Cowboys Stadium: Eagles at Cowboys

I woke up Sunday morning at 9 am. After my long day Saturday, it was a struggle to wake up. However, I wanted to get to Cowboys Stadium around 1 pm in order to tailgate in the parking lot before the game. I pulled away from my hotel shortly before 10 am and arrived at Cowboys Stadium at 1:15 pm.

Tailgating in Blue Lot 10
As I stated on Friday, my cousin, Andrew Holder, gave me tickets for the game. Plus, he gave me a parking pass – Blue Lot 10. Blue Lot 10 is directly next to Cowboys Stadium. It was a great spot – especially considering I needed to leave immediately after the game to get back to Love Field for my 8:00 pm flight. However, there was nobody tailgating in the parking lot. I was convinced that with a $75 parking pass that everyone would be tailgating as they do at Soldier Field but I was wrong.


Instead, my cousin’s friend and I had some drinks in the parking lot with two people from Buffalo who drove 21 hours from Buffalo to attend the game. They were also disappointed with the lack of tailgating at Cowboys Stadium.

The Game
The Cowboys defeated the Eagles convincingly 24-0 in front of the biggest crowd since the home opener (100,621). It was also the largest crowd at any NFL game I have attended.

The Cowboys also set some records during the game. First, they posted consecutive shutouts for the first time in team history. Consecutive shutouts have not occurred in the NFL since the Tennessee Titans did it in 2000 and is only the third time in 50 seasons the Cowboys have posted two shutouts in the same season.

Second, Tony Romo finished the season with a team record 4,483 passing yards – breaking his own record set in 2007.

Third, the Cowboys shut out the Eagles for only the second time ever and this was the first time the Eagles were shutout since week 13 of the 2005 season.

Fourth, the Cowboys had a winning record after Dec. 1 for the first time since 1996, while ending a nine-game losing streak in season finales.

One Eagles player even set a record during the game. Eagles’ linebacker Will Witherspoon became only the fifth player in NFL history to play 17 regular season games in a single season because of a mid-season trade.

Cowboys Stadium
Cowboys Stadium is as unreal experience. As I walked into the stadium, the atmosphere in the building was rocking as go-go dancers danced above the party pass attendees. Speaking of the party passes – they are essentially standing room only but worse. Unless you arrive at the game early, you will have to watch the game on the gigantic video board in the middle of the stadium.


However, that may not be a bad thing as the video board is unbelievable big. I found myself watching the game on the video board rather than the game on the field at times. If I was sitting in the upper deck, I would probably only watch the video board. Although everything was not perfect as the video board blanked out late in the fourth quarter.

Sunday Night Football: Eagles at Bears

For the second week in a row I attended Sunday night football. This time the game was in Chicago as the Chicago Bears hosted the Philadelphia Eagles.

Parking
Once again the Ultimate Sports Wife and I were attending the game with Blackhawks Jim and, today, Blackhawks Jimmy Jr. Since Blackhawks Jim was driving from Wilmette, IL he picked us up. However, we did not have the Waldron Deck parking as we did two weeks ago so we parked in the Millennium Parking Lot. The best part of the Millennium Parking Lot is that they run a shuttle from the parking lot to Soldier Field. The drop-off spot is by the South lot which is perfect if you are meeting up for a tailgate. The worst part of the Millennium Parking Lot is that you have to wait in line to board the shuttle after the game. Since our seats are on the North side of the stadium we chose to walk to the parking lot after the game rather than take the shuttle.

Tailgating
As we did for the Arizona Cardinals game, we attended Rob Wipf’s tailgate before the game. However, this time Rob made a major mistake – he only brought one case of beer for seven guys and the Ultimate Sports Wife. This proved not to be enough as we started to run out of beer before we started grilling brats. Even though Rob is a great tailgater he did admit his rookie mistake.

As with any beer crisis at a tailgate we tried to buy beer from another tailgate. I first headed over to my buddy’s brother’s tailgate, Dan Logan, who owns the Halas Hauler. However, he was nervous they would run out of beer as well so he handed me three beers and sent me on my way. At this point it appeared we would run out of beer well about an hour before the game would start. But as we were coming close to the beer shortage the tailgate next to us shut down and had plenty of beer left over. Rob saved the day as he handed the guy $20 and beer was handed to Rob.

The Game
The Bears and Eagles had four lead changes in the second half as the Eagles defeated the Bears 24-20. With 5:31 left in the fourth quarter LeSean McCoy scored the game winning touchdown from 10 yards out.

Monday Night Football: Browns at Eagles

To complete the east coast trip, I planned to take the train from New York City to Philadelphia for Monday Night Football. However, this was not going to be your typical overnight trip. After taking the train and watching Monday Night Football, I planned to hang out (not stay) at the Holiday Inn until my 7 am flight back to Chicago Tuesday morning. Since Monday Night Football does not end until 11:30 pm on the east coast, I thought it did not make sense to pay for a hotel room for only a few hours. Here is the recap of my day:

New York City: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
I wandered around Brooklyn in the morning and met my friend, Mike Nadel, for lunch at Rockefeller Center before heading to New York’s Penn Station to take the 2:44 pm Amtrak train.

Amtrak: 2:44 pm – 4:00 pm
Taking the train from New York City to Philadelphia was easy. For $40.50 (with the AAA discount), I hopped on the train in New York and was in Philadelphia within 75 minutes.

Downtown Philadelphia: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
From the train station I walked down Market St. to City Hall. From City Hall I walked South down Broad St. In order to get from downtown Philadelphia to the Sports Complex, you need to take the SEPTA (Philadelphia’s subway) Broad Street Line to the Sports Complex (officially the Pattison stop).

Pre Game Dining and Obtaining Tickets: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
While walking down Broad St., I stopped to eat at the Italian Bistro, located at 211 S. Broad St. There was a Capital Grille and McCormick and Schmick’s along the walk, but the Italian Bistro was more casual and reasonably priced.

While eating dinner, I decided to check craigslist.org from my blackberry. The first listing to appear had the subject – “Eagles ticket tonight....FREE? - $1”

The ad read:

“Got an extra ticket, last minute cancel. I'm going regardless, but don't really wanna deal with selling it. Any real fans who can't normally afford the game want to go, maybe you can buy the first round of beers.

Text me (i'm not gonna listen to VMs) at 215??????? and I'll try to get back to you. I estimate by 6 pm the ticket will be gone, but I'm hopping offline for the evening. So texting after then not a good idea.”

The listing was posted at 5:30 pm. I sent a text message at 5:37 pm. Twenty minutes went by and I had not heard anything. I figured he gave the ticket to an Eagles fan. One minute late, at 5:48 pm, I received a text message back “Sure I’ll be there by 730 or 800.” I clarified that meant I received the ticket, he said yes and we agreed to meet outside the Pepsi Gate at Lincoln Financial Field. The transaction was complete.

Pre Game Holiday Inn: 6:00 pm – 7:45 pm
I finished my meal and took the subway to the Sports Complex. I went directly to the Holiday Inn since I already had a ticket. The Holiday Inn (which I stayed at for a Phillies game in 1993) is located at 900 Packer Ave. and is next to the Sports Complex parking lots. I already knew Benny the Bum's Crabhouse and Bar (the restaurant in the Holiday Inn) was open until 2 am. My plan was to stay at the bar after the game until 2 am before taking a $25-$30 cab to the airport.

Since I was planning to bum around the Holiday Inn after the game, I had hoped to leave my backpack there. I did not want to take it into Lincoln Financial Field. At first, the trainee at the front desk balked at allowing me to store my luggage. However, when I walked to the “experienced” staff, they said no problem and put my backpack in their storage room.

Obtaining Tickets Part 2: 7:45 pm – 8:30 pm
I arrived outside of the security line in front of the Pepsi Gate by 8:00 pm. Of course, the guy who was giving me the ticket was late, so I waited. I became worried that he would be too lazy to actually give me the ticket, but hoped for the best. At 8:22 pm, the guy texted me – he was already in the security line so I should get in line too. For some reason, I beat him through the line and ended up waiting for him again in between the security guards and the ticket scanners.

While waiting there, an Eagles fan approached me and asked if I needed an extra ticket. Being worried my free ticket would not show up I said yes and he handed his extra ticket to me. The guy from craigslist showed up a few minutes later and gave me the ticket I was waiting for. Since the game was about to start, in addition to the fact I did not want to wait through the security line again, there was no way for me to give away the second ticket.

Ticket Selling (or giving away) Tip: If you have an extra ticket, sell it or give it away before getting into the security line. I was shocked that this guy kept his extra ticket all the way through the security line. I’m not sure how often that happens, but I would think it is very rare for someone to go through the security line and still not have a ticket.

The Game: 8:30 pm – 11:45 pm
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Cleveland Browns convincingly 30-10. Brian Dawkins set a franchise record with most games played in an Eagles uniform. This was the first time I have watched the Browns play on the road in the regular season.

Post Game Holiday Inn: 12:00 am – 4:00 am
After the game I walked back to the Holiday Inn. I stopped by McFadden’s at Citizen’s Bank Park briefly enough for them to tell me they had a $5 cover and noticed the place was pretty crowded. The Ultimate Sports Wife and I ate lunch before the Philadelphia Phillies game we attended on May 20, 2007.

I got back to the Holiday Inn and it was already 12:30 am. I bought a beer at Benny the Bum's Crabhouse and Bar and hung out until the bar closed at 2 am. I was able to sit in the hotel’s lobby for awhile after 2 am. I finally called a cab at 4 am and headed to the airport to catch my 7 am flight.