I took in the Queens/Lions game Sunday and have been a season tix holder at TCF and the damn dome for years.
The Vikings stadium is amazing. TCF does not compare even though it is a wonderful facility and I am really glad we have it. We all know the dome sucked!!
I guess that there have been previous posts about the Queens new digs and comparisons to TCF but here are my observations.
For the record, I love the Gophers and put up with the Queens.
The Queens crowd is light years younger than TCF. Not even close. At the age of 71, I had to search for fans from my generation. And far more females in the crowd, which is a good thing and many of them really get into the game. Our section at TCF is ancient in comparison and mostly a buzz kill. The crowd in our section was fully engaged at USB and the cheers were solid. Skol! And the Skol Line (drums) is fun and played often. The Queens seem to have that going well and have tradition on their side. I thought the crowd was well behaved and I did not observe the drunken Viking fan syndrome that has been posted here in the past. The Gophers have been struggling with crowd engagement for a long time and haven't found the right combo. The UM marching band is mostly secondary to piped in music and commercials. I love the Gopher band pre-game which has been around for a long time. Vikings don't have that which is a disappointment. But the Queens vocal stuff is much better than the weak Skiumah chant and gets the crowd ready and engaged. Advantage to the Vikings and not even close.
The plaza and area around the USB is a buzz of activity compared to TCF. Granted there is more available space, but I counted at least three live bands and many tents. Even Fleet Farm had a tent where they encouraged fans to make their own signs and the Viking ship was a huge attraction. There was lots of energy outside of USB. Maturi did his best to put up some face painting booths and that was about it. Coyle needs to take in a Vikings game and see what the younger crowd enjoys. Advantage Vikings and not even close.
It seems as though the seating is much closer and lower to the field at TCF. Granted there are 18,000 more seats at US Bank. We were on the third level but it reminded me of our second levels seats at the damn dome which were higher than our second deck seats at TCF. Advantage Gophers.
Food and Beer. We had a brat which was OK but the bun must have came from the damn dome. Bad, really bad. The standard beer was basically domestic. Boo! We finally did find a stand that had lots of good choices including Surly Furious. $10 versus $11 at TCF! I thought I was at TCF!!! Small sample size but advantage TCF.
Sound. Really loud PA at USB and the announcer sounded like a robot. Bad. Really bad. I know its a dome but............TCF guy is much more animated, human and into the game. However the endless commercials and promo's at TCF is really aggrevating. Advantage TCF.
Seating. It looked as if all the seat at USB are chairbacks. However, our seats in 302 were not nearly a comfortable as our charibacks at TCF. Advantage TCF.
Access to stadium. USB is downtown so there is much more congestion. I took the Green Line from Surly's which worked very well both ways. No wait for the train back. We park and walk about 15 minutes to get to TCF which works well for us. For me it was equal but for others?????
Access. The concourse's at USB were crowded even 45 minutes prior to KO. Since the game went into OT, most of the crowd hung in there. Exit was congested compared to TCF. Huge advantage to TCF.
Bathroom. There was a line going into the mens during a 3rd quarter time out. Seldom experience that at TCF. Advantage TCF.
I boycotted going to Queen games at the damn dome back to the 80's and, like most of us here, put up with the Gophers playing there. I really enjoy TCF and love the Gophers. TCF is better than USB as far as convenience and view but the atmosphere and surrounds at USB is far better. I would go to another Queens game in a heartbeat! Now I fully understand why the Queens have much more fan support compared to the Gophers.
The Vikings stadium is amazing. TCF does not compare even though it is a wonderful facility and I am really glad we have it. We all know the dome sucked!!
I guess that there have been previous posts about the Queens new digs and comparisons to TCF but here are my observations.
For the record, I love the Gophers and put up with the Queens.
The Queens crowd is light years younger than TCF. Not even close. At the age of 71, I had to search for fans from my generation. And far more females in the crowd, which is a good thing and many of them really get into the game. Our section at TCF is ancient in comparison and mostly a buzz kill. The crowd in our section was fully engaged at USB and the cheers were solid. Skol! And the Skol Line (drums) is fun and played often. The Queens seem to have that going well and have tradition on their side. I thought the crowd was well behaved and I did not observe the drunken Viking fan syndrome that has been posted here in the past. The Gophers have been struggling with crowd engagement for a long time and haven't found the right combo. The UM marching band is mostly secondary to piped in music and commercials. I love the Gopher band pre-game which has been around for a long time. Vikings don't have that which is a disappointment. But the Queens vocal stuff is much better than the weak Skiumah chant and gets the crowd ready and engaged. Advantage to the Vikings and not even close.
The plaza and area around the USB is a buzz of activity compared to TCF. Granted there is more available space, but I counted at least three live bands and many tents. Even Fleet Farm had a tent where they encouraged fans to make their own signs and the Viking ship was a huge attraction. There was lots of energy outside of USB. Maturi did his best to put up some face painting booths and that was about it. Coyle needs to take in a Vikings game and see what the younger crowd enjoys. Advantage Vikings and not even close.
It seems as though the seating is much closer and lower to the field at TCF. Granted there are 18,000 more seats at US Bank. We were on the third level but it reminded me of our second levels seats at the damn dome which were higher than our second deck seats at TCF. Advantage Gophers.
Food and Beer. We had a brat which was OK but the bun must have came from the damn dome. Bad, really bad. The standard beer was basically domestic. Boo! We finally did find a stand that had lots of good choices including Surly Furious. $10 versus $11 at TCF! I thought I was at TCF!!! Small sample size but advantage TCF.
Sound. Really loud PA at USB and the announcer sounded like a robot. Bad. Really bad. I know its a dome but............TCF guy is much more animated, human and into the game. However the endless commercials and promo's at TCF is really aggrevating. Advantage TCF.
Seating. It looked as if all the seat at USB are chairbacks. However, our seats in 302 were not nearly a comfortable as our charibacks at TCF. Advantage TCF.
Access to stadium. USB is downtown so there is much more congestion. I took the Green Line from Surly's which worked very well both ways. No wait for the train back. We park and walk about 15 minutes to get to TCF which works well for us. For me it was equal but for others?????
Access. The concourse's at USB were crowded even 45 minutes prior to KO. Since the game went into OT, most of the crowd hung in there. Exit was congested compared to TCF. Huge advantage to TCF.
Bathroom. There was a line going into the mens during a 3rd quarter time out. Seldom experience that at TCF. Advantage TCF.
I boycotted going to Queen games at the damn dome back to the 80's and, like most of us here, put up with the Gophers playing there. I really enjoy TCF and love the Gophers. TCF is better than USB as far as convenience and view but the atmosphere and surrounds at USB is far better. I would go to another Queens game in a heartbeat! Now I fully understand why the Queens have much more fan support compared to the Gophers.
