Despite Haruki Nakamura's impression of the 2005 game (which seemed good-natured to me), it always seemed like there was one loud end of Rutgers Stadium and one end where the opposition got a respite from the noise. That is all changed now."We went up there two years ago, and it was not a very good environment," said Bearcats senior safety Haruki Nakamura, recalling a 44-9 loss. "They're pretty brutal fans. Their student section is very proud of their program -- very loud, very hostile. I mean, it's one of those atmospheres we were yearning for at the University of Cincinnati."
Here's the companion quote of the day from Tim Pernetti in which he assured the press that the Stadium addition will be "fully operational" by next Monday's game (from Scarlet Scuttlebutt, 1 September 2009):
“And I think the folks toward the open-end of the stadium in the past may have felt a little distanced from the action, but the closed-in stadium makes everybody feel like they’re part of the action no matter where you sit.
“I think it’ll be special — anybody who’s holding a ticket right now is going to have a real special experience on opening day because it’s not often you can be part of history and something that’s new at the same time.”
It's funny that he puts it quite that way though, because I always feel (or, at least, have felt for the past four or five years) that Rutgers football is the perfect mix of a long historical tradition with something brand new. And once again, like every year at this time, I can't wait until I'm sitting on a hard aluminum bench waiting for the first kickoff of the year.
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