How many of you actually go to games regularly?

[trev]

I would have to say I do. But each year it pains me more and more. We have 6 season tickets. But usually sell 2 of them. I don't think it's worth the price any more. I would much rather go on a nice vacation with the money spent on this. And when playoffs roll around, they want the money up front for these tickets at Christmas time. The thing is, my husband and kid love to go. But year after year, they disappoint. I think it's enough that I invest time watching on TV.

Who goes to games for their team regularly here?

Save the you are not a real fan smack emails, clones, I'm not reading them.

[War Wagon]

The last game I went to, they gouged me $22 for parking and then had to drive around in cicles for 20 minutes before finally directed to a spot. For a pre-season game.

Fuck that. I'll watch on TV.

[Shoalzie]

Fuck that. I'll watch on TV.

Pretty much my feelings right now. I like the live NFL experience but with every game on TV and I live outside the blackout area for the Lions, I'm going to be able to see every game on TV.

The Lions need to prove they can be a team worth spending money to go watch. I've been to Ford Field twice...great place to watch a game but I just won't throw all that money into a team that I'm positive they'll lose. I'll spend $100 on a lower bowl seat at the Joe to watch the Wings...a team that wins. I'm at the point with the Lions where I'll only go if I get a free ticket.

[Bucmonkey]

I was a 19 year season tic holder up until last year then pulled the plug. The last few years I would see seats scalp at 1/2 to 1/3 face value, that pretty much was the end all. I still go to 5-6 games per year, but at a fraction of the cost. Also, I am no longer stuck paying full price for preseason games.

[trev]

The last game I went to, they gouged me $22 for parking and then had to drive around in cicles for 20 minutes before finally directed to a spot. For a pre-season game.

Fuck that. I'll watch on TV.

That's another thing. It costs like $100 to park. We do that or take the bus. Last year we ended up getting the expensive parking for quite a few games because we wanted to tailgate.

[BSmack]

The Steelers play in my living room every Sunday. Otherwise I'll go see a game every once in a while if the opportunity presents itself, especially if it is in a stadium I've never been to before.

[Dinsdale]

Who goes to games for their team regularly here?

"My team" is 650 miles away. But they do come within 170 miles once a year, and I've made the roadie a couple of times since the divisional realignment.

I've gone to a few other Seachicken games, just because I enjoy the experience. Went to a Monday Night game against the Raiders a coupla years back -- and Seahawk fans and Raider fans hate each other, dating back to the old division rivalry... and both sets of fans really like to fight... good times.


But I do enjoy the live NFL experience, regardless which teams are playing. I still think it doesn't hold a candle the NCAA D1 games as faras intensity, but I still enjoy it.

And yup... if you wanna tailgate, it's $20 or so to park. Last time I did that, some old Indian woman started swinging on my buddy, for reasons we've still never figured out. I don't know if that's particular to Seattle (I doubt it), but they're just way too aggressive towards fans in opposing gear (I usually go with the same guy, and he's a bigtime Raiduhfan, and gears up appropriately -- someone tried, fairly successfully, to rip his shirt off one year, which has kind of soured me on the experience. If I wanted to fight, I'm sure I could do that pretty easily in my own city). And the $20/$25 parking, while not some major financial setback in the big picture, still kinda sucks, since you can just go a few blocks down into SoDo, and parking is readily available on the street -- just have to run the gauntlet of panhandlers to get to the game.


So, I guess I'm kinda with everyone else who's chimed in -- I enjoy it, but at some point it gets to be more of a pain in the ass than it's worth. Especially since I'll most likely be drinking heavily, which neccessitates either a nearby hotel (which they give away those hotel rooms in the downtown areas of major cities), or a sober driver to make the 3.5 hour drive home.

[Go Coogs']

I'll try to attend at least one game a season and the tickets are usually comped by a friend. This season I'd like to fly up to Philly for the Thursday night game against the Texans. Kolb vs The Texans could be a one time deal and it's worth the jack to go.

[mvscal]

That's another thing. It costs like $100 to park.

...and two hours to get out of the stadium. I would never, under any circumstances, ever park at Qualcomm again.

[Truman]

Nice thread , Trev.

Absolutely nothing like a Chiefs tailgate Sunday.

Section 128, Row 32, Seats 31,32,33,and 34.

West Endzone, with our asses facing Denver.

Twenty-two years. Seats went south with the marriage.

Took me a year-or-three to figger out that there actually IS a Life after tailgate Sundays… and marriage.

Managed to make the games that counted last year… PSUburgh and those piece-o-fuck Texas fags. No dis on ‘Dago, Trev… Just didn’t want to drop my hard-earned to see the home team crushed by 30...

[packwin13]

I have the Milw. season ticket for the Packers, so that gives me three games a year (one preseason and two regular season). I generally go to one or two additional games each year- the Dec. games can be found for a pretty decent price. I park 4-5 blocks away on one of the side streets so my parking is free for the games. Not only do I not want to pay $25 to park my car, but I also don't want to be stuck in the parking lot for over an hour after the game. Prices for the Packer games are reasonable ($63 per ticket), but having to pay full price for the preseason game sucks. You can generally go thru one of the brokers and get those games fo $20 or so (good way to bring the kids to game at least).

[Terry in Crapchester]

The last game I went to, they gouged me $22 for parking and then had to drive around in cicles for 20 minutes before finally directed to a spot. For a pre-season game.

Fuck that. I'll watch on TV.

That's another thing. It costs like $100 to park. We do that or take the bus. Last year we ended up getting the expensive parking for quite a few games because we wanted to tailgate.

I have a solution to that available to me, should I want to take advantage of it.

I have a client who lives, literally, within walking distance of Ralph Wilson Stadium. If I wanted to go to a Bills game, I'd simply call her up and ask her if I could park in the parking lot of her apartment complex. Of course, you can't really tailgate under those circumstances, but it saves a bundle on parking. Not really enough of a Bills fan to make the trip, though, except on somewhat rare occasions when I get free tickets.

[indyfrisco]

We have a group of people who buy 20 season tix grouped together each year on the 35-40 yard line in rows 9-11for the Colts. I get 2 of the tix for each game usually. If we don't have enough of the group to fill the seats, we keep track and the 6 different groups in the package get to rotate the extras.

I do enjoy the NFL experience. Parking is a bitch. We go to a lot that is convenient, but it is also $40 to park there per game. I didn't miss one game last year including the Super Bowl.While "my team" is the Titans, I do enjoy watching the Colts simply because I am watching the greatest QB of my generation live and up close. I do enjoy road games where I can sit home and watch football all day. I also concur with Dins that nothing NFL related aside from the talent itself compares to that of an NCAA game.

[Dinsdale]

I also concur with Dins that nothing NFL related aside from the talent itself compares to that of an NCAA game.

Going to an NFL game is exciting, fun, and a good party.

Going to an NCAA D1 game is like attending a religious service.

When they talk about loud NFL stadiums, the two they usually talk up the most and debate between are Arrowhead and Seahawk stadiums. Fair enough, and since I haven't been to every NFL stadium (only one, in fact), I guess I'll have to take the announcers' word for it (since those guys are always right). But having attended multiple games at both Seahawk Stadium (or whatever corporate name is on it these days) and at Autzen...

Pul-leez. Not even close. The "possibly loudest" NFL stadium is a morgue compared to Autzen. I've had hearing loss for 2 days after Oregon games -- never even come close at a pro game.


Of course, if we're talking about the ability to empty one's wallet at a game -- the pros and NCAA are quite comparable. I guess beers are a little cheaper at college games, but you can't get them inside the stadium.

[ChargerMike]

The last game I went to, they gouged me $22 for parking and then had to drive around in cicles for 20 minutes before finally directed to a spot. For a pre-season game.

Fuck that. I'll watch on TV.

That's another thing. It costs like $100 to park. We do that or take the bus. Last year we ended up getting the expensive parking for quite a few games because we wanted to tailgate.

...not quite Trev..It's $20 zops to park at Qualcom, however they will prolly raise that again this year. I'm with Truman...nothing like a good tailgate. Joe and Gary, and Too's for the Raiduh game throw down a bitchin tailgate and it's certainly worth the price 2-3 games a year. You pussies who sit home on your fat a$$'s and cry about parking prices, crowds, traffic, and such, give me a freeking laugh. You call yourself fans...I call bullsh!t. There's nothing like being at an NFL game live. We get there 3 hours early (no traffic) set up the bar-b-que, fire up a good Cuban, and break out the micro brews. Joe has the corner on brats and does a righteous job. Post game we hang out for an hour or so and then split, (again no traffic). I drive in from .L.A. (170 miles) and couldn't be happier. I only wish I could hit more games each year. "I sit home on my couch and watch" What a bunch of friggin pant waist fans in this thread. Gheesh!

[BSmack]

Pul-leez. Not even close. The "possibly loudest" NFL stadium is a morgue compared to Autzen. I've had hearing loss for 2 days after Oregon games -- never even come close at a pro game.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Still I'd love to see some empirical evidence as to how 60,000 drunken Duck fans can be louder than 75,000 people at Ralph Wilson stadium, much less 105,000 folks at Tennessee or the Rose Bowl. Or is that just a result of a more highly evolved U&L vocal cord?

[indyfrisco]

Or is that just a result of a more highly evolved U&L vocal cord?

edit: what Mgo said

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Still I'd love to see some empirical evidence as to how 60,000 drunken Duck fans can be louder than 75,000 people at Ralph Wilson stadium, much less 105,000 folks at Tennessee or the Rose Bowl. Or is that just a result of a more highly evolved U&L vocal cord?

It's called acoustics.

[Bucmonkey]

Going to an NFL game is exciting, fun, and a good party.

Going to an NCAA D1 game is like attending a religious service.

Can not agree more. I attend roughly half the Gator games every year and usually at least one Nole game (with a few Nole friends). The energy and noise at almost any college game rivals most pro games, including playoffs.

[BSmack]

"I sit home on my couch and watch"

Hey, if I had 2 grand or so that I could just blow on a couple of games, I would do it. But to get anything other than nosebleed seats in Heinz Field costs over 300 per ticket on stub hub. Factor in the ticket I would have to buy for my wife and the cost of driving down and a hotel room for a couple of nights and you are in the $1,000 cost area for my wife and I to go to a game. We'll eventually do it. But we'll never make a habit out of it unless we become independently wealthy, in which case we will buy up a PSL from someone looking to bail on theirs and go to all the home games.

[BSmack]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Still I'd love to see some empirical evidence as to how 60,000 drunken Duck fans can be louder than 75,000 people at Ralph Wilson stadium, much less 105,000 folks at Tennessee or the Rose Bowl. Or is that just a result of a more highly evolved U&L vocal cord?

It's called acoustics.

Yet Dins cites this artificially enhanced volume as an example of the greater passion of CFB fans.

[ChargerMike]

"I sit home on my couch and watch"

Hey, if I had 2 grand or so that I could just blow on a couple of games, I would do it. But to get anything other than nosebleed seats in Heinz Field costs over 300 per ticket on stub hub. Factor in the ticket I would have to buy for my wife and the cost of driving down and a hotel room for a couple of nights and you are in the $1,000 cost area for my wife and I to go to a game. We'll eventually do it. But we'll never make a habit out of it unless we become independently wealthy, in which case we will buy up a PSL from someone looking to bail on theirs and go to all the home games.

....tickets cost around $90 zops if you buy them early on. If not $300.00 is about right off Ebay or SH. Parking $20.00 Food for tailgate $40.00 Liquid refreshment $30.00........ You can get away for as little as $160.00-$200.00 per or...as you mentioned up to $1,000.00 for two. I wouldn't pop for anything more than a couple hundred bucks. If it's more, I don't go. ( I sit on my couch and watch it) :wink:

[BSmack]

....tickets cost around $90 zops if you buy them early on. If not $300.00 is about right off Ebay or SH. Parking $20.00 Food for tailgate $40.00 Liquid refreshment $30.00........ You can get away for as little as $160.00-$200.00 per or...as you mentioned up to $1,000.00 for two. I wouldn't pop for anything more than a couple hundred bucks. If it's more, I don't go. ( I sit on my couch and watch it) :wink:

If you win the ticket lottery the Steelers hold every May, you get the chance to buy tickets at face value. So far no such luck. Otherwise they sell out instantly and the only place you can go is Stub Hub, Craigslist, EBay etc...

Oh, and when I say $1,000 I am talking about the total cost for 2 people to drive from Rochester to Pittsburgh, grab a hotel room for a night, buy lower level tickets, meals, stadium food and other assorted odds and ends.

Like I said, I'll do the trip. I'm thinking about rewarding myself with a game after I finish school and get a new job. But it will never be a regular thing for us.

[trev]

ChargerMike, we have been parking in the upper reserved lot. It's about $100 bucks. You can drive into the bus gate just about anytime and are guarantee'ed a parking spot. We do that when we tailgate or take the bus when we want to get out of the game quick.

[Dinsdale]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Still I'd love to see some empirical evidence as to how 60,000 drunken Duck fans can be louder than 75,000 people at Ralph Wilson stadium, much less 105,000 folks at Tennessee or the Rose Bowl. Or is that just a result of a more highly evolved U&L vocal cord?

It's called acoustics.

Yet Dins cites this artificially enhanced volume as an example of the greater passion of CFB fans.

True, Autzen is a big freaking bowl, with very high, steep sides, and no gaps at all. The building is predisposed to throwing down the big decibels.

Citing the Rose Bowl? Are you retarded? SoCals are the most notorious hand-sitters in all of sports.


But the primary reason why Autzen is louder than any other stadium in the country (arguably) -- is because everyone is screaming until their lungs bleed on every defensive set.

It ain't about "this building is loud, this building has gaps the noise can leak out" (although those are certainly major factors) -- it's about who brings the most passion to the stands (and who drinks the most).

And as people with knowledge of both atmosperes have already chimed in to back up -- the comparison in level of cheering between a college game and a pro game ain't even in the same ballpark.


You wanna see passion? Be at the stadium when the Ducks fire up the Harley and drag the mascot around the outside of the field to get things rolling, or the "OOOOOOOOO" howl during every. single. defensive set (hope your game plan didn't involve audibles, cause it ain't happening). Wanna see passion -- check out Perdue fans doing the Shout! dance between quarters at every game. Watch the Noles do the Warchant. I could crash this server listing such examples, and theres nothing in the NFL to compare to any of it.


Maybe it has to do with NFL fans being in a rush to get home and sober up for work monday, whereas a saturday NCAA game is just getting you warmed up for saturday night... I dunno, but there's a massive difference between the two sets of crowds.

[Dinsdale]

Tell you what, BSmack -- next time you make it to Pittsburg for a game, make it a twofer and go see the Lions -- they're pretty famous for being eardrum-shredding as well... you'll see what's up.

[BSmack]

Tell you what, BSmack -- next time you make it to Pittsburg for a game, make it a twofer and go see the Lions -- they're pretty famous for being eardrum-shredding as well... you'll see what's up.

They should be shredding eardrums. They have a capacity of 110,000 at their stadium.

BTW: I have been to the Carrier Dome for SU football back when McNabb was under center.

[Dinsdale]

BTW: I have been to the Carrier Dome for SU football back when McNabb was under center.

I'm guessing a dome was somewhat loud...


But don't confuse "SU loud" with one of the places that's legendary for being loud, Like Beaver Stadium or the House Of Loud, or Deaf Valley, or a host of others.


Michigan holds even more people than PSU, and they're quite well-known for being quiet as churchmice... "The 110,000 Quitest People In The Country." It ain't so much the building (although again, some favor it), it's the people in it.

[indyfrisco]

Like Dins said...

College football is the ultimate sports setting for a home-field advantage. A stadium full of spirited fans can make a game an incredibly difficult affair for an opponent. There is a big difference, however, in having a home field advantage and having a fan base that takes it upon itself to cripple a visiting team’s ability to properly function. Enter the Texas A&M University fans, a.k.a. the 12th man. These fans are so loud, so involved, so coordinated in their yells; it is as if the Aggie football team has another player on the field to help them. The result is a unique and often frightening game day experience for opposing players.

http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/printer_2.shtml

Funny Quote from the article...

The Towels
Back in the 1970’s, the Pittsburgh Steeler fans had what was known as the “terrible towels”. These butt-ugly gold towels were waved as a sign of involvement in a game. At A&M the towels are a more traditional white, but the effect is the same. At several key moments during a game at Kyle Field, you will see little white circles being made in the air as if every fan has suddenly been hypnotized into thinking they were a helicopter. It’s just another visual site to go along with the swaying and the audible yells to alert the opponent to the presence of the Aggie faithful.

[Goober McTuber]

The Towels
Back in the 1970’s, the Pittsburgh Steeler fans had what was known as the “terrible towels”. These butt-ugly gold towels were waved as a sign of involvement in a game. At A&M the towels are a more traditional white, but the effect is the same. At several key moments during a game at Kyle Field, you will see little white circles being made in the air as if every fan has suddenly been hypnotized into thinking they were a helicopter. It’s just another visual site to go along with the swaying and the audible yells to alert the opponent to the presence of the Aggie faithful.

ELA&MINATED

[BSmack]

The result is a unique and often frightening game day experience for opposing players.

Good thing they are that loud. Otherwise they might have been worse than 2-3 at home in Conference and not qualified for that Independence Bowl bid.

[Dinsdale]

Good thing they are that loud. Otherwise they might have been worse than 2-3 at home in Conference and not qualified for that Independence Bowl bid.

Yet another bit of evidence to the point I (and others) made...

They didn't care about the losing record at home -- they still did their deal, and got into it like every play was for the championship.

[BSmack]

Good thing they are that loud. Otherwise they might have been worse than 2-3 at home in Conference and not qualified for that Independence Bowl bid.

Yet another bit of evidence to the point I (and others) made...

They didn't care about the losing record at home -- they still did their deal, and got into it like every play was for the championship.

That's great. I've been to College Station and a 6-7 football team still beats remembering that you live in College Station. However, if 85,000 or so people in a fully enclosed stadium can't out decibel 65,000 folks in an open ended Heinz Field, there's a problem.

In the end, this is nothing more than a battle of anecdotes and subjective opinions.

[Dinsdale]

In the end, this is nothing more than a battle of anecdotes and subjective opinions.

Well... no.

ESPN and a couple of other media outlets take decibel meters (probably not the right name for that instrument), and take some rather unscientific measurements.

And the pro stadiums don't touch the college ones.

I have to run, but I saw an article on this recently, which I'll try and dig up later. But I seem to recall that the 125+ Decibel Club was 100% college stadiums (working off memory, which is shakey at best, I seem to remember Oregon, Washington, LSU, and maybe A&M posting the Big Number).

[Mikey]

Haven't been to an NFL game for prolly 30 years.

If the Bolts moved to Oceanside (possible still but not very likely) I'd consider getting season tickets the first year. I'd be able to take the train (Sprinter) from Vista, assuming there would be a stop convenient to the new stadium, and get there in no time.

Parking at Qualcomm (still rather call it the Murph) is ridiculous. Petco Park is prolly 10 miles farther from here but with the time it takes to get in and out of parking we prolly save 45 minutes in the round trip to a Padres game.

[Joe in PB]

I grew up outside Washington DC in the 70's & never got a chance to go to a Redskin game as they were sold out & had a ridiculous waiting list back then. After joining the Navy the being stationed in San Diego I was able to pick up season tickets (2) for a reasonable $400 in around 1987. At the time I wasn't really a Charger fan, but loved the NFL and going to the games was a privilege that I hadn't had before. The Bolts rubbed off on me after about 7 years, I witnessed the Bobby Ross years with a lot of bad football before & after. The best times certainly have been since GM AJ Smith arrived. I've been lucky enough to tailgate with some of T1B peeps, ChargerMike, Toos, Atomic dad, etc, great fellers all.

I finally turned in my season tickets last year when the price approached $2000 a season, not including parking. The NFL these days is becoming too much of a money grab for me. Now I cherry pick a couple of the best games, suck up the increased single game cost on Stub Hub, and still save a bundle.

When I travel on business I still like to go to games, I've been to Philly, Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Oakland, NE, LA Rams/Raiders, Atlanta, NO, LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, to name a few. Its always a good time.

As for the parking lot at the end of the game, I just fire up the grill again, have another cigar and wait for all the impatient morons to hit the road. It clears out in about an hour.

I still love the NFL experience, I'm just not going to pay through the nose for it anymore.