Let’s use this to kick off today’s discussion:
I personally enjoy the night games, but that’s mainly because I have friends in Athens and always have a place to hang out for the weekend when we attend an evening game. I realize not all of us have that luxury, and honestly my joy of a night game changes a bit when it’s late November and 40 degrees, too. But for a big game against a big opponent, I’ll take the Sanford Sound of 90k+ liquidated and roudy fans to possibly sway a game.
But he does have a point. 3:30 is a sweet spot. I don’t care for nooners, but also watching the sun set and finishing a game in cooling temperatures for the walk back to the car from the 3:30 game is a nice time slot for enjoying a day in Athens.
So where do you stand? What’s your preferred time slot and why?
If I’m going to the game, 3:30 ET, if I’m watching at home, night game. If I had to pick one, 3:30 for the foreseeable future since we still try to go to as many games as we can. I couldn’t be an Ohio Sate fan, especially in the central time zone. Who wants to watch a game at brunch time?
If I am attending the game, a night game is the best, by far. The more time I have to achieve a championship-level bac, the better. You just can’t beat the atmosphere of a night game kick off. That’s true no matter where you are: Sanford, Bryant-Denny, Texas, Columbia, Baton Rouge…. Obviously, its not advantageous to the road team to play at night but the atmosphere is the best once the sun goes down.
If I am at home? Kick off as early as possible because I hate waiting around all damn day!
Here is an old fart’s perspective. I enjoy night games from kickoff to 00:00 in the fourth quarter best. I hate night games during the period from leaving my seat to getting to my car to sitting in traffic driving home the most of all the kick-off times.
2:00 pm with no TV. That’s how it was for a long time. Then the devil (ESPN) showed up.
I like a night game once a season. It cranks up the stadium a notch.
Was it 2 pm? I remember a lot of 1 pm kickoffs in the 1980’s as a kid, but that could be me misremembering.
That’s what I remember, and came here to say. 1:00 kickoff with no TV for me.
Stay off my lawn and turn down that music!
I have a set of old seat cushions with the schedule printed on one side. Every game showed 2 pm. Then 130 was kickoff for a while.
As God intended! Football is better when you don’t need lights. That said, they didn’t begin football schedules until mid-September back then and aside from the freshman having his first alcoholic drink(s) and puking his guts out near you, it was a pleasant experience.
If I am at the game I enjoy the rare 5:00 pm kickoff. Hell, that may not even exist anymore now that ESPN/ABC has the SEC contract. That is late enough to give you time to get to Athens for quality tailgating time and early enough for me to get home before it turns into Sunday.
Typically they have done those occasionally for the home opener (maybe 3 or 4 times in past 20 years), and I agree. Gives things a chance to cool down a bit, still get in a full day of tailgaiting, game ends at twilight, and not home super late…..
3:30 is the sweet spot. The crowd is ready without it becoming the amateur hour that night games generally are. Traffic coming home is bad regardless of start time, but I can pick up other games to listen to while not getting home at 1:30 or 2:00 am.
Night games are great to attend … don’t get me wrong. The environment in Sanford for a night game can be off the chain, but give me the 3:30 slot with a big opponent.
If I’m being selfish I prefer 3:30 games. I can’t justify the cost of going to the games so I respectfully defer to those of you that do.
Ditto on the budget, Rigger. Especially since I haven’t lived close enough to make it a day trip in nearly 30 years, so I’d have to add in hotel etc. Not worth it to me.
Based on that, I prefer night games. That gives me all day Saturday to get chores done around the house or go goof off. Then I can settle down to the late game with some beer and wings or pizza.
I like the 3:30 games with the sunset and it gets dark enough to Code Red the 4th Quarter and do the cellphone lights (which impressed the ND and Oaklahomo fans). I never liked “Krypton” because the damn planet exploded, always seemed like musical loser talk. I still frown on night games being from South Georgia and being cheap (I spend 90% of my monies on likker & womens and waste the rest). If I didn’t have a place in Athens, I would not go to night games.
That being said – I fully expect our students to be on bad word point for the game and scene to be wild.
#GoDawgs
3:30 from mid October on is SWEET!!
Mine depends on the time of years. The heat of August, September and early October, 7:30-8:00 kick for cooling conditions, beverage of choice ice cold beer. Brown liquor season starts late October through COFH week, so 3:30 hits about right.
I have always preferred a mix. Growing up hated noon games as we would have to leave even earlier than our crack of dawn time. The 1:00 no TV time spot was great. We had time to check out the unlicensed street T shirt vendors on Lumpkin. Dad’s brother had inlaws in town. So, we’d hang out with them after the game and grab dinner out. We might go to the mall to kill some time as well. 1:00 setup for a nice day.
Night games were fun as a change from the norm and added something to a big game. The 1:00 games that were mismatches or cupcakes were the games we’d go in the bookstore.
If I’m watching on TV, which I likely am, doesn’t really matter. I do kind of prefer to watch UGA games at home, then go out to dinner to watch other games. Noon kick offs are actually kind of nice watching from home. Grab some coffee out, get back home, turn the game on, and then I’m free to meet the guys whenever for the 7:30 games. However, it was a bit of slap in the face from Mickey to be a nooner. So, whichever, I can adapt to kick off time.
If I go to a game it is on a deal from an older family friend, and those deals are drying up thanks to ticket prices and aging out of season tickets. I am not paying stubhub prices. They may pass on hot early season games or not want to sit in traffic after a night game. They want the 3:30. So I guess I like the night games, but very much understand not wanting the night game.
Ideal time is about hour/hour and a half before sundown.
I like really big games at night. Crowd is awesome. Example: Notre Dame was my all time favorite that I attended.
Regular big games: I like 3:30 so there’s time to hang out in town after.
Shitty games: 12:00 is ok. Take a kid/grandyoungun and go watch a good game after.
In years past I didn’t care for the early games, because if we lost, well there goes the whole day having to watch the lowlights of our ineptitude. A late game you could get liquored up for, and then just go to bed or head out back to the fire pit if it looked bad by the half.
Seems that hasn’t been much of an issue since, oh I don’t know…about 2016 or so…