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Where is the best road game to go to in the NFL?


MClem06

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 by metzelaars_lives
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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

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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....

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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 by thr_wedge
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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.

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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.

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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.

 

In Indy they can the crowd noise in... The real people are so damn quiet. I wasn't in the new stadium, I don't how that one is. Also, I never seen so many fans wearing jerseys! Kinda creepy... Tailgating was non-existant. YET, Indy seemed very family friendly...

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In Indy they can the crowd noise in... The real people are so damn quiet. I wasn't in the new stadium, I don't how that one is. Also, I never seen so many fans wearing jerseys! Kinda creepy... Tailgating was non-existant. YET, Indy seemed very family friendly...

 

I noticed that about Indy when I was at the old RCA Dome, too. No tailgating to be found at all. I didn't even see many parking lots at all, made you wonder how all these people got to the field.

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that doesnt get said without a full story being shared....

 

Got cuffed just before I got to the turnstile for no reason. Cop said I was noticeably drunk but I really wasn't. I was responding to some trash that Chargers fans were talking but I was careful to not even curse as there were kids around. I'm not an idiot. So I get cuffed and then my buddy asks why and then he gets cuffed. So we get thrown in the drunk tank with a bunch of Chargers fans who were so bombed- one of them got tossed on a mat and then started puking on himself. I say to the guard, "look around man. I'm talking to you completely coherently. We're not even drunk anymore. We clearly don't belong in here. Can we please go back in the game with the rest of our friends." He laughs and says that we're going to detox. So we get taken in a paddy wagon down to detox and by the time we get there and I get the cuffs off for the first time in hours, I really started being a wiseass to the cops at detox. I said some funny stuff that they didn't think was so funny and I got arrested in detox and sent to SDCJ where I spent several more hours. Got picked up after midnight. Time served. There's way more to the story- I could write a book about that day. Apparently my brother was so drunk in the game that he passed out sitting in his seat with no shirt on, baking in the California sun, and people were throwing stuff at him. Then later, my other friends went to a bar, left my brother in the car, and sang karaoke but changed the words to make the song about me being in jail. Meanwhile, my brother wandered outside the car and passed out underneath a tree in downtown San Diego (all the while wearing a Phil Hansen jersey mind you) and by the time my friends got back to the car he was gone and they couldn't find him for an hour. When they finally found him, they had to prop him up Weekend at Bernie's style and carry him through the hotel lobby and were extremely lucky that no one said anything. There's way more to it than that. I have some funny stories from when I was in jail too. We've grown up quite a bit since then. My brother, for the record, has an MBA, is extremely successful and resides with his wife and daughter in North Buffalo, lest you got the wrong impression about our family.

 

P.S. a few years ago a poster on here said that he was at that game and during the tailgate witnessed the drunkest human being he's ever seen. That was my brother. He had literally 20 Chargers fans around him in a circle- all of them challenging him to a shotgunning contest and he beat everyone that he faced and after the legend started to grow, there was a full on Frank the Tank chant going. Yeah, and I was the one who got arrested. We still laugh about that.

Edited by metzelaars_lives
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Got cuffed just before I got to the turnstile for no reason. Cop said I was noticeably drunk but I really wasn't. I was responding to some trash that Chargers fans were talking but I was careful to not even curse as there were kids around. I'm not an idiot. So I get cuffed and then my buddy asks why and then he gets cuffed. So we get thrown in the drunk tank with a bunch of Chargers fans who were so bombed- one of them got tossed on a mat and then started puking on himself. I say to the guard, "look around man. I'm talking to you completely coherently. We're not even drunk anymore. We clearly don't belong in here. Can we please go back in the game with the rest of our friends." He laughs and says that we're going to detox. So we get taken in a paddy wagon down to detox and by the time we get there and I get the cuffs off for the first time in hours, I really started being a wiseass to the cops at detox. I said some funny stuff that they didn't think was so funny and I got arrested in detox and sent to SDCJ where I spent several more hours. Got picked up after midnight. Time served. There's way more to the story- I could write a book about that day. Apparently my brother was so drunk in the game that he passed out sitting in his seat with no shirt on, baking in the California sun, and people were throwing stuff at him. Then later, my other friends went to a bar, left my brother in the car, and sang karaoke but changed the words to make the song about me being in jail. Meanwhile, my brother wandered outside the car and passed out underneath a tree in downtown San Diego (all the while wearing a Phil Hansen jersey mind you) and by the time my friends got back to the car he was gone and they couldn't find him for an hour. When they finally found him, they had to prop him up Weekend at Bernie's style and carry him through the hotel lobby and were extremely lucky that no one said anything. There's way more to it than that. I have some funny stories from when I was in jail too. We've grown up quite a bit since then. My brother, for the record, has an MBA, is extremely successful and resides with his wife and daughter in North Buffalo, lest you got the wrong impression about our family.

 

P.S. a few years ago a poster on here said that he was at that game and during the tailgate witnessed the drunkest human being he's ever seen. That was my brother. He had literally 20 Chargers fans around him in a circle- all of them challenging him to a shotgunning contest and he beat everyone that he faced and after the legend started to grow, there was a full on Frank the Tank chant going. Yeah, and I was the one who got arrested. We still laugh about that.

 

The guys playing hand ball in the pen that day were probably more talented than the product the Bills put on the field that afternoon. I was at that game too; what a JP Losman abomination. You missed nothing. I'd rather sit in the tank than watch that game again in person.

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Probably safest place is... going to a Bills game @ San Diego, hah.

 

I don't know last time I was there I got punched in the nose. Well it was because I grabbed the ass of the girl sitting behind me but she got me good. :lol:

 

But the best place for a road game? Oakland. Here's why. No matter how ****ty you think your hometown team's stadium is you'll think it's a palace after visiting that dump.

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I'm sure its not even top 5 but I had a blast in Cleveland last year. Browns fans were great, like tailgating with your football cousin. Plus the large number of Bills fans there added to the fun too.

 

It's really to each his own. It's about the people you're with and the people you're around that make the experience what it is. I still love the stadiums with big, open parking lots surrounding them. They are a dying breed. The downtown, urban stadiums, while nice, are killing tailgating. Tailgate in an ally in Detroit or in Hammer's lot? No brainer. Cleveland is a mix of both. Downtown, but a little bit of tailgate realestate. Pittsburg and Denver are very much the same.

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Got cuffed just before I got to the turnstile for no reason. Cop said I was noticeably drunk but I really wasn't. I was responding to some trash that Chargers fans were talking but I was careful to not even curse as there were kids around. I'm not an idiot. So I get cuffed and then my buddy asks why and then he gets cuffed. So we get thrown in the drunk tank with a bunch of Chargers fans who were so bombed- one of them got tossed on a mat and then started puking on himself. I say to the guard, "look around man. I'm talking to you completely coherently. We're not even drunk anymore. We clearly don't belong in here. Can we please go back in the game with the rest of our friends." He laughs and says that we're going to detox. So we get taken in a paddy wagon down to detox and by the time we get there and I get the cuffs off for the first time in hours, I really started being a wiseass to the cops at detox. I said some funny stuff that they didn't think was so funny and I got arrested in detox and sent to SDCJ where I spent several more hours. Got picked up after midnight. Time served. There's way more to the story- I could write a book about that day. Apparently my brother was so drunk in the game that he passed out sitting in his seat with no shirt on, baking in the California sun, and people were throwing stuff at him. Then later, my other friends went to a bar, left my brother in the car, and sang karaoke but changed the words to make the song about me being in jail. Meanwhile, my brother wandered outside the car and passed out underneath a tree in downtown San Diego (all the while wearing a Phil Hansen jersey mind you) and by the time my friends got back to the car he was gone and they couldn't find him for an hour. When they finally found him, they had to prop him up Weekend at Bernie's style and carry him through the hotel lobby and were extremely lucky that no one said anything. There's way more to it than that. I have some funny stories from when I was in jail too. We've grown up quite a bit since then. My brother, for the record, has an MBA, is extremely successful and resides with his wife and daughter in North Buffalo, lest you got the wrong impression about our family.

 

P.S. a few years ago a poster on here said that he was at that game and during the tailgate witnessed the drunkest human being he's ever seen. That was my brother. He had literally 20 Chargers fans around him in a circle- all of them challenging him to a shotgunning contest and he beat everyone that he faced and after the legend started to grow, there was a full on Frank the Tank chant going. Yeah, and I was the one who got arrested. We still laugh about that.

 

That is a good story. Reminds me of the time a couple years after college & we took a road trip down to Savannah, Georgia to meet one of our friends from high school that lived down there for St patricks Day. They had beer tents & such setup all around the town square & my friends and I started doing funnels. The people around us must never of saw them before because everybody was asking us what we were doing and they were facsinated. We were a big hit that day. This one ahole who was watching bet me I could not do a 5 beer funnel. He siad if I did it he would buy $100 worth of girl scout cookies that these little girls were selling. I probably had 12-13 beers in me at the time & really did not want to do it but the whole crowd start chanting "for the kids, for the kids" so the pressure was on & I was kind of backed into a corner. So I was like "yeah sure, give me the funnel." I ended up doing the 5 beer funnel & to the guys credit he bought $100 worth of girl scout cookies. After I was done my one friend went to high five me & said "that was f*cking awesome, you showed that red neck how the boys up north drink." I looked him right in the eye & said "leave me the f*ck alone, I got to go somewhere where to puke in private. I found a back alley & puked my guts out.

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I went to college out near the Pittsburgh area and was able to catch a few Steeler games (had free tickets). Heinz Field is a pretty nice stadium and the tailgating was certainly above average. While Steeler fans are known to be a pain in the ass, they are actually quite knowledgeable about football and will show your team respect if they deserve it. The city also has a pretty nice downtown area, especially the south side, where they have a lot of fun bars and clubs. The only downfall, depending on the time of year, is the weather.

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Probably safest place is... going to a Bills game @ San Diego, hah.

 

San Diego is a great place for everything except going to see a Bills game. I have been to every single Bills Chargers game the past 15 years and have never had a good experience.

 

Arizona on the other hand has been a much better experience.

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It too is in a semi urban location. The parking and tailgating situation is horrible. Lot's of underground lots etc. The stadium and field are super nice, the tailgating leaves something to be desired.

 

Being sold out all the time... You used to be able to go w/a group of people and tailgate... The ones that had tix would go into the game while the others would hang out in the lot and watch it on TV while watching the stuff and getting set up for after the game food... NOT no more, they clear the lots of anybody without tickets... No ticket, no staying in the lot during the game...

 

 

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It's really to each his own. It's about the people you're with and the people you're around that make the experience what it is. I still love the stadiums with big, open parking lots surrounding them. They are a dying breed. The downtown, urban stadiums, while nice, are killing tailgating. Tailgate in an ally in Detroit or in Hammer's lot? No brainer. Cleveland is a mix of both. Downtown, but a little bit of tailgate realestate. Pittsburg and Denver are very much the same.

 

This is a good point. Its all about who surrounds you. A good experience can be had just as easily as a bad one based on that.

 

Cleveland lacked the large lots like we have in Buffalo but I found the smaller lots to be fun as well. And the smaller lots still had hundreds of cars, it wasn't like there were 20 cars.

Edited by Bills fan since 87
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