Swamp at Florida bests Tiger Stadium

Few weak links among SEC football stadiums, but Florida’s Swamp, LSU’s Tiger Stadium and Neyland Stadium at Tennessee stand out as tough, hostile venues.

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They say college football means more in the SEC. They’re underselling it. It means everything.

Marino Casem, a born and raised Southerner who coached at a few schools in the region, once said, “In the South, football is a religion, and Saturday is the holy day.” 

Amen.

Come holy day, tens of thousands of believers gather at SEC cathedrals far and wide – a hundred-thousand strong at some venues – and they’ll scream bloody murder when the opposing quarterback goes behind center. They’ll scream other things, too, that aren’t fit to print. Some of those stadiums will even tremble amid the roar and the vigor.

If an official’s call goes against the home team, boos will rain down, and maybe some water bottles and beer cans, too.

Just after the dawn of the 20th century, a record-breaking crowd at a Tennessee-Alabama game turned so rowdy that police halted the game prematurely, and a Birmingham city official predicted college football wouldn’t last in the South.

If he could only see what it’s become.

I’ve covered games at every SEC stadium, and I’ve been to nearly all of them more than once. With one exception, each is worth visiting. Pack your drinkin’ shoes – and your ear plugs.

Here’s how I rank the SEC’s toughest stadiums:

1. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida

Combine gator chomps with the din of noise and Gainesville’s humidity, and Steve Spurrier aptly said “only Gators get out alive” from The Swamp. Florida fans belt Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” before the fourth quarter to…

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Publish date : 2025-07-10 10:05:00

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