MetLife Stadium Ranked Dead Last By NFL Players

As a Giants fan, I miss the old Giants Stadium. That not only was the old stadium where, for decades, both the local NFL teams (the Giants and the Jets) played, but which also hosted World Cup soccer games in 1994, one of which I had seen, as well as a number of other major events. Over the course of many years, beginning in 1991, I went to Giants Stadium to see numerous World League of American Football games (WLAF), NFL, World Cup, a FIFA All-Star Game in 1996, and a few other soccer games. Also, I went to a whole bunch of concerts, with the first being among my all-time favorites (Metallica and Guns 'n Roses, with Faith No More serving as the opening act) and many other shows along the way (Rolling Stones with the Counting Crows in 1994, Billy Joel and Elton John in 1994), U2 in 1997, Ozzfest in 1997, Field Day in 2004 (with the Beastie Boys, Radiohead), Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Live Earth in 2007, Genesis in 2007, and finally, AC/DC in 2009, which was the final concert I ever saw at the old stadium. 

Some years ago, I went to a book signing event, and Giants legend Phil Simms was there. He was talking with someone - I think it was the guy who put the book together, but who's name is eluding me now - about the old Giants Stadium, and how it had some real character. Uncharacteristically, I actually chimed in and briefly became part of the conversation, also reminiscing about how the old stadium felt infinitely preferable to the admittedly much larger and far more technologically advanced, yet largely charmless new stadium, which feels completely devoid of character. When you see a game there, they absolutely bombard you with sensory overload. There are constant videos playing, musical clips blasting, numerous announcements, and so on and so forth. Constant distractions. It's almost as if the event you went to see is secondary, at best. 

Now you might figure, with it's extravagant $1.6 billion price tag, that this new stadium would feel simply overwhelming. That the benefits would be just so amazing, so obvious, that it would leave the old stadium in the dust. But it doesn't. At least not to me. I preferred the old stadium when I went to watch a sporting event, as I have seen both NFL games  and international soccer games there. Also, I preferred the old venue when watching a concert, and I have seen a few at the new stadium (Rolling Stones in 2019, GNR in 2021, Red Hot Chilis in 2022). So yeah, I feel that I'm qualified to talk about how the two stadiums felt when actually attending an event as a normal, regular fan. And yes, I preferred the old Giants Stadium. It might not have been as glitzy as the new one was billed up, and with it's rather sleek, mostly neutral silver/gray metallic look, with blue lights for the Giants and green lights for the Jets to lend it the proper feel, depending on the team. 

Apparently, I am not alone with how unimpressed I am. Below is a link to an article from back in November - I'm not sure why I am only getting around to publishing it now - where NFL players actually apparently rated the ritzy new MetLife Stadium as the worst venue in the entire league. Now to be fair, it was not just the stadium that they disliked, although one person was quoted, describing it as "lame." They also stated that the turf is awful, and fans of both the Giants and the Jets "suck."

Lol! As a Giants fan, I always felt that Eagles fans were far and away the worst. But I guess fans of the G-Men might be pretty obnoxious, as well. I also noticed that Cowboys fans tend to be really obnoxious and entitled, and I'm not even one of those guys who hates the Dallas Cowboys, or relish in their bad luck. Just saying.

In any case, below is the link to the article which got me on this topic, and which seemed worth sharing here.

Take a look. Enjoy.

MetLife Stadium ranked worst venue in NFL by the players  Aug 27, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Aerial view of MetLife stadium at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports Dan Benton  November 21, 2023 9:21 am ET

https://giantswire.usatoday.com/2023/11/21/metlife-stadium-ranked-worst-venue-nfl-by-playersnew-york-giants-jets/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0AcUrjrXWNPcT0p2msjcujQR6Jvje0SjYYGBM9kAH24aNfqpMAFk6mB3c

If Bill Belichick becomes available to Giants, Boomer & Gio say there's 'no way' John Mara would say no    By Lou DiPietro and Boomer & Gio WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM/66AM New York  “Let’s just say Bill Belichick does come available. If you're John Mara, how would you not say, ‘okay, you're coming here, we have a first or second overall pic

https://www.audacy.com/wfan/sports/giants/b-and-g-no-way-john-mara-says-no-if-bill-belichick-available?utm_campaign=www.audacy.com%252Fwfan&utm_content=1700079621&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_term=WFAN-AM&fbclid=IwAR2grt0DKVwhL2ZiO4U875kwVLZiEFu1pGHQXpDS-WrYVpUiXY-W63ZpHjI

At the incredible Giants-Bucs game on a beautiful, perfect Sunday afternoon. The game seemed painfully dull at first, but it certainly did not stay that way! One of the most incredible 4th quarters in team history, and it will live on for a long time, surely! Here, my young son is posing for the camera with the field below as the backdrop.

I know what your saying to yourselves: "Who does this guy know to get such awesome tickets so damn close to the action?"

Each of these flags honored the past Super Bowl victories by the New York Giants.

We had really good seats, very close to the field, despite my son's seemingly forced smile here.