For the curious, I decided to go with two tickets at field level, section 36, row 1. At $187 per + “because we can” fees slightly less than TicketBastard’s, I think I got a pretty decent deal. If nothing else, we can harrass Norv…and hey, Charger Girls.
I’m toying with the idea of keeping the tickets for the nosebleeds in case we get tired of the up-close-and-personal and want to seek respite somewhere with a better view. I suppose I should research how much I stand to recoup if I do manage to sell the things, but in terms of the cost of the trip, I doubt it’ll be a drop in the bucket.
WOW! You got some great seats, and not horrible money. Somewhere Lance Alworth is smiling! Yeah, might as well hold on to the high ones too, or if you change your mind you could probably just dump 'em on a scalper in the parking lot for beer money. Hard to imagine you couldn’t find a couple of empty seats together upstairs. Have a great time, you’re putting all the rest of us sons to shame!
PS: Thought I was the only one that called em “Ticketbastard”, but I shoulda known better: So fitting!
Sorry I didn’t see this thread sooner, or I would certainly have chimed in. Unfortunately, the tickets you bought are actually kind of terrible. You’ll certainly get a great view of the Charger Girls and the players on the sidelines - what you won’t be able to see, however, is the actual football game. As a 10 year Chargers season ticket holder, I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that the first 10 rows of the field level (between the 20 yard lines) is totally obstructed viewing. Unlike newer football-specific stadiums, where the field is a good ten feet or so below the first row of seats, Qualcomm was built for both the Chargers and Padres, so the seats go all the way down to the field. You will be standing the entire game, and still won’t see much of what happens. Also, because all the locals know how bad those seats are, most of the people around you will be road-team fans. Anyone who watches Chargers games on TV must think the place is loaded with road fans, cause they always make the TV from the front row. In fact, those fans have plenty of time to mug for the camera, because they aren’t spending any time actually watching football.
If you feel like going to the trouble, try to re-sell those tickets and buy different ones almost anywhere else. Field level seats are fine from at least 20 rows up (but you’ll still be standing). Plaza seats are excellent, preferably between the 20s. Loge seats may actually be the best, but cost extra as part of the “Club seating”. I sit in the Lower View level, which actually is a pretty great view. The Upper View is serious nose-bleed time. The crazy, hard-core locals area is “The Bolt Pit” - Field level, West end zone.
Even if you do keep your current seats, it sounds like you’ll have fun if you don’t mind standing. Get there early and enjoy the all-day tailgating and the Tent Party on the west side of the parking lot where you can watch all the morning games (on Sundays anyway). Either way, have fun and Go Chargers!
Ditto. Some stadiums start a bit higher up these days, but the times I sat that close to the field were the most frustrating days I’ve ever had. You can’t see over the bench at all.
I’ve been to Cadlestick three times. Twice in the lower section in the “good*” end zone section, just behind the rowdy part. The other time was in the upper corner with a large group of seasoned season-ticket holders**. All times were fun, but the whole-field view from up above was nice. Seeing the whole game from the end was different in a good way.
*: The 49ers have historically scored more touchdowns in the south end zone than the north by a significant margin. It held true both times I was there, including a Monday Night 49ers rout of the Steelers where every '9er touchdown was scored coming at me. It’s also opposite the scoreboard.
**: The type that tells stories about going to all five Superbowls.
Hmm. Thanks for the advice, TheBoltEater. I, too, wish you’d seen the thread earlier, or that I’d remembered you from last year’s NFL threads. :smack:
As it stands, I’ve got the front row tickets, and a set for UV42 Row 23 (the aforementioned nosebleeds). My plan was to spend a bit of time at the front row just for the experience, then, if we feel like actually seeing the game, heading up to the top of the world for a different view. Just being there will be enough for us, I’m sure.
That said, I’m kinda cheesed if it’s true that you really can’t see anything at all from the front row, because I called the damn stadium twice to ask that exact question, and got told both times that we’d be about eight feet up and the obstruction was real but not game-ruining. Fuckers knew I was buying tickets from a third party, too, so I don’t see why they’d bother to lie to me…if anything, you’d think they’d tell me the seats were godawful, to convince me to buy a couple of the few remaining upper view seats. I don’t know if I’d be able to resell and buy new ones quickly enough (at least without getting soaked on a good portion of the price I already paid), so I’ll probably stick with what I have.
Ah, well, people suck. We’ll have fun anyway. Go Chargers!
They told you you’d be 8 feet up?!? Only if they were measuring from the top of your head while standing… maybe. Anytime you read about how difficult it is for the Chargers to sell out games, don’t believe it for a second. There are plenty of people willing to buy any of the 66,000 unobstructed view seats. Every week we hear the same stupid things from people who think we’re too lazy or disinterested to support our team. Anyone who’s ever been to the stadium simply knows we’re not stupid enough to pay $100 for seats where we can’t see the game. So what do they do about that? Do they simply tarp over those seats and get on with it? No. They leave them open and lie about the view and hope that there’s still enough people in the world who don’t know better to buy them up.
The most offensive thing, of course, is that they would still lie to you even though the seats had already been sold in the first place. Sorry to hear that, but try not to let it ruin your experience. Monday Nighters against Denver are always a blast, so try to ignore the seats and just enjoy the atmosphere.
