[CBFF] ESPN - The Ultimate Sports Road Trip's Best NFL Stadiums

[Jerry Madsen]

pdated: Sep. 2, 2006, 12:12 AM ET
The Ultimate Sports Road Trip's Best NFL Stadiums

By Bill Evans
Special to ESPN SportsTravel

Not many of the crazy ideas spawned by friends at sporting events are
as pie-in-the-sky as the one Buffalo residents Andrew Kulyk and Peter
Farrell hatched while in Tampa taking in the 1999 NHL All-Star Game.

What began as an attempt to determine just how many professional
venues the two had visited morphed quickly into The Ultimate Sports
Road Trip, a quest to visit all 121 teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and
Major League Baseball.

They officially "completed" the circuit in December 2002 with a trip
to Ford Field in Detroit, but expansion, relocation and new venues
have necessitated 14 additional trips in the last four years. Kulyk
and Farrell have detailed their travels at
http://www.thesportsroadtrip.com.

The site recently unveiled new rankings of every NFL venue, based on a
formula that rates their experience from 1-10 in 10 different
categories, accounting for everything from architecture and location,
to concessions (taste and variety), to the friendliness of fans and
stadium staff.

One ne'er-do-well usher in Detroit (you know who you are, Steven) was
so belligerent that he "earned" a score of 1, plummeting Ford Field
out of the top 10 all the way to no. 16 in the rankings.

"People pay huge money to see a sporting event today," Kulyk said. "We
believe they deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect, but from
time to time, we run into what we call the 'sphincter police;' guys
who get to wear a blazer with the team crest, they come out of
apartments in their parents' basement and think that they're cool."

Though they are Bills' season-ticket holders, Kulyk and Farrell
remained objective enough to slot Ralph Wilson Stadium at no. 28
overall. That doesn't mean they weren't devastated as they witnessed
the "Music City Miracle" on their journey to Nashville in 2000.

Farrell calls that game "probably the biggest sucker punch to the
stomach I've ever had," but he nevertheless shook it off in time to
catch a Predators (NHL) game that night, only to be subjected to a
video replay of one of the NFL's most memorable playoff moments.

The road trippers also witnessed history in New York when Michael
Strahan "sacked" Brett Favre to set a single-season NFL record and
were in Seattle when T.O. whipped out his Sharpie. In November, they
will be in Glendale, Ariz., to add the NFL's newest venue to the list.

"Right now, the Cardinals scored dead last," Kulyk said. "Once we
visit, we're guessing Cardinals Stadium might break the top 10, but
we're not making promises. We might find out that the food is terrible
and the ushers are miserable people."

Even if the Cardinals hire Barney and Friends to patrol the aisles,
don't expect Cardinals Stadium to unseat top-ranked Lambeau Field,
which Farrell calls "the most unique sporting place in North America."
With an overall score of 78.5, Lambeau easily outdistanced the swanky
new digs occupied by the Steelers, Texans and Patriots.

In fact, says Kulyk, Lambeau rates with Indiana's Conseco Fieldhouse
(home of the NBA's Pacers) as the best-of-the-best on their 145-stop
(and counting) tour, a tour that will get a steady diet of college
football this fall.

"Right after we finished, we had our 15 minutes of fame," Farrell
said. "Jay Paterno, son of Joe Paterno, heard one of our interviews.
He e-mailed us and said, 'Why don't you start hitting some of the
college venues?,' and got us the invite to Penn State. He planted the
bug into us to visit a lot of the college stadiums across the
country."

With 117 teams in Division I, the Ultimate Sports Road Trip won't end
anytime soon.

Without further ado, here are the rankings of top 10 NFL stadiums,
with commentary from Ultimate Sports Road Trippers Farrell and Kulyk.

For the complete NFL rankings and scoring breakdown, visit
http://www.thesportsroadtrip.com/nflfavorites.html

1. LAMBEAU FIELD, GREEN BAY (Overall score: 78.5)
Peter: It's the most unique sporting place in North America, really.
Where else do you have such a small town that can support a pro
franchise and do it well, with a season-ticket waiting list of 30
years? They were able to successfully take an older venue, modernize
it, and the field still remains the way it looked.

2. HEINZ FIELD, PITTSBURGH (73)
Andrew: I liked the Steel Town tradition. Those people really
understand their football. It's really the primary team; it's a
Steelers town. You couldn't have asked for a better location, on the
site of the old Three Rivers Stadium. It's got that downtown synergy.
The Great Hall is the best concourse in the NFL. The tailgating is
superb and the overall package works, and they support the team
rabidly.

3. RELIANT STADIUM, HOUSTON (72)
Peter: The retractable dome. That was a first, and it follows the
tradition of the old Astrodome, the first to have a roof over the
place. Also, I like how they improved on the tailigating. A modern,
spectacular first-rate stadium. Some of the friendliest welcoming fans
in the NFL.

4. GILLETTE STADIUM, NEW ENGLAND (71.5)
Andrew: The fact that they had such a wretched stadium for such a long
time, toilets that would barely flush, it would barely serve as a
college stadium. To think they would build such a great temple to
football is awesome. There are signature elements that are indigenous
to the area, which we always like to see. You've got the lighthouse,
the arched bridge, the rock formation in the end zone is very cool.
The game presentation -- with the Minutemen firing off the muskets is
awesome, and the technology enhances the fan experience. Plug in the
tailgate scene, and it's a very fan-friendly owner in the form of Bob
Kraft. A magnificent football experience with one negative, expect to
spend a lot of time in the parking lot getting out.

5. M&T BANK STADIUM, BALTIMORE (71)
Peter: What makes Baltimore so great is that it's a downtown stadium
that still gives people the ability to tailgate. They probably do that
better than any other downtown stadium in America. They don't forget
the city's football history. Some places with a previous franchise
don't mention it. In Baltimore, the main plaza has a statue of Johnny
Unitas. I like that they didn't forget that when they built the new
stadium.

6. LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD, PHILADELPHIA (70)
Andrew: Its technology and the architecture are absolutely splendid.
The sports complex is a unique thing, where the four sports are housed
in a central complex. Also, the new generation of stadiums have very
wide concourses and every amenity a fan could ask for. It's a tough
ticket, fans are extremely rabid, and after Oakland, I'd say it's the
second-most intimidating place to visit if you're a visiting fan.

7. SOLDIER FIELD, CHICAGO (67.5)
Peter: It kind of broke the mold. Soldier Field went in a different
direction. It does have an assymetrical design. I like the Grand
Concourse in Chicago. It's a place to be reverent to soldiers in the
American military who have come before us. Also, a lot of respect is
paid to the history of the Bears. I like how they kept the columns
from the old facility for the most part. If I were taking anything
away from it, I would have expected more diverse concessions, a bigger
team store... stuff like that. All in all, a very unique place.

8. INVESCO FIELD AT MILE HIGH, DENVER (67)
Andrew: The uniqueness of the architecture. A very futuristic place.
Interestingly enough, there's not two, but three video boards. They do
a lot with the technology to entertain the fans. There's a lot of
variety in the concessions. The other venues in Denver -- Coors Field
and the Pepsi Center -- are also gastric theme parks. It's hard to
find hot dogs and nachos amidst the specialty foods. Fans are very
rabid about their team.

9(t). CLEVELAND BROWNS STADIUM, CLEVELAND (63.5)
Peter: I'll always be biased toward a place where fans fought city
hall and won. A great fan base, great tailgating for downtown. I also
like that the building didn't forget the previous Browns history, and
they kept a section for the Dawg Pound.

9(t). RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM, TAMPA BAY (63.5)
Andrew: They've given it a Disneyesque feel with the pirate ship and
the little Caribbean village. There's nothing quite like it anywhere.
The whole pirate theme makes it a unique football experience. They
play the yo-ho music, they raise flags when the home team gets in the
red zone, they shoot off the cannons for a touchdown. The weather
doesn't hurt, and it's a good tailgating destination.

Bill Evans is a freelance writer based in Milwaukee.

USRT'S NFL HALL OF FAME
Having traveled to each of the NFL's 32 stadiums on the Ultimate
Sports Road Trip, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell have seen more
stadiums than the Maddencruiser. Here are a few of their observations.

Favorite NFL City
-Green Bay (Andrew)
-Pittsburgh or Kansas City (Peter)

Best Sports Town
-Boston (Andrew)
-Philadelphia (Peter)

Best Concession Offerings, Overall
-Lambeau Field, Green Bay

Best Concession Offering, Single-Item
-Primanti Brothers sandwich, Heinz Field

Most Pleasant Surprise
-Lambeau Field, Green Bay
Peter: "So many places, when they go the renovation route, wind up
with a product that's half of the shabby old place and half of the
revamped new place, which just doesn't work. In Green Bay, they nailed
it."

Biggest Disappointment
-FedEx Field, Washington
Andrew: "As you approach the building, the whole tailgating experience
-- there were guys in their pressed Dockers, sipping wine and tapping
on their PDA. You wanted the smell of sausage and people tossing
footballs. There was none of that. It seemed to be very sterile, very
corporate."

Best Concourse
-Coca-Cola Great Hall, Heinz Field
Andrew: "It's such a cool place to be. We made a point of going back
down at halftime to eat and just soak up the scene."

-Grand Concourse, Soldier Field
Peter: "It's a place to be reverent to soldiers in the American
military who have come before us. Also, a lot of respect is paid to
the history of the Bears."

Best Cheerleaders
-Dallas Cowboys
Peter: "They're the originals, the mold that everyone has to copy."

Best Tailgating
-Buffalo Bills
Andrew: "They open the lots to RVs 3-4 days before hand. People do
show up Thursday and Friday, and it's a big party scene by the
weekend. We've seen hot tubs on flatbed trucks in the middle of
January."
Honorable mention: Green Bay, Kansas City

Worst Tailgating
-Philadelphia Eagles
Andrew: "The first time we went to a game there was at the Vet, where
they have specific tailgate lots, and we actually saw a guy arrested.
He hadn't even lit up his grill, but he had pulled it out and the cops
were there within five minutes."

Most Intimidating Fans
-Oakland Raiders
Peter: "When you turn on the TV and see Oakland fans dressed in
Halloween costumes with skeletons popping out of their shoulders,
these aren't isolated people. They're everywhere."

Best Fight Song
-"Fly Eagles Fly"
Andrew: "The song just gives us chills every time we hear it."

-"Skol Vikings!"
Andrew: "The wild-haired Vikings mascot driving around on the ATV on
the field just adds to the zaniness."

-- 
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