The Rent is the perfect stadium for UConn...

[Scooch]

... Gray, bland, character-less, traditon-less, amatuerish, and yet functional.

That being said, it's a decent place to see a game. I didn't encounter any problems, and I was fully expecting to have to righteously ignore some nasty comments. One doofus in our section kept calling SU "a$$holes" but my kids just rolled their eyes and mocked him.

I will say, since it was my first in-person game this season, one really gains an appreciation for just how friggin' bad "Bad Nassib" can be. Some of those first half throws had my 8 year old daughter staring at the field with a "What?!?!" expression on her face. I refuse to accept that its the vaunted press coverage keeping our passing game down. Our receivers were open all day long. We'd probably double our YAC if the QB could actually lead a receiver. To realize that the staff is terrified of his backups is...well...disconcerting.

Seems to this novice that with better talent this O could be OK. But 1) I'm not convinced that kind of talent is on the way, and 2) this staff doesn't seem to be able to even mix chickensh!t, let alone make chicken salad out of it.

Anyway, Marrone's the guy for several more years no matter what our record is, so I'm just hoping for the best. Kind of becoming detached at this point. It'll be what it'll be.

 

[rrlbees]

Maybe it is just me because so many fans complain about the place, but I love the Rent. I love the parking and tailgating set up, even for thos who aren't pass holders and park in the Aero lot. I love the "openness" of it and how easy it is to walk around, get to concessions or even stand in the end zone for a but and still see the game. I love the fact it isn't huge and thus have lousy sight lines. It's probably my favorite away venue to visit. I even don't mind that DJ guy during the timeouts at least. Better than listening to Veley. I do think his shtick is lousy on 3rd downs. I don't like that girl that walks around talking to fans. That is stupid and she doesn't shut up even when an official is announcing the results of a challenged play. The worst part IMO about the Rent is the food prices. Worse than the Dome. But overall, I really do like the whole scene there.

 

[cuseguy]

Maybe it is just me because so many fans complain about the place, but I love the Rent. I love the parking and tailgating set up, even for thos who aren't pass holders and park in the Aero lot. I love the "openness" of it and how easy it is to walk around, get to concessions or even stand in the end zone for a but and still see the game. I love the fact it isn't huge and thus have lousy sight lines. It's probably my favorite away venue to visit. I even don't mind that DJ guy during the timeouts at least. Better than listening to Veley. I do think his shtick is lousy on 3rd downs. I don't like that girl that walks around talking to fans. That is stupid and she doesn't shut up even when an official is announcing the results of a challenged play. The worst part IMO about the Rent is the food prices. Worse than the Dome. But overall, I really do like the whole scene there.

If the Rent was on campus, it would be better. It's in the middle of nowhere and lacks character.

 

[rrlbees]

If the Rent was on campus, it would be better. It's in the middle of nowhere and lacks character.

Not being on campus probably makes it a better parking/tailgating venue. But as a visiting fan, that is fine by me. As to character, I think it does have character. It is small and homey. It's personal taste but I just like it there.

 

[Scooch]

Yep, it's functional. I actually don't dislike it either. It serves it's purpose. If UConn had top 10 teams it'd be great, for the reasons you cite (sightlines, big open lots, etc). People get hung up about it being far from campus, but in CT it really makes sense for it to be where it is. Free land and in the middle of the state's population. If it were in Storrs they'd lose 10K fans a game without question.

 

[mauconnfan]

It's 20-25 minutes from campus and it would be beautiful if it were on campus for sure. But as rrlbees said it's very "homey" and the set up is pretty easy for tailgaters and fans alike. I've been fortunate enough to have seen a lot of games all over and there are better venues obviously but this fits UConn, it fans and its program pretty well relative to some of the bigger venues.

I was fortunate enough to have been tailgating near some Cuse fans who were a blast. Shared some hoops talk and some Red Breast along with many beers and they liked it. UConn fans who were coming by were all very pleasant to them and many others I saw so I was shocked to see the thread on how a few seemed to think UConn fans were the "worst." If you go to other peoples arenas in any sport and walk around in your teams stuff you're certainly always going to run into the typical a**wipes whom we all have but it is not the norm even at Rentschler. I will say there are too many people hammered out of their ghords who do not even mean to watch the games (mind you at 52 I still have my share of 12 beers and a couple shots but over 7 hours I can handle it and watch a game - know your limitations). I was there yesterday with family and friends and had far less so it was obvious the amount of stumblers, young and old alike, to me as I was conservative. I'm guessing those who think UConn fans are thw worst wouldn't have worried about that if they had walked out with a W!!!

By the way rrlbees McEntee is the absolute worst and while I pride myself in the mens hoop program I have followed these guys for quite a while and he is as you say the worst anyone has seen in a while. He can't move, he throws off his back foot when feeling any kind of pressure and he has zero pocket presence. An absolute joke to put out there by Pasqualoni and this is all on him. The freshman Nebrich should be playing or McCummings should jujst get the job and throw a little too. Guess Paul fell in love with the youtube video or something...pitiful.

Hope you guys get 2 more W's a decent bowl. Best of luck

 

[rrlbees]

It's 20-25 minutes from campus and it would be beautiful if it were on campus for sure. But as rrlbees said it's very "homey" and the set up is pretty easy for tailgaters and fans alike. I've been fortunate enough to have seen a lot of games all over and there are better venues obviously but this fits UConn, it fans and its program pretty well relative to some of the bigger venues.

I was fortunate enough to have been tailgating near some Cuse fans who were a blast. Shared some hoops talk and some Red Breast along with many beers and they liked it. UConn fans who were coming by were all very pleasant to them and many others I saw so I was shocked to see the thread on how a few seemed to think UConn fans were the "worst." If you go to other peoples arenas in any sport and walk around in your teams stuff you're certainly always going to run into the typical a**wipes whom we all have but it is not the norm even at Rentschler. I will say there are too many people hammered out of their ghords who do not even mean to watch the games (mind you at 52 I still have my share of 12 beers and a couple shots but over 7 hours I can handle it and watch a game - know your limitations). I was there yesterday with family and friends and had far less so it was obvious the amount of stumblers, young and old alike, to me as I was conservative. I'm guessing those who think UConn fans are thw worst wouldn't have worried about that if they had walked out with a W!!!

By the way rrlbees McEntee is the absolute worst and while I pride myself in the mens hoop program I have followed these guys for quite a while and he is as you say the worst anyone has seen in a while. He can't move, he throws off his back foot when feeling any kind of pressure and he has zero pocket presence. An absolute joke to put out there by Pasqualoni and this is all on him. The freshman Nebrich should be playing or McCummings should jujst get the job and throw a little too. Guess Paul fell in love with the youtube video or something...pitiful.

Hope you guys get 2 more W's a decent bowl. Best of luck

Thanks, classy post. 99% of the fans at most places are fine, but everyone has some jerks so some visitors are gonna run into them. I actually thought in the stadium the 2 biggest jerks I ran into were drunk SU fans. They were pretty obnoxious (while sometimes funny) the whole game. And again, I'm in the minority of SU fans but I really like the Rent and the whole set up inside and out.

 

[cto]

Maybe it is just me because so many fans complain about the place, but I love the Rent. I love the parking and tailgating set up, even for thos who aren't pass holders and park in the Aero lot. I love the "openness" of it and how easy it is to walk around, get to concessions or even stand in the end zone for a but and still see the game. I love the fact it isn't huge and thus have lousy sight lines. It's probably my favorite away venue to visit. I even don't mind that DJ guy during the timeouts at least. Better than listening to Veley. I do think his shtick is lousy on 3rd downs. I don't like that girl that walks around talking to fans. That is stupid and she doesn't shut up even when an official is announcing the results of a challenged play. The worst part IMO about the Rent is the food prices. Worse than the Dome. But overall, I really do like the whole scene there.

I agree with Bees ... and have been saying this ever since I attended my first game at the Rent. It is easily accessible from any place in CT (at the intersection of two interstates); has easy access and egress; plentiful, accessible parking (it is in the middle of an old airfield... and the runways are parking lots); VERY WIDE concourses; and a very good atmosphere for tailgating. I am always clad in orange, and I have never suffered abuse or disrespect from a UConn fan. It just wouldn't work on the UConn campus. Storrs is on a two-lane road in the middle of nowhere in a lightly populated part of the state; both parking and egress are extremely difficult for basketball games at Gampel (a much smaller venue which is full of on-campus students). If a 40k football facility were to be built there, it would require major highway construction, both on and off the campus, as well as a lot of parking lots (if they even have the space for all that parking).

 

[Scooch]

It's also worth noting the political realities that brought The Rent into existence. Bob Kraft was supposed to bring his Patriots to Hartford to play in a state funded stadium located where the very nice CT Convention Center now sits. UConn wa supposed to play in that stadium and their move to 1-A, while not entirely based on that construction, was certainly made more palatable because of it.

Once that deal fell through there was real concern about what was going to be built if UConn still harbored 1-A aspirations. The land The Rent occupies was sold to CT for $1, and as Joyce notes it really is in a spot that couldn't be more accessible for everyone in the entire state.

My comments to open this thread were in jest, the reality is that it's a decent venue. I do think they should spend a few bucks adding some color and character to it, but that's aesthetics.

 

[Eric15]

Not being on campus probably makes it a better parking/tailgating venue. But as a visiting fan, that is fine by me. As to character, I think it does have character. It is small and homey. It's personal taste but I just like it there.

I agree with you - Saturday was my first trip to the Rent, and I found it to be a very enjoyable place to watch a game. The fact that it was a glorious early November day didn't hurt, if it was cold and miserable I'm sure I would have ended up hating it.