Game #88- Cincinatti Bengals

Cincinatti Bengals vs. San Diego Chargers September 20, 2015 Paul Brown Stadium I had to travel for work again, finding myself in the city of Indianapolis which now feels like my second home. The advantage is that Indy is central to a lot of sports towns, that is why I had the ability to drive the 1.5 hours to see the Bengals game. I tried to hit up this team last year but the polar vortex was slamming the Midwest and I realized if I drove to Cinci…I wouldn’t be able to get back. This year was the exact opposite, blue skies, warm weather, and a beautiful stadium sitting on the Ohio River. I also had a little more invested in this game because the Chargers were playing, and I could wear my powder blue Antonio Gates jersey. I have been so used to seeing the Bengals at the bottom of the standings for so many years, it was a bit unexpected to see them come into the game undefeated. In fact, they have a really good team in 2015. Lead by “fire crotch” Andy Dalton at QB, pro bowl contender Giovani Bernard at running back, and a stingy defense the Chargers were in for a difficult day. On the other hand the Chargers players don’t look so good and proved it by starting the game horribly. Keenan Allen fumbled a punt on the Bengals opening series and two plays later Dalton threw a 16 yard touchdown to A.J. Green. It doesn’t get any worse when it comes to the SD QB…it is no surprise to friends and family I am no fan of Phillip Rivers. I honestly think he is the most over rated quarterback in the league (I could have started for San Diego if I had Antonio Gates, Malcolm Floyd, Vincent Jackson, and LaDanian Tomlinson over the past decade) and he showed it in this game. He started off great in terms of stats, 20 for 20, but the passes were short and lead to very few first downs. That being said Rivers did throw his 255th TD in the second half to surpass hall of famer Dan Fouts for the club record, but again Fouts didn’t have countless receivers that towered over defenders. The rest of the game was filled with dropped passes, fumbles, and a ton of penalties. In the end the Chargers had a chance to come back and win the game but of course Rivers threw an interception and the game ended at 24-19 Bengals. The best part of the game was the drunk dude in front of me. He passed out in the 1st quarter and was asleep for 90% of the game. His buddy was taking pictures, putting stuff in his ears, and even called his wife via Facetime to show her what her husband looked like in his seat. Too funny. Other than that, besides the really cool view of the river the stadium didn’t have much to offer in terms of fan experiences. They had some inflatable slides on the concourse for the kids, but no pictures or trophy cases. But the atmosphere outside the venue was pretty cool, the city shuts down East Freedom Way by the Reds stadium for bands, beer and food.

Game #87- Oakland Athletics

Oakland Athletics vs. Texas Rangers Overstock Coliseum April 7th, 2015 The stupid little perks of flying convinced me to head up to Oakland to close out the final CA team on my list…that is until the new LA soccer team takes over for the dismantled Chivas. In order to get A status on Southwest I needed to book 3 round trip flights in 3 months and so the $120 round trip would be worth it. Also, I haven’t visited my old college buddy Greg Kopotic in quite some time and it was perfect to catch up, check out the new digs, and visit his growing family. We headed to the game and I fully expected a completely full parking lot. This was opening week and only the second game of the year, but the A’s only pulled about 15k people. I thought that was crazy because they have had several decent teams over the past couple of years, but it worked out for us. 5th row, right off first base where we could heckle the Texas bullpen (they were warming up about 20 feet from us). With the small crowd the home team did little to bring any excitement to the game. In fact, most of the cheers went to big name Rangers like Price Fielder who slapped in two RBI’s, Adrian Beltre, and the taunting of Shin-Soo Choo. The only lone highlight of the game for the A’s was when Sam Fuld tripled in the 6th inning and scored the lone run on a groundout. Boring game, but fun overall as Greg and I shot the shit for several hours. By the way, Oakland lost 3-1… The one thing I didn’t do was walk around the stadium to find fan areas. Although this team was very popular in the 80’s and the franchise as a whole has won several championships, the Coloseum is a dump and has nothing to offer in terms of fan experience. I have to admit though, the “non bullpen” for the visiting team was fun. Every pitch was met with a “woooooop!”, every throw back to the mound a low “waaaaaaaa…” All the fans around us got into it. We even started shouting out the pitcher making him laugh, good times.

Game #86- Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Boston Bruins February 22, 2015 United Center A classic showcase game of the day featuring two original six teams. They have played over 600 games against each other with Boston holding a slightly better record over the 100 year rivalry. Both teams are having good years, the Hawks are at the top of the western conference and the Bruins are still in a solid playoff spot in the east. I have long been a fan of the Bruins for two reasons: first and foremost Ray Bourque. The dude was a stud on the blue line for years. Second, freshman year in college they were my go to team on Nintendo’s NHL hockey (another guy on our floor took the Kings). But tonight I am secretly cheering on the boys in black and yellow because the Hawks have become a bitter foe with the LA Kings in recent years. In fact the last four Stanley Cups have ended up in Chicago or LA. The Hawks fans were fired up for the game, and the intensity in the United Center hit a fever pitch when the now infamous singing of our national anthem began. If you have not seen a Hawks game, the fans scream as loud as they can during the anthem. Apparently this started in the 80’s, it is said to have began in 1982 but gained popularity in the 1985 game 3 conference finals vs. the Edmonton Oilers. It is an awesome sight to behold. Unfortunately for the home fans they didn’t have much else to cheer for during the game. The players seemed sluggish on the ice, the passing was not crisp, and overall they seemed off. After the first period the Bruins were up 2-1 but completely dominated the second with 4 goals and eventually winning the game 6-2. For me it was still really exciting. The ice was peppered with NHL stars from Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to Pattrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara (has a 110 mph slapshot). And although the home team lost, I just completed my 85th regular season game! As I mentioned in the Bulls report, Chicago didn’t do a good job of praising their teams history or present glory. Yes, there are the statues of Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull. There are the hanging posters of current players. But come on, this is an original six team! Where are old jerseys? Where are the original ticket stubs and media guides?

It’s crazy to me that a team that is 100 years old is not honored in their own stadium. Well, at least I met some friendly neighbors and was able to snag a ticket stub a little easier than the previous night…although they were not happy I was a Kings fan, as long as I was not flaunting it we were all cool. But surprised at how much they hate Dustin Brown and love Drew Doughty…