RD21
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 402
- Reaction score
- 877
Wow. What a game. Haven't seen a finish like that in awhile. First game I've attended at Northwest Stadium. Last game I went to @ Washington was in RFK Stadium over 40 years ago. I went with my 25 yr old son. We were both wearing Cowboys jerseys. He was sporting a Micah Parsons, I was wearing a throwback Staubach. I wanted to share my opinion on the overall experience.
For context, I've been to a number of stadiums in my lifetime seeing at least one game in every decade going back to the 70's. One of my favorites was a trip I made in 2008 with one of my sons to finally see a game at Texas Stadium. That experience was off the charts, probably for the nostalgia, and walking through the house Landry built. When Jerryworld opened in 2009 I was a season ticket holder (lower bowl). I would fly or drive to a couple games a year, and sell the rest. It usually worked out well in my favor. That got old pretty quick as I'm a working stiff, and not wealthy by any stretch. I gave em up after 4 years.
At the time, AT&T stadium was the coolest stadium I'd ever been to. It was for lack of a better word, comfortable. Seat were better than most. Televisions everywhere. The bathrooms were laid out well, and even had tv's in there..lol. Concessions were close, there were tables abound, and it was easy to partake in well overpriced food/beverages. I thought the amenities were top notch. However, the viewing experience wasn't as good as Texas Stadium in my opinion. Most games I attended I found myself watching the game on the jumbotron rather than live action with direct eye contact. It was the only way to really see what was going on well. After a number of times, and adding up the $$ it just didn't feel worth the experience. I mean it was pretty much $1,000/pop minimum to take in, and I felt I could see/enjoy the game better at home in my own living room.
Yesterday was a totally different experience. I was in section 120, row 18. The view was amazing. We were behind the Cowboys bench and could see the entire field well. I found myself watching live action every play, and only viewing one of big screen to see the replays. The Vibe was good, then again I suppose anytime you have a strong presence at a rivals stadium is good...lol. We were in a pocket of Cowboys fans, and really enjoyed all of it. The food was good, though insanely priced. $18 for a beer..? Wow. Shows how long it's been since I've been to a game.
I'm going to go ahead and say it. I enjoyed watching the game better in Washington's stadium than I have any game in Jerry's stadium. The game itself. It felt more like a college or high school setting everybody was happy to be there, and really having a good time. The banter with Washington fans was friendly, and respectful both inside, and outside the stadium. I feel like Jerry's stadium was more comfortable, and had more bells and whistles obviously, but Washington's designers put this stadium together for blue collar fans to enjoy the experience, and they delivered in my opinion.
I wouldn't spend the money to go to a game at AT&T again. It's not worth the experience. I will definitely go to another game of ours at Washington.
Now. Having said that, it just came full circle to me about the differences in overall mentality between the owner we have, and others. Jerry's whole organization is about the shiny stuff. The amenities. The unnecessary fluff. The extravagance. The white collar experience. The teams doing better than us, have been built around substance. It even comes across in their stadium experiences.
For context, I've been to a number of stadiums in my lifetime seeing at least one game in every decade going back to the 70's. One of my favorites was a trip I made in 2008 with one of my sons to finally see a game at Texas Stadium. That experience was off the charts, probably for the nostalgia, and walking through the house Landry built. When Jerryworld opened in 2009 I was a season ticket holder (lower bowl). I would fly or drive to a couple games a year, and sell the rest. It usually worked out well in my favor. That got old pretty quick as I'm a working stiff, and not wealthy by any stretch. I gave em up after 4 years.
At the time, AT&T stadium was the coolest stadium I'd ever been to. It was for lack of a better word, comfortable. Seat were better than most. Televisions everywhere. The bathrooms were laid out well, and even had tv's in there..lol. Concessions were close, there were tables abound, and it was easy to partake in well overpriced food/beverages. I thought the amenities were top notch. However, the viewing experience wasn't as good as Texas Stadium in my opinion. Most games I attended I found myself watching the game on the jumbotron rather than live action with direct eye contact. It was the only way to really see what was going on well. After a number of times, and adding up the $$ it just didn't feel worth the experience. I mean it was pretty much $1,000/pop minimum to take in, and I felt I could see/enjoy the game better at home in my own living room.
Yesterday was a totally different experience. I was in section 120, row 18. The view was amazing. We were behind the Cowboys bench and could see the entire field well. I found myself watching live action every play, and only viewing one of big screen to see the replays. The Vibe was good, then again I suppose anytime you have a strong presence at a rivals stadium is good...lol. We were in a pocket of Cowboys fans, and really enjoyed all of it. The food was good, though insanely priced. $18 for a beer..? Wow. Shows how long it's been since I've been to a game.
I'm going to go ahead and say it. I enjoyed watching the game better in Washington's stadium than I have any game in Jerry's stadium. The game itself. It felt more like a college or high school setting everybody was happy to be there, and really having a good time. The banter with Washington fans was friendly, and respectful both inside, and outside the stadium. I feel like Jerry's stadium was more comfortable, and had more bells and whistles obviously, but Washington's designers put this stadium together for blue collar fans to enjoy the experience, and they delivered in my opinion.
I wouldn't spend the money to go to a game at AT&T again. It's not worth the experience. I will definitely go to another game of ours at Washington.
Now. Having said that, it just came full circle to me about the differences in overall mentality between the owner we have, and others. Jerry's whole organization is about the shiny stuff. The amenities. The unnecessary fluff. The extravagance. The white collar experience. The teams doing better than us, have been built around substance. It even comes across in their stadium experiences.
