My Report from San Fran

[signbabybrady]

Fun trip so far. San Fran is a fun city.

Got to the stadium at like 10:30 found parking and headed toward the stadium over some walking bridges (Kraft did you see them ) and than we walked around the lot a little some boos but not to roudy. Seemed to be a decent Pats crowd but most seemed to have lived out here.

My seats were awsome thanks SOCAL BONG. 25 yard line on the Pats side 40 rows up. Sweet.

Somehow a freaking annoying Dolphins fan wound up right behind me and was trying to rub in their victory. When I said you are just happy because you have more wins than last year already she calmed down a bit and was actually almost bearable (some laughs).

Game on and I thought the De looked OK to start but the O got off to a slow start putting to much pressure on the de and than they cracked. I thought the play calling had as much to do with it as anything those trick plays that were not working didnt help anything. but the O showed up just before it got ugly and while that Moss TD was huge I thought his deep INT was big too it really stretched the field and after those 2 plays the passes came easier to Welker and Gaff underneath.
Sammy continues to run real strong and Moroney continues to frustrate. Lamonts injury looked weird and I didn't see exactly what he hurt but he was untouched. I think you guys were still at commercial when he got up and he limped off strange he was kinda running off but couldn't really do much with the bum leg. Than he slammed the bench in frustration and tossed a towel, if his reaction is any indication it might be bad.
No doubt Cassel's best day. He looked awsome really spreading the ball around well. Only negatives the first pick and his pocket presance but man does he have a rifle.
Faulk is the man nice screen plays, nice draws, and the direct snap seems to be automatic for him.
Steve young ceremony was classy and fun to see. The crowd loved it as they should and the crowd I thought was pretty good.
Wish the Sox finished the day off so we could head to Vegas monday but we will hang out to watch game 4 that way if there is a game 5 we will be around to go.
Next up San Diego and I will be there too. First half of the road trip is a success and onto Qualcom via Vegas or Anheim.
Fun day see ya
SBB

 

[Patdown93]

I was there too man, but on the Niners side. I was lucky enough to be 2 rows away from the field

Moss literally caught that Cassell bomb in front of my eyes. Me and two other Pats fans around me went absolutely crazy.

Oh, I did see a dude in a Ronnie Brown jersey try to mess with a Pats fan.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

I was there too, and there were literally thousands of Pats fans at that game. Blue shirts everywhere you looked - it was great.

 

[Patdown93]

Yeah it was. It got loud too for the Pats.

My favorite moment was the Deltha O'Neal INT. Niners fans went absolutely dead and Pats fans roared.

Being a SF resident and going to plenty of Giants and Niners games.... SF fans just aren't that loud. A lot of them go just to go. Some Niners fans were telling me they get people who come to the game with caviar and offering people frescheta.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

People, please continue to post details of your experiences at away games. Don't be too brief. They're much appreciated and enjoyed, vastly preferable to the topics that we've endured here lately. THanks again.

 

[PatriotsDaily.com]

Yes, I much appreciate these experiences...it's a whole lot better than the raging panic and anger out there on these boards.

Tooting our own horn for a moment, At Patriots Daily we're trying to stay away from that stuff too, check out today's game story by Chris Warner as an example.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

Yeah it was. It got loud too for the Pats.

My favorite moment was the Deltha O'Neal INT. Niners fans went absolutely dead and Pats fans roared.

Being a SF resident and going to plenty of Giants and Niners games.... SF fans just aren't that loud. A lot of them go just to go. Some Niners fans were telling me they get people who come to the game with caviar and offering people frescheta.

That was great to see! I loved this signing from the beginning:singing:

Thanks to all who posted here It's fun to read about the atmosphere and experiences of other cities and venues.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Pats fans everywhere - I was surprised how many we had there. I would guess 6-8,000 - at least 10% of the crowd.

It really pissed off a lot of niner fans - there were a few fights in the end zone section and at least one niner fan taken away in handcuffs. Out in the concourse the home fans were chanting NINERS, NINERS at all the Pats fans that were there.

I was in the upper ez, and whenever the Pats made a play, our fans were up and making a lot of noise - it let us know where our allies were.

I will give the 49er fans credit for really being into the game. It was loud in there on big downs, like whenever the Pats had a 3rd or 4th down play. They were pumped for this game. It was a very entertaining game to be at - more fun than a lot of home games I've been to.

Hours after the game, back in the city I saw Pats jerseys walking all over the place, giving each other thumbs up signs. It was great.

 

[PatsDeb]

I was there too, and there were literally thousands of Pats fans at that game. Blue shirts everywhere you looked - it was great.

I'm glad to hear there were lots of Pats fans there as it didn't show on TV. Just a sea of red & gold, and even though they seem to focus on opposing fans a lot on other broadcasts, they did not do so yesterday and it looked to me like there were no Pats fans there. Glad to hear perception was not reality.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I went to the game, sat at the top of the stadium in the south endzone. A friend who is a serious photography hobbyist brought a camera with a lense that was 18" long for super closeups even from our seats. He got great shots, especially Moss catching the bomb as he raced towards us. I'm waiting for him to post his pics before a longer writeup. If he delays, I'll add my report sooner than planned.

Regards,
Chris

 

[italian pat patriot]

People, please continue to post details of your experiences at away games. Don't be too brief. They're much appreciated and enjoyed, vastly preferable to the topics that we've endured here lately. THanks again.

i agree too

pls do not be too brief from my side too

i love to read the experiences by Pats Fans on the road

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I haven’t been to Candlestick since the Pats were last out here during the ’98 preseason so this was long overdue. My wife and I and four friends sat in the last row of the stadium in the south endzone, but the view was excellent. There were a bunch of fellow Pats fans in the upper bowl as it was easy to pick out the blue shirts amongst the sea of red. I inadvertently mixed in with that sea of red by wearing my ’85 throwback Brady jersey (bought during the 2002 season when they wore them on Thanksgiving) which caused one of my friends to quip, “Hey, are you going to wear a black Brady jersey for the Raiders game in December?” The 49ers fans were great. Walking through the lot to the game and inside the stadium, the worst we heard were good natured “BOOO!”s Not even a single “Patriots suck!”

Since we were sitting in the south endzone, of course all of the TDs would be scored in the opposite one…except for Moss’. It’s plays like his where being in the stadium is 10x better than watching on TV. Cassel was under pressure so the fans were roaring for the sack. Then he stepped up and chucked the ball deep and the roar started to fade. The fans continued to cheer for the secondary to break up the pass, but then they noticed two things: Moss pulling away and Moss putting his hands out for what was soon to be an easy basket catch. Once they saw his hands go out and it was obvious he was going to catch the ball in stride, the fans basically gave up cheering for the D even before he caught the ball. That was cool.

After what was obviously a shootout of a 1st quarter, it appeared that the Pats were finding their groove on D in the 2nd. I say appeared because when you’re at the game and you don’t have TV graphics and commentators filling you in on details and keeping stats, you’re going purely by perception. Still, when they showed the halftime stats on the scoreboard and the Pats had 200 yards vs. 109 for the 49ers, 15 1st downs vs. 5 and had a 20min to 10min TOP advantage, we all looked at each other with a puzzled look and then said, “Damn, I guess they did have a good 2nd quarter on D.” I got a good head-on look at the Pats’ 2-man DL used a lot after the 1st quarter, as did the 49ers fans, and everyone in the stadium was wondering where the hell Frank Gore was. A bunch of 9er fans to our right were wearing “GIVE IT TO GORE” t-shirts; They should have planted themselves right behind the 49ers bench. The O’Sullivan scrambles were muted with that Pats D and their O just didn’t seem to have any plan to counter it.

After a shaky first quarter, Cassel started looking much sharper on his reads, especially the outs to Moss and the incuts to Welker and Gaffney. The 49ers tried confusing Cassel, but he was up to the task more often than not. There was one play that stood out for me. Pats had 3 wide on the right side with Watson the closest in the slot with Gaffney far right and Welker inbetween. Welker and Gaffney had CBs right on them while Watson had a safety lined up about 10yds off. LBs were shifted to the left so the presnap read appeared to be a quick slant to Watson. At the snap, Watson ran a quick in-cut, but the safety jumped all over it so if Cassel made the same read I did, he probably would have thrown a pick. However, Welker ran a slant to the spot where the safety vacated and caught a laser from Cassel for the 1st down. I don’t know if this could be seen on TV like it could from my seat behind Cassel, but it was a beautiful play that gets lost amongst the many in the game that don’t score a TD.

On the Pats’ final TD, when it was 4th-and-goal from the 2 and Cassel was in shotgun I was so ticked off, but then I saw Faulk standing next to him so I turned to my friend and said, “Direct snap to Faulk.” After I called it, a 49er fan in front of me who overheard turned and gave me the raised-eyebrow “I’m impressed” look. I then explained to my friend that the Pats did that in SB38 and vs. San Diego in the playoff game two seasons ago so it’s something I’ve seen before.

After Gostkowski nailed the long FG for a 9pt lead midway through the 4th quarter, the 49ers pulled the Eagles’ SB39 “hurry down” offense and drew the ire of the fans. I don’t know if you could hear the boos on TV, but the fans were imploring their team to abandon the huddle and just run the hurryup. After the 49ers turned the ball over on downs, fans started filing out en masse. By the 2min warning, the stadium was maybe 1/8 full. As the Pats were kneeling out the clock, a bunch of Pats fans to our right started a “Let’s go Red Sox” chant. On the way to our car, some guy started yelling at me from behind, “Hey Brady!” Figuring it was some sore-loser 49ers fan, I had no desire to give him the time of day so I didn’t bother turning around. After calling to me several times and finally about a foot behind me, I turn around to see that it’s a Pats fan with a Celtics jersey with another Pats fan wearing the same throwback jersey I had. I told him that I thought he was 49er fan trying to start something and they cracked up. After that it was 25 mins of sitting in the car until the logjam in the parking lot moved before heading home. Overall it was a great day that made me wish the Pats would come out more frequently than once every 8 years.

Regards,
Chris

P.S. The halftime jersey retirement ceremony for Steve Young was great. Everybody gave him a standing O, including the Pats fans. The guy has been busy since his retirement: Has 3 kids and his wife is very pregnant with their 4th.

 

[jagkho]

I was there as well, in the end zone area (near the dugouts for baseball - when they played baseball at the Stick). Saw a fair number of Pats fans in the parking lot but in my section we weren't that many. Couple of near fights, broken up by security.

Personally I'm more concerned about Cassel than before. We went to the 5 wide offense a few times and he tends to lock in on one receiver. If that guy isn't open it seems like he doesn't have the presence to check down or look at the other side of the field. Similarly I felt like we had trouble with the deep ball because it takes some time for Moss, etc. to get downfield and by that time Cassel tends to get happy feet. Of course, we're all a bit spoiled by having Brady the past 7 years, but thats what I saw.

 

[SoCal Bong]

All you guys were there and none of you were tailgating with us?!!

Of course the game was great but you guys missed out on one incredible tailgate party if I do say so myself. In fact the Projo covered it and will have a video segment posted later.

Let me back up for a second. On Saturday night we had about 60 Pats from all over the country meet up at Overtime Sports Bar & Grill. We ate, drank, played some trivia and met a whole bunch of great new people. Most people knew about this party from their local clubs in Orange County, Los Angeles (Pasadena) Seattle and of course the Bay Area, but we've also grown our membership in Patriots Tailgate tremendously and we even had a lot of people who travelled all the way from the right coast just for this game.

On Sunday we met up to tailgate right from the start between sections I & J as had been announced to the entire Patriot Nation through numerous forms of media. We probably had 130 Pats fans join us at one point or another and the Niner fans in our area were shocked at how many of us were there.

Here's a link to the photo the Projo posted of us and that was at 10:30 before everyone even arrived.

http://www.projo.com/patriots/slideshow/2008/1005_patriots/pages/03.

Anyway, if anyone is going to San Diego, we're expecting another great turnout and it would be great to meet some of you guys in person.

=================

Just to add some of my own personal experiences. I was sitting in Lower East 25, Row 6 which is on the Pats sideline far left facing the field, right next to the Pats tunnel. Yes these were incredible seats. Most Niners fans were cool but there were a few idiots in our area. One of them kept cursing at us even though we didn't even acknowledge his existence. Kept saying that he was going to kick our ***es and would follow us out and beat us down in the parking lot. He was a pretty big guy but security came up and talked to him. In fact they even walked him up the section so I thought he was gone but 5 minutes later he came back and was yelling even more obscenities. I guarantee that if I or any other Pats fan was saying and doing the same things we would have been 86'd right away but home team fans always get a longer leash, too long in many cases.

Near the end of the game, we went up to the front row and called out to Robert Kraft who acknowledged us with a wave. We also got handshakes from Ben Watson and Logan Mankins who went out of their way instead of just jetting for the tunnel. Plenty of other players waved or acknowledged us which was great as well. Brian Lowe from Patriots Today came by and talked with us for a bit too.

After the game we hung in the parking lot and got some more food while listening to baseball and congratulating each other on the win. Niners fans had nothing to say at this point but on the way in everything in the book was being screamed in our ears while we trudged through a painfully slow line and they "accidentally" bumped us. Eventually we made our way to Mile 7 which is a little restaurant/bar in Brisbane a few miles away which has plenty of screens so we watched the SNF game and the never-ending baseball game.

I'm at the San Jose airport right now headed back for SoCal.

================

Seriously, how could you guys not know about or join our tailgate party?

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

All you guys were there and none of you were tailgating with us?!!

We had some childcare issues that forced us to get to the game right before kickoff and leave immediately after, so no time for meet-and-greet. Would have loved to get there super early and tailgate, but it wasn't meant to be.

A Saturday hookup was also out of the cards as we held our older daughter's 4th birthday party then. Her actual birthday was yesterday. Does it make us bad parents that we left her with friends on her real birthday so we could go see the Pats?

If you're in Oakland in December, hope to see you then.

Regards,
Chris

 

[SoCal Bong]

If you're in Oakland in December, hope to see you then.

Regards,
Chris

Completely understandable.

Yes we will be in Oakland and in fact the club has a block of great lower level seats together on the Pats sideline available. Join Patriots Tailgate for more info and to purchase tickets; though we'll handle that next week since right now our focus is on preparing for San Diego where we'll have some great get-together events again.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Completely understandable.

Yes we will be in Oakland and in fact the club has a block of great lower level seats together on the Pats sideline available. Join Patriots Tailgate for more info and to purchase tickets; though we'll handle that next week since right now our focus is on preparing for San Diego where we'll have some great get-together events again.

We got our Oakland tix (2nd deck, north endzone) and we'll be taking BART to the game. As gametime approaches and you know where you'll be tailgating, be sure to post. We'll hop on an earlier BART and find your crew.

Originally planned trips to San Diego and Seattle as well, but then life happened and had to settle for the two local games. Give a good writeup of next week's game.

Regards,
Chris

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I went to the game, sat at the top of the stadium in the south endzone. A friend who is a serious photography hobbyist brought a camera with a lense that was 18" long for super closeups even from our seats. He got great shots, especially Moss catching the bomb as he raced towards us. I'm waiting for him to post his pics before a longer writeup. If he delays, I'll add my report sooner than planned.

Regards,
Chris

I got some pics from him and put them on my flickr account. Considering where we were sitting, these are great...

Regards,
Chris

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Regards,
Chris

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Regards,
Chris