Let me explain where all the trouble started. It began with a job in Indianapolis and a husband who was good with geography. He suggested that if I drew a circle around Indy, there would be quite a number of NFL teams I could go see in-person. So that’s where the trouble started. A simple question. “How long would it take you to go see all 32 teams?”
So here are the rules:
Go see all 32 teams at home (visit each stadium).
Must stay for at least 1 full quarter.
Must get a picture of me in the stadium and the team must be clearly identifiable.
Monday, September 15, 2025: Buccaneers 20 vs. Texans 19
HALF WAY THERE! Of the 32 teams and 30 stadiums, I have hit the 50% mark, how very exciting.
Monday night football, 2 games in 2 days, lots of logistics!
NRG is a newer stadium, so it had nice bathrooms, the stadium was pretty clean and the staff were constantly welcoming you and thanking you for being there. It also had the biggest stuffed baked potatoes I have ever seen. I also now know what a “Texas swarm” is as well as a “white out.” This stadium also had a retractable roof, but Dallas was more impressive, and when you are only sitting a few rows from the top you get a good perspective of these things.
This stadium wins first place for: Mascot entrance. Coming in clipped via wire from the upper most corner of the retractable roof to down on the field (think zipline), including hanging upside down, was kind of impressive.
This game was also hysterical from a crowd perspective. There was a single Tampa Bay fan routing them on in our section and the hilarious banter between the season ticket holders we were sitting around and that individual was by far the funniest of all the games thus far. It’s just one of those “you had to be there” things.
And no trip to Houston would be complete without a visit to the Space Center Houston to see a Saturn V rocket and the astronaut training facility. Note to others: book the Mission Control tickets ahead of time, they are sold out a week in advance.
Sunday, September 14, 2005: Giants 37 vs. Cowboys 40
This stadium is probably the most entertainment-focused stadium yet, but it’s Jerry World, so what would you expect? Another retractable roof, so similar to Indianapolis, but in Dallas when it’s 90 degrees, the roof is closed. The Dallas roof looked a lot more intricate than Indy, so I’ll give the award to Dallas thus far.
Interesting to watch two great quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott, battle it out. Cowboys played….well…..like the Cowboys. Good thing they were playing the Giants, who should have won the game, but because they are the Giants, gave away the lead at the 0:25 mark with Dallas scoring a field goal sending the game into OT. Cowboys finally won it putting everyone out of their misery.
And no trip to Dallas is complete without a visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards to watch the “stampede.” A big thank you to my pals Eloise & Mike for their hotel and taxi service, along with Serena, the true Cowboys fan, for making the trip with me.
Best game thus far and will be hard to beat. Tickets for section 110, awesome, and what is even more awesome? Tickets to get down on the field during warm up. Yup, on the edge of the field, how cool is that?! VERY COOL!! A huge thank you to Joe for getting the tickets and Jenny for driving through a major flooding event to get back to Milwaukee from Greenbay.
Penalties!!! That kind of sums up the Packers play in this game. But who cares, did I mention the side of the field visit pre-game??!! Just being in the historic Lambeau Field was incredible- the history made in that stadium.
And what visit is not complete without a stop off at the Wisconsin State Fair and the Pabst Brewery? Fried cheese curds, cows, a pig race, and of course, cold Pabst Blue Ribbon. What a wonderful trip, lots of fun with great people.
I’mmm baaaack! After 2 years of trying to go to the Jaguars game in October and being chased away by a hurricane, I decided it was best to choose another location for October. Not sure that helped other folks in various places the last few weeks (including Jacksonville), but I did make it to a game.
Sigh….Panthers.
The good news is I got to go to the game with my friend Ross and his family. I also got to wear my Cam Newton jersey and use Anita’s football purse, yay!! And I did it with a brand new right knee- you can barely see the scar in the picture.
The bad news is I left in the 3rd quarter because the Panthers were playing….well….like the Panthers. And my ability to kill all things technical is still strong- on the escalator going up to the seats, it broke. Literally while we were all on it. Broke as in get that knee working to go up the stairs and walk the roundabouts to get down when I left. Yup- still killing technology!
Stadium review- not too bad, stadium is right in downtown Charlotte, so it joins the Ravens and Da Bears in that category. It was fine. Not the worst and not the best stadium. It had cup holders and my feet didn’t stick to the floor so that made me happy.
Not sure if I will get another one in this year, but stay tuned.
Prices of food & drink were redunkulous. A tall boy beer was $16. Thieves.
Most expensive parking yet.
I purchased tickets with the sole purpose of watching Aaron Rogers play, just in case he retires this season. And they did what the Packers do so well…choke!!
Good thing I left early.
The good news is I got to spend the weekend with my college roommate. We went to the Smithsonian Museum out at Dulles Airport. Did you know that the tiles on the bottom of the space shuttle could withstand temperatures up to 2300 degrees? Who knew?
Highlight of the game: seeing Joe Theismann on the field at half-time.
August 27, 2021: Washington somethingorothers 15 vs. Ravens 17
Kickstarted the stadium tour off again last night on one of hottest nights, oh joy.
I love me a stadium I can walk to. Right in the Inner Harbor area, around the corner from the hotel doesn’t get any easier. What’s not to like about pre-season football:
The Aquarium
The Constellation
2 stadiums side-by-side
RavensWalk
Cheap tickets ($27) in the corner of the end zone
Great company
Sweating so much you are stuck to your plastic seat
A nod to my friend Anita, who loaned me her “clear plastic purse” last year that I still have and used for the game. Shall we see how many pictures “Flat Stanley Purse” can get into for the remaining stadiums??
The Ravens continued their undefeated pre-season streak to now 23-0 since 2015. No, Lamar Jackson did not play last night, but he was on the sidelines, interviewed by an awesome kid and gave him his gold bling (see photo below).
For anyone who has been to a game, there are always things going on during the game that you don’t see when you are at home on commercial. I think the funniest part of the game was at half time when all the various local mascots played against what I believe was a local junior team- these kids were small, so probably not high school. The Ravens mascot was injured on a play and they had to cart the bird off the field. In all my years of watching NFL football, I don’t think I have ever seen a mascot on the injury cart.
So overall, a great weekend with my college roommate, her husband and my husband. Definitely a stadium I would go back to.
It’s football time, hopefully the Covid season is over.
I may stay East of the Mississippi this season until I know things are as “back to normal” as possible, not sure I want to be sitting next to 50,000 people.
Awesome tailgate with Chef Rob and wife Anita even thought it was hotter than Hell out. The price of parking was more than both tickets combined. Only in NY. Boring game. There were some guys running around on turf for a period of time.
Crappy home team product sales, no keepsake soda cups, so I bought a $5 poncho with no logo. Ha! The Commissioner was with me to sign off on the double tap for this one, see him below on the left with the sunglasses?
Ended last year at 8, not bad for one season. COVID obviously going to delay my stadium tour so I will have to keep you all entertained another way. iPhone pictures of my TV screen? Nah. Photoshop me into a game? Nah….maybe one my friends following this blog could suggest an idea?
I also have so much satisfaction that I completed Tampa Bay last year and don’t have to go see Tom Brady play. Will have to consider putting Gillette stadium back on the list for next year now that he is not there.
Football starts Thursday, September 10th, at least for now I have something to do on Thursday night, Sunday afternoon/evening and Monday night.
Hooray to seeing the Bucs two weeks in a row, this time they won. Poor Falcons. Matt Ryan had more grass stains on his uniform then some of the other players.
In case you are wondering why I believe it to be the best stadium yet, let me explain. Lunch for Dad and myself: 2 hot dogs, 2 beers and a giant soft pretzel. Go ahead, guess how much that would cost. Put down a Grant (for those historically/monetarily challenged, that would mean $50) maybe get a few Washington’s back. Nope, not at Mercedes Benz stadium. That lunch was $22.
$22!!!
And speaking of Dad, he is still in tow, his birthday week continued, coincidentally at another football game. Funny how that worked out.
Hooray to meeting up with Marcelo and Doug and the kids at the game. Atlanta has a Fun Village that opens at 10am where there is a ton of stuff for people of all ages to have fun at. And the stadium has a dome. So it was nice and roasty toasty inside.
While on the subject of dome stadiums, this would be #2. Ford Field in Detroit vs. Mercedes Benz in Atlanta: Atlanta wins hands down. If you are not sure why, please revisit the $22 above. Indy does not count since that is a retractable roof, so I would need to compare it to another retractable roof. My only complaint about Atlanta is that the screens are all in the dome, so if you want to see the players up close or watch a reply, you have to look up-all the way up. And if you are sitting in the nosebleed seats to begin with, part of the top of the screens are cut off. But what a great stadium.
Walloped, thrashed, beat up, beat down and run over. Whodat? The Bucs.
For my father’s 85th birthday, I took him on a road-trip. There was some coincidental football games, but a good time was had by all. We started in Tampa at a fairly nice stadium with lots of stuff that goes on pre-game out in front of the stadium before the gates open. Great place to get free swag. Also happened to be the fastest time to get into the stadium and easiest parking. Most of the parking are actual grassy fields (not concrete), so keep that in mind for rainy days.
Quite a large number of Whodat fans, and friendly fans as well. Enjoyable game and stadium. Interesting theme: on one end of the stadium there is a giant pirate ship (see below). During the game there is a ton of activity going on at the pirate ship and around the pirate ship including: a DJ, canon blasts from the ship, dancing, throwing of beads like as in Whodat land, an actual pirate and his matey, photo shoots, kids awards, and honoring of our armed forces. Definitely wins the award for the “most themed stuff going on inside the stadium.” Only issue is the mast of the ship blocked part of the screen depending upon where you sat.
Enjoyable stadium even if the home team didn’t fare too well, and although I had a sweatshirt on, we finally left because I was cold while Brees was on fire. What’s up with that Florida?
Dana's 32 