What were your stadium experiences last night?

[bmur66]

Here we go again: Pro football stadiums are not for children. Neither are rock concerts. Kids like football; kids like music. But neither is an environment for children.

 

Some places are meant for grownups to blow off steam and have fun.

 

Deal.

 

(And no, I do not get drunk at games, but I don't want to have to watch myself around your five-year-old, either.)

 

That is the response I would expect from someone with no respect for others

[Maddog69]

KD..let me put it this way..if a guy was passing on a Kid, any kid, and you were nearby..what would your reaction be? You think every one else would,either in the stands or in the head , sit by and let that happen? I am not buying it..and I challenge you to find evidence of this guy you talk about. I guarantee that would be on the interwebs somewhere

 

Yes, I believe myths and stories grow on the Internet

 

I'm with PLENMD1 on this. I don't buy that this actually happened. There is no way a guy in his see actually urinated on a child next to him and did not get arrested (or have the snot kicked out of him). I think this is one of those urban legends or a story that has grown and been exaggerated with every time it is repeated. I'm not saying there isn't a bunch of inappropriate behavior, but this just seems to outlandish to be true.

[Flutie Flakes]

^{I am sorry to hear that you had a bad experience Rev and also, thank you for your service! I took both my boys (age 10 and 8) to their first game last year (pre-season game versus Jax) which I also believe was "kid's night". We parked at Hammer's and had a great time tailgating. There were several families in the lot and my kids met several other kids and they played football while the parents mingled and had a few beers. We had absolutely no issues walking to/from the stadium or while we were at the game. Mostly families around us (we sat in section 107) and it was a great experience for my kids first game, which they still talk about.}

 

^{I brought my youngest (who is more of a football fan) to the Miami game last December. I would not normally bring either of them to a regular season game, but I received two free tickets in the Jim Kelly Club. Some minor bad language and a few drunks (who were thrown out immediately) but nothing major and to be honest, my son was more focused on the game and the many concession food choices and really didn't notice. Biggest thing was that I told them both about what they could see and hear at the game. I have heard the same expletives at the fair, the mall, in restaurants, etc. and unfortunately, it is the world we live in.}

 

^{Personally, I would give it another try and hopefully you will have the same experience that we have had. GO BILLS!}

[DJasper Probincrux III]

I'm bringing my 6 y/o up for the Tennessee game for his first Bills game. We went to an Eagles PS game last year and it was great. He also went to 2 Sabres/Flyers playoff games in Buffalo when he was 4 and had a great time. He's loud and wants to cheer and participate and he already knows the 3 most important words int he English language (Let's Go Buffalo!)

 

I can deal with bad language (he hears more than he should already) but I'm more than a little bit worried about someone being fall down inebriated and deciding to either be violent or puke all over themselves. The last game I was at was the horrible Cleveland mess and it was fine (because I think the game put everyone to sleep) but the game before that was vs. the Jets and it was a trainwreck. The row behind us was nearly black out drunk and two of the girls in the group were barfing or nearly barfing for about a quarter. The row in front of us wanted to stand the whole game and got wildly pissed off when my 60 y/o father asked them to sit down.

 

I started going to game with my parents in 1984 at age 6 and had my own seat from 89-95 so i've seen my share of stadium nonsense but I never felt unsafe during that time. It was known not to sit in the endzone and there were more than a few big BIG scuffles down there over the years.

 

I'm already fighting the Philly influence since the kid lives here and has only lived here. I'm winning with hockey but losing with football. Part of that is the great time he had going to the Sabres games with my Dad and I. I hope that he doesn't get turned off of being a Bills fan by other Bills fans being jackasses. It makes me sad that I even have to type that. One of the best parts of going to games when I was a kid was it felt like you were seeing your extended family. You sat with the same people every week and those people got to see me grow up and I felt like I knew them too. I'd see them 10-12 times a year which was more often than I saw a lot of my actual extended family. The guy I sat next to for 6 years was named Rick and he wore a red satin Bills jacket all the time. He and his friends would sneak in beers in the sleeves and hoods of their coats but they were never out of control, ever. They had fun and were fun to be with. The guy at the end of the aisle was named Wayne and he'd wear a shirt that read "Section Supervisor" on it and I credit him for teaching me most of the foul language I know but he was funny as hell so even my parents didn't get too upset with him. I miss watching the games with those people and I have no idea if they still go or not. I hope they do - I like to think of the stadium with Wayne in it when I watch on TV. I want to give my son a taste of that so those of you who feel like the stadium isn't a place for kids I challenge you that that is the place where the best future fans are made.

 

If my son can't go to RWS dressed in Bills gear and have a good time I'm going to lose the battle because I already know that he can go to the Linc and do the E-A-G-L-E-S chant and sing Fly Eagles Fly and be welcomed by the adults in the building.

 

BTW - my old seat was Section M6 row 10 seat 111 - right in the middle of Section M5 and M6. If you sat near there from 89 - 95 I was the big kid in the Bennett jersey and zubaz pants

[gearbm95]

I had no issue last night, it was a typical Bills game...drunks/fights/bad language. I just choose to not participate in that behavior.

 

Im not gonna lie, I drink a lot before games, but never once have I been engaged in a fight, maliciously attacked someone verbally (beyond Jets/Pats/Phins suck), or vomited/urinated in public.

 

I will agree that NFL games are not child friendly, having been to manu stadiums throughout the league. If you dont like that Im sorry; I see the same complaints from people who take their child to a Lady Gaga or Metallica show. Its the nature of the event that attracts fans like this.

 

I had the Text Helpline called on me last year during the Pats game after an elderly man asked me to sit down while we're on defense. I politely said no as then I wouldnt be able to see either, I offered him and his party to switch rows with us if they would like and then could ask the people in front of them to sit down.

 

The day where I am told I cannot drink before a game or have to sit down will.be the day I stop attending. Ive been told to sit down at concerts too, Im sorry but why dont you just stay home and listen to the CD if you lack that much energy.

 

Long story short, prepare your children for the language and actions of others and theyll be fine. I am not promoting violence/swearing around kids just make sure theyre aware of it. Otherwise will you be the same parent going to their school everyday making sure no one is swearing, having sex, or getting in fights?

 

Focus on yourself and your party and act responsibly yourself and you'll have a great time!

[QCity]

Hot summer weather

School's out

Night game

Practically free admission

Meaningless preseason game

 

Yeah, what could go wrong?

[mead107]

I took my kids to the game when they where young and yes they saw fights and drunk people and got an ear full of bad language .

My daughter 10 and my son was 8. At one game my daughter and I sat in the car and watched a young group of people push the large couch out of a box truck after the game set it on fire and then run out of the back of the truck landing on the couch as it burned. They used it like a trampoline.

They turned out all right. Just take the time to explain to them that what they are seeing and hearing is not good behavior.

You can noT over protect your kids. That is what is wrong with young parents today. You want this to be a perfect world, it's not.

Kids hear and see a lot when you not with them.

 

Now what I did not like last year was the young women in front of us that brought a baby that was only 4 or 5 months old.

Way to loud for a little one.

I am getting older now and don' t like people that start trouble.

[stevewin]

Also remember when you were in your early 20s. Don't act you weren't piss drunk, yelling and swearing trying to sneak drags of a smoke inbetween plays. And if you say that you never did that. You, my friend, are a liar. The is nothing worse then a liar... well maybe a pats fan.

This is exactly the attitude that pisses me off. People who think because you are in your 20s it is an excuse for being a drunk a-hole. I've been going to games all through my pre-teens, teens, 20s, 30s and now 40s. I've tailgated and had beers at pretty much every game since I was legal age I've never had too much to drink or been a drunk idiot including when I was in my 20s (not even close)

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Also note- it was preseason. Not to offend but you tend to get a different class of fan attending

 

Different class of fan? That's an oxymoron.

 

Also remember when you were in your early 20s. Don't act you weren't piss drunk, yelling and swearing trying to sneak drags of a smoke inbetween plays. And if you say that you never did that. You, my friend, are a liar. The is nothing worse then a liar... well maybe a pats fan.

 

Got drunk. Never acted like an !@#$ at the expense of others. Always had my wits about me enough to try not offending others. I think it's called having respect.

 

The problem at RWS is not limited to adults in their early 20's. On a somewhat related note, I've been to 7 or 8 different NFL stadiums to see the Bills play, and the experience for opposing fans at RWS is by far the worst I've seen. It all revolves around the excessive tailgating, and people getting liquored up before they ever enter the stadium.

 

PS While I enjoy a few beverages of choice before the game, I have never been "piss drunk" at RWS, and my visits go back to the stadium opening. I am pretty sure I am in the majority and not the minority in that regard.

 

In my limited experience (4 other NFL stadiums), fans at the Ralph are the most drunk and unruly. I wish it weren't my experience but it is.

 

I've done this a handfull of times at the Medowlands - and while I got some ribbing I have never experienced what I've seen at RWS there either. Hell, I've had more people try to pick fights with me at RWS while wearing a Bills jersey than I have while at Giants stadium watching Bills/Jets games...

 

That's pathetic.

 

Yeah, it is.

 

It's also a bad reflection on the way some of these kids were raised.

[HOUSE]

Yesterday a friend gave us his tickets to the game, they where good seats and a chance to see how my five yo does sitting through a game live. It was honestly one of the worst ideas ever. Kids that looked between the ages of 16-20 running around dropping fbombs like no other word existed, all drunk some smoking pot right in front of us. The worst part was the group of kids changed all night, one group would get bored wonder off, then a totally different group would sit down next to us. If this is the new security measures the product on the field does not matter. I usually go to one game a year but right now the taste in my mouth wont let me this year.

 

What a shame, you shouldn't have to put up with that

[Jim in Anchorage]

But the important part is the stadium is smoke free We had a poster here say once his wife had to rush home and wash her hair because she was 50 yards down wind from a smoker in the parking lot My hayday for going to Bills games was the 80's. I would go in wearing my carhart coveralls stuffed with captain Morgan rum, [and cigarettes!! Evil SOB!!]

 

I had a great time, never bothered anyone. I had no kids but would I bring my Mom to that environment? No way. It is what it is.

[jkrules]

Not weighing in on this tired subject again..suffice it to say I am not buying the "guy pissed on an 11year old" story...just not buying it.

 

Cant wait for the opener..we will have about 11 kids between the ages of 8-16 with us..great time will be had by all.

 

I can totally believe it. I witnessed a drunk Bill's fan throw up on a kid that was wearing a Jacksonville Jaquar jersey. Yes I did call security and the guy was thrown out.

 

That said, I was at the game last night and it was the usual pre-season crap. Lots of kids in their parents seats running all over the place. I have come to expect it.

[OCinBuffalo]

I was sitting in the 5 row/45 yard line last night. I ended up stub hubbing these tickets for $45. Where I was, it was like going to a PGA event. No joke. Or, watching the game in an "old guys" bar. We were all talking football and it was kinda fun hanging with the older fans, asking them about the games they've seen, etc.

 

We had skins fans around but they were relatively cool. We had one douche skins fan in the beginning, but ultimately he went elsewhere. Look, all I did was stand up and glare at him(my mom was with me and was giving me crap for that all game, but other Bills fans did it too, so why is it my fault? ).

 

When some of us tried to stand up, other's bitched about it. The thing is, I had some difficulty seeing all the plays, especially in the flat. The people in the front row were standing, and I don't blame them. There were little kids all around me + my mom...so I seriously curtailed the F bombs...mostly But, hell, she dropped one on that 5 yards out of the end zone "touchback" call....so F her and her hypocritical nonsense .

 

Sitting where I was was completely different than what I saw going on in the endzones. Looks like there was some big fights. Saw Redskins fans being hauled out. But also, those gusy had the most spirit. I felt like a tool most of the game because I was just sitting there, clapping.

 

As far as history/what goes on at other stadiums...for every story you tell me about how tame it is elsewhere, I can tell you one about the awfulness I've seen. Like a guy trying to protect his girlfriend, getting jumped by 4 guys in Chicago. The worst trouble has come where the home team has been losing. Philly in the late 90s was far and away worse than I've ever seen anywhere, in any sport, and I've been to soccer games in England. You are lying to yourself if you think Buffalo is anywhere near as bad as Oakland, Philly, or NY Jets games.

 

Losing has a great effect on the behavior. Before we talk about beer, weed, or anything else: losing is what makes most of the difference. Notice that the teams I mentioned were all mostly losing when I went.

 

But ultimately....attempting to judge any of this based on your individual experience is patently retarded. You just ended up in a bad spot, that is all. Go again and you will find something different. It really is random. I sat in the same section 4 different times one year, and it was different every time.

 

As far as pissing goes, I was at the blackout game. You will never find a more wretched hive of urine and villany.

 

I don't want to hear anybody's stories about urination, unless they were at that game. The guy next to me's wife was apologizing to the section for them having to leave...because his sneaks literally made a squishing sound when he walked. I felt bad, but it was hysterical. One poor guy had a stain from his butt to his ankles. The pathetic look on his face of "but why?" makes me laugh to this day. I know it's wrong...but it's funny. I escaped with nothing more than a splash...on my elbow. Turns out the guy next to me was missing the trough high and hitting the corner where it connects to the wall. The good news is it was mostly blowing back onto him....so...take comfort in the fact that there is justice at the Ralph when it comes to pissing.

 

Just remember, in the immortal words of this girl you don't know..."it's better to be pissed off, than pissed on". Hearing bad language is not as bad as having squishy sneaks. Try to remember that, and that you, and especially, your kid, just aren't that special. Your kid's going to hear the same bad stuff every day on the school bus. Just ask them. Acting like this is specific to Bills games...simply makes you naive. Oh, and before you talk about paying money blah, blah...you are paying taxes for school, are you not?

[cmjoyce113]

Also remember when you were in your early 20s. Don't act you weren't piss drunk, yelling and swearing trying to sneak drags of a smoke inbetween plays. And if you say that you never did that. You, my friend, are a liar. The is nothing worse then a liar... well maybe a pats fan.

 

 

This is a dumb post. I am in my mid 20's don't smoke (anything) never have. I have had a few beers at a Bills game but have never been drunk.

 

What's the point? Spend $50/60 to not know what's going on? Just doesn't make any sense.

 

I go to Bills games because I love the team and love football. It isn't just a party for me I guess.

[EDinRTP]

So many drunks and idiots at NFL games now, I prefer to watch at home or a local watering hole.

There seems to be a mentality now that sporting events are an invitation to get wasted.

Here in Raleigh, Sabres fans tend to drink more than others and the locals are not accustomed to that behavior at the hockey games.

 

I do remember in my 20's going to Bills games with buddies and having fun "a few beers" so I guess I'm guilty too.

Did get pissed on at the "Ronnie Harmon" game in Cleveland going up for a beer at halftime near the Dogpound.

Go Bills!!!!!!!

[Fan in San Diego]

This thread reminds why I like to watch the game at home with no drunks, no lilne to the bathroom and no swearing unless it's by me.

[Offside Number 76]

That is the response I would expect from someone with no respect for others

 

Plenty of respect for others. And respect for the fact that some places are inappropriate for children.

 

As if you know me; really....

Edited August 11, 2012 by Offsides Number 76

[LabattBlue]

In my limited experience (4 other NFL stadiums), fans at the Ralph are the most drunk and unruly. I wish it weren't my experience but it is.

I feel the same way(bolded part). I was recently talking to a Pittsburgh fan, and stated this exact point. Not exactly something to be proud of as a Bills fan when you know a fan of an opposing team is planning on taking in a game at RWS.

[NoSaint]

 

 

 

This is a dumb post. I am in my mid 20's don't smoke (anything) never have. I have had a few beers at a Bills game but have never been drunk.

 

What's the point? Spend $50/60 to not know what's going on? Just doesn't make any sense.

 

I go to Bills games because I love the team and love football. It isn't just a party for me I guess.

 

There's a line - you can be good and drunk, and well aware of what's going on around you still. I won't knock the drunks as a blanket statement, but the trashy ones do suck to be around.

[Hammered a Lot]

Oh yeah, and I got stung by 2 bees while sitting in my seat. Not sure if I carried them in from Hammer's Lot or what, but one behind my left ear and one just below that on my neck.

 

It hurt.

Those were Horse Flys that bit you. I saw them flying around your legs when you walked in to the lot. Perhaps you might want to wash more often. Edited August 12, 2012 by Hammered a Lot