The third time is the charm! After trips not working out the previous two years we played at USM, I finally got a trip to the Rock under my belt and as an added bonus we stayed in New Orleans for 3 nights which was also a first for me. Unfortunately we didn’t come away with the win, but this post is focusing on the trip not the game. First I’ll give a link to the pictures, and then some thoughts for those that care!

The Pictures:
USM / New Orleans Roadtrip Pictures with captions

The Southern Miss experience:

• We had a wonderful experience with all the fans we encountered. They were incredibly gracious all day. The one exception was one student, but all he did was boo us and tell us to go home, and other fans stepped in and asked us not to “judge us based on him” which of course we didn’t. Great hospitality!
• The USM campus was beautiful, lots of greenery and open space. Looks like a great place to spend 4 years.
• Divine Swine BBQ in Hattieburg was A++ and then some! The only thing better was the owner David, who I had the pleasure to meet when he delivered our food. They had a tailgate special that included plenty of great BBQ and they even delivered it right to our tailgate free of charge. The entire process couldn’t have been better thanks to David’s attention to customer service and the food which was absolutely delicious. I only wish that UCF had a Divine Swine BBQ next to our campus!
• The tailgate scene was a little less than expected in terms of size, but I’m sure that had much to do with the weather. The forecast was terrible and we got some rain in the afternoon. That said as we walked around before game time we found some nice areas full of great Eagle fans all around campus. Lots of RVs, lots of good setups, a big student tailgate area, and it seemed everyone had their own golf cart!
• The USM administration seems to get it. It’s all about the fan experience, everything is very laid back. Setup your tailgate when you want, stay as late as you want. You can even even run around on the field after the game with your kids. I hate to say it but it many ways it felt like the exact opposite with what we have right now at UCF sadly.
• Tailgate lane lines instead of tent lines, see the pics! The student tailgate area was somewhat similar to our Memory Mall and if you take a look at the pictures you’ll see how they use lines to leave a lane open as opposed to telling people where they can put up their tents. So jealous.
• Inside the game there was a decent size UCF crowd. Not near as many as I’ve seen at other road trips over the years, but pretty good for a C-USA roadtrip. We’ve traveled better to UAB and ECU, but those schools are a bit closer as well. The good thing is the students there helped ensure we kept the noise level up!
• I really liked the stadium, which they call the Rock. It’s a great place to watch a football game! The USM crowd wasn’t too loud overall, but that could be due to factors like the weather, game play, etc.
• My one football related comment is I think USM is a darn good football team, they have some great speed and athleticism. Flecther, Brown, and Davis are legit and they play aggressive on both sides of the ball. They should win a lot of games this year.
• Overall it was a great experience and you’ll have to beat me with a stick to keep me from coming back here next time!

New Orleans & Saints game experience:

• Loved the city, at least the parts we explored which was mostly French Quarter, Warehouse District, and Riverwalk.
• Bourbon St is all types of crazy, when we go back with a large UCF crowd next year I can’t imagine the fun that will be. Tons of bars & clubs, no covers, lots of live music, etc. Can’t imagine this place during Mardi Gras.
• Went to the Saints / Lions game, mostly because it would allow us to see Kevin Smith play. We were also hoping to see Daunte play but the Lions was silly and started the rookie who wasn’t ready. That said I doubt the Lions go winless this year.
• The Superdome is massive, I mean MASSIVE. The game was fun, much better experience than my last football game in a dome which was at the Syracuse Carrier Dome that has no A/C, go figure. Also liked that they had red beans & rice and smoked sausage at the game, which I personally enjoyed.
• All my teams lost (UCF, Bears, KSmith/Lions) this weekend, so the biggest win for me was when I got a fist pump from Kevin Smith after I yelled: “Hey Kevin, Go Knights!” from the first row while he was warming up before the game.
• Bars on Bourbon St were completed packed after the Saints game and people were partying like it was Saturday at midnight. Only this was 6pm on a Sunday afternoon. I’m curious if it’s like that even without a Saints game.
• We stayed off Canal St a few blocks from Bourbon St and felt completely safe walking in all directions. Apparently things aren’t so nice in other parts of the city though. The local news Saturday night stated that there were 11 murdered committed from Friday at 3pm to Saturday night. That’s absolutely crazy.
• Not that week were looking but we didn’t see massive destruction from Katrina in the places we visited, everything looked fine for the most part. Although on the drive in you would see an occasional building still missing half its roof, or some buildings completely abandoned. It was weird being on that walkway that extends between the Superdome and the Civic Center considering I saw that image so often during the coverage of Katrina.