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| Opening Kickoff of the 2012 NFL Season |
After work, I decided to take a train ride out to MetLife Stadium in hopes of finding a reasonably priced ticket so I could go inside to see the game.
After seeing a record number of NFL games again in 2011, my withdrawal from football needed to end sooner than later.
With that being said, I managed to get a ticket outside the stadium. I checked Stub Hub before I left my office so I had an idea of what tickets were going for. I did see some in the corner of the end zone for $154 and others in the end zone for $195. Mind you that doesn't include the extra fees that they tack on.
Since I only needed a single ticket for myself, I thought I had a good chance of finding something that I could afford. Upon arrival I walked around the stadium. I wanted to position myself in front of a gate so if somebody happened to have an extra ticket they couldn't use, I was hoping to make a deal with them. I did notice some scalpers but I try to avoid them since they're trying to do the same as me. The only difference is they plan to resell any tickets they get and I just wanted to get one so I could see the game.
After a short time, I came across a few people who had an extra ticket. The first guy wanted $200. I told him that's too high. He asked me what I wanted to pay. I told him $100 so he walked away. Another guy came by shortly thereafter he had a ticket and he was demanding $150. I told him I'll give him $100. He said $150. So I let him walk away. Moments later, a guy heard me say I needed a ticket. He said he had two. I told him I just need one. He walked away and a few minutes later he came back and he offered me one of his tickets. I asked him what he wanted. He said $100 so I gladly reached into my pocket and gave him the money he asked for. We shook hands and I told him I'll see him up at the seat which wound up being in the end zone section 302 row 25 which was the second row from the top. I'm a professional fan so I adjust accordingly. In reality, I saw the game well. I was happy just to be there so the location on this night was acceptable given the magnitude of the event. After all, it was Opening Night for World Champion Giants.
It turned out that apparently the guy I bought the ticket from had other seats because he never came up and the seat next to me stayed empty so I had some extra room for myself which was perfect. So I paid slightly more than face value which was $85 and I had more room. In addition, I got a nice souvenir hard ticket stub not a lousy sheet of paper with a bar code. With that being said, it turned out to be a real bargain for me.
As for the game I saw, the World Champions looked sluggish. They didn't play well. Rookie David Wilson from Virginia Tech who I saw play in college a few years a go fumbled as the Giants were driving early in the game. That was a bad sign for them and it set the tone for the night. In addition, Victor Cruz who I also saw play in college at UMASS made a few catches early then he dropped three balls that were thrown his way.
As for the Cowboys, Tony Romo he had a great night as he threw for 307 yards. Running back DeMarco Murray finished the game with 131 yards rushing including a 48 yard run where he should have lost yardage but the Giants failed to wrap him up on numerous occasions. Furthermore, wide receiver Kevin Olgetree caught eight passes for 114 yards including two touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to a 24-17 victory.
As a football fan, I had a blast. I saw a relatively competitive game between two division rivals who don't like each other.
More importantly, I was happy for a few people I know because they're big Cowboy fans. I'm referring to Paul Derrick aka Sporting Puma and Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk. They were there with me in spirit.
Overall, it turned out to be a royal night out for me.
Stay tuned as the rest of the week is recapped.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
