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Since many on the board were pumped about it going into I thought I'd throw in my impressions of the tailgating in Chatty. One word: WOW!!!!
The tailgating alone made the trip worth it. So many UNI fans in one area. Chatty does it right by allowing you to go anywhere in the lot, not just get directed in by parking attendants. As a result, we were able to build "Panthernation" early on and allow UNI fans to gradually fill in.
We showed up at about 9:30 to set up the flags and were happy to see another UNI RV had made it in as well. We were then able to block off about 30 spots for UNI fans only so that we could build Panthernation.
We actually went back to nap for a couple hours but were back by noon and the party was getting started. Like a true Cat would (or is that a dog
?) we marked our territory with streamers on the surrounding trees. However, I will say that next year, I'll buy 10 xs the amount to decorate.
Fans showed up in droves. I took hour by hour pics to show how many were there. I'd say it was at its peak around 6 p.m. when you literally couldn't move down the main lane b/c so many people were there. I'm not real good at estimates but do people that were there think 500 in one concentrated area was a good guess? Maybe even more, but I know a lot of fans were in the Pavillion.
Anyway, fans were loud and proud and basically good natured. (I wont comment on a certain flag that made its way there). Whenever someone played the fight song people sang and danced. I got goosebumps with every start up of a "U-N-I, U-N-I" chant. My pride was swelling and I felt proud to be a Panther.
It was nice to see so many former players down there as well. I met many Panthers from as far back as the 50s to some that have recently graduated. I drove down with one player so it was cool to meet a lot of the guys thru him. You really understood what it meant to be in the Panther football family when you watched how pumped up these guys were too.
Finally I'd like to say it was great to meet so many PNers. I'm not even going to list everyone I met I only wish that we could have congregated a little more and all gotten to know eachother more. But with so many people, you had to mingle a lot and not a whole lot of time with one group. But hey, its not a bad thing to have that many Panther fans around!! I'm still kicking myself for not getting a Panthernation picture of all that were there, though I did get quite a few individual pics.
For as many as I met, I was actually surprised at the amount of PNers I thought I would meet but didn't. I had a bunch of phone numbers but my phone was acting goofy half the time and I figured there was pretty much no way you wouldn't be able to find Panthernation on your own. Who knows, perhaps we met but didn't exchange our PN names?
I think the overwhelming thing I talked to many of you about was that we don't have that kind of atmosphere back home. Folks that weren't there, think homecoming only, I would say, BETTER!!! The problem of course is that we are much more spread out at the Dome. I just wonder though if things couldn't be done that were more tailgate friendly and centralized. I was thinking you could even move it out towards the gravel lot and provide a shuttle up to the Dome (think Disney world parking shuttles, or something like that) for folks who didn't want to make that walk. I figured that would be good because if it got too wild, at least it would be off to the side. All I know is that overall there was probably less people tailgating than a home game but because we were so concentrated the atmosphere was really unbelievable.
I really think Appy fans were in a bit of shock seeing how well-organized we were. Props to the Panthers for taking over that lot!!
I've done a lot of tailgating in my day, and this was like nothing I've ever seen. Without a doubt I'd rate it #1 on my personal list of UNI tailgates, better than even any homecoming tailgate, which are always good.
The tailgating alone made the trip worth it. So many UNI fans in one area. Chatty does it right by allowing you to go anywhere in the lot, not just get directed in by parking attendants. As a result, we were able to build "Panthernation" early on and allow UNI fans to gradually fill in.
We showed up at about 9:30 to set up the flags and were happy to see another UNI RV had made it in as well. We were then able to block off about 30 spots for UNI fans only so that we could build Panthernation.
We actually went back to nap for a couple hours but were back by noon and the party was getting started. Like a true Cat would (or is that a dog
?) we marked our territory with streamers on the surrounding trees. However, I will say that next year, I'll buy 10 xs the amount to decorate. Fans showed up in droves. I took hour by hour pics to show how many were there. I'd say it was at its peak around 6 p.m. when you literally couldn't move down the main lane b/c so many people were there. I'm not real good at estimates but do people that were there think 500 in one concentrated area was a good guess? Maybe even more, but I know a lot of fans were in the Pavillion.
Anyway, fans were loud and proud and basically good natured. (I wont comment on a certain flag that made its way there). Whenever someone played the fight song people sang and danced. I got goosebumps with every start up of a "U-N-I, U-N-I" chant. My pride was swelling and I felt proud to be a Panther.
It was nice to see so many former players down there as well. I met many Panthers from as far back as the 50s to some that have recently graduated. I drove down with one player so it was cool to meet a lot of the guys thru him. You really understood what it meant to be in the Panther football family when you watched how pumped up these guys were too.
Finally I'd like to say it was great to meet so many PNers. I'm not even going to list everyone I met I only wish that we could have congregated a little more and all gotten to know eachother more. But with so many people, you had to mingle a lot and not a whole lot of time with one group. But hey, its not a bad thing to have that many Panther fans around!! I'm still kicking myself for not getting a Panthernation picture of all that were there, though I did get quite a few individual pics.
For as many as I met, I was actually surprised at the amount of PNers I thought I would meet but didn't. I had a bunch of phone numbers but my phone was acting goofy half the time and I figured there was pretty much no way you wouldn't be able to find Panthernation on your own. Who knows, perhaps we met but didn't exchange our PN names?
I think the overwhelming thing I talked to many of you about was that we don't have that kind of atmosphere back home. Folks that weren't there, think homecoming only, I would say, BETTER!!! The problem of course is that we are much more spread out at the Dome. I just wonder though if things couldn't be done that were more tailgate friendly and centralized. I was thinking you could even move it out towards the gravel lot and provide a shuttle up to the Dome (think Disney world parking shuttles, or something like that) for folks who didn't want to make that walk. I figured that would be good because if it got too wild, at least it would be off to the side. All I know is that overall there was probably less people tailgating than a home game but because we were so concentrated the atmosphere was really unbelievable.
I really think Appy fans were in a bit of shock seeing how well-organized we were. Props to the Panthers for taking over that lot!!
I've done a lot of tailgating in my day, and this was like nothing I've ever seen. Without a doubt I'd rate it #1 on my personal list of UNI tailgates, better than even any homecoming tailgate, which are always good.
We ended up on the other side of the field, where the charterbuses were and did connect with quite a few Panthers, as well as a bunch of locals that were a blast. I'm imagining we crossed paths with alot of PN'ers but in the anticpation (and libations) didn't do a good job on the intros. Hopefully we saw many of you on the road, we had our Panther signs hung proudly and got at least a couple hundred honks along the way! Good job PN for getting such an awesome group of fans together and exited!
To disagree is fine, but trying to belittle another fan is tantamount to what the Appalachian Mountainfolk attempted all weekend. "15 or 20 children in the area?" I had been drinking a few beers, but the area this demonstration took place in was no place for children. Anyone under 18 who happened to be in the area was in a place they should not have been in. That exhibit took place smack dab in the middle of a large group of students, young alumni, and a sprinkling of adults who liked to celebrate with the younger crowd. This would be an appropriate spot to say something about another UNI fan, because if they allowed their children into that area, they were less-than-responsible! 
Irregardless, there were nowhere near 20 children in the area. The flag was not burned in the stadium like your analogy would imply to others; after seeing the things I saw from the Mountainfolk, seeing a flag burn was the least of my worries. Do I think it was entirely right to burn that flag? No. Will I lose a second of sleep over it? Absolutely not.
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