The 30 Greatest Football Places In America
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Here is my list of the 30 greatest Football places in America. In alphabetical order. I didn't rank them....but that is something we can debate. Note that this can involve football at any level, pro, college...large and small, and high school.
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Yes, the town that hosts that school up north makes the list. They do after all average the highest attendance in all of college football
Auburn, Alabama. Home of Auburn Univ. which is a participant in one of the Top 5 college rivalries.
Austin, Texas. Home of the Big Dog in football crazy Texas. UT Longhorns.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Home of LSU Tigers.
Chicago, Illinois. Home of Da Bears. Plus, more PFHOF members were born in Chicago than any other city.
Cleveland, Ohio. The region is home to more pro football titles than any other. Is the only city to "save" its team from an attempt by a greedy owner to move it. (something the likes of Baltimore/St. Louis/Houston etc. were not able to do). Rabid fans despite recent losing problems. Plus it has one of the most storied high school rivalries in the nation. The Holy War: St. Ignatius vs. St. Edwards.
Columbia SC. Home of the Gamecocks of South Carolina U. You have to love that name, plus they are some of the most rabid college football fans in the country.
Columbus, Ohio. Home of the THE Ohio State Buckeyes which several entities have determined to be THE most popular college football team in the nation, with the largest fan base and among the most rabid fans, and some of the greatest traditions in the sport, e.g Script Ohio.
Dallas, Texas. Home, sorta, of The Cowboys, "America's Team". Well, lets just say that the media pays an inordinate amount of attention to them. They do have the cheerleaders, and it is alleged that they do have the largest fan base of all NFL teams.
Denver, Colorado. Home of the NFL team with probably the largest geographical following. Plus the fans are very ardent for the Broncos.
Gainesville, Florida. Home of The Florida Gators, probably Florida's most popular college program. Plus a lot of good high school football in that area.
Green Bay, Wisconsin. Home of the only community owned team in the NFL, the Packers. And the most successful. The Packers franchise has won the most championships in history. Title Town, USA
Kansas City, Missouri. Home of The Chief with one of the most ardent NFL fan bases who, despite a lack of on field success still follow their team.
Knoxville, Tennessee. Home of the Tennessee Volunteers, which lead the SEC in attendance regularly. And singing Rocky Top is a great tradition.
Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Home of the longest rivalry in college football, Lehigh/Lafeyette. Plus this working class area which includes the likes of Scranton, Easton, Allentown/Bethlehem produces great high school rivalry and talent.
Lincoln, Nebraska. Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Los Angeles, California. Despite no longer having an NFL team, the area is dedicated to USC football...and produces some of the best football talent in the country from its high schools. Also hosts perhaps the greatest spectacle in football, The Rose Bowl and its parade.
Madison/Whitewater, Wisconsin. I combine these two cities into one unit as they are not that far apart. Madison is the home of the Wisconsin Badgers which is highly popular. Whitewater is the home of The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater which is the 3 time defending Division III National Champion.
Miami, Florida. Home of the popular NFL Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes, who used to be a big deal. Has also been frequent host of The Super Bowl Game. Also, fabulous football talent is produced from the areas high schools, such as Belle Glade and others.
New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints helped rebuild this city after Katrina and enjoy wide popularity. Also, the most frequent and most popular site of The Super Bowl.
Norman, Oklahoma. Home of the Oklahoma Sooners one of the most successful college programs from a small state who along with Texas form the Red River Rivalry.
Oakland/East Bay, California. The Raiders, the Hell's Angels of the NFL, along with their crazy fan make the East Bay area a natural for this list. The icing on the cake however is the nearby Concord DeLaSalle High School which has won a record 6 USA Today National High School Championships. Plus, Cal ( or UC-Berkely if you prefer) is an upcoming progam that spent loads to improve their stadium.
Odessa, Texas. This area had not one, but two National Prime time TV shows somewhat centered around its high school football team. Friday Night Lights and Heroes. (Remember "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World"? That cheerleader cheered for Odessa Tx.)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Home of the popular and succesful Steelers as well as the Pitt Panthers. Area has also produced some legendary QBs like Joe Namath, Dan Marino, John Unitas, Jim Kelley, Joe Montana, as well as the likes of Tony Dorsett. Western PA high school was the site of Tom Cruise's football movie All The Right Moves
South Bend, Indiana. Home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the most popular and successful college football program in history.
Stark County, Ohio. If I did list these in order, this would probably take #1. It is the birthplace of the National Football League and the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The city of Alliance hosts Mount Union University, which has won more Division III college Championship in history, and has appeared in over twice as many D-III title games as any other school. And it is the home of probably the most fabled high school rivalry in the nation: Massillon vs. Canton McKinley. Paul Brown graduated from and coached at Massillon and their 30,0000 seat stadium is named after him. And Canton McKinley's Fawcett Stadium is the site of the annual Hall of Fame game. What other high school has the NFL play a game in their stadium? Plus, though Glee says it is set in Lima, the school their is based on Canton McKinley.
State College, Pennsylvania. Despite recent trouble, it is home to one of the most popular and successful college football programs in the country, Penn St.
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Home of one of the other great high school rivalries: Jenks vs. Union.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Home of the defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide, one of the most successful college football programs in history.
Valdosta, Georgia. Home of Valdosta St. which has won several lower division national titles, an Valdosta HS which has won some USA Today national Championships.
For 31st place I have come up with the following candidates but cannot decide:
Athens, Ga.
Blacksburg Va.
Bryant-College Station TX
Clemson, SC
Fayetteville, Ark.
Morgantown, WVa
Sugarland, TX
Tallahassee, Fla.
Tyler, TX
You decide....or add any I may have missed.
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I guess I must have done good job with this. Not one person has quarrelled with my selections.
How about this...if I narrow it down to the Top Ten in order, then I, personally, would make these selections:
1. Stark County, Ohio
2. Green Bay, Wisc.
3. South Bend, Ind.
4. Cleveland, Ohio
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Pittsburgh Pa.
7. Oakland/East Bay
8. Tuscaloosa
9. Miami
10. Odessa
Convince me otherwise.
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Formerly Sane said:
Or maybe nobody cares?
Why are you even bothering with this board if you are not a football fan?
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I am impressed you included Valdosta, Ga.
That is one football crazed area for the Wildcats. They have one heck of a field for a HS program.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. -
I am impressed you included Valdosta, Ga.
That is one football crazed area for the Wildcats. They have one heck of a field for a HS program.
I am impressed you included Valdosta, Ga.
That is one football crazed area for the Wildcats. They have one heck of a field for a HS program.
Yes, the prowess of their high school football team is well known, but also Valdosta St. Univ. has won a couple of Division II national championships. I tried to pull something from all levels. I had 10 pro towns, 17 big college areas (a couple like Pitt. and Miami overlap)
four smaller college towns, plus 3-4 high school level towns.
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Well, the Bleacher Report screwed the pooch on this one...their so calle "best high school programs" of all time:
How legit can it be? No Massillon, no McKinley, no Valdosta, no St. Ignatius, no Odessa Permian, no Cincinnatti Moeller, no Pittsburgh North Hills, no Berwick PA etc.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_Football_National_Championship
http://www.parade.com/news/all-america/2010/top-10-high-school-football-programs.html?index=11
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/49223-top-10-high-school-football-programs-of-all-time
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Division III title game results:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_III_National_Football_Championship
And Division II:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_II_National_Football_Championship
And the FCS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_Football_Championship
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In the O's, I'd add Oxford, Mississippi over one of the others.
Ole' Miss follows their team, and that is beyond question the prettiest college towns in the country.
If you ever go there on a gameday Saturday, I know you will agree.....trust me, you will....it's beyond magic.
You are good at research.....do some on Oxford....it's special.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. -
I think Texas has to make the top ten list in some way shape or form. Having three places in Ohio seems kinda unreasonable. Why not just say Ohio.
Early man walked away as modern man took control. Their minds weren't all the same and to conquer was their goal. So He built his great empires and he slaughtered his own kind, and he died a confused man and killed himself in his own mind... -
@king-ghoolie-lives said:
Great list Gipster.
I would (cough, cough) like to add one to the list, but only because I have witnessed it first hand.
If you have never been to Oxford for an Ole Miss game, you are missing soOomething really nice. I coughed of course because I am a buckeye living in the middle of SEC hell. But I have to tell you, it is really a worm, comfortable experience to see a game in Oxford.
It is a small, quaint town and the stadium is nested in the middle of town, right on campus, build down into the earth so it doens't protrude up into the sky. The fans are nuts-loyal and are among the most civil and inviting I have ever experienced. The town has a lot of wealth, old money and can be seen from the many old, historical civil war era buildings restored as businesses and dorms.
Some of my new hilbilly friends down here are Ole Miss graduates, but I have to tell you, it really is a beautiful football town.
I live in oxford, and if any of y'all come down and need a place to taigate give me a shout.
Hotty toddy (ghoolie you know this one I'm sure)
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I guess I must have done good job with this. Not one person has quarrelled with my selections.
How about this...if I narrow it down to the Top Ten in order, then I, personally, would make these selections:
1. Stark County, Ohio
2. Green Bay, Wisc.
3. South Bend, Ind.
4. Cleveland, Ohio
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Pittsburgh Pa.
7. Oakland/East Bay
8. Tuscaloosa
9. Miami
10. Odessa
Convince me otherwise.
I guess I must have done good job with this. Not one person has quarrelled with my selections.
How about this...if I narrow it down to the Top Ten in order, then I, personally, would make these selections:
1. Stark County, Ohio
2. Green Bay, Wisc.
3. South Bend, Ind.
4. Cleveland, Ohio
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Pittsburgh Pa.
7. Oakland/East Bay
8. Tuscaloosa
9. Miami
10. Odessa
i'm good with the top two. After that the order gets a bit blurry. i'd like to think that Cleveland would still rank higher than Pittsburgh.
As for the list of 30, i don't know if Buffalo is worthy of being listed, but they sure love and support their team. Also, i think there are a couple crazed high school programs in Texas, but i'm not familiar with the specifics.
Convince me otherwise.
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@king-ghoolie-lives said:
Great list Gipster.
I would (cough, cough) like to add one to the list, but only because I have witnessed it first hand.
If you have never been to Oxford for an Ole Miss game, you are missing something really nice. I coughed of course because I am a buckeye living in the middle of SEC hell. But I have to tell you, it is really a worm, comfortable experience to see a game in Oxford.
It is a small, quaint town and the stadium is nested in the middle of town, right on campus, build down into the earth so it doens't protrude up into the sky. The fans are nuts-loyal and are among the most civil and inviting I have ever experienced. The town has a lot of wealth, old money and can be seen from the many old, historical civil war era buildings restored as businesses and dorms.
Some of my new hilbilly friends down here are Ole Miss graduates, but I have to tell you, it really is a beautiful football town.
I see you agree.
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I am impressed you included Valdosta, Ga.
That is one football crazed area for the Wildcats. They have one heck of a field for a HS program.
I am impressed you included Valdosta, Ga.
That is one football crazed area for the Wildcats. They have one heck of a field for a HS program.
hmmm. valdosta, GA. almost married a girl from there. met while in the army at ft. devens, MA. one of those 'i wish' moments you look back on in your past.
back on topic. where i live now has nothing comapared to hs football programs that i saw growing up in sandusky. our stadium reminds me of a mini soldier's field with the cement press box etc. i brought back pictures of it on my last visit and my football crazy friends were amazed. i learned last year that they renamed stroebel field to cedar point stadium because of a $500k donation made by the amusement park for renovations and updates. awesome. then there is the talent produced within the little conference sandusky played in. sandusky had thom darden (nfl-browns) and orlando pace, findlay had big ben rapelisburger and fremont's charles woodson.
but if there is any where that they take high school football to another level it has to be texas above everywher else. i mean with the money and politics involved. i can't speak for other parts of ohio so i'll those that can do so. but cincinnati moeller is a nationally recognized team as is massilon. my friends here in ny know about them. then there is the south where if high school is taken as serious as college i'm sure there are some great teams.
the only chance i get to see HS football anymore that means anything to me is when they have a state challenge game on espn even though the little river town i live in now has won NY state champs four times.
love to see some pics of other stadiums in OH/elsewhere if anyone's got some to post.
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In the O's, I'd add Oxford, Mississippi over one of the others.
Ole' Miss follows their team, and that is beyond question the prettiest college towns in the country.
If you ever go there on a gameday Saturday, I know you will agree.....trust me, you will....it's beyond magic.
You are good at research.....do some on Oxford....it's special.
In the O's, I'd add Oxford, Mississippi over one of the others.
Ole' Miss follows their team, and that is beyond question the prettiest college towns in the country.
If you ever go there on a gameday Saturday, I know you will agree.....trust me, you will....it's beyond magic.
You are good at research.....do some on Oxford....it's special.
We talked about this Russ at the tailgate. I had considered Oxford...but nothing I have heard and seen would have put them above the other locations that I considered. Obviously their football team has not been a cream of the crop program, which hurts them. Had they ever been SEC contenders I think that would have helped.
And I really didn't consider the beauty of the campus. Though I do take your word on that. I drove through Oxford a few weeks ago but didn't get a chance to get off the highway and look around.
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I think Texas has to make the top ten list in some way shape or form. Having three places in Ohio seems kinda unreasonable. Why not just say Ohio.
I think Texas has to make the top ten list in some way shape or form. Having three places in Ohio seems kinda unreasonable. Why not just say Ohio.
Did you read the list? There is Austin, Dallas, Odessa on the list. Also Tyler and Sugarland on the honorable mention.
Last time I noticed, those were all in Texas.
And having three places in Ohio isn't unreasonable if each of those places deserve it.
I had three in Texas, and three in PA, And Florida.
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@king-ghoolie-lives said:
Great list Gipster.
I would (cough, cough) like to add one to the list, but only because I have witnessed it first hand.
If you have never been to Oxford for an Ole Miss game, you are missing something really nice. I coughed of course because I am a buckeye living in the middle of SEC hell. But I have to tell you, it is really a worm, comfortable experience to see a game in Oxford.
It is a small, quaint town and the stadium is nested in the middle of town, right on campus, build down into the earth so it doens't protrude up into the sky. The fans are nuts-loyal and are among the most civil and inviting I have ever experienced. The town has a lot of wealth, old money and can be seen from the many old, historical civil war era buildings restored as businesses and dorms.
Some of my new hilbilly friends down here are Ole Miss graduates, but I have to tell you, it really is a beautiful football town.
I give. Oxford is officially added to at least the Honorable Mention list.
Now, Ghoolie, peen, et al. If you want to put it on the Top 30 list you have to take a place out. Who do you remove?
Edit: I will make this harder on you. The one you remove has to be one of the SEC locations!!
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Massillon Tigers stadium
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