Love for Lincoln

Happy Halloween. I'll be stepping out with Harry Potter and Wolverine (the mutant superhero, calm down) in a little while, but first, reviews are in from MSU fans on the trip to Lincoln. I've yet to hear a negative comment.

    And I saw the same thing -- the most polite fan base I've ever encountered. It was almost like walking into Pleasantville. All these friendly faces, enjoying their bottled water and coffee before the big game! The town was great, the stadium was unique and extremely loud -- especially considering the 11 a.m. start time and lack of tailgating (maybe I just missed it, but I didn't see much). Also, the seared cow at Misty's and wings at The Watering Hole actually lived up to their billing.

    So now it's time to update the list of best Big Ten stadium atmospheres. Note: This does NOT include tailgating, which may be best in Madison, still strong in East Lansing (where it used to be untouchable, in my opinion, before 1998 [and was darn near perfect before 1994]), hard to tell in some other places. This is the stadium itself and what goes on inside it to accompany a game.

    1. Ohio State. Always the best, still the best.

    2. Nebraska. Like the Shoe, a unique structure and the noise manages to stay in. Great fan participation.

    3. Wisconsin. Could go without the trembling press box at the end of the third quarter.

    4. Iowa. Somewhat similar to the feel you get at Nebraska. The fans are so close, they'll steal your Gatorade if you're the opposing team and you don't watch out.

    5. MSU. Gerry DiNardo called it the loudest place in the Big Ten, and while that's not consistently true, I'd put the Wisconsin game noise levels against any other Big Ten game this season.

    6. Penn State. Can be extremely imposing when things are going well for the Nittany Lions.

    7. Michigan. The suites have definitely helped keep in noise and add something to the stadium.

    8. Illinois. The Red Grange statue alone is worth a bump. Love the grandstands, lots of history.

    9. Minnesota. The stadium itself is fantastic. Put a winning team in it and this can move up the list.

    10. Northwestern. Not a bad place at all to take in a football game, but the crowd is 50/50 or so way too often against Big Ten foes.

    11. Purdue. Nothing that really distinguishes Ross-Ade, though Purdue Pete is, in a sort of creepy way, kind of fascinating.

    12. Indiana. Saw John Cougar play there once. That was cool.

    Here's another look at MSU's humbling weekend, and a recap of the MSU-Ferris scrimmage with a nice photo gallery. Would it be wrong to squirrel away a few Reese's Cups for myself tonight?