIONS
8. Some schools have unique game day traditions – do you guys do anything that’d be worth a visitor planning their schedule around? Are there any buildings or sites near campus or the stadium that visitors should check out?
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
9. If fans decide to make this more of a family vacation, what local sites/attractions should they make room for on their schedule? Any can’t-miss Historical/Educational or Fun/Entertainment sites?
SAFETY
10. Are there any general safety issues fans should be aware of? Any areas visitors should avoid for parking, walking, etc? I know every fan base has its share of bad apples, but would you classify your general fan base as hospitable/neutral/in-hospitable?
OTHER BIG TEN SCHOOLS
11. Lastly, since I'm trying to do this for all the teams in the B1G, I thought I'd ask if you have any experience traveling to other schools in the conference? Favorite/Least Favorite B1G school to visit for games? Any horror or success stories or general advice you'd give from your experiences?
As mentioned, feel free to answer any/all/none of the questions, and throw on any extra info that I may have overlooked. I’ll be sure to report back when our blog is posted so that you can see the finished product!
