Have to admit it is easier to do now retired and with more free time. Experiences comments:
Indy - did the two for and the IU/Louisville bball game before fball game. Talk about a downer but night game had me totally forget bball debacle. So cool to see all the IU people in Indy but kind of figured it would be an IU town anyway so not surprised. Also got to take my son (IU grad 2015) so even better.
Pasadena - great tailgating. Amazing to see how well we traveled. Rain early but game was dry and Bama people were shocked at the annihilation.
Atlanta - amazed how much IU took over that town. All downtown Atlanta was IU. All hotels/bars were filled with IU people all amazed at the turnout. Nice stadium too.
Miami - not as overwhelming as Atlanta or Pasadena but still majority. Tense and exciting. Amazing how many people traveled down without a ticket and hoped to scalp or at least be there to experience the atmosphere.
I am a little embarrassed to say I only spent around $1200 total on tickets all 4 games and all were lower bowl good seats. Have some nice connections with some friends who are better donors than me. Also have a supportive wife who told me to have fun (that will cost me later).
Apart from the games I also reconnected with some old IU friends I hadn’t seen for 40 years. That was almost as much fun as the game experience.
Have to admit it is easier to do now retired and with more free time. Experiences comments:
Indy - did the two for and the IU/Louisville bball game before fball game. Talk about a downer but night game had me totally forget bball debacle. So cool to see all the IU people in Indy but kind of figured it would be an IU town anyway so not surprised. Also got to take my son (IU grad 2015) so even better.
Pasadena - great tailgating. Amazing to see how well we traveled. Rain early but game was dry and Bama people were shocked at the annihilation.
Atlanta - amazed how much IU took over that town. All downtown Atlanta was IU. All hotels/bars were filled with IU people all amazed at the turnout. Nice stadium too.
Miami - not as overwhelming as Atlanta or Pasadena but still majority. Tense and exciting. Amazing how many people traveled down without a ticket and hoped to scalp or at least be there to experience the atmosphere.
I am a little embarrassed to say I only spent around $1200 total on tickets all 4 games and all were lower bowl good seats. Have some nice connections with some friends who are better donors than me. Also have a supportive wife who told me to have fun (that will cost me later).
Apart from the games I also reconnected with some old IU friends I hadn’t seen for 40 years. That was almost as much fun as the game experience.
We got 2 tickets just to Atlanta and spent more than that. Couldn't afford the price of national championship game. Only thing we could get through IU was the blood nose section
3 out if the 4. Couldn’t swing 🌹 on new years. Best 3 sporting events of my life. Each topping the last.
Wife and I made the Rose and Peach Bowls. Going to a game in the Rose Bowl stadium (even regular season) was a bucket list item for me. Pasadena, the parade, and the game didn't disappoint. Stayed in a hotel right in Pasadena. Enjoyed walking and seeing the sites. Had a blast at the Hoosier get together at Kings Row Gastropub. Had a front row view of the parade and holy cow was the Alabama float pathetic. And obviously enjoyed the game. Had great fans around us. Rain really wasn't much of a factor for the few days we were there. We were lucky enough that it was always light while we were outside. And being an Alabama resident made the victory that much sweeter.
We didn't have as much time in Atlanta, but still enjoyed meeting a bunch of IU fans at the bar in the Duck's hotel. City view from our hotel was great. Enjoyed walking around and seeing the sites before the game. Fan Fest was just ok. We had great seats for the game and I was impressed by the stadium. Managed to meat up with our IU football seat mates from Memorial Stadium too. Great couple days.
Hate we missed the Big Ten and national championship games, but certainly not complaining. Got to see my Hoosiers 6 of 7 home games and 2 playoff games despite living in Alabama. All in all, not a bad season for the wife and me!!