Notes from First Arrowhead Trip

[hondo in seattle]

Thanks for the write-up, NHK12

 

I was at Arrowhead a couple of years ago when we crushed the Chiefs and my experience was very similar.

 

The Chief fans were great to me.  The fan sitting next to me talked to me on-and-off throughout the game.  He was both knowledgeable and polite.  Several fans yelled out, "good game," to my Bills-clad family group at the end of the contest.  No one said an unkind word.

 

I agree, Q39 in Overland Park is a fantastic place for KC BBQ.   While a lot of locals prefer Joes, I think for the quality of the overall menu (meats, sides, desserts), Q39 is the best BBQ joint in KC.  The ambience is great too.  

 

The only difference to your experience is my perception of the crowd noise.  My whole family thought they were extraordinarily loud, particularly in the first half.  The volume is my son's chief memory of the day.  By the fourth quarter, though, it quieted down considerably as fans were heading to the gates.  

[bigK14094]

3 hours ago, Talley56 said:

Sometimes I think the treatment of away fans gets exaggerated.  Heck, I am even friends with a Chiefs fan who went to see the Chiefs play in Philly a couple of years ago with a Chiefs hat on and he said he got through it just fine except for a few comments.  And Philly is supposedly the worst of the worst.  I recall about 9 or 10 years ago I was at an NE At Buffalo game, and, of course, there were a number of Pats fans in the stands.  One Pats' fan had his son with him and a Bills fan gave him a friendly heads-up that there would be profanity yelled around his son.  He wasn't disrespectful, just gave a fair warning, and that Pats fan was cool with it.

Dont wear your Bills gear in Pittsburg, hazzardous to your health.

[boater]

11 hours ago, Figster said:

Awesome stuff OP,

 

It was nice to see most of the bounces and penalty calls going Buffalo's way for a change. The Mahomes meltdown was not a good look for him.  Joe Brady with another impressive game plan and play call vs the defending Superbowl champs. I really liked the way we looked today OP. Glad you could be there to represent.

 

Thanks for sharing  

Yeah, it was a regretful look for him. If you believe Josh Allen--Mahomes is a quality person. I bet if he had a chance to rant all over again, he wouldn't.

[BigAl2526]

Out of curiosity, did you hear any of what KC fans were saying after the game about their failed "Music City Miracle" play?

Edited December 11, 2023 by BigAl2526

[Straight Hucklebuck]

On the telecast they were making a big deal about the crowd noise, one of those third downs it was oscillating between 111 - 117 dB. 

[CodeMonkey]

Glad you had a great time.  From what I hear, most stadiums/cities are that way and the fans treat it like entertainment, not life and death.  

With only a few exceptions.

[Virgil]

13 hours ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

First let me doff the cap to most of the KC fans this weekend—welcoming, genuine and all around good sports is what my experience was. I was a little bit nervous that my son’s first regular season Bills game would be an away game, and how that would go, but I needn’t have worried whatsoever. We both had a blast. A minor exception would be a few hotheads who lost their minds in the final few minutes of the game and let loose with profanity riddled screaming diatribes (not directly at me or my 8yr old) that I was doing my best to shield my son from by way of me sending over the shoulder disapproving “dad” stares in the direction of said persons, but to zero effect. 😁 

 

Only heckling I got all day sounded like this: “No, don’t go Bills…but I hope you have a great time, and safe travel back!” 😂

 

Our local guide for this trip was my Chiefs fanatic nephew, who along with his wife, arranged getting the tickets and showed us around everywhere. 

 

We started out from my brother’s house in Independence KS, close to the Oklahoma line, meaning an almost 3 hour car ride up to KC…but talking football with my nephew helped that go by quick. (Side note—KS roadways are catnip for speeders like me, as the roads are straightaways for miles, no hills or cop presence in rural communities to worry about, and well maintained).

 

First stop was QC39 BBQ in Overland Park by 11:15am local time, where we beat the worst of the lunch rush, and I counted at least 5 other tables of Bills fans…a good sign! I had the Brisket sandwich with a side of their 5-cheese Parmesan encrusted Mac, and let’s just say this was almost worth the trip by itself. 

 

@Zerovoltz, there should never be any doubt about how solid that place’s BBQ game is. 

 

Then we headed to the stadium lots, (long car ride when that trash Tech N9ne KCMO anthem is blaring) which were about 3/4 full by 12:45, and heavy rising smoke from the tailgaters. Saw plenty of Bills fans sprinkled like seasoning throughout the tailgates, and witnessed zero fights or altercations of any kind between the 2 sides, fwiw.

 

Went into the stadium when gates opened at 1:30, and were “treated” to a tour of the Lombardi trophy cases and other Chefs propaganda by my gleeful nephew…all in good fun of course. Another side note—amongst all the Chiefs historical dioramas, hung a Bills letterman jacket straight from the 60’s, in the case talking about the early years of the League. We got to go down to field level seats and watch warmups—Stef and Gabe came over to where we were and waved—Gabe played catch a few times with the Bills fans near us, but no autographs were signed by any players that I could see. What I thought was kind of cool was Diggs playing corner against Davis for some of their drills, and Davis always caught those contested throws—unlike the game of course 😢. 

 

Also got to see Sal Capaccio hold court with some fans in the roped off VIP experience paint, signing autographs and taking selfies like he was on the team or something! 🤷 (Whatevs…I’m just jealous he didn’t make it over to our area). BTW, Bass made all of his warmup kicks until getting to about 45+ yards out—he for sure missed the 55 yarder he attempted, by kicking at least 5-10 yards short of the goal posts—I wonder if McD had this in mind when he decided a Hail Mary was preferable to trotting Bass out right before the half? 

 

Then on to our actual seats in Section 302, Row 4, on 40 yard line–they were great—far enough away to have an all-22 type vantage point, but still close enough to clearly see jersey numbers, and feel like we were right over the action. Bathrooms were “vintage,” with Chiefs fans in line being good humored about the troughs and only 2 stalls setup—they know these are originals in sore need of upgrades! 

 

Concessions are what you’d expect—a pretzel and 2 waters cost 20 bucks for example, and beers were 14 on the cheap domestic end, 16-18 if you were going to”fancy” import cans.

 

Here’s what I found most shocking however—the noise while the Bills were on O was loud, but I was expecting my ear drums to burst given the reputation of the place, and yet it was strangely totally not like that. Even my son who can be sensitive about loud sounds, never once mentioned the crowd noise to me as a negative thing. 

 

The game itself was exciting of course, and I finally broke my own streak of only seeing the Bills lose when in person! I won’t rehash the game details as we have all sorts of threads for that, but a few quick observations:

 

I never saw other players really interact with Von on the sideline whenever I was watching—in the 4th I noticed him sitting by himself on a drinks cooler almost dejectedly—I did find it ironic to overhear Chiefs fans talking about how Von shouldn’t even be playing in the game, he’s a woman beater who should be in jail right now etc., when we all know the long and sordid history of the DV offenders who have trotted out for the Chiefs through the years, but I digress. (I did mostly agree with the sentiments, fwiw). 

 

Cook looked fast and electric out there—ala Thurman in Super Bowl XXV—so why did he only get 15 total touches?? 164 yards, the man was a beast today. 

 

Allen was under duress a lot, but he didn’t lose his cool, and he showed a lot of poise just in how he carried himself at the line—the man just flat out looked comfortable despite his line doing him no favors, and his WR 1 being uncharacteristically sloppy. 

 

Seeing Rousseau running stride for stride down the sideline in perfect pass coverage for a breakup was another highlight for me—a “double mint double take” type moment (fellow Gen  Xers will know what I’m talking about, ha ha).

 

While the Chiefs were in meltdown mode having just witnessed the Billsiest of losses in the Mahomes era happen to them, I had to constrain my celebration, out of sportsmanship empathy with my distraught nephew as well as having felt like we literally stole the W, not so much earned it on that final drive—but hey, I’ll take it!! (Still bumped a lot of Bills brethren fists walking out, sharing knowing grins and solemn “Go Bills”) 

 

Anyway I think I’ve LAMPED long enough for this OP, thanks for reading! I’ll edit this in the coming day to add some pics. 

 

What were your impressions on the stadium itself?  Do you feel it's in need of an upgrade or missing any modern updates?

 

As per the noise, I'm curious what you thought on the Bills last offensive drive.  That was the only time I thought the noise was excessive and distracting the Bills.

[HomeskillitMoorman]

47 minutes ago, BigAl2526 said:

Out of curiosity, did you hear any of what KC fans were saying after the game about their failed "Music City Miracle" play?

 

I was there and the ones I was around and even in the parking lot after were really pissed and kept talking about how they were robbed and we were gifted the W and this destroys the narrative that the refs ever help them out. 

 

It was pretty hilarious stuff. 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

I’m sooooo jealous I didn’t get to catch a glimpse or take a precious selfie with that megastar Sal …. 🤮

[Starr Almighty]

After reading chiefs planet for 5 minutes you would think going to a game in KC would be horrible. It's the exact opposite of that website the people are friendly and it's just an overall nice place to visit

[RobbRiddick]

9 hours ago, DBilz2500 said:

Sal signing autographs like he is some big deal/celebrity?! Now that’s funny lol 

He was actually writing hatemail to Dunne for bad mouthing his crush

[Irv]

3 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

Thanks for the write-up, NHK12

 

I was at Arrowhead a couple of years ago when we crushed the Chiefs and my experience was very similar.

 

The Chief fans were great to me.  The fan sitting next to me talked to me on-and-off throughout the game.  He was both knowledgeable and polite.  Several fans yelled out, "good game," to my Bills-clad family group at the end of the contest.  No one said an unkind word.

 

I agree, Q39 in Overland Park is a fantastic place for KC BBQ.   While a lot of locals prefer Joes, I think for the quality of the overall menu (meats, sides, desserts), Q39 is the best BBQ joint in KC.  The ambience is great too.  

 

The only difference to your experience is my perception of the crowd noise.  My whole family thought they were extraordinarily loud, particularly in the first half.  The volume is my son's chief memory of the day.  By the fourth quarter, though, it quieted down considerably as fans were heading to the gates.  

 

I think things were way worse at Rich/The Ralph/New Era/Highmark when the Bills were consistently losing.  Now that they have been a good team for a while, the treatment of competitors fans is actually pretty good.  In the old days.  You'd see fights at EVERY game.  It was pretty unsafe.  Not so lately.  Also, they've gotten a lot better with security and providing the phone number you can call if anybody is being a Richard Cranium.  Much better experience for all, in my mind.  

 

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by Irv

[Herc11]

14 hours ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

 

Here’s what I found most shocking however—the noise while the Bills were on O was loud, but I was expecting my ear drums to burst given the reputation of the place, and yet it was strangely totally not like that. Even my son who can be sensitive about loud sounds, never once mentioned the crowd noise to me as a negative thing. 

 

In the stands it's loud, but where you really experience the totality of the crowd noise is on the field. Gotta remember in the stands, the majority of the noise is projected away from you and focused towards the field. I did the color guard for a Bills MNF game against the Browns back in like '09. It was so loud on the field I had to yell the cadence so that everyone in the color guard could hear me and there were only 4 or 5 of us.

Edited December 11, 2023 by Herc11

[Jerome007]

6 hours ago, Talley56 said:

Sometimes I think the treatment of away fans gets exaggerated. 

Probably. Yet I recall a few Bills fans throwing empty beer cans at a Dolphins fan with his young son. Not dangerous, but not exactly welcoming ha ha.

 

On a Bills-Jets game, SNF opener, I saw the most fights I've seen outside of a ring/cage ha ha. Yet it was mostly Bills fans against... Bills fans. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

2 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:

Out of curiosity, did you hear any of what KC fans were saying after the game about their failed "Music City Miracle" play?

Basically the sentiment in the concourses and with my nephew, was that this would’ve been a highlight HOF reel for Kelce, and that even if there was a neutral zone infraction, unfair to call it in that moment—one lady in particular kept yelling, “there you go Vegas, make that money” lol. I would note that at the time, no one seemed to see the flag before the play developed, hence the Chefs fans all thought it was called late after the TD, fwiw. 

[hondo in seattle]

2 hours ago, HomeskillitMoorman said:

 

I was there and the ones I was around and even in the parking lot after were really pissed and kept talking about how they were robbed and we were gifted the W and this destroys the narrative that the refs ever help them out. 

 

It was pretty hilarious stuff. 

 

When I was there a couple of years ago, the beatdown was so complete that I got none of that.  The KC fans graciously admitted their defeat and said they'd see us again in the playoffs.  

[NoHuddleKelly12]

1 hour ago, Herc11 said:

In the stands it's loud, but where you really experience the totality of the crowd noise is on the field. Gotta remember in the stands, the majority of the noise is projected away from you and focused towards the field. I did the color guard for a Bills MNF game against the Browns back in like '09. It was so loud on the field I had to yell the cadence so that everyone in the color guard could hear me and there were only 4 or 5 of us.

That makes sense, thanks for the clarification!

[NoHuddleKelly12]

2 hours ago, Virgil said:

 

What were your impressions on the stadium itself?  Do you feel it's in need of an upgrade or missing any modern updates?

 

As per the noise, I'm curious what you thought on the Bills last offensive drive.  That was the only time I thought the noise was excessive and distracting the Bills.

For an older stadium I thought (except for the crappy bathrooms) that they’d done a nice facelift job on keeping it looking decent—my nephew mentioned that the slope of the upper decks is so steep that it wouldn’t pass code compliance if built to today’s standards. Supposedly that helps make teams feel like the fans are right on top of them? The area by the Lombardi cases and Chiefs history exhibits was super nice, heated, and looked very modern/lots of glass etc. Apparently nothing in the works for a complete rebuild, but more development around the stadium is coming. As to noise, no question it got louder once they went on their run and tied it up—I would say it was loudest then than even compared to start of the game. I was also surprised how quickly they booed their own offense before halftime lol. But nothing compared to the stadium chants against the refs—were those audible on the TV feeds?

[BillsPride12]

41 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

For an older stadium I thought (except for the crappy bathrooms) that they’d done a nice facelift job on keeping it looking decent—my nephew mentioned that the slope of the upper decks is so steep that it wouldn’t pass code compliance if built to today’s standards. Supposedly that helps make teams feel like the fans are right on top of them? The area by the Lombardi cases and Chiefs history exhibits was super nice, heated, and looked very modern/lots of glass etc. Apparently nothing in the works for a complete rebuild, but more development around the stadium is coming. As to noise, no question it got louder once they went on their run and tied it up—I would say it was loudest then than even compared to start of the game. I was also surprised how quickly they booed their own offense before halftime lol. But nothing compared to the stadium chants against the refs—were those audible on the TV feeds?

Yes!  Lmao 

[Virgil]

52 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

For an older stadium I thought (except for the crappy bathrooms) that they’d done a nice facelift job on keeping it looking decent—my nephew mentioned that the slope of the upper decks is so steep that it wouldn’t pass code compliance if built to today’s standards. Supposedly that helps make teams feel like the fans are right on top of them? The area by the Lombardi cases and Chiefs history exhibits was super nice, heated, and looked very modern/lots of glass etc. Apparently nothing in the works for a complete rebuild, but more development around the stadium is coming. As to noise, no question it got louder once they went on their run and tied it up—I would say it was loudest then than even compared to start of the game. I was also surprised how quickly they booed their own offense before halftime lol. But nothing compared to the stadium chants against the refs—were those audible on the TV feeds?

I def heard the boos. 
 

The last Bills offensive drive sounded like it was deafening in person, which is why I called out that moment specifically