Game 10: Colts @ Titans

October 16, 2017

Nissan Stadium – Nashville, Tennessee

My Friends Alex and Dan (they were recently engaged so excited for them!)

 

Pregame Thoughts

Prediction: Titans win by 3

 

Results

Final Score: Titans 36, Colts 22

My Record: 5-5

 

A good prediction and another win. The score was affected by a touchdown by the Titans with under a minute left. Otherwise I was pretty spot on.

 

The Game

There are a few reasons the Titans won this game. I think the one we all are aware of is no Andrew Luck. That had a huge impact, especially because the Colts settled for five field goals. Derrick Henry had 131 yards rushing including a 72 yard touchdown run with a minute left in the game. Marcus Mariota played well and ended up with 306 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception.

 

Before the long touchdown run, the Colts actually had a chance to tie the game. It appeared that Jacoby Brissett had enough yards on a 4th down run down around the 10 yard line, but after review they ruled he was just short, kind of the theme of the night for the Colts, just short.

 

The Stadium

Overall Rating: B

 

I thought I may be running a little late for the game (late meaning not in my seat 15 minutes before, I would never miss kickoff people – knock on wood). It took longer to get in than it should have, they were filtering everyone through a handful of gates and so people had to stop going through the metal detector because the ticket scanners couldn’t keep up. Once you are in, it is a nice place. A few large areas by each end zone to drink and eat. Also, to get to the top sections the elevators were extremely convenient and fast.

 

This was my second halftime show and since its Nashville, guess what? Yes, they had a country singer, Trace Adkins. I like country but I am not really a huge fan, in this case it was good to listen to live. This is the first time I saw more people stay in their seats at halftime and then go get food at the beginning of the third quarter. Kind of backwards and crazy to me, but I am obviously more interested in football, to each their own.

 

Love, Hate and Shout Out

Love: The use of the Titans. A scene from the movie “300” is shown every third down. The mascot looks like an actual Titan, as in don’t go near him or he will eat you. The pregame ceremony stabs a sword into the middle of the field. And almost unnoticeable, there are constant digital flames behind all of the scoreboards that gives a very Titan feel.

 

Hate: Teams settling for field goals. No one wants to see it, although it is the difference in the game most times. Even when its not my team, I get worked up over a team constantly kicking field goals inside the red zone.

 

Shout Out: Nashville for their love of country music. They really really love their country music, again not my thing, but it is a good experience in person.

 

Fan Tips

Get there a little earlier to enter because they don’t have enough ticket scanners.

Use the elevators if going to the top sections.

Watch the half time show if you aren’t getting food or going to the bathroom.

 

 

Game 9: Eagles @ Panthers

October 12, 2017

Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, North Carolina

My Friend Rob

 

Pregame Thoughts

Prediction: Panthers win by 7

 

Results

Final Score: Eagles 28, Panthers 23

My Record: 4-5

 

Not a good prediction. I nailed the last game and followed it up with a poop prediction, I apologize to my fans. I can blame my hatred for the Eagles (being a Giants fan and all), but I won’t. It was just bad. I will try and do better next time.

 

The Game

I am going to leave my dislike for the Eagles out of this one, with that aside, it was a good game. I expected Cam Newton to have a better passing performance (especially since that great display I saw in Detroit). He ended up throwing only one touchdown three interceptions and had 239 passing yards. He did add 71 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown though. Carson Wentz was the one that walked away with the victory throwing three touchdowns with 222 yards passing.

 

The Panthers did have a shot in the last few minutes on a final drive but turned the ball over on downs around midfield. The last few plays of that series didn’t make much sense as 3 of the 4 plays were deep balls. They had plenty of time to get the first down (and many more) instead of trying to get it all in one play. Give credit to the Eagles defense for stopping the Panthers offense the final drive and pretty much all game (relatively). They had 15 points off turnovers in the game.

 

The Stadium

Overall Rating: A+

 

The location in Charlotte is perfect. Really close to downtown and all the places to go out. There was also an area right outside the stadium to party before the game that looked fun.

 

Very friendly people everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean it. Going up the escalators, they had staff every flight giving high fives and making sure you were having a good time. They also had a minister say a prayer before the game.

 

The concessions were great, one main reason because they had a lot of them. The concourses were big, clean and had plenty of places to hang out to eat and drink. One of the best parts was they had soda refill stations to fill up your souvenir cups yourself, makes it faster and more efficient.

 

Also, every replay on the jumbotron had two camera angles. The use of split screens is awesome and more stadiums should do this. It gives you a really good look at the play.

 

Love, Hate and Shout Out

Love: Halftime shows. This was the first stadium that had a halftime show believe it or not! It was Rob Base (“It Takes Two”), Young MC (“Bust a Move”) and Biz Markie (“Just a Friend”). It was a little sad to see those guys at the end of their career. I mean it literally sounded like me singing karaoke way off tune. Maybe they should get someone more recent next time, but it was still good. Thanks for the show Panthers.

 

Hate: Eagles winning and listening to their fans. I never heard so many “kill him” statements or just overall mean things with F-bombs every sentence.

 

Shout Out: Halftime performers. Yes, this is my love and shout out, but for different reasons, deal with it. If you don’t like it, donate more money and I won’t do it again. The shout out is for those guys still performing after all these years and trying really hard. Keep living your dream guys, I know I am right now.

 

Fan Tips

Go out in Charlotte before and after the game.