NY Giants vs. Chicago Bears @ The New Meadowlands!!

Remember me blogging about getting Touchdown Club tickets for the Giants game earlier last week? Well, the long awaited game day finally came and we headed out to the New Meadowlands Stadium a few hours before kickoff time last Sunday. The weatherman predicted heavy rain starting from about 4pm (the game starts at 8:30pm). Since there is no roof at the New Meadowlands, we were praying real hard that it would hold til after the game. Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter if it rains. People watch football in the middle of snowstorms, so what is a little bit of rain, right?

The club tickets that we got also came with Premium Parking Permits. That's totally awesome cos we get to park at the lots surrounding the stadium. Not only that, we also managed to find a spot really close to the stadium entrance. Very very cool! If we didn't have any parking permits, we would then either have to take the train (which isn't really all that bad) or we would have to buy parking permits off scalpers (the market rate is around $50!). Even with those parking permits, we would have to park like really far away from the stadium. So yeah, yay for us! :D

Since we got there early, we walked around to checkout all the pre game events that were happening around the stadium. Bud Light's Party Plaza was rather cool. They set up an outdoor bar and also stage for a mini pre game concert. Weber Grill also set up a BBQ Pit at the plaza and there were all types of BBQ meats for sale there. Of course, we could also buy beer from the Bud booths. Apart from the Bud Light Party Plaza, there were also all kinds of other booths giving out freebies. Toyota even had a photo booth where we can take a photo 'with' Eli Manning for free! It's more like we stand in front of a green screen and they superimpose Eli beside us :P Still, it's pretty cool!

After walking around for a bit, we decided that it's time to head inside to the Touchdown Club. It's pretty cool actually, not having to line up with the crowds to get into the stadium. We had our very own VIP entrance and stuff.

The Touchdown Club was really impressive. Huge ceiling to floor windows with views of New Jersey, New York City as well as the field. It was really big, with two bars, a wine bar, lounge areas as well as dining areas. Also, there were tons of flat screen TVs showing other live games that were going on in other stadiums around America as well as live feeds from the field. Security was rather tight though and we had to flash our tickets each time we went in and out of the club. I guess they had to make sure that non club seat holders don't make their way into the 'all exclusive' club (rolls eyes). There were all kinds of food vendors too, from NY style pastrami sandwiches to sushi to pasta. I'll have to write a separate post just about the food choices available in the Touchdown Club.

Ahhh, check out our seats. Pretty awesome right? We had a full view of the entire field! Also, club seats were larger, plushier and have more legroom compared to regular seats. We had to chance to check out the regular seats when we went for the Bon Jovi concert earlier this year. Boy, they were small! There was so little legroom that our knees were actually touching the seats in front of us. Ahhh well, I guess that's why club seat tickets cost $400 a piece! Still...I wouldn't pay $400 just to watch a football game, no matter how much legroom they gave us :P

It was totally cool actually, to be so close to the field. I started watching football back in 2002 and since then, it has always been my dream to go watch an actual game (of course, in that dream, it's Heinz Feild, not the Meadowlands! :P). To actually get to watch a live NFL game was just so awesome. Just imagine, I was so excited, just watching the Giants and Bears play. I wonder what would actually happen if I were to be given the chance to watch my beloved Steelers play at Heinz Field? Hmmmm, I think I would just pass out in excitement! LOL!

After eating dinner at the club (will blog about that later), we headed out to our seats, just in time to watch them introduce the teams. Those guys really know how to put on a show. Smoke, fireworks...the whole deal. That really got the crowd all pumped up! You can actually feel the energy flowing through the entire stadium. It's really hard to explain, you have to be there yourself. Definitely different from watching the game on TV, I must say!

After the coin toss, Kelly Rowland (from Destiny's Child) sang the national anthem and was joined on the field by 125 breast cancer survivors. It was part of NFL's effort to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The whole campaign was to educate people that early detection saves lives. All women above 40 should obtain an annual mammogram. It was especially meaningful for me, since one of my favorite aunts is also a breast cancer survivor.

After the ladies left the field, it was time for the game to begin! Woohoo! With the Bears going into the game 3-0 and the Giants coming in with a string of loses, we were all geared up for an explosive game. The Giants needed to win at home! Guess what? The Giants didn't disappoint. Nine sacks at half time, how awesome was that??? I really felt sorry for the Bear's QB, poor guy. The Bears really didn't play all that well. I was surprised, considering that they have yet to lose this season. Lindsay (Kevin's boss gf) is a super huge Bears fan and I sort of feel sorry for her. It must be really tough to see your team sux so bad. Ah well, a true fan sticks by their team, no matter how bad they are playing.

During half time, 30 of the greatest and most influential men in the Giants 86-year history were installed into the Giants' Ring of Honor. They were selected by the Giants organization based on their contributions to the success and history of the franchise, whether they were players on the field, coaches on the sideline, executives in the front office or owners. All the recipients of this award were cheered on by the crowds, all except for Tiki Barber. The crowd went wild booing him. I guess the Giants fans were doesn't like the way he criticized their QB and coach after his retirement.

The rain started to come down pretty hard right before half time, stopped for a little and started to come down again at the end of the 3rd quarter. It wasn't really that bad, considering that it was supposed to start pouring at 4pm. We were prepared though. Kevin and I went out to Walmart earlier that day and bought four disposable ponchos for $0.88 each! Are we smart or what? :P As you can see from the picture, despite the rain, Kevin, Brian and Lindsay were still in very high spirits! :D

The final score...Giants 17 Bears 3!! Wow! The Giants really trashed the Bears this time around. I guess you always play better when you are at home, especially when you are so hungry for a win. The game ended really late and by the time we got home, it was midnight. We were actually really glad that we didn't take the train to the game. Brian and Lindsay took the train (took them only 20 mins to get there from Hoboken but more than an hour to get home!) and they didn't get home til after 1am! I guess there were just too many people taking the train at the same time.

We are really blessed to be given the opportunity to actually attend a live NFL game, let alone getting a chance to watch the game from club seats! We had a great time hanging out with Brian and Lindsay too. Thanks APL and McAllister for the awesome tickets. Maybe we can get a chance to watch the Steelers play the Giants next season! :D

* If you want to see more photos from the game, just head over to my Facebook album at : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=523807&id=842365095&l=39e77df9ad