09-12-2016, 05:56 PM
Thought I would give a quick recap of our visit to New York for the 9/11 Bengals game....
Drove into the area Saturday late afternoon and stayed in Secaucus, New Jersey (about 3 miles from MetLife). Took a metro bus into NYC Saturday night for dinner and to sight see (The bus trip was very cheap, $8.50 round trip and took less than 20 minutes). Needless to say lots of people were out and about, checked out Times Square, ate some dinner then headed back before midnight. For those that haven't been NYC is safe and very cool if you've never been.
We were lucky enough to have a parking pass to park near the stadium at MetLife (less than 300 yards from the gate), was told by another Bengals fan who didn't have one they parked several miles away then had to bus in. Got the usual harassment before the game in the parking lot being an away fan but nothing too serious. I had a retro Jeff Blake jersey on which got some chatter going and was asked when the last time we won a playoff game on several occasions.
Was in the stadium early and watched all of the warm ups. A lot of early extra work by Vinny Rey and Carlos Dunlap in addition the QBs and WRs running routes. Nugent looked terrible in pre game warm ups and missed a good amount of FGs. Other than that nothing too spectacular to report on.
Being in NY on 9/11 I was expecting a lot more in pre game to honor the victims but the opening ceremonies were pretty short and sweet. As Im sure you saw on TV they had the large American flag but not much else other than a 1 minute message from (our idiotic) President that I believe they showed at all the stadiums.
For being a new stadium Met Life didn't impress me much. They had a solid food selection but the stadium overall lacked character. One thing I did like is they had 4 large scoreboards (one in each corner). 2 of the screens were dedicated to the NFL redzone channel and stats from around the league which was cool for a fantasy football guy like me.
We sat in the lower level and received zero harassment during the game, most fans around us were very cordial. Unlike a lot of away games, they weren't too harsh on their players when losing. Pre game Decker by far got the loudest cheer. One thing unique about MetLife is there is a private airport next door. It was a bit eerie seeing private planes fly over through out the game, there must have been 30 or so.
After the game was the usual silence from the home team when they lose. Parking was slow to leave, took about an hour and a half to get out of the stadium parking lot.
Look forward to going back for the Giants MNF game in November!
Side note I understand there is a NYC Bengal fan club, I would love to hook up with them for the Giants game if anyone has their contact info or social media link.
WHO DEY!!!
Drove into the area Saturday late afternoon and stayed in Secaucus, New Jersey (about 3 miles from MetLife). Took a metro bus into NYC Saturday night for dinner and to sight see (The bus trip was very cheap, $8.50 round trip and took less than 20 minutes). Needless to say lots of people were out and about, checked out Times Square, ate some dinner then headed back before midnight. For those that haven't been NYC is safe and very cool if you've never been.
We were lucky enough to have a parking pass to park near the stadium at MetLife (less than 300 yards from the gate), was told by another Bengals fan who didn't have one they parked several miles away then had to bus in. Got the usual harassment before the game in the parking lot being an away fan but nothing too serious. I had a retro Jeff Blake jersey on which got some chatter going and was asked when the last time we won a playoff game on several occasions.
Was in the stadium early and watched all of the warm ups. A lot of early extra work by Vinny Rey and Carlos Dunlap in addition the QBs and WRs running routes. Nugent looked terrible in pre game warm ups and missed a good amount of FGs. Other than that nothing too spectacular to report on.
Being in NY on 9/11 I was expecting a lot more in pre game to honor the victims but the opening ceremonies were pretty short and sweet. As Im sure you saw on TV they had the large American flag but not much else other than a 1 minute message from (our idiotic) President that I believe they showed at all the stadiums.
For being a new stadium Met Life didn't impress me much. They had a solid food selection but the stadium overall lacked character. One thing I did like is they had 4 large scoreboards (one in each corner). 2 of the screens were dedicated to the NFL redzone channel and stats from around the league which was cool for a fantasy football guy like me.
We sat in the lower level and received zero harassment during the game, most fans around us were very cordial. Unlike a lot of away games, they weren't too harsh on their players when losing. Pre game Decker by far got the loudest cheer. One thing unique about MetLife is there is a private airport next door. It was a bit eerie seeing private planes fly over through out the game, there must have been 30 or so.
After the game was the usual silence from the home team when they lose. Parking was slow to leave, took about an hour and a half to get out of the stadium parking lot.
Look forward to going back for the Giants MNF game in November!
Side note I understand there is a NYC Bengal fan club, I would love to hook up with them for the Giants game if anyone has their contact info or social media link.
WHO DEY!!!
"We have been sentenced to life in the prison that is a Bengals fan and we are going to serve out our time"
