I was there last year in a family-friendly section, as I brought three of my nephews to their first live football game. They range in age from 13-16, so I'm not naive enough to be believe that I was going to shield them from something they haven't already seen in school, but I just didn't want it to happen on my watch. And since I don't drink, sitting in an alcohol-free section is no loss to me.
Our experience, except for the final score, was great. The crowd was 70-30 Bills, so I wasn't the only person wearing a Dolphins jersey. I made sure we were good guests—no trash talking, even shaking hands once in a while with a Bills fan behind us when the game got out of hand and the Bills seemed to score every other minute. I told one of the Bills' fan behind me that on the Dolphins' final drive, that we had the Bills just where we wanted them. Yeah, it hurt seeing my team lose, but why set a poor example and be a sore loser in public? The weather was good, the atmosphere was upbeat, the fans around us were enthusiastic and, for the most part, respectful. The only downside was getting from the parking lot to the highway. It took an hour to drive a couple of miles, but that's par for the course. Oh well.
By all means, go. If the Dolphins win, great, we'll celebrate together, as I'm probably going again this year. If they lose, at least you can console yourself by remembering that you don't live in Buffalo.
Michael
