COACH85 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 (edited) 1. It was cold, not freezing but cold. Cold enough where we thought it would be a good idea to leave at halftime because we thought it might be too much for our little guy. 2. 7th Row Seats from field in Lower Section are a little too low and we would have been much better off up higher to see better and also for quick exits when needed. THOSE WERE ALOT OF WIDE STEPS TO GET BACK TO THE CONCOURSE! 3. We now know where Hammers Lot is but since we started off on the other side of the Stadium (Entrance 5), we didn't make it to Hammers. 4. The Concourses are even smaller then I remembered and the bathrooms are seriously outdated, HOLY SMOKES! It was a challenge getting out of their at halftime but we made it AND NO BEER SPILLED ON ANY OF US! LOL 5. We were surrounded by rowdy and cool fans who all acted appropriately cheering for our beloved Bills. Only 1 guy behind me with his 10 year old son seemed to ruin things just a little with his constant use of Mother F periodically throughout the game. Nice example for your son! I wonder how he will be with his kids when he grows up. 6. The food was MUCH BETTER at the Sabres game. Maybe we just visited the wrong vendors but thats what it seemed like. 7. It really was a challenge to carry the little guy from parking lot, holding him the entire game, back and forth to bathroom once, and then back out to our car outside lot 5. Ahhhh, but it was well worth it this time! 8. The playing field looked awesome and the stadium itself looked better then I remember but I still can't get over those tiny concourses that have people packed in their like sardines during halftime. 9. The Bills Store to buy clothes and merchandise was terrible inside the gates. Better selection outside the gates. THAT was a first for me at ANY Pro Sports Team Stadium or Arena. 10. The Horrible, Negative Experience we were told we would have if we brought our child DID NOT happen. Everyone was cool around us, even thought it was great we were "breaking our kid in early" as a Bills fan. Summary - We had a great time at Bills and Sabres although inside arena at Sabres game front row behind goalie was more comfortable. The Bills Stadium was rocking and so glad my wife and kid got to experience it for the first time. MY WIFE WAS SOOOOOOOOO IMPRESSED WITH WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE AT A BILLS HOME GAME! She can't wait to go again in the future! BUT, most members were right about bringing our child. Its doable, but VERY challenging and although nothing happened or came close to any problems, we will be leaving him home next time. We will leave our son and expecting child home with relatives and make the 1 hour flight to Buffalo just the two of us. We will be able to stay for the entire Bills and Sabres games and not leave at start of 3rd period (Sabres) or Halftime (Bills) due to child starting to get cranky, weather conditions, or both. We were glad we took our son though and will have pictures and memories to last a lifetime. It was definitely a learning experience though in the process! LOL Dressing warm and the noise canceling headphones were the 2 best ideas for both games. GO BILLS AND SABRES! P.S. Unfortunately, our son also experienced how the Bills play their heart out only to find a way to lose the game in the end. I'm hoping and expecting this to turnaround very soon! Edited November 5, 2013 by COACH85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 (edited) Nice family pic, and glad it worked out. Where do you guys live? Edited November 5, 2013 by Captain Caveman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Glad you had a good time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping in for an update on how it went. Sounds like a lot of the advice was reasonable and you (thankfully) didnt experience any of the worst case scenario type situations. Glad you got some good memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
first_and_ten Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Cool Post..........did you have to pay for the lil guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l< j Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Cute kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Glad you had a good time. My buddies seats are 11 rows up on the sunny side at about the 35. Perfect seats because you are close but up high enough that you can see over the sideline activity. This was the first time I had been to the Ralph in several years. It does look tired. However, of all the stadiums I have been to it has fantastic sight lines. Coach85 glad you and your family had a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Thanks for the update. I was wondering how it would go. Every kid is different, but my 2 year old would have never even made it even through half a game (plus, going without a nap!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Great story and very cool of you to follow up. Glad you all had such a good time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Glad you guys had fun. Personally, I probably wouldn't bring a small child to a Bills regular season home game but that's just me (preseason or Toronto games are fine though). I would like to but it's just not a good environment for young kids imo. I would almost equate it to bringing them to a bar. I probably wouldn't get to enjoy the game too much because I would be worried about them the whole time, but again that's just me. I'd be cool with bringing them to Sabres games but Bills games are a little more rowdy and the people are a lot more drunk. Not to mention the cold weather and wind. I've sat in certain sections where I couldn't believe what was happening around me and I'm an adult (swearing, fights, drunk people acting crazy, drug use, rudeness, etc). Glad you had a good experience though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsrcursed Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Excellent, thanks for the follow up. Glad you guys had fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Glad you guys had fun! I was sitting in the 300 section on the Bills side and we were in the shade all game and had the wind blowing our way. It was pretty cold. CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l< j Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Excellent use of the tag function, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Next time you will have to park at hammers. Glad you had ear protection for the little one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COACH85 Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Nice family pic, and glad it worked out. Where do you guys live? We presently live in Fairfax Virginia but originally from Catskill New York. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Bills bar on game day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COACH85 Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Glad you guys had fun. Personally, I probably wouldn't bring a small child to a Bills regular season home game but that's just me (preseason or Toronto games are fine though). I would like to but it's just not a good environment for young kids imo. I would almost equate it to bringing them to a bar. I probably wouldn't get to enjoy the game too much because I would be worried about them the whole time, but again that's just me. I'd be cool with bringing them to Sabres games but Bills games are a little more rowdy and the people are a lot more drunk. Not to mention the cold weather and wind. I've sat in certain sections where I couldn't believe what was happening around me and I'm an adult (swearing, fights, drunk people acting crazy, drug use, rudeness, etc). Glad you had a good experience though! Yup, agreed, my wife and I both said the same thing. As much fun as we had, it would have been even more fun if we didn't have to constantly worry about the safety and well being of our child. Oh well, you live and you learn. We're still glad we did this though so at least now we know things firsthand. I'll tell you one thing though that was a MAJOR BONUS, the ice crew (which was right next to our seats) at the Sabres game gave us an OFFICIAL NHL HOCKEY PUCK for our son as a keepsake. I don't think we would have gotten that without him being there with us! LOL Cool Post..........did you have to pay for the lil guy? Nope, he was FREE but man was he getting heavy to lug around alllllllllllll day! WE DEFINITELY PAID THE PRICE IN OTHER WAYS! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Thanks for posting Coach! Glad you all enjoyed yourselves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COACH85 Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Cute kid. Thanks! Just added a pic from The Ralph! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Hey COACH85 -- I was a vocal detractor in your thread inquiring about bringing a one-year-old to a pro football game, but I'm glad you made it out unscathed. My opinion hasn't changed, and I think your post-game post reflects even you acknowledge the challenges presented by the situation. I'll end my comments on the topic with one question: for whom did you do this? If you say you did it for your son, you're not being honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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