Football fan? Yes, I am, but my team is not playing in the Super Bowl! My husband’s team is—the Philadelphia Eagles. So, we drove to Phoenix, Arizona to take part in the pre-game NFL Experience. No, we couldn’t afford to go to the game, but the NFL Experience was a blast.
How We ended up in Phoenix?
My brother is a super fan of the Denver Broncos—me too! When the Broncos went to the Super Bowl seven years ago, my brother has a big regret. The big game was in San Diego, California, and he lived in northern California. He regretted not going to their promotional week and has repeated that to me!
So, a month out from the Super Bowl, I warned my husband: The Eagles were winning, the Super Bowl this year is in Phoenix—7 hours away, Lin’s best friend, Bob, lived in Phoenix, and you don’t want to regret it!
When the Eagles won the NFC championship to go to the Super Bowl, I started googling the promotional week. Bob called and the plan fell into place.
Following Bob’s suggestion, I signed up for the NFL Experience on Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 6:00 PM—it was a go! Bob and his wife, Linda, had tickets for Saturday, February 5 and planned to get the lay-of-the-land.
What I Had to Do to Go!
Then I remembered after doing that, I was supposed to go to a church training from Monday to Thursday, the same week. I emailed the leader of that and explained my situation and asked if I could rollover my registration to next year. She replied immediately, saying I could!
Then I texted my pet sitter to see if she could take care of my 20-year-old cat! It was a go!
How It Unfolded
On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, we left home for Phoenix about 10:30 AM. We stopped in Grants, New Mexico for lunch at the Subways. To beginning our journey, I ordered a “Philly Cheese Steak” in honor of the Eagles.
After an uneventful and pleasant trip, we arrived at Bob and Linda’s house about 7:00 PM. We caught up and focused on the big event we faced the next day. They filled us in on what they had learned on Saturday—their day had been great but crowded!
What the day looked like
On the morning of our big day, Bob toured us around Phoenix. We drove closer to the stadium and pulled in to the back of it and got pictures. After returning to their home for a brief break, we left their house at 3:00 PM, to be sure to get in on time. The couple we were meeting at the Food Court were easy to find.
Our first stop was to see the past Super Bowl rings. The line was long, but Bob and Linda told us the crowd wasn’t as large as Saturday. As we waited, we looked at jeweled helmets displayed by division. How amazing! When we finally moved up in line to see the rings, the size blew me away—so much larger than I could imagine!
Being the Bronco fan, I took pictures of each of our Super Bowl rings, and I also took pictures of the Eagles’ Super Bowl rings, too. Seeing the names of all the football heroes, I loved it!
To fully experience this NFL Experience, it’s participatory. So, all of us tried to throw a football through the letter “O” of a large display of Lowe’s. From there, two of us tried to kick a field goal.
The halls were full of historical displays that we didn’t have time to read. We ended the night in the NFL store, the size of a warehouse. It had three parts: Super Bowl LVII attire, Eagles, and Chiefs attire. I bought Super Bowl LVII clothing: a light jacket, a hat and a t-shirt. My husband stayed in Eagles’ section. What fun!
Finally,
What an amazing experience! I didn’t take any Broncos shirts, but our friends told us on Saturday, fans wore paraphernalia for whatever team they loved! So I borrowed a Broncos’ shirt and Bob, Linda and I supported our Broncos! Of course, Lin proudly wore his Eagles’ stuff!
PS – I had hoped to get this done before the end of the Super Bowl, but I didn’t! The Chiefs won, but I wouldn’t exchange our memories at the NFL Experience in Phoenix for anything!
News, News, News!
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