A Wildcat visits The Bank

Since TKL had my tix last weekend, it was only fair that he provide me with a little write up of his opinion on his trip up to Minneapolis.  Here's his take on the day/game/stadium:

Back from a nice trip to the Bank where Wildcat fans held their collective breaths on a 4th quarter as Minnesota drive stalled out at the 40 yard line. Great times were had by my friends and I throughout the day, and were capped off by a close victory 29-28.  That was a typical nail-biter of a Wildcat win that we have come to expect in the Pat Fitzgerald era. NU-UM games have also been quite good over the past few years--and this one was no different. Minnesota played pretty well and played turnover-free ball all day until the interception to end the game.  NU made a few too many turnovers, but managed to claw their way back to victory. 

Here are some favorite moments, highlights, and thoughts:

* A beautiful stadium with a nice mix of new and traditional character and features.  Nicely done, U.
* The day was spectacular too.  Not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was quite moderate.
* The Stub and Herbs pre-game crowd in the parking lot was a welcoming and friendly group. Always nice to down a couple of Premos and Bloody's among good people within a short walk of the stadium. I scored a free T for GBG too! 
* Great seats, GBG.  Although we were a little confused at first by the Row 1, Row 2 stack job!  The fans around us were very nice too.  My buddy (a Badger fan and Gopher hater) tossed a few grenades around, but overall I think your neighbors won't be giving you too much grief when they see you next game.
* A few empty seats and relatively quiet crowd at times, though.  But this can be expected from a fan-base who has seen Coach Brewster take the air out of the sails of his team with his odd calls and game-planning ability.
* A nice contingency of purple clad fans in the upper deck and a few more sprinkled around the stadium. Ryan Field North? Not quite, but more NU fans than I remember in past games at the Dome.
* Several "Fire Brewster!" chants were heard.  What a dumb set of calls on that last drive too. A buddy of mine went to clinic of his and mentioned he didn't think the guy had all that much fire--and that Mason was a lot more animated, excited, and interested to be with his players.  
* The 1-2 punch of Eskridge and Bennett was very tough to handle.
* Danny Persa can scramble all right. Has a nice toss too. Love it!
* Adam Weber looked quite poised and played a nice game too. Bigtime 15 yd scramble at the end of the game too.
* Jeremy Ebert's weight room time sure paid off when he snatched a big 3rd down TD out of hands of the Gopher defender.
* Sally's post-game was great. We may have purchased them a new flatscreen TV with the amount we dropped there. 
* Heard a few "Touchdown Jackrabbits!" catcalls thrown out on the walk to Sally's. Super funny for some reason--I kept chuckling at this SoDak game/KFAN reference.
* Can't wait for my next trip up to TCF--thanks for the tickets GBG!


Thanks for the impressions TKL, glad you had a nice time.  My only regret is that the Gophers couldn't send you home with a loss.  We'll hit it up next year in Evanston!