American football is one of the most exciting sports you’ll find anywhere. With so much fast-paced and hard-hitting action, there is rarely a dull moment. The National Football League is very good at keeping fans entertained throughout the game from start to finish. Below, you’ll learn how you can make your child’s first game-day experience a better one.
- Boldly Represent Your Team
If you are aiming to go to a game sometime soon, you’ll want to wear your team’s colors loud and proud. Representing your team’s colors at the game can be a statement of pride. Give your child some team colors, as well. Whether it be an official jersey or some team socks, try to give them something that meshes with the team’s colors. Our son ended up rocking an older Peyton Manning jersey and my older son loved getting in on the action by sporting a David Thorton jersey. That one was very special considering I was gifted that by Thorton himself a couple of years before that. Both of my sons were ecstatic when I showed them they had their very own gameday outfits. Most importantly, we were all decked out in Colt blue.
- Get There Early
The last thing you want to do is arrive late to their first game. While no one wants to get up at the crack of dawn on most Sundays, football Sunday is a special case. Knowing you are going to get to see your favorite team play an exciting sport makes it incredibly easy to get yourself out of bed. Even waking my son up was a breeze. Arriving at the stadium early gives you plenty of time to take in the experience. After all, your children are going to want to walk through the stadium and take in everything the gameday experience delivers. You cannot do that if you rush the experience and you arrive at the stadium too late. We got there early which allowed my boys to participate in all kinds of fun activities that completely wiped them of their energy!
- Grab Everything Free
There are a lot of things that you’ll find during the gameday experience that you can have that’s free. You can find a lot of gameday magazine programs to posters and more. Grab anything you can find. Not only do kids love to get free stuff, but they will have something that they can cherish as a keepsake for their first game day experience. Give your kids a bag that they can use to collect anything they can find that’s being given out for free.
- Get Souvenirs
While it’s certainly worthwhile to grab everything free from the stadium, you’ll want to be certain that you allocate some budget to a souvenir or two. After all, it’s their first game day experience. You want to make it a memorable one. By gifting them some souvenirs, you’ll be able to make the experience even better. Don’t go crazy because the official stores can be very expensive. However, you do want to give them something because it can be a great way to commemorate their first NFL gameday experience and it’s certainly something they’ll cherish and appreciate.
- Get Something To Eat Before The Game
One of the big things that you should be doing is trying to feed everyone before the game. The fact is, the gameday experience is a good one, but it can be a very expensive one if you aren’t adequately prepared. Unless you are prepared to dish out a lot of money for subpar food, you’ll want to feed everyone beforehand. This is why tailgating is so eventful and popular among NFL fans. You should try to arrive at the stadium beforehand and have your own tailgating experience. It can make it even more fun and it can help you save some money!
- Don’t Wait To Go To Your Seats
One of the things you shouldn’t do is wait to sit. Once you are done eating, you want to go into the stadium and figure out where your seats are. Unless you know exactly where you’re sitting, you don’t want to delay this. You’ll find that it can be difficult to get different places in the stadium once it’s at full capacity. Also, it can be tough to find where your seats are if you’re not familiar with the stadium. Always give yourself plenty of time for this. That way, you can be seated and ready to experience the game at the coin flip.
- Point Everything Out
The fact is, no one is going to understand everything about the game on their first go around. Because of this, you want to ensure that you are giving them all of the info they need to experience the game to its fullest. Give them information on the players, point out where they should be looking, show them where the scoreboard is, and more. Always answer any question they have about the action taking place on the field if they are showing interest.
- Don’t Give The Kids Sugar
While every kid wants cotton candy, it’s a big mistake for any parent. Do not give in to these sugar demands! It’s only going to make your kids antsier and it will be difficult to keep them seated and interested in the game.
- Place Bets
You can add a lot more excitement to the game by going to ATS.io and placing some online bets. This will increase the stakes of the game for yourself. If you enjoy a bet, find a minimum deposit casino.
- Don’t Rush
Don’t rush out of the stadium just because the game is over. Even if the game is out of hand, you want to stay till the end. Our game was pretty much over early on in the fourth quarter with the score being 23-3. Instead of rushing out of the stadium, allow everyone else to leave. Not only is it going to minimize the hassle associated with leaving and getting out of the stadium, but it gives you and your kids a chance to take in the empty stadium and even take pictures of yourself with the field.
When you are taking your kids for their first gameday experience, treat it as if you are experiencing everything for the first time. What seems mundane and boring to you might be incredibly exciting for them. After all, it’s the first time they are experiencing it all. You want to be certain you have your phone or camera out the entire time. Taking plenty of photos and videos is a must. That way, you have something to look back on to re-live their first NFL gameday experience.