Taking your kid to a Bills game

[BillsGuyInMalta]

Jauronimo made me legit laugh here in the office.

 

No kids for me yet, but I did take my nephews and niece to last year's Philly game. My nephews are 12 and 14 while my niece is 16. They all had a blast, even my niece who really isn't a sports fan but she had a lot of fun tailgating. As people have mentioned, its all about the section you're in. I managed to get tickets in my old season section (331) which has always been very good and mostly idiot-free. I knew as long as nothing radically changed over the last year, it would be a good section for them to sit in. I was more worried about visiting Eagles fans being jerks than drunk Bills fans, but luckily most Eagle fans I saw there were sad and sullen so it never really factored in.

 

Find a good section, stay out of the Rockpile and you're golden.

[DrDawkinstein]

I think anything before 7 or 8 isnt worth it simply because the kid a. wont understand whats going on, b. wont be able to sit for 3+ hours.

 

From 7-12 I'd sit in the Family Section or Club Seats. You'll still be able to see the debauchery and educate the kids on it, but wont be caught up in it directly. i.e. no one will puke on them.

 

13 and older, heck, they are an official Buffalonian. Time to get into the thick of it.

[weehawk]

Total crap shoot. You could get soaked with beer, punched, cursed at, etc. It all depends on who starts up trouble and whether or not you're near them. I dont buy the notion that season ticket holders are less rowdy or that some sections are better then others. I've seen stuff start up almost everywhere.

 

At the very least, the kid will hear some pretty bad language. At the worst, you'll be in the middle of a donnybrook started by some total loser(s). FWIW, I never took my kids to any games.

[NEBuffaloBillsFan]

Congrats!! I am making the pilgrimage from Massachusetts to Buffalo to take my 10 year old son to his first NFL game. We were able to get great seats from another poster on this board for the Aug. 9th preseason game against the Skins. He is very excited to go. I am not expecting any problems in the section we will be in (a dozen rows, or so, behind the Skins bench). I would think season ticket holders might be better behaved so they do not run the risk of losing their seats. I figure if all goes well with this game, I will try a regular season game next year.

[DasNootz]

We're also expecting our first child in the next month. I plan on taking her when she's 12 +/- provided she's a football fan.

 

I'm 31 now and started going to games with my father when I was 9 (just in time for the Glory Days). We sat in the cheap seats then and I loved it, but it's a different place now. I also went to Foxboro when I was 12 and was terrified for 3 hours after watching bottles get thrown at the Bills fans' bus as they pulled in the parking lot.

 

That said, I'd wouldn't take a son under 16 to sit in the endzones or upper decks now unless we were with a large group that took up multiple rows, and a daughter... never. In the club seats I'd feel more much more comfortable at 12.

 

On the flip side, my wife and I are both big baseball fans, and I have no problem taking an infant to MLB game.

Edited May 16, 2012 by DasNootz

[bowery4]

I just had a baby too congrats! Personal experience; my Dad took me when I was 4 or 5 (maybe even 3 I can't remember but championship!) and it was great. Of course seeing past the poles in the old rockpile and over the drunks was an issue but Dad always made it fun somehow. I got to see historical games too. I also went to that Redskins game when the new stadium opened. That was a drag, I always felt Rich Stadium had some kind of a curse, because my Dad hated that we built it for Ralphy (or he was going to move the team). People aren't throwing beer bottles anymore, so take him when you feel good about it! Get him addicted early. BTW the Bills are the same age as me.

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

My son's first game he was 3 1/2 years old - a preseason game against the Eagles. One of his first regular season games was the Let It Snow game against the fish (12/1/2002). He wasn't even 5 yet but he still remembers that very well. As a season ticket holder the same people are always around, and they watched out for him and took extra care to watch language etc when he was young. One guy even gave him a dollar for every curse One time he handed him $5 at kickoff saying "I think this is gonna be a bad game".

[Bills!Win!]

I went when I was 8 years old in 2000 against the Bears. No big deal. Its a little rowdier now only because we suck. But the best games to go to are the first Half of the season when we have hope, when we are all doom and gloom the 20-25 year olds come out and get hammered and it ruins the atmosphere at the Ralph.

[Canadian Bills Fan]

Take the kid to the Toronto game.

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion but I would like my childs first Bills experiance to be a good one.

[Maddog69]

My son's first game he was 3 1/2 years old - a preseason game against the Eagles. One of his first regular season games was the Let It Snow game against the fish (12/1/2002). He wasn't even 5 yet but he still remembers that very well. As a season ticket holder the same people are always around, and they watched out for him and took extra care to watch language etc when he was young. One guy even gave him a dollar for every curse One time he handed him $5 at kickoff saying "I think this is gonna be a bad game".

 

That is one of my all time favorite games I have ever been to.

[DrDawkinstein]

My son's first game he was 3 1/2 years old - a preseason game against the Eagles. One of his first regular season games was the Let It Snow game against the fish (12/1/2002). He wasn't even 5 yet but he still remembers that very well. As a season ticket holder the same people are always around, and they watched out for him and took extra care to watch language etc when he was young. One guy even gave him a dollar for every curse One time he handed him $5 at kickoff saying "I think this is gonna be a bad game".

 

Hahaha, great story! My dad started taking me to games when I was 7 (1986 was my first full season), and I agree that being in a section with the same people really makes the games 1000X more enjoyable.

 

We ended up never missing a home game together from 1986 to 2004, when I moved away from Buffalo (the first time). The friendships we made with the other season ticket holders around us have turned into family. They watched me grow up, and I have even watched some of their own kids grow up.

 

It is truly an amazing thing to end up in a great section.

 

That is one of my all time favorite games I have ever been to.

 

Agreed. For me, it's that game, the Comeback, and the AFC Championships (especially the Raiders) that always stand out in my memory. Many others as well, but those are the best of the best.

[CodeMonkey]

Total crap shoot. You could get soaked with beer, punched, cursed at, etc. It all depends on who starts up trouble and whether or not you're near them. I dont buy the notion that season ticket holders are less rowdy or that some sections are better then others. I've seen stuff start up almost everywhere.

 

At the very least, the kid will hear some pretty bad language. At the worst, you'll be in the middle of a donnybrook started by some total loser(s). FWIW, I never took my kids to any games.

I think the whole soaked with beer, punched etc stuff is very very very much the exception and not the rule.

That being said however, if things go bad they tend to go very bad very quickly.

For me personally I won't be taking my kids to a regular season game until they are in their late teens.

Preseason games, particularly the kids day one like I said earlier are perfect for the kids and I highly recommend it.

 

Also training camp in Rochester is absolutely fantastic for kids.

Edited May 16, 2012 by CodeMonkey

[Booger]

Remember my dad took me to a game back in the late 80's when the Bills played the Packers. I was probably 10 years old or so. He made sure to get seats in the "non alcohol" section which basically was in the upper deck, corner of the end zone about 3 rows from the top. His hope these seats would provide a little more enjoyable "family" atmosphere. Well, some idiot dressed from head to toe in Packer gear and carrying some sort of bell kept prancing up and down the long set of stairs in the upper deck taunting everyone and anyone that was try to watch/enjoy the game....Well, as he got to the top of his route and was in the process of turning around...lets just say some Bills fan with a little "pat on the back" helped him find a quick way travel down about 60 stairs. He lay there for about 3 or 4 minutes before security just kind of dragged him away.

 

Remember it to this day....GO BILLS

[Vinny4sum]

Went to my first game when I was 8, the first game played at Rich Stadium...August 1973 pre-season loss to the Redskins. I always wanted to go to a game at the Rockpile when my dad, uncle and brother would go...but it was "too rough" for a kid, they said.

 

I was transfixed from that day on...I know the Ralph can be a little rough, but I would, seriously, take your kid to a pre-season game...not only are tickets much cheaper (even free if you know where to look) but if you take him when he is young, he isn't going to really know the difference. It is that whole experience of being in that crowd, the lights, seeing everything live.

 

Wow me too..kinda!! My first game was 1973 when I was 8, but it was the Sept. 30th game against the Jets.

 

Almost 40 years later I am still going and brought my son to pre-season games at 4 and he started regular season games at 10 2 years ago. My daughter is 6 and has been to 2 pre-season games and very few problems.

 

Enjoy the new one, your life is just getting interesting!

[bagelguru]

I must totally be in the minority here, but I brought my oldest boy to Viking Stadium donning Bills gear at 1 year old. He (now 2.5) and his younger brother (1) will be going to the preseason game this year also in Minneapolis. My wife and I have noise reduction ear protection for the boys and some fruit snacks. December 5th, 2010, we met some nice folks and watched Favre get pile-drived by Moats and picked by Florence and cheered our heads off (for that moment only). On August 17th I expect a similar experience.

[BuffFromBuffalo]

Although I live in Denver now, the drunks are the same. Maybe worse because of the altitute. My first Bills game was in November 62 (I was 10)

We took a bus downtown to the Rockpile. Froze our butts. Lost to the Boston Patriots. In those days, they didn't have a net to catch the footballs. After one extra point, there was a big bunch of big scary looking guys waiting behind the goal post where the ball should have landed. Instead, the ball went MUCH further, right to some little kid who was subsequently engulfed by a huge crowd. Always wondered if he lived. He didn't get the ball. Congrats on the baby.

[todzilla]

I went to my first game in 78 when I was 6. I can still remember the moment I walked out the tunnel and could see the field for the 1st time, I was in total awe. My folks had season tickets in the late 70's early 80's and I went to quite a few games. Never had a problem and surrounding fans were always extra nice to me.

[plenzmd1]

My kids 13 and 11 now, been going to games for 7 years at the Ralph as welll as other stadiums. Never had issue one outside their old man letting out a cuss r two...and they know Daddy never drives home..teaching em early a DD is a okay

[Direhard Fan]

Right after he gets out of the Marines. Sounds about right. That way your safe too-- maybe.

[RyanC883]

My wife and I are expecting our first child and to say I am excited is a huge understatement.

 

Of course being a Bills fan, one of the questions I thought to myself was what is a good age to bring your son/daughter to a Bills game?

 

Thanks everyone and GO BILLS!

 

 

Congratulations. I'm in the same situation. My wife and I were actually discussing this the other day. Do you know if its a boy or girl? Either way, there is lots of toddler Bills clothing available online (not that you should bring your kid to the game at that age). Mine has tons of Bills stuff already and is not yet born!

 

I've taken my kids to games every year since they were 4 or so. They are 9 and 12 now and love going. We've never had an issue with any 'mega drunks'. We do witness some bad behavior and I used it as a teaching moment to show them how stupid these people look when they decide to make idiots of themselves. I show them how to have fun tailgating without getting smashed and being a moron.

 

I guess it depends on how sheltered you keep your kids. If you don't want to expose them to some amount of drunks, swearing and macho idiots, an NFL stadium is not the place for them.

 

Oh - the other important factor is your behavior. If you are one of the drunken idiots or macho punks looking for a fight, you probably should leave the little ones at home.

 

and btw - CONGRATS.

 

This is a good response, and along the lines of what I was thinking. I think I started going to Bills games around 8 with my Dad, and he would use the inappropriate behavior of other fans as a teaching moment. Also, I've never sat there but I think the Tops Family Zone is prob a good idea. And the tickets are cheaper I think.