New England away support

[Marshy]

So, being from England we're obviously very passionate about 'soccer'.

I'm a West Ham fan (We're playing over in America for a pre-season friendly in the summer!), and enjoy travelling round the country to away games that i can afford to get to.

Whats the situation like in the NFL, and in particular for the Patriots? Do many of you travel to as many road games as you can make, or none at all? Obviously the USA is a much bigger country than England, so getting over to Seattle or San Diego is probably out of the question - how far do you travel?

I was over in December for the Jets@Pats game and saw a load of NYJ fans, but that was obviously due to the proximity of NY. It'd be great to hear the American point of view on away games. :rocker:

 

[Tunescribe]

So, being from England we're obviously very passionate about 'soccer'.

I'm a West Ham fan (We're playing over in America for a pre-season friendly in the summer!), and enjoy travelling round the country to away games that i can afford to get to.

Whats the situation like in the NFL, and in particular for the Patriots? Do many of you travel to as many road games as you can make, or none at all? Obviously the USA is a much bigger country than England, so getting over to Seattle or San Diego is probably out of the question - how far do you travel?

I was over in December for the Jets@Pats game and saw a load of NYJ fans, but that was obviously due to the proximity of NY. It'd be great to hear the American point of view on away games. :rocker:

I generally try to make the Jets and Bills away games, and flew to Baltimore last season in addition to driving again to the Meadowlands for the Giants game. If it's somewhere along the Eastern Seaboard, I'll strongly consider going. I wouldn't normally fly to a regular-season game, but of course did fly to three Super Bowls.

I don't know how it is in soccer where you're at, but tickets can be very hard to get for away games in the NFL and you usually have to pay hefty scalper's prices. Patriots fans are fairly well represented at games in the Meadowlands and especially in Buffalo, where tickets are easier to come by. Elsewhere, transplanted New Englanders can be spotted at Miami and other warm-weather venues.

 

[Marshy]

I don't know how it is in soccer where you're at

The stadium has a different layout over here, there is an 'away' section of the crowd, nearly always behind one of the goals. Tickets for this are sold seperatly from the home tickets and can be bought via the away team - so aslong as you get in there early you can nearly always get yourself some away tickets!

What's the atmosphere like when you're an away fan? I'm hopefully going over for another home game next season, but would love to try and get tickets for Pats@Jets as the family wants to go to New York some time.

 

[Tunescribe]

The stadium has a different layout over here, there is an 'away' section of the crowd, nearly always behind one of the goals. Tickets for this are sold seperatly from the home tickets and can be bought via the away team - so aslong as you get in there early you can nearly always get yourself some away tickets!

What's the atmosphere like when you're an away fan? I'm hopefully going over for another home game next season, but would love to try and get tickets for Pats@Jets as the family wants to go to New York some time.

I wish there was a designated "visiting fans" section in NFL stadiums, but of course there's not. So, you're invariably sitting next to "enemy" fans and need to watch your decorum, especially if you're wearing Patriots gear. You can expect some ribbing, most of it good-natured. I always cheer for the Pats at away games but keep it reasonably contained and respectful. I've never had problems getting assaulted or anything beyond getting jeered. The guys who get in trouble with other teams' fans are those who are obnoxious in their behavior. After away games the Patriots win, it's always fun to high-five fellow Pats fans on the way back to the parking lot -- there's a lot of camaraderie in that way.

 

[Rossmci90]

I wish there was a designated "visiting fans" section in NFL stadiums, but of course there's not. So, you're invariably sitting next to "enemy" fans and need to watch your decorum, especially if you're wearing Patriots gear. You can expect some ribbing, most of it good-natured. I always cheer for the Pats at away games but keep it reasonably contained and respectful. I've never had problems getting assaulted or anything beyond getting jeered. The guys who get in trouble with other teams' fans are those who are obnoxious in their behavior. After away games the Patriots win, it's always fun to high-five fellow Pats fans on the way back to the parking lot -- there's a lot of camaraderie in that way.

Away sections are quality, they should definetly introduce it in the NFL.

An example of an away section:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1-qkjEvpMc&feature=related

It's a bit fuzzy but you can make out the barrier that separates the home and away fans. It's usually good natured.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I'll be at the 49ers and Raiders games. Hoping to make the San Diego and Seattle games, but not sure about that right now. If anyone else will make either or both of the Bay Area games, reply to this.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Seymour93]

There's only a couple of stadiums in the league (Philadelphia and Oakland come to mind) where I would not wear any away gear. Everywhere else away fans can wear their jerseys and even celebrate their teams TD's and big plays without fearing violence.

Pats fans generally travel in decent numbers. Not as much as Red Sox fans, but I'd say Pats fans are in the top 10 of NFL teams who have the most away fans.

 

[Free_Pacman]

I went to the Indy game last year. Nicest fans I have ever seen. Also, as much as it pains me to say it, it is a much better atmosphere before the game at Indy. They kind of have a rally/band/show thing outside. City isn't great, but it has all the the things you would want. Also went to the ND/Navy game the day before. This was real impressive too. Too bad the the Colts don't play at the RCA dome; there wasn't a bad seat in that house. We sat all the way at the top at about the 40 and they were still better than the lower-level tickets I have for the Pats.

 

[signbabybrady]

So, being from England we're obviously very passionate about 'soccer'.

I'm a West Ham fan (We're playing over in America for a pre-season friendly in the summer!), and enjoy travelling round the country to away games that i can afford to get to.

Whats the situation like in the NFL, and in particular for the Patriots? Do many of you travel to as many road games as you can make, or none at all? Obviously the USA is a much bigger country than England, so getting over to Seattle or San Diego is probably out of the question - how far do you travel?

I was over in December for the Jets@Pats game and saw a load of NYJ fans, but that was obviously due to the proximity of NY. It'd be great to hear the American point of view on away games. :rocker:

I travel really well. I have been to at least 2 road games a year for the past three seasons and I made 3 last year including one in Dallas. This year the plan is to catch two of the west coast games on back to back weeks. I think I will go out for San Fran and stay for San Diego.

 

[Marshy]

Of course, i completely forgot about the back to back WC games! I guess there is one advantage to them

 

[harrylime70]

Your a Hammer Marshy....same here for my sins Im still hoping to get over again myself. Probably for the Arizona game at this stage.

 

[Patjew]

I went to the Dallas game last year, as well as all 3 playoff games. Flew into them from Hong Kong. (Even a home game is away for me now - that's weird.) The people at the game in Dallas were cool. Respectful and knew the game. I had no problems with them, but of course, I try not to be obnoxious. I agree with Tune, most of the people who have problems at away games bring it on themselves. I just keep my cheering quiet, give my dad low-fives instead of high-fives, and try to stay away from anyone who's obviously crap-faced. I'm thinking of trying to hit the west coast games this year, since they're relatively close to me now.

 

[Thirdbasekid24]

I'll be at the 49ers and Raiders games. Hoping to make the San Diego and Seattle games, but not sure about that right now. If anyone else will make either or both of the Bay Area games, reply to this.

Regards,
Chris

I will be at the SF game! Stuck in the 300's though with a season ticket holder. The good thing about being up high is that you can get a good view of the patterns being ran by the wideouts.

 

[richpats]

It depends on the season/schedule. I live in VA, so any Pats road game on the East Coast is in play. I've gone to as many as 3 in the '03, '04, '05 and '07 seasons, this year it will be just one (Seattle) since most are on the WC.

 

[Rossmci90]

Does anyone have a ballpark figure for how many fans travel to road games (an average)?

In the UK the average is around 3-4,000 but you can get upwards of 7,000 going to some games.

 

[Tunescribe]

Does anyone have a ballpark figure for how many fans travel to road games (an average)?

In the UK the average is around 3-4,000 but you can get upwards of 7,000 going to some games.

It's really hard to tell. I remember last season's night game at Buffalo: We were ahead by more than 40 points late in the game. Most of the Bills fans had left and the Pats fans congregated in the lower rows all around the stadium. I was amazed at how many there were -- I'd say around 7,000. Again, the main factor is ticket availability; most NFL stadiums are sold out to season ticket holders. I would put most visitors to games at Gillette in the hundreds, never more than a thousand or two.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Last year was also something of an aberration there, too.

Heck, remember the 'lphins game in Miami last year? Honestly, I think the Pats fans were rooting harder than the 'lphins fans. [That game was so bad they actually broke out the "Let's go, Red Sox" chants. ]

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I will be at the SF game! Stuck in the 300's though with a season ticket holder. The good thing about being up high is that you can get a good view of the patterns being ran by the wideouts.

Noted! Any more people coming out to a WC game, especially a Bay Area game?

Regards,
Chris