USC and ECU fans have been tailgating since before noon. College St. full of fans five hours before kickoff. Getting to the stadium this afternoon a mess. Took almost an hour longer than usual. If I were mean, I'd say that a lot of fans aren't accustomed to paved roads. But I'm not mean. I'm nice. There's no traffic control.
Atmosphere cool outside the stadium. Fans congregating with their own beneath tents and banners and flags. They must be having a great time. Game begins in 10 minutes and Bank of America Stadium is little more than half full.

I think most of the downtown traffic cops had off for the long weekend. I had to take the "long way" in and out. Which still exposed us to a few near hits.
Both fan bases mixed well with very little real trash talking. Lot of mutual respect.
Posted by: Sportsdon | September 04, 2011 at 01:54 AM