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On December 30th, 2012 I took my oldest daughter to the Buffalo Bills vs NY Jets last game of the season. This was the first NFL game we attended in person. It was a clear cold day. After finding a parking spot we joined one of the lines of people walking toward Ralph Wilson stadium. After going through security and ticket check at gate 6 we found our way to section 126 row 18 and seats 8 and 9. Seats 6 and 7 that we bought were occupied by someone else. Since the game was not sold out we settled in adjacent seats.
Some of the things that caught my eye were how small the field looked from my perspective and how real the players were on the field. Having watched many NFL games on TV and now seeing players in person brought on a sense of closeness. Sharing the same space, weather conditions, and time with the players helped me relate to the players. Between plays, the players on the field were keeping warm by jumping up and down, stretching and jogging in place. Meanwhile, my daughter & I were freezing our toes off sitting on the styrofoam seat cushions we brought.
We got to our seats about a minute and a half into the start of the game. In the first quarter, the Jets kicked a field goal and Sanchez threw an interception to Scott for a 20 yard pick-six. The second quarter was not much different for the Jets, they added two more field goals. The Bills had a nice screen play to CJ Spiller for a 66 yard catch and run touchdown. Not much happened in the third quarter and in the fourth the Bills added two more touchdowns. The Bills had two field goal kicks that Lindell missed left. The Jets had two blocked field goals but one still made it through the uprights. Tim Tebow was in for one play in which he handed the ball to a running back for a two yard gain. It was nice to hear the crowd chant Tee-Bow, Tee-Bow. But the chanting didn't sway Rex Ryan's decision to continue playing Sanchez. Sanchez struggled by throwing an interception and fumbling the ball. Other errant plays he made were near intercepted and off target. On the other side Fitzpatrick made one nice play to Steve Johnson for a good gain.
A disappointing part of the whole experience were the actions of many fans. There was nothing I could do to prevent my daughter from hearing constant uttering of profanities from people around us. There was a guy two rows in front of us with a beer in his hand that could not close his mouth. Three rows down from up were a young couple, also with a drink in the guys hand, that were acting like little kids. Then there was a verbal argument behind us over seats. That argument didn't lack any violent tone and profane words. Among other things, there were people throwing snowballs onto the field. There were other fans that sat or stood and watched the game without incident. Would have been nice if everyone was like those calm and collected fans.
This was a new experience for my daughter and I.
