Dolphins (Pro Player Stadium)
It was 88 degrees when we got to the Pro Player parking lot. And it was also only 10:20am. The sun was just searing. We broke out the sunscreen, popped open the beers, and did our best to get acclimated to the south Florida heat.
To our surprise, there were many many Patriots fans. We parked next to some good folks originally from Peabody; now residents of the Southeast. We all chatted for a while; shared Patriots horror stories, and thanks to Walt (who I doubted), we then fired up the dogs on the disposable grill (yep, disposable). Hey, with airport security the way it is now, there was no way I was gonna be able to bring my grill as a carry-on. Hot dogs, chips, beer. And blistering heat.
Around 11:30 we packed up the rental car, scooped up our bottles of Bass ale, and headed over to the West side of the stadium. Off to hook up with ArmenDaPatsfan and his crew. It turned out to be a lot longer hike than we expected. And being a Northerner wasn't helping things either. All in all though, the Miami faithful were as courteous as one could expect. I tell ya, at least one of 'em had a good sense of humor. Check out the port-a-john picture above. Long walk over in scorching heat. But after some nifty navigating via cell phone (thanks Colleen!) we finally made it to their tailgate.
Pro Player Stadium is very well designed. Good sightlines. And when the home crowd is pumped up, the noise level down near the field can become pretty intense. We sat in section 146, right on the goal line. Most of the Dolphins fans surrounding us were very hospitable. Okay, let me knock one thing - their touchdown celebration songs. C'mon, the Baha Men?! You gotta be kidding me. Who Let the Dogs Out is as hackneyed as it gets. I was almost expecting the Macarena to be piped in over the p.a. when the Dolphins kicked a field goal. Oh well, maybe the reason it irked me so much is the Dolphins were kicking our Patriots' butts, and they played it every time they scored.
Good mix of people in our section. We had hard hat Patriot Guy (no shirt), and a couple of fired up Dolphin faithful (what's up with those dark blue Dolphins jerseys anyway?). Fingers behind my head, ha, good one. Not!
The game ended 26-13. But it didn't dampen our spirits. We headed back to Armen's camp and continued tailgating well after most fans had left the grounds. There's nothing like stogies, beer, 80's tunes, and parking lot football to put things into perspective. Hats off to the Dolphins, but more importantly, two thumbs up to Armen and his crew. We had a blast. And man, did I get one heck of a sun burn.
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Tailgate Photos |
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