MClem06 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Taking in every aspect ... City, fans, stadium, things to see, atmosphere, where have you traveled to see an NFL game (doesn't have to be the Bills) that you would definitely recommend going in your lifetime? Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I was lucky enough to go to the new Cowboys Stadium two years ago, and the pictures that you see on television and the stories you hear about it simply do not do it justice. It barely mattered that the Bills were absolutely embarrassed on the field. The atmosphere outside of the stadium as far as tailgating leaves a bit to be desired, nobody outside of Green Bay and Kansas City tailgates like Buffalo, but inside the walls it is a mecca. It's the cleanest public place I've ever been in, not just cleanest stadium. We did not wait in a line all day for food, beverage or piss break. The only thing that bothered me about the concessions was that Miller has all the marketing rights, so all that was being sold was Genuine Draft and Miller Lite, which I hate, but the food selection was outstanding. The architecture of the stadium is incredible, and many of us stood there in awe for a solid 10 minutes when we first walked in admiring it. Also, the Dallas fans were actually extremely respectful and courteous to everyone in our group. Even as we were getting the tar beat out of us. Lastly, the cheerleaders, including Nelson's ex, are second to none. One note I would add is that the stadium is in Fort Worth, and there isn't much to that area. If you do go there for a game, stay right in the city of Dallas and make the 40 minute drive to the stadium. I was very impressed with the food and bar scene of Dallas, and the people were great. I would recommend making the trip for a game to anyone that asks, and look forward to doing it again myself in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Probably safest place is... going to a Bills game @ San Diego, hah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MClem06 Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 And on the other end of this, worst experience? I can tell you my two "GO" Tampa Bay Bucs stadium , i'm biased because I live 1 hour from there but it is definitely a cool stadium, fans are not iceholes, tailgating is civilized yet fun, going in the winter is when I would target. Bills are playing there this year at the perfect time. City offers great night life and Clearwater is right there for the beach also. "Don't Go" Minnesota - I went for a Philly game with a friend who was a philly fan and if I had been in the Philly stadium it would probably top my don't go list. Just because I haven't been to philly , Minnesota was the most uncomfortable stadium I've ever sat in. The rows are so tight your knees actually hit the person sitting in front of you. Fans were leaving with the entire last quarter to play only down 2 tds. City wasn't impressive, mall of America is their claim to fame , plus it was the fall and temps were already in the 40's. Tail gating was a 5 out of 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Been to the new Colts stadium several times and it is the nicest I have ever seen, and the fans are not bad. Of course I haven't been to Dallas, which is supposed to be the best. Anyway, Indy is a great city to stay in, the downtown is so accessible and being in the midwest the people are nice and the prices moderate. The games are fun and the atmosphere is great even for an opposing fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 San Diego - beaches, bikinis, La Jolla, Del Coronado, Del Mar, Mission Beach, etc. - how can you top that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris heff Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Miami, just think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metzelaars_lives Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) Probably safest place is... going to a Bills game @ San Diego, hah. I wouldn't go that far. I got arrested at the 2005 Bills-Chargers game before the game even started and ended up spending 12 hours in jail. And honestly, I didn't even do anything. This debate starts and ends with Lambeau Field. Anyone who offers a different suggestion either a) has never been or b) has no appreciation for tradition or the history of the game. The new Cowboys Stadium? I could elaborate on how Lambeau is the best in every way imaginable but it would take too long. I will say this- I have been to the old Yankee Stadium, Wrigley and Fenway and you can multiply them all together and I would still take Lambeau. I felt like Rudy's dad walking into Notre Dame's stadium when I first walked in. After that, I love KC. Been there twice ('03 and '08). They have the heavy drinking, blue collar element that Bills games have but without all the trashy early 20 somethings funneling beers and looking to start fights element that Bills games have. It's like everything you love about Bills games without the parts you don't like. After that, I'd put Buffalo 3rd, ahead of Miami (weeeeaaak), San Diego (see above), Denver (OVERRATED) and Seattle (Mariners town through and through- they couldn't believe how we were tailgating). After re-reading the OP, I will say that we had a hell of a time top to bottom in Seattle and cannot wait to go back. I was more writing about how good of a tailgate scene there is. But I've been to Seattle three times now and it is my favorite city in the US. I would recommend anyone go there for a game. Edited August 1, 2013 by metzelaars_lives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I wouldn't go that far. I got arrested at the 2005 Bills-Chargers game before the game even started and ended up spending 12 hours in jail. And honestly, I didn't even do anything. This debate starts and ends with Lambeau Field. Anyone who offers a different suggestion either a) has never been or b) has no appreciation for tradition or the history of the game. The new Cowboys Stadium? I could elaborate on how Lambeau is the best in every way imaginable but it would take too long. I will say this- I have been to the old Yankee Stadium, Wrigley and Fenway and you can multiply them all together and I would still take Lambeau. I felt like Rudy's dad walking into Notre Dame's stadium when I first walked in. After that, I love KC. Been there twice ('03 and '08). They have the heavy drinking, blue collar element that Bills games have but without all the trashy early 20 somethings funneling beers and looking to start fights element that Bills games have. It's like everything you love about Bills games without the parts you don't like. After that, I'd put Buffalo 3rd, ahead of Miami (weeeeaaak), San Diego (see above), Denver (OVERRATED) and Seattle (Mariners town through and through- they couldn't believe how we were tailgating). Lambeau is on my bucket list. Always wanted to go there. Colts stadium is a palace and the Bengals stadium was fun. Good tailgating atmosphere there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I wouldn't go that far. I got arrested at the 2005 Bills-Chargers game before the game even started and ended up spending 12 hours in jail. And honestly, I didn't even do anything. that doesnt get said without a full story being shared.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haven Moses Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 No question that its Lambeau. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I have heard really good things about a game at Heinz field... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thr_wedge Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) Houston. Nice stadium, cool fans (both Houston and Buffalo), good tailgating, and what ended up being a spectacular game with David Carr and JP Losman (no joke, the game was fantastic). The game was so exciting and went down to the very end that the Houston fans were high fiving all the Bills fans. It was really a great experience...so hard to separate the venue (which was nice) from the game itself. http://en.wikipedia...._Houston_Texans Edited August 1, 2013 by thr_wedge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 For me (I have been to 22 of the current stadiums for games, granted 3 of them were preseason games, not quite the same), there are some vaiables. as OP mentions, city, as well as stadium. For me, New Orleans is probably my favorite, becasue I love that city, despite all its' woes. I have not been there for a game since Katrina (hoping to see the Bills later this season, though finances may prevent it), but I have always had a blast, and I love the music. Pre-Katrina, ironically, I would have rated the stadium among the worst, however. It was kind of dumpy, dirty, and frankly, kind of sad...a second rate facility, IMO. But I still had a blast...the stadium (dome) couldn't ruin a Bills ass-kicking of the Saints, or a huge, nail-biter in 1992. Also saw a Chiefs/Saints overtime game there, during the Haslett era (2006? 2007?), which was really fun...great fans. The whole city is virtually one big tail-gate party, and, if you are staying in the city, you can literally walk up to the stadium fpr the game, and stagger back to your hotel room afterwards... But, honeslty, all the bells and whistles of modern stadiums, while nice, really leave me cold... when I was a lad, growing up in Buffalo, having season tickets from 1980-1987, the no frills of Rich Stadium kind of built my perceptions of how a game should be...we would sit in our seats, upper deck, and everyone in the section hung on every play, we all knew what was going on, all the time, without a mile long scoreboard and all that other stuff. The only technology involved were stadium lights, and normally, somebody had a "C" cell battery driven radio droning on, just audible enough to hear Van Millers call, if you really strained your ears. Still gives me goose bumps remembering Cornelius Bennett wreaking havoc on the Broncos in 1987, in his first appearence with the Bills...the place was shaking... almost as much as the opening day introduction of new Bills QB, Jim Kelly, on opeing day in 1986. Cowboys stadium is a great facility, granted, but I don't really enjoy games there, if that makes sense...too much going on all the time...way too expensive...football seems secondary. I live close enough to Dallas/Ft Worth that I have been there enough to know...I don't hate the city, but I don't love it either...I have been to a few games there, both Bills, and non-Bills. Don't hate it, but not my favorite.... I agree with MClem06...Raymond James, in Tampa is awesome! Cool, modern, facility, but a football stadium through and through. Hot as !@#$ in September (when I was there), but the upside to that is, lots of "eye-candy"! And, the fans are nice! Tons of transplanted WNYers! Of the modern "state of the art" facilities I have been to, I would also rank Reliant stadium in Houston right up there. Fans really do make a difference on game day. I have to say, going to see the Bills against the Giants and the Jets (in the same facility) the experience is completely different. Jets fans are just not a great lot to watch a game with...I have been to 5 Jets games at the old Meadowlands...I would be tempted to give the Jets fans some slack, because I am always rooting for (not in an obnoxious way, but in a visable way) for the Bills, one of their division rivals. However, I went to a Jets/Eagles game back in the early 90's, and it was a pretty horrid/tense atmosphere. I have seen the Bills play the Giants twice at the Meadowlands (the old and the new) and I found Giants fans, in general (always a douche or two in every crowd) to be a pretty decent lot. The new Medowlands is beutiful inside (not outside..it is still in New Jersey!), but, like Dallas, the fans don't always seem very engaged in the game...my buddy and I sat next to some very attractive ladies there a few seasons ago...they just kept getting up and down every 10 minutes to go get more concessions, or meet friends in other sections...that was kind of a drag...they were much less attractive by the end of the game...the Bills blowing the game didn't help. I suppose it is indicitive of the times thatn the place, but people seem to have their eyes on their cell-phones more than the game. Still though, their are hard-core Giants fans, and from what I have expereinced, they aren't out and out a-holes to fans of the visiting team. At Jets games, Firemen Ed aside, I just got the sense that there just aren't as many die-hard Jet fans, many are there to get pie-eyed, and to fight...sadly, I would probably have a similar impression of Ralph Wilson Stadium after my last few games there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Wheels Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I don't know anyone who has ever regretted going to a game in Green Bay. Great tailgating, good fans, and a stadium with history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Nails Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I don't know anyone who has ever regretted going to a game in Green Bay. Great tailgating, good fans, and a stadium with history. Green Bay, from an atmosphere, tradition, history, small town, hallowed franchise standpoint can't be beat. The tailgating is much different than it is in Buffalo though. Green Bay isn't just a drunken orgy of human carnage and blue light like Buffalo is. It's a little more dialed down. Every year when that "best tailgating cities" article comes out ranking Green Bay above Buffalo, I laugh a little. From a pure tailgating intensity standpoint, Green Bay is a 6; Buffalo is a 10. I've been to 15 stadiums and nothing- in terms of tailgating- compares to the greatness that is Ralph Wilson Stadium- clearly I'm a bit biased. FWIW- The worst is Oakland. chitty stadium,; chitty atmosphere (unless your face is painted silver and black); chitty fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsoldier54 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I was lucky enough to go to the new Cowboys Stadium two years ago, and the pictures that you see on television and the stories you hear about it simply do not do it justice. It barely mattered that the Bills were absolutely embarrassed on the field. The atmosphere outside of the stadium as far as tailgating leaves a bit to be desired, nobody outside of Green Bay and Kansas City tailgates like Buffalo, but inside the walls it is a mecca. It's the cleanest public place I've ever been in, not just cleanest stadium. We did not wait in a line all day for food, beverage or piss break. The only thing that bothered me about the concessions was that Miller has all the marketing rights, so all that was being sold was Genuine Draft and Miller Lite, which I hate, but the food selection was outstanding. The architecture of the stadium is incredible, and many of us stood there in awe for a solid 10 minutes when we first walked in admiring it. Also, the Dallas fans were actually extremely respectful and courteous to everyone in our group. Even as we were getting the tar beat out of us. Lastly, the cheerleaders, including Nelson's ex, are second to none. One note I would add is that the stadium is in Fort Worth, and there isn't much to that area. If you do go there for a game, stay right in the city of Dallas and make the 40 minute drive to the stadium. I was very impressed with the food and bar scene of Dallas, and the people were great. I would recommend making the trip for a game to anyone that asks, and look forward to doing it again myself in the future. Thanks for sharing the experience. Gotta disagree about Fort Worth though. Next time take a trip down to the stockyards and to Billy Bob's. It was featured in the movie Urban Cowboy and is a sight to behold. Indoor rodeo arena, mechanical bull and a nightclub where top country acts perform. Great place. Lots to see in the stockyard area and a very historical place. This is where most cattle drives ended back in the day as the cows were put on trains to supply the folks up north. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webster Guy Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Football in a dome is such a letdown after seeing it played outside where it was meant to be played. The lighting, the achoing noise off the roof, everything is just plain lame. My vote is KC, but cleveland is a cool city and a short drive down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Thanks for sharing the experience. Gotta disagree about Fort Worth though. Next time take a trip down to the stockyards and to Billy Bob's. It was featured in the movie Urban Cowboy and is a sight to behold. Indoor rodeo arena, mechanical bull and a nightclub where top country acts perform. Great place. Lots to see in the stockyard area and a very historical place. This is where most cattle drives ended back in the day as the cows were put on trains to supply the folks up north. I will have to do that next time! I appreciate the insight. The stockyard area sounds well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FluffHead Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 cleveland is a cool city. You're the first person to ever say that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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