Stadium #14 - Qwest Field, Seattle Seahawks

On my way to Fairbanks, Alaska I arranged for an extended layover in Seattle as there happened to be a home game at the mighty Qwest Field. So after I landed in Seattle, it was straight to the rental counter and on my way to watch the Seattle Seahawks take on the St. Louis Rams. Qwest Field is every bit as impressive as advertised. A modern facility with a fantastic view of the Seattle Skyline and all the food (in variety and quantity) that any fan could ask for. Qwest Field stadium concessions are easily the best in the league. In addition to the standard dogs, brats, and burgers, fans can find Thai and Chinese food, bread bowls of clam chowder or chili, deep-fried fish and chip dinners, and the local favorite, garlic fries (guaranteed to keep loved ones at bay). Fans of the Seattle Seahawks rank among the loudest in the league and Qwest Field’s specifically designed acoustics aide in directing crowd noise as well. By the end of the day, with a plane to catch, I found my experience in Seattle at Qwest Field to be brief but enlightening.

Stadium #13 - Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego Chargers

Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA became my 13th stadium on the Quest for 31 on October 14, 2007. The San Diego Chargers were hosting the Oakland Raiders for a huge interstate grudge match and I was on hand with Jason and Marty to watch it unfold. Fans began tailgating before the game at 7:30am PST, as pickup trucks bearing San Diego Charger and Oakland Raider badging clogged the streets around the stadium. The umbrella tents and barbecue grills were out in no time for a great parking lot tailgating experience … we went to IHOP. Raider Nation showed up in full force in support of their team, but Charger fans held their ground. It was interesting to see that although Charger fans did outnumber the Raiders fans in the stadium, that there was still an extremely strong contingent of fans dressed in silver and black … Raider Nation indeed. The day ended in a 28 – 14 win for the Chargers as LaDanian Tomlinson ran for all four of the San Diego Charger touchdowns.

Stadium #12 - Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis Rams

The Quest for 31 resumes with Stadium #12, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO. Known for the Gateway Arch, a thriving local blues community, and toasted ravioli, St Louis also proved to be an awesome football town. The St. Louis Rams are one of my favorite pro football organizations, so seeing the Greatest Show on Turf in person was indeed a thrill. Unfortunately, for this trip, the Greatest show was riddled with injuries. Notable outs were Marc Bulger, Issac Bruce, and Steven Jackson. With an injury report that read like a Pro Bowl roster, the Rams had to turn to their backups, so it was Gus Ferrotte and Brian Leonard that heeded the curtain call against the recently surging Arizona Cardinals, who were fresh off their thrilling victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cardinals proved too much for the hometown Rams to handle as they posted a thrilling 34 – 31 victory in a shootout in the dome.

Stadium #9 - Georgia Dome, Atlanta Falcons

Stadium #9 was to be the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. Myself and Jeremy as part of a three city, eleven day stadium tour, would round out our third game with the hometown Atlanta Falcons taking on the visiting Dallas Cowboys. The incomparable Mike Vick was in his prime and scandal free as he led the NFL’s most prolific ground attack against a surging Tony Romo led Dallas Cowboys offense. It was December 2006 and the weather was fantastic. The Falcons would lose the game, but not without some exceptional offensive maneuvering by the human highlight reel himself, Michael Vick.

Stadium #8 - Heinz Field, Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh, PA and Heinz Field were to be the site of my eighth stadium visit on the Quest for 31. It was a bitter cold December eve as we left Detroit right after work on a Thursday, bound for Pittsburgh, PA. We arrived in Pittsburgh just in time for kickoff but ended up stick in gametime traffic. It appeared that everyone decided to wait until the last minute to Heinz Field. When we finally arrived, we got a parking spot, high-tailed it over to the stadium, and proceeded to purchase one of Myron Cope’s Official Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towels. With the Terrible Towel in one hand and fantastic Primanti Bros sandwich in the other, I was ready to cheer on the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 27 -7 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Stadium #11 - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Eagles

Getting into Stadium #11, Lincoln Financial Field proved to be a bit more challenging than my trip to Foxboro. I arrived in Philadelphia about thirty minutes before gametime. I was able to locate seats for the game through one of the local roadside ticket vendors - rather pricey, but convenient. The parking lots were already full and it appeared that Philadelphia Eagles fans were just parking on the streets that surround the stadium. Fearing Police action, but answering the call of necessity that loomed with the pending kickoff, I parked on the street and hoped for the best. As it turns out, my vehicle was left unticketed, but the Philadelphia Eagles were not as lucky. Under the guide of one Donovan McNabb, the Philadelphia Eagles lost 12 to 20 to the surprisingly surging Washington Redskins. McNabb did not look too impressive as he consistently misfired to open receivers and the offense struggled most of the night. Eagles fans were less than enthused but I had a fantastic time cheering on the Eagles even in a losing effort.

Stadium #10 - Gillette Stadium, New England Patriots

On the east coast for a couple of days, I found out that there would be a Sunday night home game in Foxboro, MA and a Monday night home game in Philadelphia, PA. Intrigued by the prospect of a Revolutionary War era double header, I thought I had to make it to both games ... even though I showed up at each stadium without tickets for either contest. When I arrived at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, I found the party to already be in full swing as loyal Patriots fans had been tailgating since 11AM that morning in preparation for a Sunday evening 8:15pm kickoff. I was impressed by the array of full sized tents, full sized barbecue grills, and full sized flat screen TV's that were erected all over the parking lot. I ended up with tickets in Row 2 of section 130 as I met up with three of New England's finest - Clint, Tawd , and Cah-mine. These three fine gentlemen affably welcomed me to Gillette Stadium by providing one of the best seats in the house from which to watch the game. I had a front row seat to watch Tom Brady and the newly retooled Patriot offense carve up the hapless defensive front of the not-so super San Diego Chargers. One the heels of the Bill Belichick video camera scandal, the Patriots must have been out to send a message to the league because they embarrassed the Chargers 38-14 in a rout.