Ralph Wilson Stadium

So here I am at Ralph Wilson Stadium. I circled this weekend on the schedule when the lockout ended.

Given that I have been to over half of the NFL stadiums it does somewhat surprise me that it has taken so long to watch a game here, in my home state. I nearly did way back in 1991 when this see-them-all endeavor was in its infancy, but decided to drive home from a weekend in the area rather than stay out an extra day. Not many opportunities to see a game here came up after that. But, then again, many other games were attended because of the way they lined up with, say, business travel. For better or worse, business travel has never led me west of the Hudson in my Empire State. I'm here now, though, for the intrastate rivalry.

The AFC East becomes the first division where I have seen all four teams. It was rather docile in New England, more rambunctious in Miami, and, well, of course the crowd is always into Jets games. I'm curious as to what I'll see here, but I know plenty of Jets fans made the trip.
 
I had no idea what type of weather to expect, though I was pretty sure I wouldn't be wearing shorts. Suffice it to say that it is perfect November weather--it simply could have been so much worse here in Buffalo. And, I should note, there is no hint of the foot and a half of snow that I encountered in the Hudson Valley last weekend...
 
Anyway, go Bills! No, go J-E-T-S!...I don't have a strong rooting interest here. I'm certainly more of a Jets fans than a Bills fan, but I do like going with the home crowd. I'm glad to be wearing my team-neutral NFL gear, and mostly hoping for a good game...and a quick one. You see, I have another ticket in hand. That's right, blogosphere, you can expect to hear from HKHWR one more time today...stay tuned...
 
Thirty minutes until kickoff...
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Revisiting the great state-border-crossing challenge

Image
When I posted this at the beginning of 2020, the pandemic hadn't cut into any travel plans and I hadn't really identified paths to getting to the last bunch of state border crossings I needed. However, after crossing a few more in the last year, being close but not too close to a few others I was missing, and especially talking to more folks interested in this idea, well, the quest has gained some traction. One of the things that remains both fun and frustrating about this venture is how recently it came into my consciousness. Decades of road tripping led me so close to some of these state borders I'm still missing. If I had any inkling this would be something I'd end up pursuing, at least another half dozen crossings would have been completed. But it's also a reason to go back to some of these areas, which works well with other travel goals. After all, I keep finding more things to do in many states—NPS sites, ballparks, breweries, etc.—so I know I'll be plann
Read more

New York counties, and then some

Image
 <I wrote this while on a flight to Chicago around this time last year, and just noticed it in my drafts much closer to finished than I recalled... 😀> At the start of 2021, one of my two posts was about my progress for reaching every corner of New York: I had set the goal of doing something in each of the state’s 62 counties. By "something", I meant an NPS site, a state park, a sporting event, a brewery or something else (for me, "something else" included the Corning Museum of Glass, the Baseball Hall of Fame, Howe Caverns, county fairs, etc.). At the time, 55 of them could be considered done. Since I had updated my other post of early 2021 early in 2022—the great state border challenge—it seemed appropriate to update my New York county post too, especially since it's now two years since I've completed that quest. Yes, I went 62 for 62 in June of 2021, when my quest was completed with a state park and brewery in Chautauqua, the state’s westernmost c
Read more

Tipping and ripping the cap

A belated tip of the cap to this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. I know the NFL and NBA Halls had their 2010 inductions more recently, and an eventual nodding of the helmets to the former may follow. It’s just that a recent conversation prompted this post. In this era of free agency, the need for players to don one team’s cap over another when their plaque is created seems to be something of a relic, especially when a player has left an indelible mark on multiple teams. Even if the bulk of his career or prime numbers rest mainly with one team, should that team be solely associated with that player when he gave another some great years? Conversely, if, say, a contract or personal quarrel leaves bad blood between a player and the team where his HOF numbers were earned, should that player have the right to select some team where he had less impact? Admittedly, most inductees do lean to one team or another in terms of career dominance, and Wikipedia, under the "Players with mu
Read more