Report from Seattle

[nepatz11]

Tune we have debated the acoustics of Gillette before. You say they are awful. I say they are about average, par for the course for a new stadium, that when people make noise it is pretty loud and that most new stadiums suffer similar flaws.

Yet I think we can both agree that we would trade Qwest for Gillette in a second. When I look at Qwest and how cool it is and how awesome and fun the whole 12th man thing is it makes me so sad that we have an unremarkable new stadium with a too high upper deck and all these superfluos useless empty spaces in the lower bowl that would be great seats but at least we can all see the McDonalds!

 

[Tunescribe]

You said the fans were loud, was the place sold out?

I give them major credit for being that supportive for a 2-11 team. We're 8-5 and you see more whining than excitement it seems.

* The place had empty seats here and there, but was pretty full for a 2-10 team.

* Yes, lots of Pats fans. Many of them seemed to be transplants living in the area.

* One experience I forgot to share: I stood in line with my cousin to get fish & chips at halftime. The line moved slowly, and we were watching the second-half kickoff on the TV at the food vendor. He wanted to eat on the concourse and I, of course, wanted to get back in there right away to see the game, so I hurried back into what I "thought" was my section -- 50 yard line, 32 rows up in the upper deck. So, I was balancing my plate of food and binoculars, climbing up steps, counting the rows. I turned right, promptly kicking over a guy's beer, which he carelessly put on the FLOOR in front of his seat, instead of IN THE DAMN CUP HOLDER. So I'm immediately public enemy #1, wearing my Patriots jacket and hat. I get to my seat and the people do not look familiar. One seat next to mine is covered in vomit, and a guy behind me is energetically barfing into a plastic bag. I say to another guy, "That's my seat." He said no it isn't. Then I say, "Row HH, right?" "Yes." "Section 335?" "No, this is 336." So, I have to do an about-face, and walk again past the drunk guys yelling at me that I owe the idiot in seat #1 a beer: "A damn Patriots fan. And after all that he doesn't even have the right section!" So, I just look straight ahead and walk past them to the aisle, saying "Sorry." I'm still amazed I wasn't assaulted. That was it, nothing beyond people yelling "Patriots suck!" on my way down to the bottom so I can go around the bend back up to section 335.

 

[BlitzFritz]

* I get to my seat and the people do not look familiar. One seat next to mine is covered in vomit, and a guy behind me is energetically barfing into a plastic bag. I say to another guy, "That's my seat." He said no it isn't. Then I say, "Row HH, right?" "Yes." "Section 335?" "No, this is 336." So, I have to do an about-face, and walk again past the drunk guys yelling at me that I owe the idiot in seat #1 a beer: "A damn Patriots fan. And after all that he doesn't even have the right section!" So, I just look straight ahead and walk past them to the aisle, saying "Sorry." I'm still amazed I wasn't assaulted. That was it, nothing beyond people yelling "Patriots suck!" on my way down to the bottom so I can go around the bend back up to section 335.

These are the small experiences that make enrich our lives.

- FRITZ

 

[SoCal Bong]

You can check out who showed up at our pre-game party in Seattle here:

YouTube - Bob Kraft at the Patriots Tailgate Bash at Showbox SoDo in Seattle

This Sunday morning we'll be at Jillian's at the Metreon in San Francisco starting as early as 9:30am.

 

[Tunescribe]

Yet I think we can both agree that we would trade Qwest for Gillette in a second. When I look at Qwest and how cool it is and how awesome and fun the whole 12th man thing is it makes me so sad that we have an unremarkable new stadium with a too high upper deck and all these superfluos useless empty spaces in the lower bowl that would be great seats but at least we can all see the McDonalds!

Agreed. Qwest is without peer as a noise factory. Its design is ingenious, in terms of channeling noise and keeping people out of the rain (at least those in the upper deck). People in the 100 and 200 levels still get wet when it rains, which is often, but the upper decks appear to have the most seats overall. The only "minus" compared to Gillette is that the concourses are closed and you can't see the field from them.

 

[signbabybrady]

Great report Tune glad you had fun....reading that makes me wish I had gone too. I did THe 49ers and Chargers earlier in the year though.

and SOCAL BONG Glad to hear you got that surprise from Bob you deserve it for the work you do helping fellow fans and their road game experiences.

To any doing road trips in the future you should speak with him before you do because I am sure he can help you out.

 

[The 12th Man]

It was an amazing experience for me. I hung out at the Showbox SoDo with hundreds of Pats fans for a little bit before the game and went to the stadium at about 11:30 only to find out that I was a little late for player autographs as Randy, Tedy and many others signed before warm-ups. But I did get excited when I called out to Scott Pioli and he walked over and signed his autograph and even better, gave me a handshake. That was awesome. Some lucky kid (about 10 years old) got a football from Cassel AND Wes Welker's gloves after the game. Loud it was at QWest Field. Vince walking of the field early in the first made me worried about our run D. And then of course Tedy's injury was terrible too. I saw BB talking to Vrabel A LOT. As someone mentioned, Seau and Colvin looked a bit rusty, obviously not 100% ready to play but did a good job stepping in due to injuries. Some fans were pretty good, some were bad, probably like any other place. The 3 Seahawk fans in front of us had some friendly smack talk and congratulated us in the end. But there were a few bad ones like a girl bumping my wife on purpose as we were walking out. Another guy kept flipping off every Pats fan he saw walking outside the stadium. For me, this was a first time that I've seen so many Pats fans so it was very special. Overall, it was an experience I will never forget.

 

[#56300ex]

Kinda late to report this but my son and I also had a great time at Qwest, sure you had the occasional trash talking but nothing over the top, mostly grumbling. I was really glad we got great seats 6 six rows behind the Patriots' bench on the 45 yard line.Thankfully there were more Patriot fans than Seahawk fans in that particular section. One chick in a Seahawk jersey told her boyfriend (in a Patriot jersey) that she felt really uncomfortable sitting there because she was the only Seahawk fan. Right before kickoff Bob Kraft came over and shook hands with the folks in front of us in the 1st row. Also worth noting ,after the game when all the players were heading from the field to the locker room, Ellis Hobbs went out of his way to run back to the sidelines and high five and shake hands with all the Pats fans in the front row thanking them for being there. Next time I'm sitting in front!

 

[signbabybrady]

Kinda late to report this but my son and I also had a great time at Qwest, sure you had the occasional trash talking but nothing over the top, mostly grumbling. I was really glad we got great seats 6 six rows behind the Patriots' bench on the 45 yard line.Thankfully there were more Patriot fans than Seahawk fans in that particular section. One chick in a Seahawk jersey told her boyfriend (in a Patriot jersey) that she felt really uncomfortable sitting there because she was the only Seahawk fan. Right before kickoff Bob Kraft came over and shook hands with the folks in front of us in the 1st row. Also worth noting ,after the game when all the players were heading from the field to the locker room, Ellis Hobbs went out of his way to run back to the sidelines and high five and shake hands with all the Pats fans in the front row thanking them for being there. Next time I'm sitting in front!

Ellis Hobbs is the man. I went to a charity softball game a few years back I believe Big Vince put it on but Hobbs was one of the players. He was in right field and we were siiting pretty close. This was the season after his wrist injury and I yelled to him how the wrist and he yelled back I'll show you when I am at the plate (or someting like that).