Zips / UMass Pregame

[Captain Kangaroo]

As always, taking photos and subsequently posting and commentating the day after a disappointing loss is a losing proposition. But I took the trip up to Amherst and thought I'd post what I thought might be interesting to Zips fans who'd never been to Amherst, and who may not have been able to watch the game. 

 

My wife and I arrived in Amherst Thursday night. It is roughly a 2-hour drive from Logan Airport to the UMass campus. Too bad we drove it in the dark, and in a rainstorm, because everyone who drove in during the day told me it was a scenic drive. 

 

Amherst is tucked away in the woods of western Massachusetts. The last 30 or so miles it took to get there reminded me of a trip to OU, winding through several rural small towns.  

 

We stayed at a bed and breakfast about 0.5 miles from the downtown restaurant and bar district, and a little over 1 mile to the UMass campus. We explored the campus during the day, and felt really old at night as we hit the bars where many of the kids were approaching 1/3 our age! But it was a great time. 

 

UMass has a small lake in the center of campus. 

 

If you take the library elevator to the 23rd floor you can see the entire campus, with the hillside in the background.

 

 

It was surprising that we wore Akron gear the entire day, but not one person mentioned the game or seemed to notice. The game was promoted on campus.

 

 

The stadium was open during the day, so we were able to get in and take some pictures.

 

 

There was a great pizza joint on campus. Antonio's. Giant New York slices. We got some tortellini slices to end our Friday night. I wish there was a place like this in the Akron area!

 

 

We set up shop in Lot 22, only 2 blocks from the stadium. It was a vibrant tailgate scene. Lots of cars, tents and music. Travelling by plane, it was tough to "seriously" tailgate, but we did the best we could.

 

 

UMass fan Steve 1981 visited ZipsNation and invited us to his tailgate, so we stopped over and said hello. Super-nice guy, with a great wife and group of friends.

 

 

I can't tell you how many great people I've met via ZipsNation.org, both in the Akron area, and across the country. We tailgated with new friends 3rd&twenty and his wife, and met up with Akronites Dave and Geno inside the stadium.

 

UMass had a large, gated-off section where the students tailgated before the game. It was an absolute mob scene. Kids piled in from the dorms by the hundreds. It was like an army of ants!

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the bulk of the students head back to the dorms after the block party. Very few made it in to the stadium.

 

Game result aside, it was a great trip. If you've never traveled to a Zips away game, you should. I've seen some great wins @ Northwestern, Army, NC State and Navy over the years. Some close shaves at Wisconsin and Virginia. And some clunkers like yesterday. But it's always a great time travelling and supporting the Zips. See you @ Auburn next year!

[NWAkron]

This is awesome!  Thank you.  

[ZipsVoice]

Capn, you are the best.  Thanks for these pics and the summary.  When I first went into sales, I had New England as my territory, but our company had us live in the NEO and travel out each week.  I had an account in Amherst, and one in Pittsfield.  Back then USAir was around and flying lots out of Pittsburgh, and I always flew CAK to Pitt and then to Albany NY to cover these accounts and the countryside was spectacular, plus I found several little 9 hole golf courses that still used sand tees.  Great food all over.  anyway, thanks again for passing on the flavor of the away games....

[3rd&twenty]

Having been there on Saturday and meeting up with the captain and his wife (among others), I will second everything he said about the pre-game atmosphere. It really was a great scene for two 0-4 teams. One thing I noticed is that almost all of the multitude of students were wearing some form of UMass gear. No Ohio State stuff, etc. Too bad most students didn't go in to the stadium, but the amount out early really made for some excitement. Kind of like the old rubber bowl days. I just wish we could get half that involvement. 

 

Thanks again, CK, for the hospitality!