Road trip! Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to go on a road trip with the Denver Broncos QB Club to watch the Broncos battle the Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona on Thursday night football. Pictured above are four fans from our group (I’m on the left).
The trip involved more than just the game. On the day before we toured State Farm Stadium where the game would be played the next night. Here we were taken into the visitor’s locker room. I wondered what stall Von Miller would have on game day?
As we were escorted around the stadium we had views from different angles. There really wasn’t a bad seat in the house.
Our guide described to us how the playing field slides into the stadium from the outside. A natural grass field which is unusual in an indoor stadium like this. The picture above is where the playing field resides when not in the stadium – this area is used as a parking lot on game days. Our guide said NFL players have consistently rated the Arizona playing surface as one of the best in the NFL.
A view from the press box.
At the end of the tour we were greeted in the NFL team store by former Cardinals signing autographs (wr Bryant Johnson and place kicker Neil Rackers)
Game day! We arrived hours early and were treated to a pregame tailgate party. Much to our surprise it was indoors behind one of the end zones. It was very uncrowded (maybe because of the Thursday afternoon time) and we had access to unlimited food and drink.
The highlight of the tail gate party was watching the Bronco player bus arrive! We were just feet away from the players arrival with a small group of Bronco fans. Emmanuel Sanders and Domata Peko gave us waves – surprised to see Bronco fans greeting them inside the stadium.
A couple of hours before game time the stadium’s retractable roof was opened. On a warm night like this the Cardinals and NFL keep the roof open.
The Cardinal mascot stopped by our tail gate party. There were also two former Cardinals and the Cardinal cheerleaders signing autographs.
Game time! This is the view from our seats – lower level corner end zone. Of course the Broncos big 45-10 win over the Cardinals this night was the highlight of our trip! We were fortunate to have many of the Bronco scores in our end of the field.
The trip also gave us the opportunity to sample other Phoenix area attractions. I had my first In N Out burger (excellent!). We toured the Musical Instrument Museum the next day – one of the best museums I have been to. And we took in the Phoenix Suns opener at Talking Stick Arena.
Overall it was an excellent trip! The stadium tour, the pregame tail gate party, the dominant win by the Broncos, and seeing other attractions in the area made this trip special.
Where will the Bronco QB Club go for next year’s trip? Perhaps at Minnesota or at Green Bay? (two games on the 2019 schedule). Stay tuned!
