by
November 20, 02009
The NFL schedule has been about the best playing the best throughout the season so far, but this week is different. There are no real marquee powerhouse match ups, instead the most interesting games on the schedule are devoted to teams trying to break out of a funk and remain playoffs hopefuls. The Chargers travel to Invesco Field to play the Broncos, who have lost three straight and could lose the AFC West division lead in this game. The Falcons have been playing themselves out of the wild card race with a 1-3 record in the last four games and now go to Giants Stadium to meet a Giants team equally desperate for a win to remain part of the playoff landscape.
San Diego Chargers (6-3) at Denver Broncos (6-3) (Sunday, 4:15 PM ET)
Last season the Broncos blew their division lead in the final three weeks with three straight losses as the Chargers won four straight to steal the division and the lone playoff spot. This week feels like deja vu as the Broncos have lost three straight and the Chargers have won four straight and are once again threatening to take the AFC West. The Broncos are definitely at a disadvantage, with Chris Simms starting in place of Kyle Orton and the defense struggling. They have their home crowd and a sense of desperation that could help them in this game.
Invesco Field at Mile High (1701 Bryant St., Denver, CO 80204)
Invesco Field at Mile High is a venerable football palace from the future with a breathtaking design that seems to come from another world. The exterior line of the stadium’s bowl dips and dives as rounded edges of a giant metal tripod in the middle of a great circle campus. That campus includes public art and monuments celebrating the collaborative effort it took to build a new stadium to replace an obsolete Mile High Stadium in 2001.
The stadium has seating for 76,125 spread over 1.7 million square feet (doubling the size of the old Mile High). This extra space is used to provide more comfortable seating for the modern fan; wider concourses, elevators, and escalators to make traversing the levels below the seats easier; and more restrooms and concession stands, permanent and mobile, that make it much easier to relief yourself or fill up again between possessions.
Once seated it is hard to miss any of the action on the field thanks to the fan-friendly design that accounts for every sightline. In the case that you do miss something on the field simply look to the 96 by 27 foot video screen at the south end of the field or the 48 by 27 foot video screen as the north end. There are televisions throughout the concourse as well.
Fans come clad in orange and pester opposing quarterbacks with the “Incomplete Chant,” but there is more culture to Invesco Field than the game day football culture. There are great murals on the east and west exterior of the stadium, six monuments placed along the sides of the Counties Gateway Plaza on the west side of the stadium. There is also a bit of local history with the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, the team’s in house hall of fame. Get a bit of shopping in at the Sports Legend Mall in the south end of the stadium if you feel like delving into a little consumer culture.
Invesco Field at Mile High is a stadium that deserves every accolade it has received. It is designed to accommodate every need of the fan, from the design of the building to the amenities housed within.
Food and Drink
Invesco Field has much more than the hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza found at every sporting event. Mile High has more delicious original options like a Mountain High Pizza Pie, a bevy of creative cuisine at the Red Zone, and a nacho bar Jalapeno Heaven (get bacon bits with your nacho cheese). This is a greasy, health-challenged heaven for Broncos fans and visiting football fans alike.
Anybody that has been to a bar in the last few years has noticed that even the most dive-ish bars have begun to usher in a new, more refined selection of beers. Many of these beers come from Colorado, so Invesco has terrific local brews like Fat Tire and Sunshine Wheat to go with standard domestic beers from Miller, Bud, and Coors. Beers will run from $6-$8.
Parking, Tickets, and the Surrounding Area
The 500-level seats are available for around $80 and 100-level seats are available for upwards of $600, though most are available for around $300.
If you park in the stadium lots, expect to pay between $20 and $30. If you venture outside the stadium limits, then expect to find parking for around $10. You can skip the parking hassle altogether and utilize the light rail system. If you take public transportation, then make sure at least one friend is parking in the stadium lot and enjoy the tailgating scene before the game.
After the game, the sports fan that wants to go out will have to find another place to party since this is a rather quiet neighborhood around the stadium. Denver is a young town and there are plenty of neighborhoods to go and end the night. LoDo and Larimer Square might have the bars you are looking for. This is where the young professionals hang, so enjoy bar hopping here or head to the SoCo District and party it up with DJs and dance floors. There are more than enough options for any sports fans in all of these neighborhoods, but fans should stay closer to LoDo if they want to enjoy more of a sports bar atmosphere.
San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos Tickets
Atlanta Falcons (5-4) at New York Giants (5-4) (Sunday, 1:00 PM ET)
The Falcons have dropped three of their last four and the Giants have lost four consecutive games after opening the season with five straight wins. Now both teams are 5-4 and part of a very crowded field of teams hoping to advance to the postseason. The Falcons only hope is the wild card while the Giants still have a shot at the division title. Either way, both of these teams need to turn the momentum around this week to jump out ahead of the rest of the field that is teetering around .500.
Giants Stadium (50 State Route 120, East Rutherford, NJ 07073)
Giants Stadium has stood since 1972 and now is in its last season before it will be demolished to make way for the new Meadowlands Stadium. This venerable football institution holds 80,200 screaming Giants or Jets fans nearly every week of the NFL season.
The classic oval bowl stadium beacons to a time in the 1970s when it was constructed, so architecture is not one of the strengths of the stadium. The design is far from visually intriguing; remaining much more functional (you will still get a great view of the field and the seats remains surprisingly comfortable despite being from the ‘70s). The concourses are rather tight, but that is expected to be when a stadium is a few decades old. This makes traversing the crowds to get to your seats or to purchase concessions difficult.
What makes this stadium an institution is the age of the stadium. It has survived low point and high points in both team’s histories, so each game seems like a journey to a sacred place. The fans make the best out of it, bringing their chants, jeers, and cheer every game. In fact, it is the fans that make this such a wonderful football experience. Their energy flows through the stadium and genuinely churn the excitement as the game clock runs down to the final two minutes.
Giants Stadium has added some modern amenities in the 21st century though. Two Sony Jumbotrons sit atop either endzone. They are a decent size at 32 by 24 feet and are supplemented by black and white scoreboards.
So, this is a stadium worth visiting for any fan that appreciates the history of the game. Though be prepared to fight through crowds to get to one of the 35 restrooms around the stadium or one of the 110 concession stands.
Food and Drink
The food at Giants Stadium has a few decent specialty items, but remains pretty much in line with the design of the stadium, archaic. So, there are plenty of places to get hot dogs, hamburgers, pretzels, and reheated pizza. These are all rather inexpensive though. The specialty items will cost you a little more money, but they are worth it. Look for sausages, cheese steaks, and knishes. For those unfamiliar with a knish, it is a Jewish dish that is simply filling (such as mashed potatoes, ground meat, sauerkraut, onions, kasha, or cheese) covered in dough and baked, grilled, or deep fried. These will cost a little more, but they are worth it. These stands will be located at the corners of the concourses.
The reality is the best place to find food at Giants Stadium is before the game within the sea of tailgaters. The eats here are far better than anything prepared in the stadium. Sometimes these tailgaters offer them for free and sometimes they charge a little to compensate their hard work.
The beer selection is the typical domestic selection at most stadiums. The price is about the same too, running from $7 to $8 for 16 ounces or a bottle.
Tickets, Parking, and the Surrounding Area
Tickets for this game are running from $90 in the 300-level seats to upwards of $500 for 100-level seating. These are no bad prices for the game considering importance of the game.
Luckily getting the stadium is simple once you know the various expressways around the Meadowlands, but they can unequivocally confusing for someone driving in for the first time, even with a GPS. Parking is available at the stadium for $40, which is rather expensive, but might be the best option when given the choice of searching for parking outside the stadium.
Giants Stadium is part of the Meadowlands Sports Complex in north Jersey. This does not mean that there is nothing there as some would believe. Rather, fans have to go a couple of miles to find restaurants and sports bars. Still, many would prefer to go to New York City (20 minutes away if traffic is good) where the possibilities are endless.