August 9th Preseason Game in Baltimore:

[WG]

It's official! We'll be meeting at a very nice bar called Sliders right on the north end of Camden Yards for our pregame get together for the Saturday, August 9th PS opener! We are doing this in conjunction w/ Two Bills Drive/The Stadium Wall. R. Rich is the POC for folks at TSW/TBD.

Tickets:

Tix are available through a link that R. Rich posted and I'll post here again. I'm sure, based on experience, that there'll be plenty of tix available outside the stadium prior to the game, and perhaps even at the bar where we're meeting.

Bills-Ravens Preseason Tickets Available Here!

Please keep in mind that these seats are in the 500s and not the best of seats. Based on my experiences at Ravens games, tix can be found just by walking around the TG areas asking or even from quite a few people selling them outside the stadium. The stadium has a rule that disallows scalpers from selling w/in a certain range of the stadium, but they're out there anyway, you just have to identify them which is usually easy. They are also a block away. As well, it's a preseason game, so while I can't guarantee anything, I'm sure there'll be quite a few available outside somewhere. Again, perhaps even at the bar or the adjacent bar as well.

As well, I'll post more details on those coming from out-of-town. Accommodations will be arranged for those who need them at the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor, only blocks from the bar/stadium, and at the DoubleTree Hotel at Tyson's Corner, Virginia only a 45 minute drive from the Inner Harbor where the stadium/bar is.

If there is interest, I'll lead a D.C. by night tour and a night out somewhere cool on Friday evening and if there's still interest, some D.C. sightseeing on Saturday morning as well.

Accommodations:

The hotel at Tyson's Corner will be no more than $64/night, perhaps less. I believe the Holiday Inn IH will be ~ $150/night. Both hotels are extremely nice, the DT is a 4-star, I'm sure the HI is the same. Tyson's Corner is extremely convenient to just about everything in the D.C. area and extremely accessible (i.e., right off the interstate).

Attractions/activities:

D.C. area options for Friday evening or Saturday morning: Georgetown on the water, Old Town Alexandria, sightseeing, etc.

The Baltimore Inner Harbor area is also really nice in the summer. There's a very nice aquarium and an ESPN Zone along w/ a variety of other attractions.

Pre-game activities:

Sliders is a really cool bar w/ an upstairs should we have enough people. They'll give us their happy hour beer/drink specials and the food is very reasonably priced. They may have a beer truck out front and then an area outside for hanging out outdoors, but they were not sure at this time about that. Also, if it's hot and humid, we'd rather be indoors in the A/C no doubt. They've agreed to use Wy's Wings wing sauces, so that will be available on the wings as well.

[WG]

If anyone has any questions, please e-mail me and make sure you put something about the August 9th PS Bills game in the header. Or just post it here.

Also, if there are any particular interests for visiting the area or suggestions or requests, please post them here or send me an e-mail.

Thanks!

Questions:

Originally posted by Jan Reimers
Do we have a tentative time for the get together at Sliders?

Tentatively: 2 p.m., Saturday, August 9th. The game begins at 8 p.m.

[Jan Reimers]

Do we have a tentative time for the get together at Sliders?

[clumping platelets]

[Valerie]

Originally posted by Jan Reimers Do we have a tentative time for the get together at Sliders?

You're coming up for that game, Jan? Isn't that a far drive just for a preseason game? Not that I wouldn't enjoy meeting you. How long will the drive take you? Are you going to be spending the night? Are you brining your wife too?

[Jan Reimers]

Jaded - It's about 6 hours from the Outer Banks to Baltimore, but we're Bills fans and need to get away. I'm not sure if I'll make the preseason games in Buffalo, since that's about a 12 hour trip. My wife and I will stay over Saturday night at the Marriott Inner Harbor hotel. We really like Baltimore, and went to the Bills-Ravens game there a few years ago when Flutie rallied us at the end.

Looking forward to meeting you , too. Warning: My wife Lynda is a big Flutie fan.

[Valerie]

Originally posted by Jan Reimers Warning: My wife Lynda is a big Flutie fan.

Warning: I'm sure I'm the BIGGEST Doug Flutie fan going. :) I'm sure we'll get along just fine!

BTW, I was at that Baltimore game too! That's the game where I realized Baltimore fans are a nasty bunch. A group of guys a few rows behind us were throwing peanuts at me! I was wearing my Flutie jersey and I guess they weren't Flutie fans. lol

I'm looking forward to meeting you and Lynda. :)

[G. Host]

Originally posted by Jaded 7
BTW, I was at that Baltimore game too! That's the game where I realized Baltimore fans are a nasty bunch. A group of guys a few rows behind us were throwing peanuts at me! I was wearing my Flutie jersey and I guess they weren't Flutie fans.

Is this a Baltimore game reunion?
I went to the Baltimore game along with a group of 190 people from my bar and our seats were at the very edge of the stadium and it was a very long drop behind us. There appeared to be about 10,000 Bills fans there and the majority of the Ravens fans left early so you could hear the Bills fans singing after the game.

I still remember cries "Give Cleveland back its team"

[R. Rich]

Hey Jan, that's cool that you're coming up for the game. Your wife is a Flutie fan, huh? Well, although my wife is not a Bills fan (she, like my brother and my Mother, loves the Steelers-BOO!!), she is also a fan of Flutie. She still has Flutie football cards from his days in the USFL and at BC! Hey, I admit I became a Flutie fan after the rally he engineered in the Jacksonville game in '98 (the naked bootleg to win the game; I was at that game and it was GREAT!!!), but all the drama surrounding the two QBs really soured me on Flutie.

[R. Rich]

Originally posted by G. Host


Is this a Baltimore game reunion?

I wish I could say I did go to that game, but I didn't. Those tickets were sold out BEFORE individual tickets went on sale(that game sold out before the Steeler game that year!); I was not happy. I did watch it on TV though, like a lot of others did.

[WG]

You didn't miss much except for the last 90 seconds. The only reason the Bills were even in that game was b/c, I think it was Northern, intercepted a pass that never should have been tossed. Baltimore all but had the game in the bag.

Flutie lucked out w/ only a couple of solid plays at the very end of the game. He SUCKED all the rest of the game! All I remember is fans complaining about him from the 2nd Q on to the end of the game.

Anyway, the seats were way up in the 500s and I'm sure we were all together. I did a large TGing party for a Bills Backers group led by a J. Nola up in Buffalo. We had fun at the party, but believe me when I tell you that the only decent moment of that game for Bills fans was at the tail end of it. Of course a win is a win, so we were all happy for the moment. LOL

This one should be pure fun w/ no stress. It'll be fun to hang for several hours prior to the game mostly and then go in to see all the rookies and new players in their uniforms. I can't wait to see Spikes in a Bills uni!!!

[G. Host]

I got an interesting e-mail from Wegmans

for my Bills Backers Group and since both of the principles (myself and Jimmy, owner of Jimmy's Old Town Tavern) are going to be at tailgate I was thinking of trying to get Wegmans as a sponsor. What do you think? Maybe we will get some knicknacks.

A New York State favorite, Wegmans Food Markets, is coming to Northern Virginia in early 2004. As part of their communications efforts, they want to make sure everyone from New York knows of their impending arrival. Wegmans would like to work with the Bills Backers, and I'd like to explore different ways they could be involved. Do you have sponsorship opportunities? Do you events for which you will need coupons or other little gifts/gadgets? Do you have a need for gourmet treats?

[WG]

What would you want from them?

BTW, they're opening up a new store, which is coming along nicely, in Sterling VA out near Jimmy's.

At the rate it's goin' up I'd say that it'll be opening later on in the early fall.

[WG]

As well, I've been speaking w/ the POC at Sliders and they may have a "block party" where there's a Bud truck out front and they close the street off. It's difficult to imagine if you haven't been there on that street. But she thinks it will happen.

We'd still have the option of hanging indoors or out. She also said she'd give us some sort of markings so that we can get the two-fer specials and rail drink specials. Either way, the food options would be a BBQ outdoors or their regular menu in. If it's hot and humid out, we'll hang inside.

They were very accommodating w/ my wing sauce as well. The cook who does their wings hails from Buffalo, so I'm excited to see what he serves on their wings as well.

Anyway, she couldn't have been nicer! Sounds like a great location!

[G. Host]

Originally posted by Wys Guy
What would you want from them?

BTW, they're opening up a new store, which is coming along nicely, in Sterling VA out near Jimmy's.

At the rate it's goin' up I'd say that it'll be opening later on in the early fall.

Do not really know but they contacted me via my website and asked.

I know they provided stuff at training camp and I was wondering what tyoe of trinkets (posters, photos, etc) they might provide. Maybe a prize or two.

I was going to ask them for sponsorship of Jimmy's annual raising of money for Hunter's Hope and maybe for UB reunion day at Jimmy's but was looking for more ideas both for Backers Club and for our tailgate.

To those who do not know me I am the one who suggested R. Rich get in touch with Wys for combined TBD-BZ Tailgate party.