Honestly, a visit to Missouri exceeded my expectations!

I would totally recommend Aggies to visit next time we play them.

We arrived St Louis Friday just before lunch. Rental car and went to downtown St Louis for BBQ by the baseball stadium (Salt + Smoke BBQ). I still prefer Texas BBQ and our flavor of trimmin's over theirs, but it was very good with great service. Walked around the area, went to the Aquarium at Union Station, then back towards where we parked and to the Arch (didn't go up).

We chose a hotel along I-70, in Wentzville. Closer to St Louis than Colombia, since we wanted to take morning flights home today. It was the perfect choice as it was only 30 minutes to the airport. Colombia is hard to get to - you could fly into either SLT or Kansas City and both are around 2 hours to Colombia. But we chose STL since it was just a bit closer.

Gameday: Honestly, best SEC trip yet. I know... I'm surprised I'm saying this. Been saying Missouri doesn't seem to fit in the SEC, but think otherwise now. The campus was beautiful. They had fall colors on the trees, but what always makes the trip for me are the fans. Very welcoming and fun to talk to. Saw many on campus that were happy to chat and welcoming. At the game, we had some sitting in front of us, again great sports. We ended up taking a photo with them before they left in the 4th quarter.

The atmosphere in the stadium was great. Not a large stadium, but it had a great feel and their fans were into it (until 4Q). It is an old stadium, and the bathroom situation left a lot to be desired, but then, with the welcoming fans, couldn't complain. (Parking was free and convenient in Turner Parking Garage, which seemed wild to us...)

On the drive back to the hotel, we just followed google maps along I-70 to a town called Fulton and to a place called 1851 Underground Tap & Grill. It was a bar and not a lot of people in there, but food was tasty with a "town center" that was a bit Norman Rockwell. Again, a Mizzou fan sitting nearby welcomed us, and inquired why we sat at the bar around the corner (we wanted to see the Bama LSU game).

Honestly, better than the trip to Auburn, and I thought that was cool. Florida last year got high marks from me too, but Mizzou's campus being so picturesque is not at all what I would have expected.

I'd definitely go back. Kudos to the Mizzou faithful.

Well, we have to go back there next year so no need to wait.

Columbia doesn't have much of an airport, but you can fly here directly from DFW. The airport is only about ten miles south of town.
https://www.flycou.com/flight-status/

Stadium was an absolute dump. Concessions were awful, trash everywhere, restroom toilets and troughs overflowing with urine and feces.

One set of speakers for entire stadium in the north end zone. In-game production was embarrassingly weak and comical.

Fans were equally as bad.

The worst SEC trip I've been on in terms of overall experience.

Go away Antifa*"$# head.

Have to disagree with you. Stadium was older, with renovations under way. Trash was all over the place due to the 25mph winds from the front passing through. Fans were courteous and engaging. Sure they left early in the 4th but thats becoming the norm for Aggie opponents!
We ate at Shakespeare's Pizza prior to the game. Great environment, cold beer and food.
We saw ALOT of Aggies. Way to represent!

I think you were drunk and/or high and went to a different game.

Maybe the quietest stadium i've ever been to. Multiple plays when we were on offense where it was just as quiet as when they were on offense. The "loudest" the crowd got is equivalent to Kyle Field in the 4th quarter of an FCS game.

Fulton is home of Westminster College where Churchill gave his famous "Iron Curtain" speech.

I went there plenty of times over the years
I think that you could morph the lyrics of California Dreamin', to the Mizzou experience. At least in my visits, it was cold and grey, and all the leaves were brown.

AgInMO said:

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Fulton is home of Westminster College where Churchill gave his famous "Iron Curtain" speech.

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Interesting! That actually explains (maybe) why the bar we went to was the "Underground" with the London subway logo.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I attended many Missouri football games, some with my children, while living in Columbia between 1994-2006. Always had a good time and saw none of the problems you mention. Perhaps construction is an issue in some areas. I was also there for the 2021 TAMU game wearing Aggie gear. Fans were welcoming both in the stadium and in restaurants/bars. I would encourage Aggies to consider making the trip for future games. I certainly will.

The chapel there was a bombed out London church that was moved over to be Chapel and memorial.

Yea, internet always draws a troll. I honestly don't think I saw or met another Aggie that wouldn't agree with my sentiment. I was really surprised how beautiful the campus was with trees of every color. We spent some time in their Student Union too. Very welcoming.

I honestly didn't see any trash on campus or around the stadium where we entered. Inside the stadium it was old, and again, long lines for men's restrooms. Luckily, I didn't need to unload the beer until 4Q, after many had already emptied out. The concourses weren't trashy, but imagine something quaint, like Olson Field concourses, and "old school".

Doesn't match my experience at all. Had a great time and had many friendly comments during our walk around campus and at the game. Couple next to me wished Ags luck in play offs.

AgInMO said:

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The chapel there was a bombed out London church that was moved over to be Chapel and memorial.

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The chapel on campus? That was amazing. It seemed old, but we thought it was just built to look that way. We saw the World Wars plaque there. Honestly, we were getting a "military school" vibe many times.

Quote:

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Honestly, we were getting a "military school" vibe many times.

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The Union used the campus during the Civil War to house men and prisoners. Prisoners were housed in the 3rd floor of the university library.

The fans were definitely friendly. The north side of campus is attractive; the area around the hospital (across the street from the stadium), not so much.

Columbia is in the bottom half of my SEC game day visits and the only stadiums not visited is Ole Miss and Kentucky. I would clarify my visits to Austin and Norman were clearly not as SEC foes but none the less I have experienced those game day atmospheres.

My order of favorite visits

1. Athens
2. Florida
3. UT
4. Bama
5. Arky
6. USCe but it was because we stayed in Charleston
7. Auburn
8. Mizzou
9. OU
10. Clanga
11. Vandy
12. tu
13. LSU

Nothing wrong at all with Mizzou, just not my personal favorite. I have had the pleasure of enjoying
watching the Aggs play basketball and baseball as well at Mizzou and enjoyed all trips.

Completely forgot about Vandy… so i added. If it was not for Nashville, pretty blah.

Definitely agree with ranking Athens first among SEC college towns I've visited. Spent six years at UGA and my wife is a graduate. Outside the SEC, Chapel Hill ("blue heaven") would be in the mix.

You should have just flown into Columbia. There's 5 flights a day from DFW to COU now. Last time I checked it was cheaper than STL.

The locals said when mizzou joined the SEC the airport got an upgrade so the team could fly in and out. But the columbia and Jeff city are getting to be decent sized towns so they needed an airport in the middle of the state anyway.

Playing Narco on 3rd down was laaaaaaaame.

Mizzou doesn't even crack the top 10 of road destinations in the SEC.

We will be back next year with the same result.

When you win it always meets or exceeds expectations

Jarrin Jay said:

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Playing Narco on 3rd down was laaaaaaaame.

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Missouri is definitely not known for its creativity.

You have to "show" them

TBoneAg said:

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When you win it always meets or exceeds expectations

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Nah.... We lost at Auburn and I still liked that trip.

I would say the in-stadium experience at both Auburn and Florida probably was a bit better than Mizzou. But the overall experience with fans, the campus, ease of getting around, etc., was better at Mizzou.