Day 11 - American football game

Today, the long-awaited American football game was on the agenda. But before we went to the stadium, we (Chiara and I -> Sven) picked up our freshly washed clothes. The others from the group did not come to the match and visited the 9/11 museum today.

The trip & preparation

At 11 am we met Tamara, Philippe, and Philippe’s family. On-time they were at our door with the cab, whereupon we started our way to the stadium. Since we left early, we had little traffic on the way there and arrived early at the stadium site. Despite our early arrival, we were surprised to see that we were not the first ones there. The parking area was used by the fans as a festival and barbecue area. Like everything before, this area was huge, and already one and a half hours before the game a lot of fans were there. After some difficulties in the security control at the entrance to the stadium, we made our way to the fan store. Once we arrived there, we bought some souvenirs and were all excited about the match.

Game

Typically American, the game started with the American national anthem. Besides the incredible atmosphere and scenery in the stadium, we enjoyed a hotdog and cold drinks. For almost all of us, it was the first time seeing an American football game. Today the Baltimore Ravens played against the New York Giants in MetLife Stadium. In the beginning, the Ravens had a much bigger share of the game, and the Giants were often in trouble defensively. However, this changed towards the end with the New York Giants winning a game-tying ball. Like in a movie scene, the action turned, and the Giants managed to win the game as well as the crowd. The crowd was beside itself, celebrating the Giants’ fifth win of the current season. The game exceeded all my expectations and was a highlight of the trip so far.

Cab search & ride home

After the game, the crowd ran out of the stadium, and the difficult search for a taxi/Uber began. After a long wait, we decided to take a local cab driver to get into the city. As after any big event, we were stuck in traffic for some time.

911 museum impressions

Back home, the other part of the group told us that they found the visit to the 911 Museum very impressive, but also somber. For them, especially the museum’s architecture and layout were a unique experience.

Dinner together

Shortly after, we went as a group to a fine ramen noodle restaurant to finish off the evening. While saying goodbye to the restaurant owner, it turned out that he was a big fan of Swiss products, and we noticed that we still had some bars of Swiss chocolate left for him. A short time later with some chocolate bars, he was very happy and could also happily end his Sunday evening.