My weekend in KC & Arrowhead - Long Version

[kpic]

Just wanted to give a little time-line of my weekend in KC & Arrowhead especially for those that have never made the trip - this is going to be long so if you have ADD\ADHD or are not into these type of stories it won't help reading this so you may just want to go to the pics below.

Being a fan since the early 80's and living in New Jersey not many options but I have seen the Chiefs when they came to this area a few times but going to AH is different as I'd no longer be the opposing team fan.

Preface by saying that I have been to Arrowhead once before in 2003 (the D.Hall return TD against Denver game) but at that time I basically just went for the game I came in on a Sat night stayed at the Adams Mark across from the stadium, walked to & from the game and left that Sun night.

I haven't been back since, because... well you know... the dark days and then I almost went to the playoff game last year but I thought about home playoff futility & I knew PM was waiting in the wings and when the loss occurred I just laughed because I knew this was the start of something much better and now would be the time to go.

So when the schedule came out I circled the Bengals game but this time I actually wanted to visit KC so I planned on a full weekend arriving Friday & leaving Monday. My wife asked me why I was going now - "is this because of your new QB? The one you're always gushing about and your gay for?" I replied with a succinct "Yep!" and then followed that up with; "Hey, it's ok we're all gay for him, I'm just going with the flow!"

Friday was getting settled in, I stayed near the airport at the Residence Inn because I have been to others and always liked them and I also rented a car this time to get around, I knew everything I wanted to see was about 30 min from that location.

Saturday was to be the stadium tour & WWI museum. As my last visit was prior to the renovations I was interested to see everything how it is now and this way on Sunday I could just have fun at the game. The tour is very reasonable for $20 even if it was limited as no access to the locker room but no big deal it is still very thorough I almost sprung for the "gameday" tour but at $150 I just couldn't see it compared to the standard tour.

After the tour I had planned on the WWI museum but the tour was longer than I thought it would be (that's a good thing) so by the time I would get to the museum it would only give me about an hour to closing and I knew that wouldn't be enough from what I read.

Its ok though as the NFL gods had intervened the Tuesday prior when I got the message that the Chiefs game had been moved to SNF - ok Sunday night at Arrowhead, I'll take that thank you very much!

Sunday This allowed a nice mid-morning and afternoon at the museum! I won't go into the museum as you can find stuff on-line about it but it's a must-see if you are in the area. Not sure if everyone would like it but I am a history lover and I find WWI more fascinating than WWII, I think because as a kid everything was about WWII and you had to really try and research WWI info and the fact that it seemed like the flipping of a page between the old military way to the new.

Sunday night I allowed ample time to get into the stadium as I was not going to any specific tailgate but I did want to walk around and just enjoy everything rather than rushing in. For parking its really not that bad although you should definitely pay for the parking in advance as its much cheaper and keeps the flow moving (unless you don't have a smartphone then I guess you're out of luck) but I can't imagine paying for it there in line waiting to get in. The parking really is the same as any other stadium I have been to where I have driven (old Veterans & the new Linc in Philly) and East Rutherford (Giants\Jets) when you're trying to get 70,000 + people in & out of a stadium expect delays.

The atmosphere is outstanding & electric, there really is no place that you can compare it to. I've been to football games in Baltimore, Washington, Philly & NY\NJ and while there is tailgating etc. it's just not like this, this is more like a (very) large college atmosphere. I would guess Lambeau would be similar in comparison but I've never been there.

So finally into the stadium I go. I actually had club section tix so you go into the "Tower" entrance. I know I have read all about the club section over the years here but it's not like I do this all the time so I wanted something special and I wanted to see what the difference was from the last time in 2003 when I was in the 119 section, that's lower level behind the Chiefs
bench. My take; it's really, really, really nice there and I got to see Clark right there when I got off the escalator so that was cool but this is not my section to be in. Not saying we weren't loud, we were and there was definitely banging of the seats etc. If you are bringing really young kids it's a great section or if you are limited by age shall we say its a great section (although the way my arthritic knee was acting up maybe that was me after all), if you need to go get a beer every 5 minutes or "warm-up" etc I guess it's fine also if you need to sit down a lot its fine - it just wasn't for me, I found myself looking down at the lower section often and seeing how much fun they were having and thinking I really should be there next time, I guess gblowfish really does have the best seats in the house.

Welp, on to the pics;

This is the view I had, I went in early to see what it was going to look like - I was on the aisle which wasn't bad except for the time when that guy just had to get his 10th beer and stood in front of me just as Parker made the Int\TD right in front of us;
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My friend wanted to know exactly where I was, I said "hey dummy, I'm wearing red you can't miss me" and then I sent him this pic. From my stadium tour I think that might be Clark's suite on the top?
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I think that might be the back of PM on the jumbo-tron, I didn't even notice that until I posted this pic;
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This was the last pic I took and sent out prior to shutting off my phone, after that I wasn't to be bothered except to use the bathroom at halftime. Again just me, but I enjoy watching the game and everything else associated with it, I won't leave my spot except for the bathroom break;
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At the end when I did turn on my phone I had a late message from my wife, she was back in NJ and had to work this night, she said "How's the game?" I responded with a smiley face and said "Whooped their ***" and then sent this pic;
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I didn't leave till late, I knew the exit from the stadium would take a while so just hung around at the stadium and in the lots as that was going to be more enjoyable than waiting in a line in my car.

Monday my plane was not leaving till about 3p local time so I had the mid-morning and early afternoon to do something. Again being a history buff I decided upon the Arabia Steamboat Museum. It was great, if you go do the tour its well worth the admission.

The End... or until next time!

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by stevieray

Nice!

..and you are correct, that is Clark's Suite.

KC Dan and I were 3rd row Endzone..

why would someone give this post a thumbs down?

[TwistedChief]

I’m from NY and have been going to KC for games for the last 25yrs. Nothing like it. You were right to avoid the playoff game and chose wisely with the flexed Bengals game (fate!). As someone who has never lived in KC, I’m completely unbiased, but there’s something very magical about the experience.

I’m sure most of you in Missouri don’t quite understand/appreciate it, but the ability to have that as an easy Sunday option is just beautiful. I could go to a Jets or Giants game each week but it’s corporate and distant. Arrowhead is real football.

Great summary and glad you had a wonderful experience.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by stevieray

why would someone give this post a thumbs down?

Probably on accident when posting from a phone.

If you merely touch the icon it takes and doesn't ask you if you're sure or not. I know I have accidently done it (but not to that post )

[PAChiefsGuy]

Awesome man. It's great to hear about other Chief fans from the NY/PA/NJ area going to KC and having a great time.

Thanks for the post.

[gblowfish]

For those of you who have never been to KC, Crown Center is one of our "areas" that's south of Downtown, and sits between downtown and The Plaza. The big phallac looking thing is the WWI monument, built around 1919 with pennies raised by school kids in the KC area. Union Station, our train station, is across the street at the bottom of the hill. Its a beautiful building too, had a great restaurant (Pierpont's) and traveling exhibits.

[Titty Meat]

I could have gotten you high as **** and BJ in the parking lot of Harold's near downtown

[EPodolak]

Credit to you OP, I have ADD and got through all of it.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

For those of you who have never been to KC, Crown Center is one of our "areas" that's south of Downtown, and sits between downtown and The Plaza. The big phallac looking thing is the WWI monument, built around 1919 with pennies raised by school kids in the KC area. Union Station, our train station, is across the street at the bottom of the hill. Its a beautiful building too, had a great restaurant (Pierpont's) and traveling exhibits.

I can concur as I worked at downtown for several years, and I would always see the WWI monument every day when arriving and leaving from work. You also can take the tour up to the top of the WWI memorial and see a 360 degree view of downtown KC and KC Kansas to the west. Crown Center is also a good area to go as they have an mixture of stores and restaurants connecting to the hotel.

Kpic, I definitely recommend the Negro Hall of Fame museum whenever you get the chance to come back as well as the American Jazz museum. Both of them are right next to each other on 18th and Vine intersection.

[kpic]

Originally Posted by EPodolak

Credit to you OP, I have ADD and got through all of it.

Well I do teach people with intellectual disabilities for a living so guess it comes through in my post?

I did go up to the top of the museum tower as my wife wanted nice 360 degree pics of the city but if you are afraid of heights as I am I wouldn't suggest it, it's pretty tight up there and not much room to move. I went right after they opened so thankfully I was the only one up there if I wasn't I'd probably have been on the news after the fire dept. got me down.