The 30 Greatest Football Places In America

[miktoxic]

@ballpeen said:

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.

[The Gipper]

@ballpeen said:

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.

[The Gipper]

@the-cysko-kid said:

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.

[The Gipper]

@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!!

[The Gipper]

Massillon Tigers stadium

[The Gipper]

[The Gipper]

Odessa Permian stadium

[The Gipper]

Valdosta HS Stadium

[The Gipper]

Could you imagine a college program today depicting a guy smoking or being sponsored by a tobacco company?

[miktoxic]

thanks gipper for the pics. those stadiums would make a college team proud.

gotta get back to ohio this year. this shit gets my heart pumpin.

[ballpeen]

Fair enough....remove Columbia, South Carolina...Ole' Miss has way more SEC tradition then does S.C.....all the others must be included.

Now, I might have to lobby for Athens, Ga....

Between the Hedges.....now I am just messing with you.

We did talk about that didn't we....I got distracted, sorry I didn't get to say good evening to you and your lovely wife.

[The Gipper]

@ballpeen said:

Fair enough....remove Columbia, South Carolina...Ole' Miss has way more SEC tradition then does S.C.....all the others must be included.

Now, I might have to lobby for Athens, Ga....

Between the Hedges.....now I am just messing with you.

We did talk about that didn't we....I got distracted, sorry I didn't get to say good evening to you and your lovely wife.

I don't know. I don't think I can agree to removing South Carolina. That is my father in laws team as he lives nearby. That is actually the one college stadium I have been to as we went to games with him a few times. In fact, other than an Akron U game (my alma mater), I don't think I have actually been to any other college games. Never been to an Ohio State game.

I should like to go to a Trinity Univ. (TX) game because my daughter is now a cheerleader for them, but that is 1500 miles away. Maybe someday.

[Bodogjoe]

I grew up in Lakewood. Played for Lakewood. Our team is best known for the stadium that St Eds and St Ignatius uses as their home field. The St Eds rivalry was HUGE for us, but was not much of a rivalry as they usually stomp us. I was there during the Ryan Rustad years though, when we actually beat them. Lot of good football gets played in Lakewood.

[The Gipper]

I am revisiting this thread here for a couple of reasons: A. I wanted to see if I still thought it was accurate, and B. Because I came across this article which documents the number of pro football players produced by the 364 largest metropolitan areas in the US:

http://blog.bestplaces.net/2013/01/30/best-football-cities/

Re my list I found some suggestions that some area of Oregon should/could be included because of the presence of the Nike corporation and the Univ. of Oregon. Well, I don't think so. First because Nike is located in Beaverton which is near Portland and over 100 miles away from Eugene where Oregon U. is. That would be like saying Ohio St. is in Cleveland.

Plus, just because you produce football gear don't make you a football town. If that were the case then Ada, Ohio, which produces the NFL Wilson football could be on the list. No. I am sure the people in Eugene are avid for their team...but no more so than many other towns that are not listed here.

[koalabazooka]

Where's Boston? Also, you should've listed the whole Bay Area, not just OAK. Neighboring SF has 4 SBs.

[The Gipper]

@koalabazooka said:

Where's Boston? Also, you should've listed the whole Bay Area, not just OAK. Neighboring SF has 4 SBs.

Boston is a far bigger baseball/basketball/even hockey town than football. So they don't get any love for that And just because a cities team has won a few titles does not make them a great place for football, like Boston/SF.

New York City has won like 10 professional titles. You don't see them on the list.

[Footbalfan1962]

Funny you leave out Baltimore, only professional franchise to sell out every game in their history...home of three Super Bowl champions...have fun watching Ravens in playoffs again while you dream about a .500 season

[The Gipper]

@footbalfan1962 said:

Funny you leave out Baltimore, only professional franchise to sell out every game in their history...home of three Super Bowl champions...have fun watching Ravens in playoffs again while you dream about a .500 season

Is "apt" funny to you? I put in 9 NFL markets. Do you think everyone of them should get a participation medal for just showing up on Sunday?

Though, Baltimore may have an argument. On the other hand, maybe Indianapolis has a better one.

Make your argument. Having sellouts when your team is winning ain't enough. Some areas have 40-50 years of sellouts.

Who would you take out if I put Baltimore in?

And if I put Baltimore in, then would not Washington/Philly/NYC/Boston have a gripe?

(FYI, I put this list together last year when the Ravens were playing at about a .500 level). And, by the way....the Ravens are also dreaming this year of a .500 season.

[DieHardBrownsFan]

@miktoxic said:

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.

She probably weighs 500 lbs, no teeth now.

[The Gipper]

@the-gipper said:

I don't know. I don't think I can agree to removing South Carolina. That is my father in laws team as he lives nearby. That is actually the one college stadium I have been to as we went to games with him a few times. In fact, other than an Akron U game (my alma mater), I don't think I have actually been to any other college games. Never been to an Ohio State game.

I should like to go to a Trinity Univ. (TX) game because my daughter is now a cheerleader for them, but that is 1500 miles away. Maybe someday.

I did get to a Trinity game....but when they played in Cleveland vs. Case Western Reserve.