Another weekend and another 2 games completed. Originally this weekend was marked as a potential "guys" trip, but plans began to fall through so Ryan and I took the opportunity to spend the weekend in Detroit.
It is a long drive, but we made it in time on Saturday afternoon to visit the Henry Ford Museum. http://www.thehenryford.org/museum/index.aspx
Game 42 - Detroit Red Wings vs. New York Rangers @ Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI (12/6/2014)
On Saturday night we took the People Mover over to Joe Louis Arena (a.k.a. The Joe) to watch the Red Wings take on the Rangers. The People Mover was incredibly convenient to get to the game (the wait after the game in the cold was a bit long - 30 minutes or so, but it still beats driving through downtown and finding a parking spot). Once inside the arena, it is pretty obvious why they are building a new facility.....it is kind of a dump. Worn out pleather seats (with no cup holders), only one concourse level that was extremely crowded and no team store. The steps are so crooked a sober person needs to be careful (see photo to the right). Ryan also got his first experience of peeing in a trough instead of a urinal...."gross." Adding to the appeal was the fact that you could barely hear the horn at the end of the period and a large section of one of the scoreboards was burnt out. It is a good thing this franchise wins a lot of games because fans don't seem to mind the atmosphere. I think there are more championship banners hanging from the ceiling here than anywhere else I have been. 
The game itself was rather exciting. Coach Mike Babcock was attempting to win his 500th career game. Early on it was not looking good as the Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. However, 2 quick goals (just 61 seconds apart) by the Red Wings, tied it up after the 2nd period. The Red Wings broke the tie midway through the 3rd period and hung on for a 3-2 victory. It was a very exciting period as the Red Wings needed to kill off 8 minutes of penalties to preserve the win. It was kind of cool to witness history as Babcock became the 2nd fastest coach to every reach 500 wins (895th game).
Game 43 - Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Ford Field in Detroit, MI (12/7/2014)
Our hotel was within walking distance of Ford Field (thanks to Darrell as mentioned above) for the Lion's game on Sunday afternoon. What a change in scenery from The Joe the night before. Ford Field is an incredible venue. I would probably rank it just behind Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis as the nicest football stadium I have visited (granted, I have not been to Dallas yet). Ryan and I went early so that we could walk the entire stadium. The lower level has lots of space and more concessions than I can remember seeing at other venues. I also found the signage in the concourse area extremely helpful as it told you what street you were on as well and the design did a great job of incorporating some of the old warehouse district into it. The team store is incredible and we spent a great deal of time looking around. In terms of seating capacity, it is one of the smallest in the NFL, but what I really liked about it is that there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. Part of the reason is that there is no real "upper deck" because all of the seats are down low and the suits are built above them. The only thing I did not like about the stadium is the fact that it has no "out of town scoreboard."
The Lions are in a fight for 1st place in the division and a playoff spot. Every game is important and they showed no signs of a let down vs an inferior opponent in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions jumped out to an early lead with a TD pass from Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson. At half-time they held a modest 17-10 lead. However in the 3rd quarter they expanded their lead to 27-10. The final score was 34-17 as Detroit got a little lucky in the 4th when a pass was intended for Calvin Johnson, but it was tipped right into the hands of Bell for a TD. Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans had 2 TDs and Vincent Jackson caught 10 passes for over 150 yards; however, but the Detroit defense really dominated the game forcing 3 turnovers, sacked QB McCown 6 times and hitting him 14 times. To quote Detroit Lions' defensive end George Johnson, "I felt sorry for him. We beat him up pretty good."
One interesting note: Tampa Bay called a time out to start the 2nd half without even a second running off the clock.....poor planning.
Our seats were in the family section, which was great because the crowd was very calm and a lot of kids enjoying the game. Ryan and I were briefly on the jumbotron, but it was so quick we couldn't get a picture.
Two more wins by the home teams, which brings my record to 26-17. Next it is onto Atlanta with Taylor, where I hope the hometown Falcons lose to the Steelers.
Another $56 raised for the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. I encourage you to donate. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christopher-apel/christopherapel
See more photos on my Facebook page.
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