Going to the game vs. Staying at home

     Through high school and most of college, I would have never thought about this discussion.  I would have said going to the game wins every time.  Nothing beats the game day experience right?  Then I had a friend in college whose father was the former Chief of Police in Washington, DC.  First of all, sports aside, this was great.  He had all sorts of great stories from that time in his career, and most were hilarious.  He was a Redskins fan also, and one day he told me about all the free tickets he was offered when he was Chief.  He told me he thinks he was offered free tickets to every single Redskins home game during his entire time as the Chief of Police.  He then told me he never went to one game.  I didn't understand this, and when I asked him about it he basically told me, going to the game would be nice and everything, but he liked that he didn't have to deal with the parking, the lines everywhere, the traffic in and out of the stadium, and most importantly, he liked that when the game was ready to start he turned the TV on, and when it was over, he turned it off, and he was done with it.  I still credit this line with ruining going to sports games for me, because he was right.  When you go to a game, it is a full day's event.

     Going to games is still fun for me, but I think I am more picky about when to go to games and when not to now.  First of all, if they were free tickets, I would have been at those games, because that's half the battle as far as I'm concerned.  It's hard for me to justify paying for the tickets, gas, parking, and food at a game, when I could watch the same game at home for free (and by free, I of course mean enjoy the sports on the programming I've already paid way too much for).

     Another thing I've found is that with all the new technology in televised games, I miss out on a lot being in person.  I usually like the commentators for games, and I like when an announcer points out something I didn't see.  I have mentioned in a previous post that I saw Navy football play a game using the triple option offense, and most of the time I didn't know who had the ball.  With the cameramen and announcers, I know exactly what is going on.  I also like knowing what is going to happen when a play is under instant replay review.  I could swear, being at a game with an important replay call under review, sometimes it feels like those calls take up to 10 minutes to figure out.  I like pausing games and taking a bathroom break, and fast-forwarding through commercials.  I like checking in on other games/fantasy football players if my game isn't going as well as planned.

     There are other games/events where I feel like television doesn't do it justice.  I have season tickets to Maryland football games.  It makes it easier for me to have season tickets to Maryland football, because they don't sell out games, so it's cheaper for me then it would be for a Virginia Tech fan.  I feel like college football games are an exception to this rule because it's more to me than the game.  Being on campus, and being around the college-aged students makes me feel like a college student again.  Granted, I was a college student longer than most people already anyway, but that's not the point.  Tailgaiting at a college game is a lot of fun for me, because you're surrounded by everyone rooting for the same team as you waiting to get in the gates and take in the college football atmosphere.  I understand you could make the same argument for tailgaiting at pro games, but for some reason the college atmosphere feels different for me.

     My other event that is only better in person is the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  For those unfamiliar with the Nationwide Series, it is one step below the top level Sprint Cup Series, but has many of the same drivers, and usually is the night before the Cup race.  In general, I don't really care who wins the Nationwide race.  I have my rooting interests, but since it's not the Cup Series, it's not a big deal if it doesn't work out.  The reason I feel like I have to be at this race, is because you get all the fun of tailgaiting at a Cup race, but don't have to get too worried about the actual outcome.  I feel like I have to be in front of a TV for the Cup race, because I want to see where my drivers are, hear the analysis from the commentators, and see anything I would miss by not having experts explain it to me.  Let me tell you though, you have not experienced tailgaiting until you have been to a NASCAR race.  You see things which would never be acceptable at a normal sports event.  I have seen people bring garbage bags full of beer into the track (only for me to spend the whole race sneaking them out of their bag).  I have seen people walk around with a beer funnel they pass around for anyone to use.  I have seen my friends partake in this, and my advice to you would be to avoid that all costs.  Bottom line is, if you haven't tailgated at a NASCAR race yet, do it soon.

     I think overall, my opinion is that if I am watching a game because I truly care about the outcome, I'd rather be watching it on TV.  I'd rather sulk by myself if we lose, rather than be surrounded by opposing fans yelling some sort of chant in my face, and I'd rather know all of the information about the event as possible, which just is not happening when you are at a game in person.  If a game is more important for the experience, then I'd obviously rather go.  If you have any thoughts on game vs. home, share them under the comments.