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Stadium Vitals Built: 1976 Capacity: 78,741 seats Playing Surface: FieldTurf Draft Beer: $8.00 (bottled) Hot Dog: $4.75 Stadium Parking: $40.00 |
 Giants StadiumAddress 50 State Highway 120 East Rutherford, NJ 07073 (201) 935-8111 Get Directions |
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Stadium Review - A Tale of Two Tailgates  As
many of you know I was born and raised in Western New York (Buffalo
Bills country), but I’ve actually never set foot in New York City. I
guess I just never had the opportunity or enough desire to go. Well,
Stadium #27, Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands finally provided me
with just such an opportunity and I relished the chance at a typical
New York City outing. Catching a Broadway show, eating in some of
the finest restaurants in the world, and obviously catching a New
York Jets game across the Hudson River in Giants Stadium were top
priorities on my journey; and my new wife Crystal was on hand to
take it in with me.Walking the streets of New York, one can’t help but be absorbed by the energy of the city. It’s like walking through a Seinfeld Episode … you even half expect the Seinfeld baseline to ring in from the sky as your eyes pan from left to  right,
checking out the little delicatessens, laundromats, and restaurants
that populate the ground floors of the many apartment buildings
dominating New York City neighborhoods, but again I digress.My focus for this trip was my AFC East rival New York Jets. Treated the like the red-headed stepchildren of East Rutherford, New Jersey, every Jet fan I talked to was thrilled by the idea of the new joint stadium which opens in 2010, and I have to agree. It’s an embarrassment to have to play your home games in a facility the bears the name of another team, but Jets fans persevere and it appears that the organization has finally provided them with a product that they can be proud of.  Prior
to my arrival in the city that doesn’t sleep, I arranged to hook up
with two of Jets Nation’s premiere tailgaters for some gameday
celebratory beverages of choice. We began the morning hanging out
with Frank Conway of
Jets Tailgate Lot 5A … the
flag guys. These guys are extremely easy to find in the parking lot,
you just look for all the Jets flags (like twenty of ‘em, and
special thanks for flying my Quest flag on gameday by the way).
Perched on the one of the concrete islands that border the lot, the
fellas from Jets Tailgate Lot 5A have a great thing going. With
these knowledgeable, friendly fans it’s easy to strike up a
conversation and sustain solid NFL dialogue, even in the most
inebriated of states, with some of the most passionate Jets fans in
the lot. We drank beers and broke bread with the likes of Frank,
Snake, Sam, and Goose, and enjoyed every minute. Taking
to the lot to discover what Jets fans do on gameday, we found lots
of New England themed cuisine in honor of their esteemed guests.
Crystal had a hankering for a warm breakfast and Jets fans were
happy to oblige. We stopped in on the 5J Crew. Joe and AJ,
flanked by a couple of Jets Themed Tailgate busses, offered up a
scrambled egg breakfast sandwich that really hit the spot …
scrambled eggs, cheese, sausage and a hard roll were quickly
compiled into a superb all-in-one sandwich by seasoned blacktop
culinarian, AJ. But to find New York’s premiere tailgate chef, we
had to look no further than Tailgate Joe and the brothers Maino
(Joe, Nicky, & Andrew). These fellas put on an exemplary Tailgate
near 16H. They've recently teamed up with
JetsNation.com and in my opinion
have really set the bar high in the race for Jet Fan Headquarters in
the Meadowlands. In honor of Mark Sanchez, the first
Mexican-American quarterback in the NFL, Tailgate Joe and the boys
hosted a “Viva Sanchez”
 Mexican-themed
tailgate. Grilling up some carne asada burritos made with a special
citrus-influenced marinade, Tailgate Joe masterfully prepared me a
sample burrito as if he were the Emeril Lagasse of the blacktop.
Homemade guacamole, with crispy cabbage, cilantro, and fresh tomato
salsa adorned what I have to consider the best burrito I’ve eaten at
a tailgating event. We even caught the whole thing on film, so be
sure to check out the video on QuestTube as soon as I put it up.
Tailgate Joe’s website, hosts
tailgating recipes, photos, and game day write-ups, so be sure to
check them out as well.Gametime approached quickly, so after downing my share of some very large beers, Crystal and I headed toward Gate A to watch the Jets take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. I purchased our gameday tickets from TicketCity, our new sponsor this year and they were superb seats. Perched in Section  124,
in the corner of the endzone, we found ourselves nestled in the
heart of rabid Jet fandom. The crowd at the stadium was unreal.
Whenever the Patriots offense took the field, Jets fans bombarded
them with a booming wall of noise, causing several delay of game and
false start penalties to assist their defense in holding the New
England High Powered offense without a touchdown in the first half.
It was refreshing to be part of home crowd that obviously understands the importance of the twelfth man in disrupting opposing offenses. The Jets Chant, by the way, is easily one of the most infectious in the NFL; simple by design, but effective in its inspiration. To truly appreciate it however, you have to be there on gameday to witness the awe and the spectacle that is Ed Anzalone, commonly known as Fireman Ed. Throughout the day, when the Jets need him most, the camera pans over to Ed, who appears on the scoreboard. With his hands outstretched, palms down. This one man quiets an entire crowd of 80,000 screaming Jets fans. As an eerie silence falls over the crowd, we wait in anticipation for the signal from Fireman Ed, and then like a thunderous storm front, Fireman Ed leads this mass of humanity in unison through the four letter chant that has become synonymous with the New York Jets organization.  J!
E! T! S!JETS ! JETS ! JETS ! I was truly in awe of the respect one man could command each time he appeared on camera ... that is power. The game however, was a tale of two halves. The Jets Defense, refocused under Rex Ryan played an incredible game. Cornerbacks flew around the ball, defensive linemen frustrated Tom Brady all day, and the Patriots running game found little room to maneuver in. The Jets offense under Mark Sanchez had a tough time cracking the Patriots defense in the first half, but made no mistakes. By the second half, the tide had turned and the Jets offense began moving the ball. Down 9-3, Mark Sanchez methodically moved the ball throughout the third quarter to claw back into the game. A touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller late in the third quarter put the Jets up 16-9, and with less than two minutes remaining, the ball was in the hands of Tom Brady for a chance to knot the game at 16. Rex Ryan’s defense responded admirably by sealing the victory with an interception, as Brady threw to the endzone for what would be the tying touchdown, capping off the improbable Jets Victory. Call me crazy, but I honestly believe that the Jets fans have me to thank for the win in the home opener. You see, this year I decided that as a service to the home team, I would employ a game winning strategy that I’ve only used for Bills Games … the lucky football drawers. I know it sounds insane, but whenever I wear this powder blue, football embossed set of boxers, the home team pulls off an improbable win. I wore ‘em again this weekend and the Jets dominated the Pats. This is definitely a trend that I intend to map throughout the year. Well, that’s it from New York, catch me next week as I road trip to Texas for a weekend Sunday / Monday double header. For more information on the city of New York, NY check out my other reviews by clicking on the links below: NFL: October 11, 2010 - Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Jets NFL: December 5, 2010 - Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants NFL: November 8, 2009 - San Diego Chargers vs. New York Giants NBA: Madison Square Garden General Information & Cheap NBA Tickets NHL: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - General Information NHL: Madison Square Garden - General Information |
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