Hi guys.
Just reading the posts, and I too have a few questions. I am from Australia, and have been to the states three times before, but never to a football game, so some of the customs and cultures you have I need to get my head around. No disrespect intended trust me.
I will be in Houston for the Miami game Thursday night Oct 25, and intend of taking in the experience of tailgating prior to the game. We haven't got tickets yet, just finalising a few things. The questions I have.
1. tailgating. What happens there. As a visitor, and all the cooking and drinking that goes on, do the tailgaters offer visitors food, do visitors offer to purchase food, drinks etc. Without wanting to offend any tailgaters, how does it run.
It depends largely on the tailgate. Some are family-friendly and take all comers, while others have "memberships" and expect a certain amount of $$ to guarantee drinks and food.
2. With the Thursday night game, what changes from a sunday arvo game. How much time should a newbie get to the stadium to take in all this stuff? Is Thursday night a pain in the ass traffic wise. It looks like we may be staying in Galveston for 3 night so thats gotta be taken into account with times and travel etc,
Yes, Thursday night games are a pain in the a**. Galveston to stadium commute would be insane (45-50 miles). I'd head into town early that day and make sure I was in the stadium area by 3pm. (Without a parking pass to that area, you cannot enter until 30 min. AFTER that lot permits parking) Note that many tailgate groups will cut short, or have less amenities than usual due to the abnormal start.
3. The food that is for sale in the stadium, what do you recommend. Spicy stuff is out, but the missus and I love hot dogs, beers, but what is the 'must try houston specialty.'
Killen's BBQ. Look for local beers on tap at some of the "Bar" locations
Map to concession location - http://www.houstontexans.com/gameday/concession-maps.html
4. Parking - is it a nightmare, or do I park a few miles out and uber it in.
For Thursday night, it'll be a nightmare unless you are in the immediate area beforehand. There is no official lot that takes cash. Without pre-paid parking, you have a couple of options. One of the easiest is park-and-ride from Metro, where you can take the train (rail) right to the edge of NRG property. Alternatively, you could take Uber from anywhere near downtown to the stadium, though pick-up would be a bit more entertaining (as it'd be hard to get through the exodus to get you).
Thanks for the impending replies.
Looking forward too meeting and having a beer with you guys.
Brad