Friday, December 8, 2017

Denver Broncos (NFL) 2017



Team:  Denver Broncos
Year:       2017
Game:     New England 41 Denver 16
Rating:    8
Cost Index:  High
Tickets:  Moderate
Stadium:  Sports Authority Field

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Air Force, Colorado State, Colorado, Wyoming
Don't Miss:   The Highland Neighborhood, city of Denver in general
Avoid:  If there is something to avoid in Denver I didn't see it
Attendees:  Bones, wife, Polychronopolous, The Lees, BMills

Denver: We were in Denver for the weekend, I had only been once and that was over 10 years ago. Denver is interesting because it is growing leaps and bounds.  It's working toward hitting it's peak, but it's not there yet.  It's on the rise. 

We had a good time eating and drinking. There were five of us in one pod and another five in another, we were all staying at Airbnbs in the Highland neighborhood.  The first night there we had some excellent Ramen at Uncle, got some drinks at Williams-Graham (the Mick Jaeger changed my opinion on drinks....if you can make a first class drink using Jaegermeister the possibilities are endless).  We also made a trip to one of the dispensaries to get that out of the way.

On Saturday I went to the Colorado-USC game in Boulder.  This is covered in another post.

Pre-game: We did some day drinking downtown.  Nothing special to report there.  Also grabbed a couple of beers at Brian Common Brewery right outside of Sports Authority Field.

Game:  The Patriots kicked their ass fueled by Denver's horrible special teams.  There was a fumbled punt, a kickoff returned for a TD and a blocked punt.  These mistakes rendered the game noncompetitive.  The atmosphere was very good for an NFL game.  The fans were really nice, I didn't see any obnoxious shit.  Though the fans did seem a bit resigned because the Broncos have fallen so far, so fast.  Their defense is very average, we've already covered special teams, the starting QB is Brock Osweiler.  I would not mind coming back here for a big game.

Stadium: Sports Authority Field at Mile High.  Not bad for a newer NFL stadium....but it's still an NFL stadium.  Not a lot to comment on here.  Very vanilla.

Post Game: This was a night game and Denver is not a late night spot.  There weren't many options for a drink after the game so we went back to our Airbnb.

Game Recap:  http://www.espn.com/nfl/game?gameId=400951690





    Thursday, December 7, 2017

    Colorado (PAC 12) 2017



    College:  The University of Colorado
    Year:       2017
    Game:     USC 38 Colorado 24
    Rating:    8
    Cost Index:  Average
    Tickets:  Easy, game was not sold oud
    Stadium:  Folsom Stadium

    If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Air Force, Colorado State, Denver
    Don't Miss:   Ralphie's run!  They have it at the beginning of each half as long as Ralphie is in the mood
    Avoid:         Nothing to avoid, but don't plan on tail gating.  
    Attendees:  Bones, Wife, Cousin, Polychronopoulos

    Pre-game:  This game was part of a family trip combined with the Patriots Broncos game.  We stayed in Denver, which is about an hour away.  The game was in the afternoon so there wasn't a lot of pregame activity.  We got there about 90 minutes before hand and had food and a beer at the Rayback Collective, which is an outdoor space with food trucks and beer.  Nice place, was not crowded but didn't spend enough time there to have an opinion.

    Game Experience:  It was a good time. Definitely not one of college footballs most intense game day sites but it had it's moments.  They have a field house attached where you can BUY BEER.   The only catch is that you have to drink it on the concourse, you can't bring it back to your seats.  The game was against USC and didn't sell out...I get that Colorado is down this year compared to last but you would figure they would get out for USC. 

    I definitely wanted to see Ralphie's run.  It was cool.  It's not the War Eagle flying down but it's still pretty good. 

    Stadium: Folsom is a jewel.  The design is cozy and the backdrop of the mountains definitely adds to the atmosphere. The stadium expansions

    Post Game: There wasn't a whole lot of incentive to hang around after the game.  Neither the tailgate or the bar scene looked

    Overall:  Good, but not great spot.  I would consider going back again under the right circumstanced (Both teams would have to be ranked).

    Recap:  Game Recap:  http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400935319





















    Monday, October 16, 2017

    Florida (SEC) 2017 **Milestone game



    College:  The University of Florida
    Year:       2017
    Game:     LSU 17 Florida 16
    Rating:    7
    Cost Index:  Average
    Tickets:  Easy, there were plenty of tickets available
    Stadium:  The Swamp (Ben Griffen Hill Stadium)

    If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Jacksonville, Tampa, Florida State
    Don't Miss:    A Tom Petty tribute between the third and fourth quarter
    Avoid:           The heat, try to hit this one in November. Florida should not have day games in September or October
    Attendees:  Bones, Park League

    This was my first MILESTONE game:  I've now seen a game at every SEC campus.  There are a couple of SEC spots I want to go back to, I also need to check out the Florida Georgia game and the SEC Championship but this was a nice milestone to hit.

    Pre-game:  Newsflash....Gainesville is fucking hot!  We weren't prepared for it so we didn't do a whole lot before the game.  We came in a couple of days before for the Patriots @ Buccaneers game and hung out in Tampa/St. Pete, that was a little easier as we were staying by the beach.  We fucked up our ticket search for the Patriots game and didn't get in, so there will be no write of up Raymond James stadium.

    Gainesville: The campus itself is beautiful.  Really nice setting, the trees with the Spanish Moss creates a serene atmosphere.  There was definitely more to see than we had time for, when I go again I'll get off campus and see downtown Gainesville.  I think that's a little more my speed.

    If there was one weekend to be in Gainesville for me personally it was this exact weekend, given that Tom Petty died earlier in the week.  I'm a huge fan of his, and the stadium singing along with "I Won't Back Down" at the end of the third quarter was a fitting tribute.

    Our stay was at the Reitz Student Union hotel.  It was worth it as it was about a 5-10 minute walk to Ben Griffen Hill Stadium. 

    Game:  The atmosphere was average. I know neither team is considered great but I would have thought there would have been a little more energy.  The heat might have had something to do with it, I have no idea why anyone would live in that area without access to a beach.

    Neither of these coaches can coach offensive football worth a shit.  They look like high school teams out there.  This, more than anything else, is leading to the degradation of SEC football.

    The game was close but it was not what I would consider exciting.  It's only been a couple of weeks and all I can really remember is that LSU won because Florida missed an extra point.  Kind of fitting.

    Stadium:  The Swamp is ok, certainly not what I would consider a classic stadium.  It's very middle of the road.  It wasn't horrible or anything but there wasn't really anything that stood out about it either.  This about sums up how I feel about Gainesville.

    Post Game: Florida suffers from the same problem Iowa does in that it's too big for the surrounding town.  I was surprised to see that the University of Florida has 50,000 students.  I knew it was big, but didn't know it was THAT big.  We had to wait an hour or so to eat, did have pretty good pizza at Piesanos.  On the way home we saw a student passed out against a bench with his pants down and his franks and beans hanging out.  We debated taking a picture of the poor bastard, but thought the better of it as I would not want someone taking a picture of me in that state.

    I guess given the choice between Florida and Florida State....I'm a Florida State guy.  I would give Florida another shot in the distant future, as far as returning in the near future I would have to have friends that want to go.

    Some observations not related to on field play:
    • It was hot as fuck!
    • The talent level was...pedestrian...which was surprising
    • Florida has 50k students...who knew?

    Game Summary:   http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400933882




















    Tuesday, October 3, 2017

    Iowa (Big 10) 2017



    College:  The University of Iowa
    Year:       2017
    Game:     Penn State 21 Iowa 19
    Rating:    8
    Cost Index:  Average
    Tickets:  Moderate, there were tickets available walking around before the game
    Stadium:  Kinnick Stadium

    If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Minneapolis Saint Paul, Wisconsin, Chicago, Iowa State
    Don't Miss:  Night game at Kinnick
    Avoid:      The bar scene isn't great, the city doesn't have a ton of going on
    Attendees:  Bones, The Wrestler

    Pre-game

    Iowa City:  I got into Iowa City around 5PM, met The Wrestler at Buffalo Wild Wings to catch the back half of the TCU vs. Oklahoma State game.  I've been to Iowa City before and it was ridiculously hot so we didn't bother tailgating before the game.  That may have been a mistake judging by the walk over to the stadium.  We hung out at BWW for a bit, had some food and a couple of beers.

    Iowa City itself feels small for a Big 10 town. I guess that makes sense because Iowa is on the smaller side of the Big 10 (23k enrollment, as a comparison Ohio State is 46k, Penn State is 40k, Michigan 28K, Nebraska 20) but you would think Iowas downtown would have a bit larger of a footprint.  I guess it feels like there is no one there other than college age folks.  You don't get that feeling when you are in Ann Arbour or Columbus.

    Walking into the game was entertaining....the students BROUGHT IT from a partying perspective.  At one point they looked more like an fighting force after a battle than a group of students that were headed to a football game.  I assume many of them had been drinking all day.  There was one kid who was being held up like an injured player coming off the field....if they had to put him on the injury report it would have read "Liver Injury, out for the rest of the game."

    Game :  Where do you start with this one?   Prime-time game, great crowd, game came down to the final play. There was a little bit of everything: blocked kicks, a safety, Saquon Barkley had 368 all purpose yards, key turnovers, a walk off TD, some questionable officiating...I can't really do it justice here.

    I love both Barkley and Trace McSorely, I really like Penn State to win the Big 10 and go to the playoff this year.  Penn State doubled Iowa's yardage on the day, but they could never make a play to put Iowa away. Iowa's defense mastered the bend but don't break approach. Iowa's offense is whatever the opposite of creativity is....they don't use deception at all.  Then need to fix that if they are ever going to contend on a regular basis, it's too hard to rely on wearing defenses down week after week. (note, they lost to a bad Michigan State team the following week)

    In this space I occasionally write about why I like college football so much, I usually do so poorly, but let me try again.  The reason I, personally, go to any form of entertainment (concert, game, movie) is to be surprised. This happens most often at college football games...something happens and the game goes completely sideways and suddenly the game, or event itself, takes over and you are along for the ride, and it's pure joy.  At one point in the fourth quarter I looked at The Wrestler and we both had shit eating grins on our faces. It was like being 12 years old and discovering someone's dad's stash of Playboys.   Everyone there was completely in the moment, probably one of the most fun places to be in the world on that particular Saturday.

    Stadium:  The fans and overall atmosphere were awesome. We were really lucky to have a couple of very excellent Iowa fans in front of us, they were entertaining without being obnoxious.  

    I'm not sure there is a more appropriate stadium out there than Kinnick.  It's not overdone.  It's loud.  The architecture perfectly fits both the campus and the overall attitude of the State of Iowa:  very polite and genuine but not to be disrespected.

    Once nice touch:  They build a 15 story Children's Hospital overlooking the field.  After the first quarter the entire crows waves to the kids who are staying in the hospital, they all watch the game from the top floor.

    http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2017-09-21/iowa-football-fans-wave-childrens-hospital-hawkeyes-newest

    Post Game

    Some observations not related to on field play:
    • I feel like I need to mention this again but the fans had the exact right amount to drink. Enough to be loud but no so much they were a problem.  Kudos to Iowa fans, they made a difference in the game. Held their team in it to a degree.
    • The college age girls there were knockouts....one of those places where if you were a guy it would probably be typical to date out of your league
    • I think there is a state law in Iowa that once you turn 25 you are forced to get one of three hairstyles. For men it's the crew-cut, the mullet or the bowl. For women it's the Bobcut, the Bouffant or the feather cut.
    • There was an ICP concert in Iowa City that night!  Who knew?

    Game Recap:   http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400935360