After the Cubs game we drove down to Soldier Field for the Chicago Bears pre-season game versus the Oakland Raiders. Since we were not tailgating we paid $26 to park in the Monroe Parking Garage at Millennium Park. The garage runs a “free” shuttle to Soldier Field, but given the pain of getting on the shuttles after the game the price is expensive for what you get.
Oakland Raiders at Chicago Bears
Last time I saw the Raiders on the road was October 5, 2003 in the Bears first season at the …

It turns out the Indianapolis Colts were staying in our hotel on Saturday night – so much for the poor reviews on tripadvisor.com. Since the AFC Championship Game did not start until 3 pm we had plenty of time to sleep in and then go to brunch. I had picked out Patachou on the Park for brunch. My first pick, City Café, is closed for some reason on Sundays – even this Sunday with a major football game taking place.
Obtaining TicketsOn Saturday morning, I emailed a guy on craigslist.org about …

After sprinting to Lucas Oil Stadium, my ticket was scanned and I entered the stadium. I heard over the speakers there was 12:39 left in the first quarter. I left the Pacers game with 2:24 left and I was in Lucas Oil Stadium after 2:21 – pretty much as even as I could have hoped. 30 seconds later I was looking at the scoreboard as I stood in the concourse overlooking the end zone where Matt Stover kicked his first field goal with 10:44 left in the first quarter.
Secondary Ticket …

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 10As 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 …

It’s not every weekend that one gets to attend Monday Night Football after attending an NFL game on Sunday. But that is what happened this weekend. At the beginning of the NFL season, I knew the Chicago Bears were playing on the Monday night after Christmas. I also knew the San Francisco 49ers were home Sunday afternoon where Nicole and I were planning to spend the holiday. Thus, in order to attend both games, I booked a 6:50 am flight from Oakland to Chicago on Southwest Airlines.
Our flight landed in …

As I wrote for the Emerald Bowl, I needed to buy seven tickets for the 49ers game today versus the Lions. However, Nicole, who usually is excited about tailgating before any football game was not that enthusiastic. After a short conversation it turned out she did not really want to attend the game and was only going for the tailgate. Rather than have her and her great uncle attend the game, we decided to go to brunch before the game instead. My parents, brother and I would still attend.
Obtaining TicketsFortunately …

It was a day I have only participated in two times before – the first time on November 14, 1999 and the second, last year, on November 9, 2008. Yesterday, I attended both the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Blackhawks game in the same day. The timing for the games works perfectly. The Bears start at noon and the Blackhawks start at 6 pm on Sunday – meaning you have around three hours to grab dinner in between the games.
Pre Game DiningRather than tailgating before the game, …

It was a bad NFL game to attend (with the Bears at 4-7 and the Rams at 1-10) but since we already had our season tickets we were planning to attend. At first, we were planning to meet Hawkeyes Bryon and Julie at a bar before the game. However, that was before my friend, Mike Holzman, hooked up the parking pass late in the week in the Waldron Deck – the parking lot directly south of Soldier Field. Thus, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I put together our own tailgate …

The Buffalo Bills are playing one game per season for five years at Rogers Centre. Since they are playing a consistent game I added Rogers Centre as an NFL stadium I wanted to visit. I have already attended a Toronto Blue Jays (1993) and Toronto Raptors (1996-97) game at Rogers Centre when the stadium was called SkyDome.
Booking FlightsThe wife and I had just spent Thanksgiving in central Florida and decided to stay a few days after the long weekend. With that I flew directly from Orlando to Buffalo on Southwest …

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.
ParkingOnce 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 …