Game 28

Indianapolis Colts (Lucas Oil Stadium) vs. Cleveland Browns
October 21, 2012

Incredible!  That is how I would describe Lucas Oil Stadium.  The facility is bigger, brighter and much nicer than you can imagine.  It certainly helped that it was a bright / sunny day with the roof and one end of the stadium open allowing for a lot of sunlight it.  No offense to Heinz Field, PNC Park, Fenway Park or any other stadium where I have toured, but this is by far my favorite place yet....I have not been to Dallas so my opinion may change once I see the Cowboys' stadium, but for now, this place ranks at the top.

 

My favorite feature is that the open end of the stadium frames downtown Indianapolis perfectly.  The picture above is from our seats, which allowed for this great view all day long.  You can also see the light coming in from the open roof.  What is also nice about this place is the large concourse areas that feel even bigger than they really are because of the large glass walls that allow so much light in.  The only downside with it being so bright is the fact that it was often a challenge to get good pictures with so many sunny spots and a lot of shadows.

I drove down to Indianapolis the night before the game and stayed at a hotel just one block away.  By staying so close, I was able to walk right up to the stadium and take a lot of pictures both the night before the game and early in the morning prior....more pictures can be found on my Facebook page.

On the morning of the game, I met up with some former co-workers from Louisville - Bill Dwyer (grill-master) and Cory Moran - to tailgate.  Word of caution....the hotel is certainly convenient when spending the night and finding a secure parking spot (hotel garage); however, getting out of the parking garage after the game was a long wait, which is something I did not think about at the time.

 

 

In the photo to the left (of which I am posing with some random Colts fanatic dressed in a full-body spandex blue and white tuxedo) you can kind of see how much light is let in from the large windows on the concourse areas.  Colts fans are like many other fans...passionate about their team; however, having just attended a division rivalry between the Eagles & Giants on a Sunday night, the level of excitement felt subdued here.  

In a year in which the Colts are rebuilding with a rookie QB (Andrew Luck), I think fans were just excited to be facing an opponent they had a chance to beat.  Let's face it, any team playing the Cleveland Browns, who always seem to be rebuilding, has a good chance to win.  Also, I know for a fact that fans were screaming during intense moments of the game, but for some reason, it just didn't seem very loud compared to a lot of other games.

 

As for the game itself (photo on the left is from our seats in the upper deck), the first half started out with some excitement with each team going on very long / time-consuming TD drives that resulted in a 14-6 half-time lead for the Colts.  Andrew Luck looked pretty well and scored both TDs on short runs.  It was also nice to get a look at Cleveland's rookie QB (Brandon Weeden) and rookie RB (Trent Richardson - although he was injured and played on a limited basis).  It is very likely that we will be watching these three rookies play for a long time. 

There certainly was some excitement toward the end of the game as the Browns made a few attempts at game-winning TD drives, but came up short in the end.  Sure the Colts won 17-13, but I would argue that the Browns lost this game because of a few poor plays, which seems to be the story of the Cleveland's history.  For starters, they missed an extra point early in the game which forced them to have to score a TD at the end of the game instead of having an option to kick a FG to tie.  Also, late in the game one of the Browns' receivers dropped a wide-open pass in the endzone, which was right in his hands.  Oh well, as a Steeler fan, I was happy to see the Browns lose.

 

Bottom-line:  A must-see venue.

After 28 games, the record of the home team is 17-11. 94 more games to go.  Currently I have no immediate plans for my next game, but am always open to options so please keep me in mind.  It will be nice if we finally get the NHL season started again.

Also, please visit my fundraising page as I continue to try and raise money for cancer research. I encourage you to donate. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

Game 27

Philadelphia Eagles (Lincoln Financial Field) vs. New York Giants
September 30, 2012

There is no better way to experience a great NFL rivalry than to go to Philadelphia for an Eagles / NY Giants game.  Add to the mix the fact that it was an 8:20 PM start; thus allowing fans to tailgate all day long, and you end up with a very rowdy crowd. 

I met up with some college buddies of mine Drew Blank (the only real Eagles fan in the group), Chris Petersen (former Eagle fan now converted to a Steeler fan and someone who has attended a number of games with me) and Aaron Depew (a true Steeler fan that settled for a McCoy jersey because he at least went to Pitt.  Aaron is also wearing a Steeler shirt underneath to show his true loyalty.  He has also attended a number of games with me).  Not pictured was Kevin Heaphy who joined us for pre-game festivities, but then left.  All of you know that I'm a Steeler fan, but don't judge me for wearing a Philadelpia Eagles jersey to the game.  It was for my own safety in this hostile environment.

I first have to recognize both Aaron and Chris for their dedication to making it to the game.  Both of them completed a half Ironman competition a few hours away that morning.  Nothing like skipping tailgating for 6 hours of hard-core exercise.  That probably made the ballpark food and beer taste that much better.  Congratulations guys!

We took a cab to the game and hung out at Infinity Live! for a few hours before the game.  This place is incredible and well worth the minimal cover charge.  Food, music, bars, enormous TVs, etc.  A great place to experience the excitement of the pregame crowd.  I highly recommend stopping in....oh, and a word of advice....keep the wristband on in case you want to go back after the game.  I learned the hard way and had to wait in line and pay the cover charge again. 

Lincoln Financial Field opened in 2003 and still feels like a new stadium.  It seems to offer a great selection of food and is designed well to accommodate large crowds at the concession stands.  It feels a lot like Heinz Field in Pittsburgh with the open end of the stadium.  It has to be rather convenient for fans to attend games because all four major sports are located basically in the same place with Citizens Bank Park (home of the Phillies) and Wells Fargo Center (home of the 76'ers and Flyers) nearby.  Our seats were in the upper deck; therefore, a very long walk, but even at the top, the view of the action was great and this is where you get to see the true / die-hard fans.



It was a rather low scoring / defensive game with Philly leading 13-10 at half time.  At half-time, they did a very nice tribute to retired Eagle veteran, Brian Dawkins who had his number retired by the team.

With less than 7 minutes to go in the game, the Giants took the lead and things didn't look good for the Eagles or their anxious fans.  However, Philly managed to move the ball all the way down to the Giants 4 yard-line but could not punch it in.  They settled for a field goal with just under 2 minutes left for a one point lead.  Now the excitement and nervousness could certainly be felt in the stadium as Eli Manning and the Giants made one last drive to win the game. 

With 15 seconds to go, the Giants lined up for a 54 yard game-winning field goal, which he missed.  The crowd went wild, until they realized that the Eagles' coach called time out to ice the kicker. 

To quote coach Andy Reid when asked later if he regretted calling time out, "When you're surrounding by 66,000 people that probably wanna rip your head off, yeah."

Vick is not a fan of the practice of icing the kicker.  "I don't believe in icing the kicker," he said. "You let him kick it and if it's in, it's in. You can't play games. I don't know where that started. We got to end that tradition."

Lucky for the Eagles and their fans, the 2nd attempt fell short for an Eagles victory (picture to the right is the 2nd attempt).  As bitter and drunk as the fans were, I certainly am glad the Eagles won or it would have been a very bitter crowd afterward.  I'm still not a fan of their fight song - Fly Eagles Fly.


, The weekend was not all football, hot dogs and beer.  I had time to kill on Sunday morning so I did manage to tour some of the historic areas of Philadelphia - Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin's grave, US Mint, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross' home, Alfreth's Alley, etc.

After 27 games, the record of the home team is 16-11. 95 more games to go.  Next stop - Indianapolis Colts in a few weeks.

Also, please visit my fundraising page as I continue to try and raise money for cancer research. I encourage you to donate. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

Game 26

Minnesota Twins (Target Field) vs. Oakland A's
July 14, 2012

Who would have thought that the hottest game I have attended (up until this point) would be in Minneapolis, MN?  That was of course until I attended a Brewers game 3 days later in 98 degree heat. 

I will get to the game in a little bit, but here is a brief summary of the trip.

With my wife and kids out of town visiting her sister in Maryland, I decided to drive over to Minneapolis and meet up with a college buddy of mine, Chris Petersen.  He was in town for a family reunion and was kind enough to let me tag along to a Twins game with 25+ family members.

We started the weekend off renting bikes to tour the city and surrounding lakes - we road by Target Field, crossed the Mississippi at St. Anthony Falls and checked out many of Minneapolis' terrific bike paths.  In total we spent 4 hours and about 35 miles on the bikes.  Oh, and did I mention that it was 95 degrees....luckily a lot of the bike paths were in the shade.

After lunch and a nap, we took the train to Target Field to meet up with the rest of the family.  Game-time temperatures were in the mid-90's and our seats were in the blazing sun with very little cloud cover.  For that reason, we spent a lot of the game walking around the stadium exploring all of the concessions, observation decks and concourse levels which is definately part of the fun of my sports tour.   For many of the games I'm not that invested in who untimately wins; the object is to get to the stadiums / arenas / fields and check them all out and see how they compare to one another.

For some reason I really liked this picture of the "Twins" in the outfield.  It is Minneapolis and St. Paul shaking hands over the Mississippi River.

This is the 3rd season for the Twins in the new ballpark - Target Field.  I definitely recommend seeing a game here as it is a great new park.  The design is terrific with views of the city from certain angles, excellent layout for easy viewing and plenty of room to move around while visiting the concession stands or walking around under the seats.  It didn't ever feel crowded or as if we were fighting our way from one part of the stadium to another. There is a nice standing room area in right field, with monuments and great views of the game.  Down the left field line is a large closed-in area for restaurants.  I tend to like ballparks that are not symmetrical, and Target Field is a perfect example.

In my opinion, for what it is worth, it is a bit surprising that they would build a baseball stadium this far north that is not enclosed.  Of course for this game in the middle of July, it didn't matter as the weather was maybe even a little too hot, but I imagine that there are some very cold games in April (and October if they make the playoffs - which will not happened this year, they stink).  As a friend of mine said, "Minneapolis is great in the summer. Both weeks."

They had some interesting food options.  I settled for the pork chop on a stick, but they also served walleye, which is the first time I have seen that at a game.

As I mentioned, the Twins stink and this game was no exception, but despite the heat and the fact that the Twins are 15+ games under .500, the crowd was still really into the game.  At times it looked like batting practice for the A's against the Twins' pitchers.  In total, the A's hit 4 home runs, including one that landed in our section on the second level over the right field wall.  The A's won 9-4.


Thanks a lot Petersen for letting me tag along.  I had a blast.  You can see many more photos on my facebook page if you are interested.

After 26 games, the record of the home team is 15-11.  96 more games to go.

Also, please visit my fundraising page as I continue to try and raise money for cancer research.  I encourage you to donate.  http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

Games 24 & 25

Atlanta Braves (Turner Field) vs. Milwaukee Brewers

The intention of this weekend trip was to get together with a few college buddies.  Thanks to Scott Rowles' hospitality, we had a free place to stay and a chauffeur.  Unfortunately Chris Petersen had to cancel at the last minute due to some emergency at work and Aaron Depew had to rearrange his schedule and miss out on the Braves game.  With all that said, it was still a great weekend.

Rowles and I sold the four tickets and purchased some standing-room only tickets, which in my opinion is the best way to see a Braves' game anyhow....on the terrace of the Chop House in center field.  Of course you have to battle the crowd and stand the entire time, but the view from center field is pretty good and the crowd is more interested in socializing than the actual game.  I have been to Turner Field many times and each time I have watched a game from this location.  It was opening day for the Braves against my home-town Brewers (ironically I was at the Brewers home opener last Friday).  I wore a Brewers shirt and took a little criticism from a few fans, but it wasn't too bad.  In the end, the Braves' fans got the last laugh anyhow.  Photo taken outside the stadium in Monument Grove...I highly recommend checking it out because it offers a lot of history.  The patio area inside the park, but outside of the actual seating area is a good place to grab food and watch the game on the jumbo-tron.

I have been to a lot of sporting events, but this might have been the most insane!  It was clear that people had been tailgating for hours in the hot sun.  The contant chant and tomahawk chop gets a bit annoying after a while.  Adding to the frenzy, it was Tomahawk give-away day, which was a big hit for the kids when I brought them home.  What better weapon than a foam hatchet to beat each other up. 

I was very interested to hear what kind of response Ryan Braun got on the road after his off-season steroid drama....lots of boos.





As mentioned, the Chop House deck is a great way to enjoy the atmosphere and see a little bit of the game.  Scott and I got a good laugh when we saw this sign for maximum capacity on the deck.  We took a walk around the stadium to get some photos and dinner.  When we came back, the Atlanta Fire Marshall was there removing people because they were well over capacity.  I guess that is what you get when you sell more tickets than seats - attendance was listed at 102% of capacity.  Anything to make a few more bucks.

All in all, it was a great night and a very exciting game with the Braves scoring late to win 10-8.


Atlanta Hawks (Philips Arena) vs Toronto Raptors - April, 15th, 2012.

No surprise, I am a huge sports fan; otherwise, why the heck am I doing going to all these games.  However, the NBA is by far my least favorite sports among the top 4 major sports. 

This game was a perfect example of why my interest in the NBA has diminished.  It was by far the sloppiest game I have ever witnessed.  The Hawks appeared that they had no interest in being there, air-balled shot after shot, did not hustle and walked back to the huddle during time-outs...maybe they did too much partying at the Brewers game a few days before. 

This picture about sums up the entire game.  Here the Hawks (in white) attempt to make a pass to nobody in particular, except directly to the Raptors.

The most exciting part of this game was the half-time show.  The mascot (Sky Hawk) and three others took to the air with a rather impressive display of flips, jumps and slam dunks off the trampoline.  In the photo, Sky Hawk can be seen doing a flip right before he dunks the ball.

Our seats were in the 2nd level, near the top, which provided an obstructed view of the overhead scoreboard, but to compensate, there were a number of TVs right in front of us showing the game and providing up to the minute statistics.  The game ended with the Hawks getting blown out - 102-86.  The only bright spot was Josh Smith scoring 26 points, but combined the Hawks shot only 40% and never led in the game.  To quote Hawks coach Larry Drew, "Very flat.  The energy level was very low."  The good news is that it raised $188 for the Jimmy V Foundation.

My current record is now 15-10 (although I will be honest, I was cheering for the visiting Brewers). 

The whole weekend was capped off with a visit to Stone Mountain.  Great fun - good to see you Aaron; thanks for the hospitality Scott and sorry you missed out Petersen!

If you are friends with me on facebook, you can see a lot more pictures of the trip.

Also, please visit my fundraising page. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel

Game 23

Milwaukee Bucks (Bradley Center) vs. San Antonio Spurs.

The first game of 2012!

The Bradley Center sits right across the street from my office in downtown Milwaukee.  This week I got the opportunity to attend the Bucks game and check off another NBA team from my list.  I attended the game with about 30 co-workers and / or their family members in a suite.

The Bradley center is not only home to the Milwaukee Bucks, but also the Milwaukee Admirals (minor league affiliate of the Nashville Predators), Marquette University basketball and the Milwaukee Mustangs (arena football).  I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time in this venue over the next few years.  The arena is a bit old (opened in 1986) and the cause of a lot of discussions about whether or not a new one should be built.  Apparently it is the oldest arena in the NBA that has not been renovated....I don't know that to be a fact.  I do know that it does look rather old inside, with very narrow hallways all the way around (at least at the suite level....I can't speak for the rest).  The picture on the left was taken from the entrance to my office the day of the game.

It is early in the season, but the Bucks are a very fickle team.  The are undefeated at home (4-0), but have not won on the road yet (0-7).  As most of you reading this know, I am a huge sports fan; but the NBA is 4th on the list of the 4 profession sports that I prefer to watch.  However, if there is any player I really enjoy seeing play, it is Tim Duncan for the Spurs.  For years, I have been a huge fan of the "big fundamental" (Duncan) because he is old-school, plays the bank-shot to perfection, has won championships and is a class-act guy.  I was glad to get the chance to watch him in person because he is nearing the end of his career and doesn't have too many seasons left.

I would have liked to see Manu Ginobili as well for Spurs, but he was out with an injury.



Well enough about the Spurs, because this was the Bucks game.  The game was very exciting and rather high-scoring.  In the end the Bucks pulled out a 3 point win (106-103).  The good news is that results in $209 more to the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.  There were a lot of double-digit statistics for the game, led by Stephen Jackson's 34 points.  Andrew Bogut added 14 points and 11 boards in his first game back from missing a few games.  Brandon Jennings added 15 points and 11 assists.

I'm sure the lock-out has a lot to do with it, but the reported attendance was almost 12,000 people....I would bet that the actual attendance was less than half of that...rather pathetic.

Official Boxscore

My current record is now 14-9.  It is good to be back on track after taking a break from going to some games during the job search and move to Milwaukee.

Please visit my fundraising page. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel  

Please visit my facebook page for more photos.