So you’re going to Autzen Stadium for the first time? Congratulations! Here are a few things to remember in order to make the most of your time in college football heaven.
Arrive early
The student section is general admission, so the better seat — er, standing position — you want, the earlier you should expect to arrive at Autzen Stadium. The students who routinely occupy the front row have been known to arrive more than six hours before kickoff. The gates to Autzen open three hours before kickoff, but the seating bowl itself doesn’t open until roughly 90 minutes before the game. Oh, and if you’re watching a game from the student section, don’t expect to sit down (except at halftime).
Those who aren’t students — as well as students who aren’t obsessed with getting the best seat in the building — are still encouraged to arrive at Autzen early. Fans can visit the Moshofsky Center (the Ducks’ practice facility during the week) before the game to eat food, drink beer, watch college football and greet the Ducks on their walk to the locker room.
Walk to the stadium
If at all possible, don’t plan on parking at the stadium. Instead, walk to Autzen through Alton Baker Park. It’s a roughly one-mile journey starting at corner of East 13th Avenue and Agate Street and is a beautiful and fun way to enter a stadium. When the bike path turns and Autzen becomes visible for the first time, it’s a gorgeous sight to behold.
Embrace the reputation
If you’re reading this, it’s unlikely you’ll need reminding that Autzen Stadium features one of the most feared home crowds in college football (despite being just over half the size of some of its counterparts). That reputation comes as a result of unrelenting, unbearable noise on every defensive snap. When you occupy a seat at Autzen, consider it a duty to maintain this essential role.
Learn the fight song
The Oregon Marching Band plays “Mighty Oregon” when the Ducks take the field and after scoring plays. 60,000 fans clap along, and a few even sing the lyrics — but most don’t seem to know them. The song is an easy one to learn (There are plenty of videos online), and there’s something undeniably awesome about an entire stadium singing the same song.
Know the forecast
It never rains at Autzen Stadium … except when it does.
Stay for the whole contest
Nothing makes a fanbase look worse than half-empty bleachers at the end of a game. It might be easy to leave a nonconference game early because Oregon is up by 30 points and it’s 100 degrees outside, but the players don’t get to leave early just because the weather is uncomfortable, and you shouldn’t either. Fans that do stay the entire game are even invited to run around on Autzen’s turf five minutes after the final whistle.
Brace for the return walk
Since a great deal of Duck fans elect to park closer to campus and walk across the river to Autzen Stadium, an equally high number of fans leave the stadium in an identical manner. Until the throngs of people cross the footbridge, it’s a slow-moving, claustrophobic pack of people. There’s no simple way to avoid this, and yelling and screaming won’t make it any better.
Don’t drink and drive
Beer and college football are a good combination, but beer and driving is not. If you’re going to drink, whether it’s during the game or at a tailgate, make sure you have a plan for how to get home. Autzen Stadium shuttles can be a great designated driver, and there are other public transportation options as well.