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This past season, a website titled Stadium Journey sent their staff to all 31 NFL team stadiums (Jets and Giants share, remember) and graded them on a pre-determined set of criteria, which they call their FANFARE score. From their website:
We provide reviews of pro and college sports stadiums and arenas. Our goal is to give sports enthusiasts a resource to share their deep knowledge, and help fans all across the country make the most out of their experience at the various sports venues.
After visiting an evaluating all 31 NFL stadiums, the website chose named Lucas Oil Stadium as the best in the entire league. Yes, better than Jerry World, which is twice as big and twice as gaudy.
Here's their quick write-up on why The Luke is the best:
What we liked: The Fans- "Fans in the state of Indiana are nothing if not devout. While their first love may be on the hardwood (the Pacers used to begin player introductions with a video that boasted, ‘In 49 states, it’s just basketball…but this is Indiana’), they know their sports and you’ll enjoy the opportunity to take in an NFL game with 63,000 of them."
What we didn’t like: We liked it all. That’s why its Stadium Journey’s Best NFL Stadium of 2009!
It's nice to see an independent group finally recognize Colts fans as being the great football fans we are. Next time you see a bunch of @ssholes rag on Colts fans from their blog, kindly remind them that not everyone feels the same way they do. You could also tell them that their site isn't funny anymore, and that they need some new material. Oh, and tell them I sent you. They LOVE me over there!
Watching Colts games with Colts fans is indeed a fun experience. Obviously, I'm biased, but there is a reason I don't like watching Yankees games with Yankees fans (self-important, entitled @ssholes) or Packers games with Packers fans (so homer it makes me ill). I especially liked this little dig at Pack fans from Stadium Journey's website:
What we didn’t like: The Fans- "The only problem with the fans is that their homerism bleeds through sometimes, booing at obvious penalties and being way too hard on the coaching."
Special thanks to the team at Stadium Journey for being so thorough in their evaluation process. You can read the entire evaluation of Lucas Oil Stadium here. They also have a write-up on Conseco Fieldhouse, which received the exact same FANFARE score that The Luke did. And yes, even though the Pacers suck, they have the best arena in all the NBA.