I suppose one of the dangers when your pre-booking a trip to NFL games six months in advance is that you could end up in a position where the teams you’re going to see have essentially nothing to play for which was exactly the case last weekend for both the Giants and the Jets.
It affected the atmosphere. It affected the experience. It wasn’t the same as opening game of the season that’s for sure.
Plus the Giants game especially was an absolute washout. Torrential rain throughout and no roof. There were more people in the bars than in the stands. I might as well have watched it at home.
Speaking of the bars even that didn’t go well. At the Jets game on Saturday I was refused alcohol because I “looked” under 40. Luckily I had my driver’s licence with me to prove I was over 21 but even that wasn’t acceptable because it was a “foreign” licence. I asked to speak to a manager but again no compromise, no common sense. She was however very apologetic about it and I actually felt more sorry for her for having to police this ridiculous rule than myself for being the victim of it. In a state that prides itself so much on liberty, fairness, equality and democracy it all seemed a bit absurd. As one fan put it to me “it was bureaucracy beyond gone mad.”
And of course it achieved nothing. I just got somebody else to buy me drinks. Like a 16 year old kid outside Centra.
For the Giants game on Sunday I decided to bring my passport with me despite it being a “foreign” one and although it did suffice not before I was ordered to fill out a disclaimer form stating that my passport did in fact say I was over 21.
Don’t they want tourists at their games? Why are they treating us like Aliens? It all felt a bit much.
But what about the games themselves? Weren’t they at least enjoyable?
Both games were poorly attended. The weather didn’t help but most likely the varying fortunes of the teams this season affected turnout the most.
The Jets game was a good contest in which they were unlucky to lose against a Texans team that can’t stop winning at the moment. The game was enjoyable despite a dull enough first half.
The Giants game was an absolute shutout, they couldn’t even put a point on the board. There was short field goals missed. Eli Manning had a bad game. They couldn’t get any run game going. Receivers were dropping passes from 3 yards. The Titans didn’t play particularly well themselves either but their two touchdowns was more than enough in a game that could have been won with a solitary field goal.
New York City itself was good I got to see the Radio City Rockettes play a Christmas show right in the heart of the city followed by a bit of sightseeing in Times Square where I even witnessed a proposal.
I stayed in the Lower East Side for most of the trip which was nice as I wasn’t stuck in the madness of Times Square for the entirety of the trip. I preferred it downtown.
Would I recommend going to see these two teams? Definitely not. For starters they’re not even in New York they’re in New Jersey which is about an hour away. If you do go, I'd recommend seeing the Jets instead of the Giants. The Giants had the worst support I’ve seen all season. The hassle and nuisance to get a drink at both games, the awkwardness of getting to them from New York, the lack of a decent atmosphere and above all else the expense of actually going to see them play was really just not worth it.
One of the things I did enjoy was getting to wear the blazer I received from Mark at Shinesty. It was really cool and I received a lot of comments and compliments at the stadium. It was fun getting to wear it at the game. Here’s a link to their website https://www.shinesty.com/ if you are interesting in buying one.
I will end on another positive note by saying that overall I have really enjoyed this year’s trips and getting to see eight different NFL organisations play at home has been a really nice achievement.
I am looking forward to hopefully doing it all again next year and sharing my experiences once again.
Thanks for reading.
Happy Christmas. Happy Holidays. Here's to a wonderful 2019.
New York - City 7.5/10
New York- Jets Gameday experience 5.9/10
New York - Giants Gameday experience 1.4/10
