07-17-2023, 09:11 PM
Awesome thread idea.
As a fan who's never lived in Cincy (I'm a New Yorker- although even that less and less these days), I've made a tradition of going out to one road game per year. It's more an excuse for tourism than anything else, but it's worked like a charm. To this point I've seen most of the stadiums that I've ever had any desire to... some of which are now merely relics of the past (e.g., Qualcomm, Oakland Coliseum, Candlestick Park, etc.).
In terms of my faves, it's hard to separate Game Day-specific factors from the stadiums themselves, so take these five random thoughts with a grain of salt...
Seattle. I thought it was a great vibe. Centrally located. After the game all of Seattle is there at your fingertips. The fan experience is totally unique. They're a varied group (some drive up from Portland, others come down from Vancouver, some from Washington inland and the rest from Seattle proper)... and I don't know what it is, but there's something about that diversity I find/found really attractive. Great mix overall. And of course, the acoustics in the building. We all know about the storied 12th Man etc. but it's not until I went there that I realized a lot of that was... what's another word for artificial?? haha. I mean, the fans are really quite civil and anything but hostile. You look around and most of them are politely watching the game- yet the sound is indeed blistering. It makes no sense. Mind you, I'm not gonna ask questions, not gonna imply they're doing anything wrong. AFAIK, it's all part of the show and fun to experience... once. :)
Denver. I went to the Osweiler/McCarron OT heartbreaker in 2015. It was freezing. One of the coldest in history. I lost my gloves somewhere and the sweet Broncos fans I was sitting with gave me a pair of their extras. So I was draped in all-Bengals gear with the exception of incredibly loud Broncos gloves lol. Quite the image. I looked like an aspiring football diplomat. And I don't feel the least bit guilty about it, either. They were a godsend. It was awesome. Fun to just be at Mile High. They do everything right. Bit of a public transit voyage to get there but I enjoyed it all. FWIW, I thought their fans were really smart and loved football, so I was happy when they won the SB later that year with Peyton.
Oakland. Surprisingly, one of my FAVES. So easy to get there by train/BART. Stadium was old but the tailgate was wild and... I just like old buildings. So much history there and Raider Nation really embraced it too. We sat in the middle of the Black Hole, and that was f COOL. So glad we did that. Raider fans have the best costumes ever and I got so many sweet pics with them. Mind you, it's important to note that we did need to be a wee bit careful about our enthusiasm lol (Bengals blew them out that day). After all, they've seen their share of bad football over the years with fuses that are shorter than most! Either way, I just think it's disgusting that the team moved away from the Bay again, let alone to Vegas. Thinking of all those diehard fans just makes me sad. For their team to be in the plastic no man's land of gambling country must feel like the ultimate worst-case scenario.
Foxboro. I would say that I hated it if only hate were a strong enough description. I hate Boston fans in general, let's be clear lol, but Pats fans were ultra-obnoxious. This was at the height of their glory so you can imagine. The Bengals got smoked Brady-style, so it sucked to begin with. But I remember the bathrooms being absurdly inconvenient (longest lines of any stadium I can remember). Concessions and food choices were ordinary, if not subpar and forgettable. But worst of all was the commute. I can't emphasize it enough, and this is coming from someone who lived for four years in San Fran and can fully appreciate the post-game torture of a 70 000-fan parking lot bottleneck. And I knew Foxboro wasn't Boston, but this was beyond the pale. Felt like we were on a trek to Albany. IINM, just one single train from downtown Boston on Game Day ("Patriots Train" or "Million Dollar Train" or whatever stupid name they gave it) that was crawling along at half-speed the whole way as if it was caught in rush hour traffic. By the time we got there I felt exhausted... plus we were late, if you can believe it. So if you ever see the lower bowl at Gillette empty for the first quarter or whatever, now you know why. You'd think they'd have the schedule down pat and leave plenty of margin for error... but nope. I mean, if the Patriots weren't one of the more successful franchises in sports, their rep would be annihilated by how inconvenient the whole thing is. In hindsight I wouldn't consider anything but driving there. I do enjoy Boston but I'd even stay in Foxboro if I had to. The trip by train is just not worth it imo.
Cincinnati. I loved it. Only been the once, but that was for my very first game (58-48 Battle of Ohio in 2004). So many cool memories. I know it's boring to you all but the location is ideal. Hop, skip and a jump from whatever hotel. And I remember the people being really kind. Beers have probably gone up in price lol but at the time even those were affordable. Tailgate was super. I mean, after ~15 years of being a fan, I was excited to be there at all, especially with a team that was finally turning the corner. It's a beautiful feeling to physically experience positive change among a larger group. And when the scoreboard started popping, there was no way to prepare for ir. Felt like Studio 54 circa 1978. I remember fans losing their marbles, chaos in every section, 60 000 people on ecstasy- I'm thinking, "Is every game like this?!?!"
---
Those are just a few memories. But great great great great times overall (even Foxboro). Hope to be back in Cincy again soon.
As a fan who's never lived in Cincy (I'm a New Yorker- although even that less and less these days), I've made a tradition of going out to one road game per year. It's more an excuse for tourism than anything else, but it's worked like a charm. To this point I've seen most of the stadiums that I've ever had any desire to... some of which are now merely relics of the past (e.g., Qualcomm, Oakland Coliseum, Candlestick Park, etc.).
In terms of my faves, it's hard to separate Game Day-specific factors from the stadiums themselves, so take these five random thoughts with a grain of salt...
Seattle. I thought it was a great vibe. Centrally located. After the game all of Seattle is there at your fingertips. The fan experience is totally unique. They're a varied group (some drive up from Portland, others come down from Vancouver, some from Washington inland and the rest from Seattle proper)... and I don't know what it is, but there's something about that diversity I find/found really attractive. Great mix overall. And of course, the acoustics in the building. We all know about the storied 12th Man etc. but it's not until I went there that I realized a lot of that was... what's another word for artificial?? haha. I mean, the fans are really quite civil and anything but hostile. You look around and most of them are politely watching the game- yet the sound is indeed blistering. It makes no sense. Mind you, I'm not gonna ask questions, not gonna imply they're doing anything wrong. AFAIK, it's all part of the show and fun to experience... once. :)
Denver. I went to the Osweiler/McCarron OT heartbreaker in 2015. It was freezing. One of the coldest in history. I lost my gloves somewhere and the sweet Broncos fans I was sitting with gave me a pair of their extras. So I was draped in all-Bengals gear with the exception of incredibly loud Broncos gloves lol. Quite the image. I looked like an aspiring football diplomat. And I don't feel the least bit guilty about it, either. They were a godsend. It was awesome. Fun to just be at Mile High. They do everything right. Bit of a public transit voyage to get there but I enjoyed it all. FWIW, I thought their fans were really smart and loved football, so I was happy when they won the SB later that year with Peyton.
Oakland. Surprisingly, one of my FAVES. So easy to get there by train/BART. Stadium was old but the tailgate was wild and... I just like old buildings. So much history there and Raider Nation really embraced it too. We sat in the middle of the Black Hole, and that was f COOL. So glad we did that. Raider fans have the best costumes ever and I got so many sweet pics with them. Mind you, it's important to note that we did need to be a wee bit careful about our enthusiasm lol (Bengals blew them out that day). After all, they've seen their share of bad football over the years with fuses that are shorter than most! Either way, I just think it's disgusting that the team moved away from the Bay again, let alone to Vegas. Thinking of all those diehard fans just makes me sad. For their team to be in the plastic no man's land of gambling country must feel like the ultimate worst-case scenario.
Foxboro. I would say that I hated it if only hate were a strong enough description. I hate Boston fans in general, let's be clear lol, but Pats fans were ultra-obnoxious. This was at the height of their glory so you can imagine. The Bengals got smoked Brady-style, so it sucked to begin with. But I remember the bathrooms being absurdly inconvenient (longest lines of any stadium I can remember). Concessions and food choices were ordinary, if not subpar and forgettable. But worst of all was the commute. I can't emphasize it enough, and this is coming from someone who lived for four years in San Fran and can fully appreciate the post-game torture of a 70 000-fan parking lot bottleneck. And I knew Foxboro wasn't Boston, but this was beyond the pale. Felt like we were on a trek to Albany. IINM, just one single train from downtown Boston on Game Day ("Patriots Train" or "Million Dollar Train" or whatever stupid name they gave it) that was crawling along at half-speed the whole way as if it was caught in rush hour traffic. By the time we got there I felt exhausted... plus we were late, if you can believe it. So if you ever see the lower bowl at Gillette empty for the first quarter or whatever, now you know why. You'd think they'd have the schedule down pat and leave plenty of margin for error... but nope. I mean, if the Patriots weren't one of the more successful franchises in sports, their rep would be annihilated by how inconvenient the whole thing is. In hindsight I wouldn't consider anything but driving there. I do enjoy Boston but I'd even stay in Foxboro if I had to. The trip by train is just not worth it imo.
Cincinnati. I loved it. Only been the once, but that was for my very first game (58-48 Battle of Ohio in 2004). So many cool memories. I know it's boring to you all but the location is ideal. Hop, skip and a jump from whatever hotel. And I remember the people being really kind. Beers have probably gone up in price lol but at the time even those were affordable. Tailgate was super. I mean, after ~15 years of being a fan, I was excited to be there at all, especially with a team that was finally turning the corner. It's a beautiful feeling to physically experience positive change among a larger group. And when the scoreboard started popping, there was no way to prepare for ir. Felt like Studio 54 circa 1978. I remember fans losing their marbles, chaos in every section, 60 000 people on ecstasy- I'm thinking, "Is every game like this?!?!"
---
Those are just a few memories. But great great great great times overall (even Foxboro). Hope to be back in Cincy again soon.
