A few remarks about Arrowhead & the fans.

[Direckshun]

1. It's been several years since I've been to a game there. I was fortunate enough to get invited along by a season ticket holder in the third bowl. But I got a chance to walk around the stadium before the game, just wandering and checking stuff out. Arrowhead looks like a Complete Experience Stadium. The Hall of Honor is outstandingly gorgeous, and I loved reading about each player -- plus, the ongoing video display they have playing overhead is goosebump inducing. They play it all game, too -- they don't cut to highlights or a live feed of the game. Nothing interrupts who these people were and what they did to add to the Chiefs mythology. It's outstanding.

The whole stadium is just built amazing, and although I haven't seen the club level, I can vouch for two things: the third bowl is a party that just never stops when the team's winning. Everybody is absolutely just happy to be there. But the first bowl is where Arrowhead distinguishes itself. There are these great pro shops that can make you an authentic jersey on the spot -- and just for aesthetic appeal, you can watch it getting made. They've got really efficient, out-of-the-way sports bars that some people just abandon their seats for to sit in and watch the game/other games there.

I don't bother with concession stands, but they were incredibly fast compared to years past, when you'd literally burn 1/4 of the game waiting in line. I can't compare the food to before, but I do know that the "Beverage Express" lane is a brilliant idea.

In short - there's no reason why this shouldn't be a Super Bowl stadium now. It is an infectious place to watch football and absorb this silly, fun culture that Arrowhead has cultivated.

2. I sat in the first bowl for part of the third quarter with another season ticket holder who wanted me to join him for a bit. It was a trip -- it was already really loud in the third bowl, but you underestimate up there and on TV just how much that sound plows you in the first bowl. It was my first time in the first bowl since luv invited me to a preseason game in the Herm Edwards years, and it's like two different universes.

The sound on third down just sits on you. It really is like an aircraft carrier taking off right in front of you. You can hear yourself scream, but I gotta pull an Eric Berry and scream in somebody's ears just to communicate, and even then, it's monosyllabic and too basic to be any meaningful information. It's got to be even worse on the field, where all the sound is being directed.

3. Before the game, and after the game, is really what separates Arrowhead from every other stadium I've ever been to. The sheer diversity of what Chiefs fans like to do for tailgating is hilarious. I could honestly walk around for a couple hours just observing how people like to warm their spirits up for a game.

After the game, the stadium was incredibly loud even on the way out. The crowd stayed in and shouted all the way to the last down, and the shouting, pounding, and chanting continued all the way until I got the parking lot. People are literally prancing around the third bowl after the game. People are holding up their phones to record the waves of people leaving as they all do the tomahawk chop and chant "6 and 0."

4. I can only speak from personal experience (I've been to Arrowhead about a dozen times in my life), but our fans are so much more cordial to opposing fans, it's almost unfair. I can see why thousands of Raiders fans show up to Arrowhead. It's got to be a blast watching your favorite team play in such an outstanding venue and, if you're a fan of playful ribbing (NTTAWTT), Arrowhead has to be the best stadium to be a visitor at. I had a couple Raiders fans approach me and ask me for a picture, so they could prove to their buddies back in Oakland they were cordial and having fun with Chiefs fans.

I'm sure there are personal anecdotes to disprove this opinion, but I've only seen one opposing fan get a ton of shit from Chiefs fans, back in the Herm days when the Seahawks were visiting. Some Chiefs fan got drunk and was harrassing a Hawks fan who was minding his own business. But other than that, I've always seen big numbers of opposing fans at Chiefs game -- and honestly, why wouldn't you if you were? You absolutely have to check out the experience.

I may have more thoughts later, but I had to register how impressed I was with the crowd's noise and enthusiasm, Arrowhead's quality, and the jovial nature of opposing fans.