Buffalo 12/26/10 - One Hoser's Experience

[JSn]

Hey guys! I wanted to post a quick recap of my experience at the Buffalo Bills game. another family get-together today, so I'll be quick-ish and will add anything I remember later on.

We (my buddy Mike and I) left early and despite a minor turn-around (had to kill the iPhone's in the US to avoid CRAZY roaming rates, hence minor lostness), we made very good time. Popped into a McDonald's for some breakfast and the only dude sitting there was an old fella in a Bills jacket. Asked if we were going to the game (we were not sporting any fan gear yet) and was kind enough to offer a wide variety of directions.

Then we were off like a Bride's pajamas. Arrived in Hammer's lot (good call) about 11:00. The lots were all kinda dead at that time. Went in at 11:30 am after very brief time in line. Chatted some nice Bills fans outside the stadium while waiting. Good-humoured and friendly.

The bathrooms were disgusting and I think it says something about Bills fans where the word "DO NOT Urinate in the Sink" are stenciled on the wall above the wash-up area.

We were in section 112, row 31. GREAT seats and I'm inclined to think the Ralph doesn't really HAVE bad seats. Saw Brian Lowe walking around looking frozen. Bills fans half-heartedly booed the various Patriots that came out, but overall the crowd didn't have much ammo.

The screen came alive before the game with various Bills singing the 12 days of Christmas. It was AWFUL. Not even entertaining, except in a sick way. I suggested these guys not quit their day jobs. But after the game I was torn!

I thought we might be in trouble on the first drive, but I was wrong.

During half-time A couple of older gentlemen behind me were talking and one of them showed some great wisdom. He lamented that he might never see a winning season in his life-time if Brady was playing for 10 more years. He went on to say it wasn't all bad. As a Bills fan he'd been lucky enough to some of the game's greatest QB's take the field. Brady, Marino, Kelly, Manning (back in the day). He also said that no matter what anyone tried to say, Brady was the greatest he's ever seen and he'd been coming to games for a LOOOONG time. Was very nice chatting with him.

Benny and Danny (sounds like a couple of 60's folk singers) were awesome on this day. Gronk and Crump are awesome (and huge). Those four players seem able to keep things under control if the game gets dicey.

Wendell did a nice job when I was watching him. Next man-up is a philosophy most places, for NE it's a reliable plan, somehow.

Butler had a HECK of a game. What happened with this guy? We MAY not need to draft a high-pick corner next year with this stable of guys.

Fred Taylor looks done to me. Sad to see him fizzle out like he has. Maybe he'll find some spark in the play-offs.

Funny things I heard during the game from fans:

See THAT spiller? See what he did there? He CAUGHT the punt. Try THAT out!

Now we've got them RIGHT where we want them!

- after a holding call backed the Bills up in their own end.

HEY REF! You're missing a good game here!

Ok, I know most of you saw the game and I don't need to recap the on-field action much, but a few interesting stories from the sidelines that may not have been on TV.

Buffalo Jills in Ms. Santa costumes? Yes indeedy, that was... entertaining.

After Dane Fletcher (I'm pretty sure it was him) was penalized and then redeemed himself by grabbing an interception, he came off the field. I saw someone in trainers gear hand him a football. He looked at it for a moment and then went and handed it to Bill. They hugged. Was very cool. Not sure what was said, but I expect it was something like "thanks for the opportunity". Very cool moment.

After the Patriots went for it (and failed) on 4th and long in the Bills end in the 3rd (?) quarter, the heckling picked up. Someone one section over from us whipped a snowball at Brady. It him in the back and fell apart (just snow) and he ignored.

However, Mr. Branch happened to see it happen and saw who did it. He looked at the person and pointed. I couldn't hear any exchange, but he then took his helmet off and started looking for a way up into the stands. He got into a "climb the barrier" mode, but someone stopped him and pulled him back. He was NOT happy. Very cool moment. What a treat it would have been for a Bills fan to take a broken nose home courtesy of Deion Branch!

No police came along, so I assume no one reported the guy, but the throwing kind of ended there.

When Gronk made his one-handed grab, even the Bills fans around us were in awe of the play. I heard numerous Bills-types say "that was a great catch".

The offense looked kind of out-of-it for the second half-and I think that's why they kept trying to score. The defense got better and better, though.

Being able to see the whole field is SO much different than watching on TV. That defense is FAST. Like, it's sick. The Bills D is pretty quick, but there's a whole other level under the flying Elvis.

Which brings me to my last point. Watching the Defense live confirmed my suspicions from TV and NFL.com coverage. I have decided to call them "The Jedi Defense". They play mind-tricks on opposing offenses. They looks soft for a bit and then "BOOM!" they have the ball. Seven turnovers and they never miss a chance at a loose ball. It was incredible and I can't even begin to imagine where the ceiling for this crew is. Six picks in rounds 1-3 next year... are you KIDDING me?

It was cold and there was lots of "Narnia Snow" (the light floaty, fluffy, non-annoying kind). We were dressed for it, EXCEPT in the footwear department. I wore work-boots with extra socks, and my toes were still cold. Steel-toes made my boots into mini-fridges.

It was tough to get out of there, so we ended up hitting up a Red Robin's (went to one in Michigan once, so I knew it was good). Waited in there for an hour watching the Packers whip the Giants and munching some grindage. When we left, the traffic was great and we were sailing, home in two hours, including passing through the border.

Thanks to everyone who gave me pointers. I will DEFINITELY do it again next year, though I'd really like to attend a game in Foxboro.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The screen came alive before the game with various Bills singing the 12 days of Christmas. It was AWFUL. Not even entertaining, except in a sick way. I suggested these guys not quit their day jobs. But after the game I was torn!

Linemen dancing = EPIC WIN.
Linemen butchering Christmas carols = EPIC FAIL.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

However, Mr. Branch happened to see it happen and saw who did it. He looked at the person and pointed. I couldn't hear any exchange, but he then took his helmet off and started looking for a way up into the stands. He got into a "climb the barrier" mode, but someone stopped him and pulled him back. He was NOT happy. Very cool moment. What a treat it would have been for a Bills fan to take a broken nose home courtesy of Deion Branch!

Imagine if GRONK had been the one to witness that. The guy would probably have taken off running at that moment.

 

[BradyBranch39]

nice post. Glad your weather wasn't as bad as the time I was there.

 

[patsox23]

Thx for the Trip Report! Glad it was a good one for you.

 

[oldrover]

Awesome post, dude! I really enjoyed reading it! Thanks for sharing. What a day!

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

5 star recap, Hoser. Just what we want from the field, the stuff we don't see and near on TV. Loved The Twig in Bench Rage. Hockey style!

 

[Razor's Edge]

I love posts like this, thanks

 

[reflexblue]

Thanks mister HOser for the report sounds like it was a good time, i know it was a good read.

 

[italian pat patriot]

thanks for the report

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Good stuff, glad to hear you had a good time at the game. How'd you stay warm during the game?

 

[Bella*chick]

Five star recap. I loved your stories we did not get to see. Glad the trip was great.

Narnia snow? Awesome.

 

[HershilShah23]

The blowout was awesome

 

[olschool]

Thanks man. That was great. Would have loved to have seen Branch in the stands, but I'll bet BB would have been bull about it.

By the way , I think there's a Red Robin at Gillette, though I've never eaten there.

C'mon down, you'll probably have as easy a time getting there, as I do from New Hampshire.

 

[upstater1]

I'll add to JsN's thread.

Yesterday was cold even for Buffalo. I don't know if the announcers mentioned it but while the temp was 20 degrees, the wind was stiff the whole game, and the ball was frozen. I had an energy bar that froze AS I was eating it. Out of the wrapper it was soft, but 20 minutes later as I took my final bite, it was a rock. Brady had trouble throwing yesterday. Welker had trouble catching. You could tell Brady wasn't used to the ball on his first throw to a wide open Gronkowski. I could see Gronkowski coming open, and the play was almost in slow motion, that was a TD, but Brady's ball dropped like a rock. Kind of reminded me of the time Gronk blew by Kyle Wilson in the first Jets game.

Those of you who have been to R Wilson for a Pats game, this was the second coldest in the last decade. I've been through 70 mph gusts, 40 hour contant winds, 10 degree temps, heavy snow, but this was pretty bad with a Real Feel of 3 degrees, 25 mph win constant. Only thing worse was a game with snow/sleet blowing sideways and freezing my eyelids.

Pregame tailgating was subdued because of the cold. I thought maybe Bills fans were not going to show up but the stadium was actually FILLED 5 minutes into the game. Impressive. Met a season ticket holder from Ottawa -- 7 hours away. Lots of Canadians in town last night for the Canada junior hockey game. The Bills fans were livid about the refereeing, as usual. And I heard a bunch of ladies chanting "Brady is a Lady." I thought that was weird.

Gronk really liked rubbing it in--ex-Bills fan that he is.

The scoreboard in Buffalo really knows what to do, never shows a replay that's remotely close until the next play is over.

In game stuff, some already posted. The Fred Jackson fumble happened at midfield. I was in the endzone, and I could clearly see him lose the ball before falling to the ground. I was not surprised to see Belichick throw a challenge flag. What surprised me though was that the ref was right there on top of the play and he didn't see it. Anyway, I think that perhaps the TV angle is the least telling angle on the football field. Sitting in the end zones, you can see so much more of the game. Granted, you don't see the yardage and you just don't get hung up much on down and distance. But you see all the play, all the lineman, you see the RBs making their choices (and that's the best part really because freakin' BenJarvus and Danny chose the right hole each and every time when they had 3 or 4 options to choose from. It was like they beat the street hustler at 3 Card Monte 20 times in a row.

I also got to watch passing plays develop from Brady's perspective and that was interesting. I realized that the QB sees a lot less of the field than I thought he did. Got to watch the DBs as well. My take on Butler is that he's easily juked but has outstanding athleticism and can make up for dekes. Arrington is the opposite. He doesn't seem to get cooked at the line but he does not have great athleticism and speed, so once a WR gets separation, you cringe. With Butler, I cringed at the line several times, and then either saw him make up the distance or else Fitzpatrick didn't realize he had Johnson open on Butler. Oh, on that Fletcher interception, Butler's guy beat him to the inside and the safeties weren't there for help, and Fitzpatrick blew it because he had a guy wide open in the back of the end zone, and he threw it low enough to be tipped. A good QB throws a TD there.

 

[rivers983]

I was at the game yesterday as well...overall a pretty good experience. We left around 1am from Western Mass, and got there right at 8am for when the Bills lots opened. Lot was pretty empty until 10am or so, when a couple of Pats fans from NH showed up and tailgated next to us, as well as more Bills fans who were late arriving came in. Tailgate was pretty good - we also met some nice Pats fans from Canada, and a good group of Bills fans from Ontario that were nice enough to share food and their fire (open burning is permitted in their parking lots) with us as we were pretty cold at that point. One of the highlights of the tailgate was being interviewed on video by a reporter from The Buffalo News newspaper, although we can not find it on the website and she said she would be able to. She was doing a story on Pats fans that made the trip to Buffalo for the game - The News actually had a great article yesterday about Brady... I'm sure it is online.

I'll be honest with you... I was very cold during the tailgate - numb fingers, etc...but once we got into the game it was fine throughout the rest of the game and pretty comfortable...although I believe we were the opposite direction of the wind.

(view of stadium from our tailgate area at 8:15am or so, right after the gates opened. There were few people there at that point)

(our seats)

We had a group of ten sitting in section 143, Row 5 in the end zone....great seats, and by the end of the game most of the section (through gravitation and people that had been sitting there) became Patriots fans. For the most part, Bills fans were decent - although towards the fourth quarter and end of the game we had a group of d-bags in the next section over that wanted to start some stuff. A lot of chants of "Brady is a Lady", "Brady takes it up the @$$", real classy stuff like that...a couple of these chants actually went over into talking about the Bruins....not sure with their recent history against the Sabres they went there.....but there were also many Bills fans that congratulated us on the win and wished the best in the playoffs, so they make up and get a grade of "decent", especially since they were getting it handed to them in their own stadium and we had a pretty strong contingent of fans not just in our section but throughout the stadium. One poster mentioned last week on here about a large amount of 20 year old Bills fans that would be at the game because of ticket prices acting like idiots - and that held true. Even though I'm just 22, my group and I know how to act when going to an opposing stadium.

If you ever go to Buffalo and are heading back east, do not go on Route 217. We banged a right out of the parking lot and drove up Route 20 to where it meets with I-90 east of the city....and avoided a lot of traffic and backups. Surprised more local fans did not do this. I was very surprised at the Bills post game show on local radio- they sound like they love Brady and Belichick there more than we do here. They couldn't say enough about them.

Trip home was nuts, took 2 hours to get from Albany to NY State Line, usually about 20-25 minutes. Blizzard conditions but it got better once we got to the Mass Pike.

Overall a good trip - and definitely a lot of fun. I would recommend it as it's not a bad drive, it's affordable, and it's a lot easier to go there then the Meadowlands from a come home alive perspective...

On another note - when do waiting list members get the opportunity to purchase playoff tickets? I am a waiting list member and would like to get tickets..

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

The restrooms do give that stadium an "old school" feel.

However, it's my favorite stadium for watching. I've been to several of the newer ones and it seems that the need for luxury boxes seems to distort the angle/closeness dynamic.

 

[PatsDeb]

Thanks for the trip reports. Sounds like everyone had a cold but good time!!

 

[Uncle Rico]

Awesome story on the Fletcher and Belichick in-game hug. The buy-in of new players this year has really been something, and the results will make that last. I thought it was funny yesterday when Brady was joking about it: "The rookies, they don't know anything; they believe whatever you tell them." Such a turn-around from '09.

 

[PatriotsFan86]

Thanks for the reports/photos! Always enjoyable!