Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Another Chance at Tailgating Food

            The victory of the New York Giants football game I attended last week gave the team an opportunity to enter the playoffs and play the Atlanta Falcons in the first round. The initial weather forecast predicted high 30's with the strong chance of rain or even snow. I didn't have a ticket for the game, and although it was an important match-up, the prospect of sitting out in the cold with rain coming down, made me feel it was better to watch the game from the comfort of my couch.

            The previous week's game had similar weather and nearly everyone except me contracted a cold. Surprisingly, that morning when I woke up, the sun was beaming through the window, what a great day it appeared to be. Since the weather outlook was much better, and it was the playoffs, and there was going to be a tailgate party before the game, I went online early in the morning and purchased a ticket for a reasonable price. As usual, I met up with my uncle and his football friends and we headed over to Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. On the drive there I was able to see the Manhattan skyline, including the Empire State Building I visited the night before. Once we got there, we had the grill fired up and started to throw on all sorts of meats. There were hotdogs, hamburgers, buffalo wings, marinated steaks, and even close to twenty feet of linked sausage. While those were cooking in segments, there were snacks such as potato chips, pretzels, pepperoni, and a cooler filled with beer. We also brought a bean-bag game along with us to pass the time as we waited for the food to cook. A few pieces of food that wasn't eaten ended up on the road nearby to the delight of the birds overhead.

             When it grew closer to game time we had to take the long march from the parking lot, to the stadium, up the escalator, and to the seats. As I was going up the escalator I looked out to the stadium entrance and saw thousands and thousands of fans waiting to enter. I even looked down and noticed a small kid had gotten lost amongst the hoards of people and was being helped by two New Jersey State Troopers. Once I sat in my seat, the stadium was rocking with fans screaming and waiving their towels, I didn't get one for some reason. The recorded attendance was a little over 79,000 people, so it was rather loud, and the playoff atmosphere made it quite intense. The game is itself was a nail-biter early on as the Giants were behind 2-0 to the visiting Falcons, and only up 7-2 by halftime. Happily, the second half of the game the Giants scored seventeen more points and ended up winning the game 24-2. For the Giants, they get to advance to the next round of the playoffs while the Falcons' season is finished. The way the scheduling for the playoffs work, all remaining games for the Giants will be on the road, so that was the last tailgate party of the season.

            The birds in that area are going to have to find somewhere else to eat until the next football season begins...
























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