There Is Nothing Like Home Field Advantage
There is nothing like home field advantage.
Fans Do Cheer
Every Sunday fans from across the region will get together and celebrate for the upcoming game that will be played. The celebration always starts in the parking lots of stadiums where the tailgating festivities begin.
Fans will show up hours or the night before a game to get a prime spot to set their gear up and get ready for game day. But how does one tailgate in a hostile environment? One of the great things about going to watch your team is the crowd. The noise that just gets you pumped up, seeing 70 thousand fans cheering on your team and celebrating, almost gives me goose bumps – but what happens if those 70 thousand fans are cheering for the wrong team? What becomes of the underdog?
Tailgating in an opposing team’s home stadium can be a dangerous task. We have all seen YouTube clips of fans getting harassed or even to a worse extent knocked out. Sometime there is a limit to how far a few fans will react to a team celebrating a big play or even a victory.
I have watched the Miami Dolphins in a few stadiums across the United States, but there is one game that I will always remember as the fans in that region showed a different type of class. I went to Chicago on a road trip with a few of my friends during my university days and it was perfect timing that the Dolphins were playing the Bears on Sunday in Chicago. Making the most of this event, I wanted to go to the Tailgate and get ready for the game. As a dedicated Dolphin fan I definitely rocked out my gear and was proud to represent my team. Although my friends stated it wouldn’t be a wise decision, I didn’t take their advice to heart.
The game that I am referring to was back in 2006, and the then undefeated Chicago Bears were taking on a slumping Dolphins team that was starting, you guessed it, Joey Harrington (-seriously, remember him). The Bears fans were in great spirits everyone favoured them to crush the Dolphins. While tailgating with my friends, a few Chicago Bears fans came over and introduced themselves, they literally came up to me and asked me questions about the Dolphins, where we were from and basic small talk, this all led to one of the best pre game football matches I have ever played. There was at least 20 people playing flag football in the parking lot, and fans from all over started joining in. It was a great experience that I will always remember. The Bears fans that introduced themselves even invited us to their tent and offered us their famous BBQ pre game meal. Long story short, these Bears fans surprised me with their hospitality and kindness and to this day and I am happy to call them my friends.
Once the game started, I was seated in a sea of black and orange. I seriously didn’t even see one other Dolphins fan on my side of the field, let alone my section. Still in high spirits I was dedicated enough to cheer on the Dolphins. The Dolphins came out in full force and led at halftime, but then in the 4th quarter they started pulling away. As the Bears were undefeated, I vividly remember everyone talking about how the class of 72 Dolphins can sleep better as the Miami Dolphins once again broke another Chicago Bears streak of going undefeated. At the end of the day, the Dolphins record was 2-6 compared to the Bears at 7-1 and the Bears fans were still hoping that Rex Grossman would take them far in the playoffs. While the Bears fans were exiting the stadium, in the row I was sitting in, they all mentioned it was great watching the game with us and invited us to local sports bar to watch the next game. Don’t get me wrong, there were the outsiders that tried to create some chaos, but you just have to ignore them and it was surprising to see how many Bears fan told those outliers to just shut up.
There are always going to be one rotten apple in a basket of fruit, but this experience was something that should be shared. The game that we all love is only so big, but it continues to get stronger with game life experience like this. Big shout out to all the Chicago Bears fans that I met that day and allowed me into their Sunday life.
When a group of strangers takes it on themselves to welcome you into their world and provide a real life experience that you will remember for years to come, it truly makes someone feel welcomed. Like I said in the beginning, there is nothing like home field advantage.
Share your story – where was your best game day experience outside of Miami?