I Was In Section GG Saturday And Yes, It Was An Absolute Shit Show
By Cody McClure
I was in section GG on Saturday.
Half-drunk as I was after a tremendous afternoon of tailgating in Mountcastle Park, I do recall it being a total nightmare getting into Neyland Stadium for the Tennessee-Georgia game.
My friend and I left the tailgate at roughly 2:45 p.m. for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
We thought 45 minutes would be plenty of time to make that mostly-uphill trek and still be inside the stadium for most of the Pride of the Southland Band show.
All we really cared to see of the pregame was the flyover and the opening of the T.
My fat legs were burning, and I was thirsty, but still we were right on schedule as we began the descent from the library. We had a good 30 minutes till kickoff at that point.
But that’s where the total mess began.
After moving down Volunteer Boulevard, we tried the Peyton Manning Pass route down to Neyland.
That route quickly proved to be nearly impossible around 3 p.m., so we then cut diagonally through the downhill parking lot between the communications building and Phillip Fulmer Way.
There we encountered a barrier to entry that seemed new. I didn’t recall ever seeing from the past that particular fence in that particular place.
We slithered our way down, however, and somehow made it to the massive ramp by G10. We may have cut the line somewhere depending on who you ask, though I’d never admit to it. I think I’d put it more like we just found the right “angle” of entrance.
Nonetheless, we were on the ramp moving slowly upward for about 15 minutes. It was a snail’s pace, but sticking all the way to the left side of the ramp seemed to help us get to the top by 3:20 or so.
I thought it was bad at that point from a crowded perspective, but not scary as some have said online.
The worst part appeared to be when we got atop the ramp. I’ve seen people online describing GG, HH, etc. as a total standstill. That’s pretty much what I saw.
People were packed together like sardines in the tight concourse. If you stayed with the crowd moving forward, I could see where it may have taken you an hour to get to your seats — as some have mentioned.
Now, I didn’t see any of the “medical emergencies” or folks passed out, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Regardless of how bad it was, it was bad.
My friend and I decided to squeeze out of that mass of humanity and opt for the actual stadium seats where we trudged through the aisles to get to our own seats.
That was a pain in the ass in itself but that’s typical gameday stuff.
We were still able to make the run through the T with our strategy, but not everyone was so lucky.
It was similarly bad exiting the stadium after the game.
As we got past the bottom of the G10 ramp, that new fence I had noticed previously was being trampled over by people looking for a way out.
Fans have been letting athletic director Danny White hear it online.
He is vowing to fix it: