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Taking In My First XFL Game!


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This Saturday, I'm going to brave the incredibly huge crowds in St Louis to attend my first ever XFL game.  It's the St Louis BattleHawks (oops, I meant BaπleHawks) against the Seattle Dragons at the TWA Edwards Jones Dome at America's Center Dome Dome!

 

This will be my first trip back to the TWA Edwards Jones Dome at America's Center Dome Dome since I took my little one and met up with Chicago Jason back in December of 2011 to watch the Bengals spank the Rams.  That game was remarkable in that I found tickets in the secondary market going for a paltry $10 ... for lower bowl mid-field seats about 15-20 rows from the field.  There used to be a thread here about that adventure, but sadly I cannot find it and suspect it was a casualty of one of the past board "resets" that happened.  Jason was hella cool and gifted me that Wyche-era Bengals Starter jacket you've seen me pose in from time to time... amazingly, that jacket was too tight and didn't fit me when he brought it down from Chicago, but 8+ years later and now it's about a size too big.  : )   The announced attendance at 56K, but 40-50K of those attending came disguised as empty seats.  The place was swarming with Bengal fans who made the short trip to take advantage of the cheap tickets, and we kept running into members of the Bomb Squad all over town, including the trip we took to the A-B Brewery.

 

ANYWAY...   I adopted the BaπleHawks as my XFL team so I would have a rooting interest.  I figured out that I had a free weekend at the same time as a home BaπleHawks game, which itself is just 3 hours before a Blues game.  I was going to make both, since the XFL claimed that their timing rules would keep the games to under 2 hours..... but three weeks into the season that's been proven as bunk.  They ARE shorter than NFL games, but the games are still nearly 3 hours long.  So I'll take in the football game, then head down to Ballpark Village to watch the Blues punch the Stars about.

 

Tickets in St Louis were crazy hard to get.  I was lucky, in that I only need a single seat, and I was able to snag one of the few remaining $60 seats.  But the one I got looks pretty damn nice:

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That's the home sideline (yeah, the BaπleHawks put themselves on the side FACING the cameras), on the 15, and I'm in the first row of the upper half of the section.  That half is elevated... there's a walkway in front of and below the section, and after coming out of the tunnel you have to take a sort flight of steps UP to get to the seats.  I'm in Row CC (there are no Rows AA or BB in this section), and in seat 5 of 9.  Which is why that seat was available, there being an odd number of seats everything else was paired up and taken by season subscribers.

 

They sold out their first game - 29K seats bought - and are looking like likely to sell out game 2 as well (or at least come pretty darned close).  

 

There are a lot of connections between the Bengals and BaπleHawks, including Coaches Jonathan Hayes (HC / GM) and Jay Hayes (DC), and players Will Clarke (DE, 3rd round 2014 draft) and Alonzo Russell (Practice Squad WR, UFA 2016) .  Not sure if that's a positive or a negative, but it is what it is.  

 

That's it for now.  I don't expect anyone on the Board will be in Gateway for Saturday's game, but if anyone IS please follow-up here and we can meet up for a pregame beer - assuming they don't drink it all AGAIN this week.

 

Ka-Kaw!

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On XFL website it looks like they are selling upper level tickets for this one. 

 

I'd love to go and show support for the league. Have never been to St Louis either. Been debating going for weeks but the 4 hour drive from the Louisville area is just a bit too much. Why we didn't get team I will never understand. I really hope the league is a success and can expand to areas without NFL teams. 

 

Have fun and post some more pictures. I'd like to see. 

 

 

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17 hours ago, Catfish Bob said:

On XFL website it looks like they are selling upper level tickets for this one. 

 

I just peeked....  nope.  They're all still 100-level lower bowl only seats.

 

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Frankly, I think they're doing the right thing by only selling the bottom half of the stadium.   Upper bowl tickets would have to be less expensive, which would depress demand for the lower bowl - everyone who wanted those has them, those who are late to the game or who can't afford $24 tickets would head upstairs.  You'll end up with more empty seats where the cameras can see them, which is bad.  It also increases supply, which will cut into demand, which is bad.    And all of the unplanned-for expenses associated with opening up the other half of the stadium - security, ushers, cleaning staff, opening the concession stands (and stocking them, and manning them), opening the bathrooms (and stocking them, and cleaning them)... all just to sell tickets for fewer dollars?

 

Unless the BaπleHawks sell out game-after-game, then maybe they should consider opening the upper bowl.  But since the team is owned by the XFL and the XFL isn't keen on doing that, I'm sure the team isn't either.

 

(BTW, those Sec 111 Row E seats should be the next ones bought - that's a great spot!)

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8 hours ago, fluhartz said:

ha ha.. nice

I gave mine to some kid already wearing it. Said hey you want an extra? 

I actually did the same thing - no love lost between Bengal fandom and that Faulk-er.   But as it turned out, my kid kept his and it ended up going into my hat collection.  I keep thinking I could eBay it to some nostalgic Rams fan, and probably should've taken it with me to Wembley and traded it for beers, but.... opportunity lost.

 

I'm really looking forward to Saturday's game.  Every time another football league pops-up I buy-in by picking someone to pull for, and apparently end up jinxing them as a result.  Thus went my rooting interests for the WLAF's Ohio Glory (1-9) and the AAF's Memphis Express (2-6)... but the BaπleHawks are already (2-1) so I'm playing with house money at this point.  I wanted to get a jersey, but understandably the XFL Shop were only selling generic home "20" replica jerseys for all teams for the same $79 price.... and frankly, having the same jersey as every other knucklehead didn't appeal to me.  You can't get a road jersey - unless you order one from China.  Which of course I did.  When talking about jerseys on the fan pages, many of us recommend ordering from the league first - but if you can't afford it or really don't like the limited choice, then get one from overseas but be certain it's a white road jersey.  Not only do you stand out, but it sends a message to the league that if they're willing to diversity the products they're making available in their shop, people WILL buy them.  Mine isn't here yet - ordered right before the season began.  I'm hoping it arrives before the end of the season, maybe sometime in late March, but as long as I get it I'll be happy - could see wearing it to a preseason game this year at PBS.

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3 hours ago, AmishBengalFan said:

Holy smokes, these are terrific seats!!!

 

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I am almost 100% certain that this is where Jason and I sat with our kids back in December '11 for $10 the Stripes-Lambs game....

 

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Amish!  That certainly looks familiar. That was the game when my wife accidentally threw away my original tickets that were still in the Fed Ex envelope.  She was so upset when she realized what she'd done until I told her that I'd gone online and found even better seats for less than one meal at Jack Buck's the night before the game.  And great work getting too small for the "Sam" coat!

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On 2/26/2020 at 8:58 AM, AmishBengalFan said:

Heh, I still have that fucker.  Yup.  

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We left ours in the restroom within 5 minutes of entering the dome.  I do remember you commenting throughout the Faulk ceremony about how much Bengals fans hated him.  I also remember my kid (who was 6 at the time) asking loudly, "Dad... why do the Rams suck?"  I explained to him that you shouldn't speak poorly of someone in their own house, to which a couple of Rams fans seated behind us chimed in by saying, "It's o.k.  We do suck".

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Got to town at 2 for a 4pm kickoff.  Tip, if coming from the east and heading downtown for a game, park at Casino Queen on the IL side.  The lot is lighted and patrolled, parking is free, and its right next to the MetroLink lightrail station.  Two stops from the Dome, $5 round trip ticket.  The line also goes to Busch, Enterprise, etc.

 

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Tailgating outside the dome...

 

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And neat cheap seats inside ..

 

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