eme123 Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 To me the NFL stadium experience has boiled down to getting hammered or having to deal with all the others around you that are hammered. It's just not something that appeals to me even though I would prefer being there from a football aspect. I live in Charlotte now so I don't make that choice every week but I always chose not to go when I return home and I never make a special trip to go to a game. Not sure how Buffalo compares to most stadiums but I do know games in Charlotte are a lot more tame. I know I know you'll say their fans don't compare to ours and you're right they don't, but it is for me the much better game time experience because the fans are not able to get too out of control. JMO Couldn't agree with you more. For some reason many fans seem to think that the only way to watch a game is by being inebriated. I also don't care for the way that opposing fans get treated at games sometimes, and fans that have done nothing to antagonize the home crowd, that didn't used to be that way either. I'll add that fans today spew obscene language that's pretty impossible to avoid, and I'm not talking about traditional chants of bullsiht that aren't a big deal, but really lewd, vulgar, and crass stuff that disallows any concerned parent from taking their small kids. I took my 5-year old son years ago and decided that I simply couldn't take him to games anymore because of that and haven't been back since now that I'm a family man. I realize that they have a so-called "family section," but it's a siht section that's among the worst seats in the stadium. The game day experience has changed significantly from the '80s and '90s in that way. Maybe it's because we would win, but the era of all the playoff games, and not limited to playoff games, was golden and fun without all the lewdness and over the top drunkeness. Also, the TV timeouts impact going to the games too. You sit there and wait and wait and wait for that guy with the red glove on to step off the field and sometimes it's several minutes with players just standing around on the field, etc. with absolutely no reason for it besides commercials. If you're not watching the guy with the glove you'd think that the game's going to start any second, but it is often 60-120 seconds more before the game gets going while you're sitting there with your thumb up your a##. I prefer to watch streams on my laptop. The size of the picture is bigger than a huge TV 15 feet away because it's 20" from my face, and when commercials pop up I can do something else, read some articles, or surf the web, or even get some work done. Dead on
MyHorseAteTheKid Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 I will say this... When I was in my 20's and had season tickets at Rich Stadium, rain or shine, I loved going to Bills games!!! Now in my late 50's I live 300 miles away, hate sitting is crap weather, and being pat frisked like an inmate as I enter the stadium totally pisses me off.... I guess age, time and distance has softened me... BTW, I NEVER drank when at the games... Why pay money to see an event and then miss most of it because you get stupid drunk?
plenzmd1 Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 (edited) Dead on dead wrong in my opinion..but like aresholes we all have one and they all stink Look at Mr. Infos post and mine...been bringing our kids from Richmond VA for years...got 34 people going to the home opener this year, almost all family...lots of teenagers now that have been going to the games since they were 5....cant replicate it on a TV in my mind. And yes, i have my share of beer before, during and after the game..but i also have plenty of food, water, and scolding looks from the wife. Edited June 20, 2014 by plenzmd1
PTS Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 I get the fan experience but taking that out of the equation, watching on TV is so much better. Just my opinion. I feel that way about almost all large stadium sports.
CodeMonkey Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 dead wrong in my opinion..but like aresholes we all have one and they all stink Look at Mr. Infos post and mine...been bringing our kids from Richmond VA for years...got 34 people going to the home opener this year, almost all family...lots of teenagers now that have been going to the games since they were 5....cant replicate it on a TV in my mind. And yes, i have my share of beer before, during and after the game..but i also have plenty of food, water, and scolding looks from the wife. Even if I thought you were lying, the bolded part seals it that you are indeed speaking the truth
bbb Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 I get the fan experience but taking that out of the equation, watching on TV is so much better. Just my opinion. I feel that way about almost all large stadium sports. You can't take the fan experience out of the equation. That is everything.
CodeMonkey Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 You can't take the fan experience out of the equation. That is everything. That boils this entire topic down to 1 sentence. Some feel as you do, and others do not.
bbb Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 That boils this entire topic down to 1 sentence. Some feel as you do, and others do not. That is everything on the stadium experience side.
mrags Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 I was on the field the last time they did that after a long drought: are you in that pic?
DerekJ Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 “Where else would you rather be than right here—right now?!" @ The Ralph....any questions?
bbb Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Hah...this is awesome! I am sure by the opener I will have replied in 10 threads how I have gone to games since 69, have brought my kids to at least one game a year since 2005, ( they will be 15 and 13 this fall), and I have never ever seen a reason not to bring them. We start the tailgate at 8.30, very rarely leave before 6:30, have a great party and a great time...and yes not as convenient as watching at home, but I get 10 great hours with my family where they actually think I don't suck 24/7. I know my kids an anomaly , but even they can't wait to go to games live..... Why are your kids an anomaly. Almost every kid I know loves going to the games.
Luxy312 Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 The biggest detraction from the value of a live game is all of the commercial timeouts. When you're watching a game in HD on a 56" screen at home, you can simply click over to another game. I'm not saying that the stadium experience doesn't also have value, but the difference in what you ultimately pay to watch the game MUST come into play. Is $300 for 512 games really less valuable than paying $200 a seat for decent seats and $50 for a couple beers and bad food at one game? It's a no brainer. I will pay to see a playoff game and have done so in the past. I have no problem paying $1,000+ for a seat in that situation as it's a once in a lifetime experience. In the meantime, I'll enjoy sharp close up views of the action on my home monster-tron, with cheap drinks and much better food.
mrags Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Yeah. Just not sure where! lol. I thought maybe on the crossbar.
plenzmd1 Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Why are your kids an anomaly. Almost every kid I know loves going to the games. I read somewhere once, no link, that folks under 30 really prefer the TV over being there live at just about all sporting events.
bbb Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 I read somewhere once, no link, that folks under 30 really prefer the TV over being there live at just about all sporting events. No. Those are just the losers.
sodbuster Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 I read somewhere once, no link, that folks under 30 really prefer the TV over being there live at just about all sporting events. That's not how this thread is reading...
Mark Vader Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 I read somewhere once, no link, that folks under 30 really prefer the TV over being there live at just about all sporting events. I tend to wonder how much of the game they are actually paying attention too when it's on.
White Linen Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 You can't take the fan experience out of the equation. That is everything. But the other element within the fan experience is it's being diminished by the excessive drinking and subsequent behavior. Again this isn't something I'm trying to convince anyone of, I'm just saying for me it's not worth dealing with.
BillsPride12 Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 I used to go to every single Bills home game but with all of the changes over the years to both the gameday experience at the Ralph and the better picture and quality you can get home on the tv...and as much as i hate to admit it i would also say just getting older has a role in all of this....but to me going to the games is more of a special event now where I try to get to a couple games a year instead of every one. I'm all for tailgating and partying before the games but the latest generation of 18-23 years olds attending the games can't handle their booze and are at an all-time obnoxiousness. Then the rent a cops they have working at the stadium actually make things worse. I dunno i just feel that the gameday experience just isn't what it used to be and its certainly not just Buffalo. My Dads buddy is a Cleveland Browns fan and he said the same thing has happened there.
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