My Stadium Travels

A hobby of mine is to travel to sports stadiums across the country (it's on my bucket list. My first goal is to attend all of the NFL teams' stadiums, then start attempting MLB, NBA, and NHL. I'd love to travel to them all when the Steelers, Pirates, or Pens play there. Although I'd love to travel to all of the FBS NCAA football stadiums, there are simply too many (I've only been to PSU, OSU, UCLA, Pitt, and Maryland thus far).

Heinz Field
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Steelers / Pitt)
I consider this my home stadium as I've been a Steelers fan since I was young. I've had several trips to this stadium, once against the Giants in '08, once against the Packers in '09, and I know I have been there since but I have a terrible memory and don't have photos. This is an awesome stadium (I may be biased though), with big Lombardi trophies on the main level, and a spectacular view of the city and rivers.

M&T Bank Stadium
Baltimore, Maryland (Ravens)
M&T Bank Stadium is the closest one to my current home. I've been there once and enjoyed the stadium, although the fans didn't like my Steelers jersey at all. The night we went in '09 unfortunately saw Dennis Dixon, the #3 quarterback, start, and the Steelers lost in overtime.

Browns Stadium
Cleveland, Ohio (Browns)
I have been to this stadium 6 times (since I went to school in Celveland), including a Row 1 pair of tickets in the Dawg Pound. It's a nice enough stadium, but ther are no frills to speak of, as the city of Cleveland would want it. The tailgaters are nuts, and this is definitely the most inebriated stadium I've been to.

Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, California (Chargers)
A friend and I went on a trip to California to catch the Rose Bowl, a Lakers game, and two games in Qualcomm (The Holiday Bowl and Chargers v. Broncos). The Chargers/Broncos game actually determined the winner of the AFC West, so it was an exciting atmosphere.

Paul Brown Stadium
Cincinnati, Ohio (Bengals)
A friend and I decided to go on a trip to Cincinnati over fall break 2008 almost on a whim. We sat in the club seats (which were padded!) to watch the Steelers crush the Bungles. This was a really nice stadium, and I'd love to go back.

FedEx Field
Landover, Maryland (Redskins)
This was the NFL's largest stadium at the time (although Dallas' and New York's stadiums may have surpassed it). It definitely feels like it, although it's tiny compared to Beaver Stadium. I went to a preseason game with my father in 2007.

Lambeau Field
Green Bay, Wisconsin (Packers)
We drove to Lambeau from Cleveland in October 2014 for a Thursday Night Football game against the Vikings. It's an odd venue simply because it's in the middle of nowhere - Green Bay has a population of 100,000 people, which has got to be the smallest city hosting an NFL team. A nice stadium and accommodating locals, though.

Lincoln Financial Field
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Eagles)
A group of four of us went to see the Steelers get SHELLACKED by the Eagles in September of 2016. The game ended 34-3 and was one of the worst losses in the Roethisberger era. After the game we sat in a parking lot trying to leave for 2 hours... it was pretty absurd.

Ralph Wilson Stadium
Buffalo, New York (Bills)
I swore off cold weather football games years ago, but guess what? It was a cold snowy day in Buffalo in December 2016, and we were there. Although the box score makes it look like the game was close (27-20), it really wasn't. A decent venue, but if I go again it will be on a warmer day.

Other Stadiums

Steelers Training Camp
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
I got out to Steelers Training Camp in 2008, and had a great time. It included a couple Ben Roethlisberger autographs, between the two Super Bowl victories, and a lof of being able to just sit and watch the offensive linemen go through drills. Mean Joe Greene was a coach there too! I highly recommend training camp for any NFL fan.

The Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California (UCLA)
The Rose Bowl in 2009 was Penn State vs. USC. Penn State got stomped, but we had great seats, watched the Rose Parade, and had a good time. This stadium is terribly designed, though - narrow tunnels lead into the seats, and before gametime, they only allow a few people go through them at a time. This makes for a very slow, painful entrance.

The Horseshoe
Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State)
Penn State beat Ohio State in a game I got to sit with OSU students behind the band. It was electric, just like PSU/OSU games in State College.


A hobby of mine is to travel to sports stadiums across the country (it's on my bucket list. My first goal is to attend all of the NFL teams' stadiums, then start attempting MLB, NBA, and NHL. I'd love to travel to them all when the Steelers, Pirates, or Pens play there. Although I'd love to travel to all of the FBS NCAA football stadiums, there are simply too many (I've only been to PSU, OSU, UCLA, Pitt, and Maryland thus far).
Heinz Field Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Steelers / Pitt) I consider this my home stadium as I've been a Steelers fan since I was young. I've had several trips to this stadium, once against the Giants in '08, once against the Packers in '09, and I know I have been there since but I have a terrible memory and don't have photos. This is an awesome stadium (I may be biased though), with big Lombardi trophies on the main level, and a spectacular view of the city and rivers.
	M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, Maryland (Ravens) M&T Bank Stadium is the closest one to my current home. I've been there once and enjoyed the stadium, although the fans didn't like my Steelers jersey at all. The night we went in '09 unfortunately saw Dennis Dixon, the #3 quarterback, start, and the Steelers lost in overtime.
Browns Stadium Cleveland, Ohio (Browns) I have been to this stadium 6 times (since I went to school in Celveland), including a Row 1 pair of tickets in the Dawg Pound. It's a nice enough stadium, but ther are no frills to speak of, as the city of Cleveland would want it. The tailgaters are nuts, and this is definitely the most inebriated stadium I've been to.
	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California (Chargers) A friend and I went on a trip to California to catch the Rose Bowl, a Lakers game, and two games in Qualcomm (The Holiday Bowl and Chargers v. Broncos). The Chargers/Broncos game actually determined the winner of the AFC West, so it was an exciting atmosphere.
Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio (Bengals) A friend and I decided to go on a trip to Cincinnati over fall break 2008 almost on a whim. We sat in the club seats (which were padded!) to watch the Steelers crush the Bungles. This was a really nice stadium, and I'd love to go back.
	FedEx Field Landover, Maryland (Redskins) This was the NFL's largest stadium at the time (although Dallas' and New York's stadiums may have surpassed it). It definitely feels like it, although it's tiny compared to Beaver Stadium. I went to a preseason game with my father in 2007.
Lambeau Field Green Bay, Wisconsin (Packers) We drove to Lambeau from Cleveland in October 2014 for a Thursday Night Football game against the Vikings. It's an odd venue simply because it's in the middle of nowhere - Green Bay has a population of 100,000 people, which has got to be the smallest city hosting an NFL team. A nice stadium and accommodating locals, though.
	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Eagles) A group of four of us went to see the Steelers get SHELLACKED by the Eagles in September of 2016. The game ended 34-3 and was one of the worst losses in the Roethisberger era. After the game we sat in a parking lot trying to leave for 2 hours... it was pretty absurd.
Ralph Wilson Stadium Buffalo, New York (Bills) I swore off cold weather football games years ago, but guess what? It was a cold snowy day in Buffalo in December 2016, and we were there. Although the box score makes it look like the game was close (27-20), it really wasn't. A decent venue, but if I go again it will be on a warmer day.
Other Stadiums
Steelers Training Camp Latrobe, Pennsylvania I got out to Steelers Training Camp in 2008, and had a great time. It included a couple Ben Roethlisberger autographs, between the two Super Bowl victories, and a lof of being able to just sit and watch the offensive linemen go through drills. Mean Joe Greene was a coach there too! I highly recommend training camp for any NFL fan.
	The Rose Bowl Pasadena, California (UCLA) The Rose Bowl in 2009 was Penn State vs. USC. Penn State got stomped, but we had great seats, watched the Rose Parade, and had a good time. This stadium is terribly designed, though - narrow tunnels lead into the seats, and before gametime, they only allow a few people go through them at a time. This makes for a very slow, painful entrance.
The Horseshoe Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State) Penn State beat Ohio State in a game I got to sit with OSU students behind the band. It was electric, just like PSU/OSU games in State College.