Candlestick Park 23/12

corblimey

I decided to splash out an Christmas present for myself and secured a couple of tickets to the last 49ers home game in Candlestick vs the Falcons. Anyone got any tips or tricks for me? I've got a parking pass that I understand gives me free parking but only within the stadium lots if I get there early enough?

For a 530 game, is there stuff to do before the game if I go at like 3pm? Or even earlier if I can convince the missus.

I need to get a jersey (and a set of those "D" and "fence" signs) - am I likely to be fleeced at the stadium and maybe look elsewhere?

Anything else I should be wary of? Stay away from the hotdogs?

helimachoptor

I'm in candlestick next week for the texans game so will report back!

corblimey

helimachoptor wrote: »

I'm in candlestick next week for the texans game so will report back!

Thanks helimachoptor - I saw your thread just after posting mine, so would appreciate letting us know how the whole thing goes

corblimey

Just a quick report, in case anyone's interested.

In the time between making the op and my actual trip, my brother in law who I was going with got busy. He found some friends of friends (6th generation Irish) who were tailgating on the day, and invited ourselves along. So we set off for Candlestick at the impressively early time of just before noon! We were expecting long queues to get into the carpark, but it took no time at all, and we safely parked up beside our hosts by 1245.

Then it was 5 hours of good times. Some beer, some bbq meat, some more beer, other things. I wandered around several times taking in the sights, and picked up a Kaepernick jersey for a lot more than it's going in the shops, but hey, I was only wearing a 49ers hat at that point, so felt conspicuous. Facilities seemed slightly light to me, 2 vans selling gear and merchandise and a couple of guys hawking the program (which I completely forgot to get) and that was it. Oh and hundreds of porta potties.

By 5, the tailgate was starting to wind down, so we made our way into the stadium. It took quite a while to get to the concession stands (more beer, a hot dog and some garlic fries) and we actually ended up missing the National Anthem and the kickoff, but arrived at our seats for Atlanta's first second down.

We had great seats but to be honest, I remember very few specifics of the game itself, but I remember being surprised by how quickly it all passed. I was expecting to get a little antsy in between plays without a commentator and replays and stuff, but it passed in a whirl. And of course, the 49ers won with that great pick-6 to qualify for the playoffs (totally called by my brother in law, albeit 3 hours earlier).

We stayed for the speeches afterwards but couldn't hear a word, and sat in slightly better seats for the fireworks at the end, before heading out. Jetlagged and slightly worse for wear, I was practically asleep in the back seat as soon as we left the stadium, but I don't think it too long to get home.

PS I was interviewed by the local NBC affiliate Channel 4 in the Bay Area as someone pointed out to the woman doing the interviewing that I had travelled all the way from Ireland for this game. I can happily say I have no memory of this interview as I doubt I made much sense by that point in the proceedings, and assume my interview ended up on the editing room floor.