49ers vs Arizona Cardinals

Back to Levi’s Stadium

Game day dawns for the match against the Arizona Cardinals. Breakfast in the hotel finishes at the ridiculous time of 9.30 am on the weekends, so I have to get up a bit earlier. It’s an OK breakfast.

I leave my room at 10.45 am. Outside, walking up N First Street I am passed by an Old Ironsides train. VTA are obviously not sticking to their timetable because my train wasn’t due for another ten minutes or so. A train arrives at 11.05 am, so not too bad. I get off at the Levi’s stop at 11.25 am.

It’s a glorious early Fall day in Santa Clara. Not a cloud in the sky and expected to be about 75º F by mid-afternoon. The tailgate is in full swing as I walk around it but some folks – more than normal it seems to me – are still arriving. I get a free Gold Bar whisky cocktail, which I think is on some sort of promotion with the 49ers. Later on, I see the whisky being promoted all over the concourse. There are short videos of the tailgate on YouTube via these links: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3 and Video 4.

The tailgate is as good and raucous as ever. Time moves on though it’s time to enter the stadium. I’m in the United Club again this year. I decide to eat earlier than normal. It’s busy in the Club but there are no queues for food now, whereas leaving it until nearer kick-off sees queues build-up at the serving hatches. I have a Philly Cheese Steak, which is new from last year. It’s good.

How Much For a Beer?

But OMG, the beer is even more expensive this year. $21 for a pint!!! This is just a pure rip-off but as I discovered last year, at least the food is now free. After eating I do the trip around the concourse, but am struck by the lack of Cardinals fans. I think I see only two on the whole walk. Very strange considering Arizona is not that far away. There are none in any seats near me later on either.

For the national anthem this year they’ve dispensed with the large American flag that normally covers the pitch, for some reason. The usual military fly-past doesn’t happen either because planes from San Jose airport are taking off over the stadium this afternoon.

49ers Win

Despite apparently dominating the game and getting up 21-3 at one point, the 49ers defense gets a bit lax and doesn’t stop the Cardinals on two successive drives.

Suddenly it’s 21-6. On the second drive the Cardinals attempt a two point conversion that the defense thankfully does stop. The offense then asserts itself though, ups its game and the 49ers win 35-16. I had some good banter with a large-ish family sitting around me, both football and vacation-related. We were all chatting, high-fives all around on scores and lots of shouted encouragement for the 49ers. The 49ers played well, were clearly the better team on the day against the Cardinals. The Niners are now 4-0 but the Cowboys come to town next weekend for the season’s toughest test to date.

Banjo Man still going strong

Into the store after the game and I find a t-shirt I like. Expensive, as ever, but it is what it is. There are no queues back at the VTA station – but there are no trains either, in both directions, on any line. It’s fully 25 minutes before a Green Line train arrives. Not good.

I’m back in my hotel room at 6 pm. I decide to chill out for an hour before heading downtown to Rookies Sports Lodge. When I arrive after a VTA trip down there, I realise it’s been five years since I was last in there, pandemic and all. It doesn’t seem to have changed much though.

Rookies Sports Lodge Again

I choose a good IPA beer but can’t decide how hungry I am. I end up choosing some Buffalo Wings, thinking I won’t finish them all but I do need something. They are good but I don’t finish them all.

There are a couple of 49ers fans a few seats away. Then another fan turns up and these three get into some banter that I begin to wonder if it might escalate into something a bit nasty. I chip in a couple of times but things stay clam, thankfully. It’s closing time and the two fans leave but I’ve still got some beer left. The other bloke then asks me what I want – an offer of a drink. So I have a JD. He fills his beer glass then asks the server if we can stay and chat.

My guess is he’s a regular so she agrees. But he’s a bit weird. I can’t figure him out. He starts a discussion then lets it peter out to nothing. And what he’s saying I can’t get a hold of and respond meaningfully. After about ten minutes he just gets up and walks out. No goodbye, nothing. Most bizarre.

I say goodbye to the lady server and exit into the night. A train arrives pretty quickly and I’m back in my room around 10.30 pm. I then realise I’m very tired for some reason. I go to bed early for me at 10.50 pm and must have fell asleep soon after.

What a great day back at Levi’s Stadium.