Worst Sports Venues

If there's going to be a best, there has to be a worst as well.

My two counterparts have visited quite a few baseball parks through the years in their many travels. But, Tim didn't have to go very far to find one of his least favorite- The Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Granted, by the time Tim witnessed contests there, she was an old girl...but her charm was outweighed by her crappiness. The Mistake by the Lake saw her last Indians game in 1993, and was built a mere 62 years prior to that. Both the Browns and Indians called her home...and she was even depicted in a movie by County Stadium in Milwaukee.

The Muni saw one World Championship and three additional American League Champs, but is probably remembered more for the Curse of Rocky Colovito and the 30+ year slump that ended the stadium's time above the Erie. The structure was put out of its misery in November of 1996. It wasn't a great place to watch games, but at least a lot of people could be uncomfortable there- She initially seated 78,000, but in her later days, she only sat just over 74,400...not that you'd need that many seats.

J Money's least favorite venue out of the 40 he's visited is my hometown's first professional football stadium, the Hoosier Dome. This venue, born in the middle 80's during the lousiest of all lousy eras for stadium design was later re-named the RCA Dome. This multi-purpose facility became a lynchpin for the city's convention traffic and also served as a Final Four venue multiple times for both NCAA men's and women's basketball. The best moment of the stadium's run, many say, was the Colts victory over Pats on the way to the Super Bowl in 2007...I'd argue Purdue's surprise win over Notre Dame back in '84 (which I attended) was her most glorious moment. Her capacity was right around 60,000 for a football game and right around 50,000 for basketball. While J thought the sightlines were lousy for the Dome, I found it to be completely bland- neither bad nor good...Which is why so many stadiums from this era have already gone the way of parachute pants and glacier glasses.

The worst venue I've ever visited, far and away, would have to be the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. My hate affair with this place began when I first took my seats and realized I couldn't see the other sideline while sitting in my chair. My feelings only grew as I went to the men's room and took a leak on a black rock wall that they called the toilet. I was lucky enough to visit the stadium in the year that the Bears played there...so I saw her at her best; and she still smelled like the manure from UI's school of agriculture (which fittingly filled my nostrils for the entire contest. Her cost was a mere $1.7 million to be built back in 1923. Sadly, she still hosts Ron Zooks Illini each week and 71,000 can come to witness UI play there...too bad only about 50,000 will be able to see all of the action on the field. She is currently under renovation. Thank goodness.


(This is the intro to the Boiled Sports Best Sports Venue Series)

It's almost 2008...Boilers Still Babies...Other notes

Our alma mater's basketball team looked flat-out lousy versus the always-gritty Florida International cagers on Saturday. I don't know if I can remember a Purdue team starting out as poorly as the Boilers did in this contest...but two games come to mind. Purdue v. IU about 4 years ago, I believe, and Purdue v. Ball State back when Majerus was coaching the Cardinals. The point is, it was an extremely sluggish start. Purdue was down 16-0 before Johnson attempted and made the easiest shot on the court. Purdue simply looked like a team that had been on break. Problem is, so had Fla. Int.

No matter, they fought back and led by as many as 19 in the second half and won...now onto the conference schedule. I don't know who it's going to be, but someone on this team needs to take charge of this team offensively. If not, the NIT might be a long shot.

Everbody Sucking the Patriots Nuggets

I thought it was ridiculous on Sports Center last week when the Patriots were compared to the best teams in the NFL's history...before the '07 season was even over. Now that the Patriots are 16-0, ESPN has taken it to another level and given the Patriots their own category in the ticker that scrolls across the screen. It read something like this: NCAAM...NFL...Patriots...

I recognize that the Patriots are darned good, great even...but they're not bigger than the NFL. This isn't the Patriots fault, it's crappy ESPN's.

Congrats Pats fans on a tremendous season. I'm looking forward to watching the Jags punch Moss, Brady & co. in the mouth a few times. The only bad thing about a potential Colts v. Jags match-up is that it would force the Colts to beat a team for a third time in one season. I'm also stoked for Wildcard weekend, should be fun.

They weren't good then...they're still bad
The Lakers went truly retro for their contest v. the Celtics this evening and wore short shorts circa 1986...And while I don't think anybody needs to wear shorts past his knees, no man ever needs to wear shorts like those ever again! The Lakers could only bear to wear their hot pants for a half and changed back into the normal-length shorts for the third quarter. Long shorts, short shorts, same result, the Celtics made Lakers look silly...much like they've done to the rest of the league this season.

So Long, you ugly, not-so-old girl

The city of Indianapolis said goodbye to the RCA Dome as the Colts home stadium this evening. While I don't agree with the trend of knocking down stadiums that are just over 20 years old, I will say that the Lucas Oil Stadium is already impressive and might be the best venue in the league once it's completed.

I attended the first game in the Hoosier Dame as my Boilers defeated Notre Dame there in 1984...and I got to see a bunch of Colts and high school games there, but I've never had warm fuzzy feelings about that stadium. It is and was a utilitarian building that was built toward the end of an era of homely athletic venues. One big benefit of the RCA dome is the way it keeps noise contained...The Oil Can (I think I should trademark that) will probably not be as loud despite the fact that it will be able to hold about 5,000 more fans. Hopefully, the city will be awarded a Super Bowl in the next few years.

Oh by the way, did you get to see Darrell Reid's hit on the Titans' Travis Henry during a kickoff return in the second half of the Colts v. Titans game? I think it might be the most violent football collision I have ever seen. I literally blew a snot bubble in reaction to the play. I don't know why I had such a reaction...but I did.

Announcement Forthcoming?
Purdue's next Leon Burtnett?

The rumor that Purdue's athletic department will name a successor to Joe Tiller in the next two-three weeks is getting louder. Burke told the press that he thought the Keady-Painter transition was nearly ideal...Seems like things are lining up for a similar Tiler-Spack transition, sadly. I just don't know how he can be rewarded with a head coaching position as badly as his defense has played the last few seasons. Let's hope I'm wrong and that when it's official that Joe's moving on, the Purdue athletic department performs and expansive search for a replacement...but I doubt I'm wrong.

The last time Purdue's football program promoted an assistant to head coach, Leon Burtnett took Jim Young's very good Boiler program and ran it aground.

Happy 2008 to you and your family!