Question for NFL fans re: going to the game

The Game Room
1

Short (mouseover) version — what’s the best place to sit?

Long version — this October, I’m giving my dad a special birthday present: I’m taking him to see our favorite NFL team, the San Diego Chargers. He grew up in San Diego, a Charger fan from the first day he could hold a ball, but as a dirt-poor Marine brat in a family of eight, he never actually made it to a game. This whole experience will be a first for both of us.

I’ve got two cheap tickets for the goal-line nosebleeds. When I revealed the craptacity of our seating arrangements to my father, I did so as contritely as I could pull off, making a show out of not wanting to ruin our big day. For his part, he’s more than fine with this; he’s getting to see us play our division rivals live at Monday Night Football, which is all he ever wanted.

What he doesn’t know is that I’m ebaying these bitches at the first opportunity, hitting up the reseller sites, and dropping whatever I have to drop to get us some REAL seats. These, he won’t see until we walk through the gate on game day. :smiley:

Having never been to one of these things, though, what I need to know from NFL fans here is what you consider the Best Seats In The House. I’ve got bookmarked lines on press-level, Row 1 field level, 50-yard-line club level, what have you, but I can imagine pros and cons to each, and I don’t want to screw this up. If there’s a gold standard for this, so much the better, but if it’s largely a personal preference thing (as I suspect), then consider this a poll. For what it’s worth, when we go to semi-pro games, we get as close to the field as possible, and we’re not at all averse to a stand-and-scream type atmosphere.

So, what say you, football fans? Bonus points if you can offer advice specific to Qualcomm, and triple bonus if you can tell me how to get him on TV. (I kid. Sort of. If the front row would do that, then front row it is, 'cause you better believe he’s TiVO-ing the hell out of this.)

As always, any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

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I’ve only sat in bitch seats so I can’t tell you.

Sounds like a good gift though!

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Hmmm…Never seen a game live but I’ve been in several stadiums including Jack Murphy Stadium for a Dodgers-Padres game. I can’t really remember where we were in that game; I want to say down the right field line past first and relatively low, probably plaza level. I don’t think those seats would be good for football. Sorry, as it’s been–shoot, 15 years? since I was in that stadium. In general, halfway up on the 50 tends to be good ones, but reasonably high ones in the end zone (not the goal line) can be pretty good since it’s easy to see the routes. Then again, I like to see as much as possible without going nosebleed and while I wouldn’t turn down field-level tickets they wouldn’t be my first choice.

Enjoy the game. I’ll be watching the game at home on ESPN and cheering for the Broncos.

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Depends on what you’re looking for. If he’s a Marine and a die-hard fan, he might enjoy himself in the endzone. That tends to be where the rowdies go (like the bleachers in baseball.) Down low in the endzone gives you a decent chance of being on TV. OTOH, the view is not as good IMO, especially if there is only one Jumbotron and you are sitting under it. Down low, as close to the 50 as possible, are the archetypical “good seats.” It might be hard to see the entire field if you are really low, but that’s what the Jumbotron is for. I’ve never sat in club seats. I imagine perks are nice and one day I’d like to splurge on that, but if I was going to one NFL game in my life that isn’t where I’d want to be. It just seems like less of a genuine stadium experience.

I’ve only been to 5 or so NFL games, though, and never Qualcomm, so take with salt.

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Thanks for the replies so far; this is exactly the sort of info I need. It’s an incredibly minor point, but it made me laugh to think about it, so I have to respond to this bit from UncleNito:

He’s not a Marine, his dad was; I only offered that as a bit of faux-sob backstory for why the family was too poor to go to the games. While he did do four years in the Air Force, he’s about the furthest thing from your stereotypical “military man”; imagining his SoCal surfer hippie ass in the Corps makes for a pretty entertaining picture. All in all, he’s pretty much the most mellow person you’ll ever meet…except when he’s watching the Chargers. :smiley:

I wouldn’t say we’re trying to be in the midst of the blue-painted shirtless screamer brigade, just I wouldn’t consider it a huge negative (eg, “field seats are best but you’d have to deal with the hardcore nutters”). We definitely don’t want to be somewhere where standing and cheering are going to get us dirty looks…I’d assumed that was par for the course anywhere in the stadium, but then, I’ve been to enough other events that I ought to know better…avoiding large packs of apathetic promo-ticket-holding “fans” is therefore a high priority.

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For seeing the game with one other person, and the expectation of acting moderately dignified, I enjoy the lower level at the 50. I’ve never had a problem seeing the entire field from there, I’m always a little amazed, actually, that it seems smaller and more manageable in real life than it does on TV. Obviously, I like being on my own team’s side… on the lower levels, you can watch a lot of what goes on with the bench and various personnel, which I find very interesting especially during commercial breaks. I’ve also met some great people in these seats – you tend to get a lot of serious fans and people who have had their seats FOREVER and also sometimes family/guests of the players. Potential downside – you can also get stuck near people who got their tickets as corporate perks or what-have-you, and they don’t care about the game and chat a lot.

Now, when I’m with all my rowdy friends, we’ll stick to the endzone, or even better, the upper level corners which traditionally are not big draws. Easy to get up and down for beer, bathroom, other various and sundry. Usually a fun crowd if you like obnoxious drunk people.

The mid-level area, which I think is the club level at Qualcomm (NB I have never been to Qualcomm) is kind of eh for me (I mean, as much as going to a game is ever eh). I feel too distant, yet not rowdy. These are the seats where I find myself watching most of the game on the Jumbotron.

I’m sure you’ll have fun wherever you end up, what a great gift for you to give your dad!

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The thing to realize is that being in the stadium is actually a relatively poor way to watch the game - you actually get a more better view of the overall game on TV where you have a crew of technicians live-editing the best possible view for you.

What you’ll get in the stadium is the experience of being there. And for that, the closer you are to the field the better. Ideally, you’ll want to be close enough to see the faces on the field. But there’s no view in the stadium where you can do that for everything going on. At best you’ll have a great view of what happens near you and you’ll miss a lot of what’s happening in other parts of the field.

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The seats get better the closer to the 50 you can get. Lower level usually trumps upper, with the notable exception of the very first row of the upper deck.

If you get seats in the lower level, don’t get anything too low, which I define as anything below Row 10. The sweet spot tends to be around 30 or 40 rows back. However, anything between 20 and 60 rows back will be great.

So, look for something between the 20 yard lines, between 20 and 60 rows back. They’ll be great, but they’ll be better the closer to the 50 yard line that you get.
Note that all stadiums are different. There could be a 10 foot difference between Row 1 in Dallas and Row 1 in Denver. Make sure you take a good long look at a seating chart.

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This reminds me of a University of Louisville football game I once went to with my dad. I was disappointed because the seats were behind one of the end zones. But it totally worked out, because the Cardinals staged an incredible comeback, and the winning touchdown was scored in the end zone we were sitting behind.

If you’re feeling lucky, go for some end zone seats and hope that you picked the one where most of the scoring takes place.

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I’ve only been to one game at FedEx Field for the Deadskins. We had first row tickets, but like the second tier endzone. It wasn’t too high, but being the Deadskins, most of the action was going on in the other endzone most of the game. I watched the jumbotron for most of the game. So I second the stay at home option.

However, this sounds like a very great gift for your dad. I hope y’all have a good time.

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Good luck and get ready to pay a premium for the tickets.

I’d recommend lower level if you can get it. Anywhere along the field. Today I just watched the Seahawks knock off the Rams in section KK which is kind of tucked in the corner. Not the best seats, but not bad either. I watch college football from the 20 Yard Line, Row 12. Wouldn’t be any lower than that.

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From what I hear in some cities, San Diego included, alot of seats are going unsold due to the poor economy, so you may find more than you’d expected out there. As someone else stated, down low is probably your best bet for getting your dad on TV, & around the 50 is generally considered the best. Just as an aside, the thing I’ve noticed when I’ve gone to NFL games is how much standing around goes on for the TV timeouts. Like you’re the studio audience for a TV show!
Good luck & hope you have fun. Don’t miss the tailgating scene before the game, great way to mingle w/ fellow fans.

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In terms of actually watching the game, I find that I prefer seats around the 20 rather than right at midfield. 20 yards from the one end zone gives a much better view than 50, and 80 yards from the other end zone only gives a slightly worse view.

But that’s only one consideration. Close seats can give a great view of the ferocity of the game, which you miss from further away. Also, as others have said you can consider how rowdy you want your section to be, since the cheaper sections are usually the most rowdy.

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Interesting advice so far. My initial temptation was to go with a pair of tickets I found that are field level, row 1, on about the 40, if only for the “up close and personal” factor, but a number of people have said that they wouldn’t go lower than row-whatever.

Is that simply a visibility thing? If so, I’m inclined to go with Little Nemo’s take on the situation, but there might be other disadvantages I’m not considering.

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I had tickets in the 2nd row once. It was very,very good. You could hear the hits and the players and coaches yelling. I took my son and his friend and they liked it a lot.
My original season tickets for the Lions was in the early 60s. They cost 35 bucks for the season. We sat in the bleachers . If it rained or snowed, it rained or snowed on us. The bleacher bums were real football fans and knowledgeable. I remember how pissed I got when they forced us to buy exhibition game tickets. No real fan cared about those games. Neither did the players. It shows. The regulars were held out to avoid injury. But they charged like they were playing a season game.I felt cheated.

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I’ve never been to an NFL stadium, but to most of the CFL stadiums, and I would echo the comment about being up around 20 rows. You need the perspective to see the play develop. When you’re sitting in the very first row, it’s hard to see the play, because you’re looking right at all of the players. It’s hard to follow running plays, and some of the throwing plays, because you’ve got 24 big guys screening your line of sight. It does, however, give you a good perspective on what the players themselves are dealing with, and makes me a bit more humble about saying things like “That idiot QB didn’t see that receiver who was wide open.”

On the other hand, a couple of times we’ve got seats on the first row, right behind the players’ bench - that’s a lot of fun if you can get them behind the team you’re cheering for, because you can see your favourite players up close and personal.

And, in 1997, we got cheap seats on the 2 yard line, two rows up, for the Western semi-final - so we got to see the Riders run in the winning touchdown that got them to the Grey Cup, right in front of us. That was a bit of a fluke, but certainly made the seats worthwhile!

I’d also agree with borchevsky’s comment - Mrs Piper and I have season tickets at our home stadium, on the 35 yard line. That gives us a better view of one end zone than the other, but I think I prefer that, rather being equally distant from either end zone.

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Bear in mind that anywhere you sit, the best view of the action will be on the Jumbotron anyway. As a few people here have pointed out, there is no seat that will give as good a view as you can get with multiple cameras and professional producers constantly giving you the best angle. When I go to a game, I usually end up watching a lot of it on the videoboard.

Field-level seats at the 40 at an NFL game would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Times 2 if you’re on the home-team side, right behind the bench. And your father would recognize them as amazing seats, even if you can make an argument in favor of sitting elsewhere.

ETA: Another vote for the Little Nemo position, IOW.

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To a certain extent, it depends on how hardcore a fan you are. I was at a Saints game years ago, sat in the third row from the top of the Dome, in the endzone. From there, I could see the line blocking, the routes/coverage as it unfolded, etc…it’s a perspective you don’t get on television.

Otherwise, pretty much anything from between the 30 yard lines oughta be pretty decent, but beware the dreaded “partially obstructed view” tickets if there are any in Jack Murphy Stadium.

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gotta agree w/ the poster who said it would be a once in a lifetime thing to be that close. Was once up close for a Giants/Dallas game in the Meadowlands a few years back. Like most of us average schmoes, I’m usually up in the nosebleeds. This really was a different experience. The intensity, the sound of the hitting, hearing the guys yelling signals and everything, even during warmups, really brought home how incredibly violent a game it is, and how amazingly tough these players are. After sitting so close, you’re amazed there aren’t even more injuries, & helps you understand why so many of the retired guys are in such bad shape, & the average NFL running back’s career is something like only three years, I think. :eek:
Generally the fear if you’re up to close is you might not get the same perspective as you would from higher up. InI agree with the earlier poster who said the front row of the upper deck is often one of the best seats in a place. In some of the older stadiums (Cleveland Municipal, I think, maybe Detroit way back), if you were** too** close, the players on the sideline could block your view. I’m pretty certain that would not be the case at Jack Murphy or sorry, Quaalcom:smack:, you’d still be high enough to see well. The official website sometimes can give you virtual view from the set you want to buy, might be worth checking out. Also, Junior Seau’s sports bar inside the stadium was worth a hang.
Also, frankly, if I was bringing my dad, I’d want to sit closer, partly because there tend to be more fights/disturbances/drunks up in the cheaper seats, especially for a Monday night game, no dis on SD, happens everywhere. Slightly more civil downstairs, usually

20

As a lifelong Dolphins fan, I’ve sat all over the stadium in Miami (Land Shark in its latest incantation), from the top of the bleachers to right behind the bench, and I’ve sat all over the Gators football stadium, too.

I agree that too low obscures the action. When I sat in row 4 of a Monday Night Football game against the Steelers, I spent most of the night watching the punter stay loose. It’s hard to see all of the action on the field.

Ditto for being in the endzone when the action is on the other end (and it’s heartbreaking when your team is driving towards you, ready to score in your lap, when the quarter ends and they run down to the other end of the field).

Stay out of the upper deck! Obnoxious drunks, who tend to spill their beers, lurk up there.

The best seats, IMO, are about the 35 yard line, maybe 20 rows up. You’ll get to see all of the action, but be close enough to an end zone that there’s a chance you’ll be right on top of the play at a crucial moment in the game.

Since this is your first game, you’ll spend the first quarter gaping at how close your are to the action, how the field doesn’t look that big (“I could throw it 40 years”, your Dad is bound to say), but how the players are Huge - ultimately, there’s no wrong choice, and it’ll be loads of fun.