Let's start with the Nashville and Calgary game. Calgary Flames vs Nashville Tuesday 19th
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Nashville Predators Thursday 21st
I was also able to take in the Penguins /Predators game. Best part about this was I got lost trying to go outside during the 1st intermission and wound up in the basement, by the locker rooms. No one seemed to care or ask why I was there.
The arena is really nice, and the concourses are easy to get around. If you're stuck in the 3rd level you even get a nice escalator ride up! A modern arena and great fans. Everyone here was tremendously nice to me with my Flames gear, 2 thumbs up to Nashville and the Preds.
Next up was the grand daddy of my man-cation, the Volunteers game. Alabama Crimson Tide vs Tennessee Volunteers Saturday October 23rd
The pre game stuff was almost as good as the game itself. The fans were so friendly and offered up stuff from their grills and a good story about the Vols. The campus is located on a hill (the whole area around UT in Knoxville is hilly and beautiful) so the stadium didn't reveal herself to me until I was almost there. It was beautiful, a tremendous stadium with character and class.
The inside of the stadium is really something else when it's filled up. There were a tonne, a tonne of Bama fans and that made the crowd electric. The chants and fight songs from both schools made the game itself truly unique.
The half time show was remarkable. The "Million dollar band" from Bama did a bunch of 70's hits, and after the Vol's "pride of the southland band" did what's called a circle drill. It was a spectacle to watch; I was told before hand to make sure to check out all the marching band performance and was skeptical. I was wrong to even doubt it; the marching bands were almost as good as the game itself.
The fans singing along to Rockytop is my second favourite sports memory of my life, only 2nd to watching the Flames beat the Sharks for the Western conference final. It was football at it's very best.
Sunday was the Titans game. I loved that all Saturday (especially downtown at night on Broadway) there was an absolute truck load of Eagles fans everywhere. At the game itself the Eagles fans earned their reputation for being loud and obnoxious D-bags; it was fun to be around.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Tennessee Titans Sunday 24th
My seats were so high I didn't want to look down over the railings. LP Field on the whole, tho, is a great example of an NFL stadium well designed. Spacious concourse, lots of food and merch shops... and lots of bathrooms. One bad thing tho, compared to Neyland stadium, is that parking sucks, traffic sucks, and getting to and from the stadium and anywhere around Nashville sucks. Neyland holds 104,000 people on campus and I was heading back to Nashville 20 mins after the game. LP field? It took me and my friends 45 mins to get to the stadium from our hotel 12 miles away. I don't know where to lay the blame specifically but it was brutal.
Not included as they aren't sports specific was my visit to the JD distillery in Lynchburg (highly recommend), Graceland in Memphis + BBQ at Corkeys (again, worth the trip) and my visit to the Ryman auditorium. Oh yeah and Snoop Dogg at the Vanderbilt on campus arena. Snoop was amazing. Tennessee is a great place to go on vacation, so much to do. If you've ever thought about it just go- you wont regret it.
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Dude. Awesome! I've been to Tennessee once before, f'n love that place! Too bad it was August and nothing was really going on sports-wise. Did you check out the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg?
read the bottom of my post! Lol yes I went. The distillery was awesome, and it was free. The tour guide couldn't have been nicer too. A highlight of the distillery was where they do the mellowing; we got a strong whiff of what 140 proof whiskey smells like. It was ridiculous... if you had a cold it would clear it up, it was that strong.
I've had nothing but issues every time that I go through Tennessee. Do you live in Tennessee now?
LP stadium is amazing, You can see it from I65 or 24 I can't remember but it's just amazing.
For a college stadium Louisville is amazing too that you can also see from the interstate.
I really wanted to the Calgary vs Nashville game but the weekend before I was just up in Chicago.
That looked like tons of fun, glad you enjoyed it. Come back down to the land of Dixie anytime!
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Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
I've had nothing but issues every time that I go through Tennessee. Do you live in Tennessee now?
No just on vacation for week there. I really don't think I could move to the States, or Tennessee. It's a little too... southern for me. Much like Vancouver I'll chalk it up as a great place to visit but I wouldn't move there
Wow! What an awesome sports-filled trip! Thanks for sharing.
I have always heard/seen on TV how big college football is down in the States. That seems like a blast! Another big draw of that area for me would be barbecue!
Half way into the trip, my friend heard Snoop was playing at Vanderbilt during homecoming. So we went. How freaking sweet is that? He was awesome too... sorry for crappy pic quality on 2nd one He did a tupac song, but the highlight for me was when he did house of pain "jump around". it was fun to say the least
Tennessee too southern? Sir, you've got lots to learn.
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Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
I cant imagine what Alabama would be like, or Mississippi.
Mississippi is pretty backwoods and Alabama has some but Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas take the cake.
Nashville is a cool city, I just hate because 1) jealous that I missed the Preds vs Flames game 2) every single time I go through TENN something bad happens. So I hold a grudge against that state...
Chattanooga is pretty cool area too, the smokies are pretty but nothing like what you guys have up north.
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Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
Mississippi is pretty backwoods and Alabama has some but Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas take the cake.
Nashville is a cool city, I just hate because 1) jealous that I missed the Preds vs Flames game 2) every single time I go through TENN something bad happens. So I hold a grudge against that state...
Chattanooga is pretty cool area too, the smokies are pretty but nothing like what you guys have up north.
Oh cmon, you're going to tell me Kentucky and Tennessee are more "backwoods" than Alabama and Mississippi?
My man-cation in pictures (lots of 'em be warned)
He did a tupac song, but the highlight for me was when he did house of pain "jump around". it was fun to say the least
