edit- you going all the ways to Detroit for a Preseason Game??? (Shi T Son that is dedication)
I did that once myself... except I didn't actually go to the game.
The Pats had a preseason game in Detroit (actually in Pontiac, at the Silverdome) in 2000, and a week before the game I impulsively bought a ticket online to pick up at the "will call" window. I couldn't find anyone to go with me, so I went by myself. Stayed over night at a friend's place near Milwaukee the night before, printed out driving directions to the dome, and took off.
Long story short, I had never driven in Detroit before, the directions I printed out sucked, and I never saw an exit sign for the highway I was looking for. So I just kept going the way I was going, figuring I'd meet up with it sooner or later. It was getting later in the afternoon and I was getting more nervous, and being a man (a young, angry, stubborn man at that) of course I wasn't going to stop somewhere and ask for directions.
I knew something was wrong when I saw a road sign indicating I was getting near Canada.
I took the first exit I saw after that and turned around. I backtracked a while and finally saw an exit for the highway I was looking for. Problem was, I don't know who the hle designed the roads over there, but this highway went straight through several suburban areas; i.e. there was no expressway, I had to keep driving through these dumb little towns, and
every stoplight turned red as soon as I got close. By now it was less than an hour or so before kickoff and my nerves were absolutely shot. :enranged:
Finally I got near the stadium, and the traffic was like trying to get an elephant through the eye of a needle. I remembered watching an NFL Films thing about the one Super Bowl that was played at the Silverdome, and the Niners and Bengals players talking about how even they got stuck in traffic. "We could see the stadium, it was right there, but we just couldn't get to it!" All I wanted to do was find a place to park and get into the blasted stadium.
Finally I said, "[Bleep] it!" and left. That's right, I had driven all the [bleep] way over there, I could see the stadium through my windshield, and I started back home. I hadn't had anything to eat for hours, my nerves were in pieces, and I was afraid that the first Lions fan who said something about my Bledsoe jersey I was going to haul off and bust his jaw for him. I was so peeved about the whole dang mess that at first I was just going to drive all the way back home that night, but eventually I pulled off and got a hotel room in Battle Creek (or Kalamazoo, I don't remember anymore.)
Now here's the funny part... I'm in my hotel room and I think, well, if nothing else, I can watch the highlights from the game on the local news, they'll have a ton of it, right? It's a Detroit TV station! And they showed maybe three plays. IIRC the Pats won the game on a Viniatieri field goal. It was like, sheesh, here's a Detroit TV station and even they figure no one cares about a lousy preseason game between the Lions and the Patriots.
I don't know what that story even proves... either that I'm an insanely hardcore fan or a complete idiot.
