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Special thanks to Tom Schlaker of Delaware North Companies Sportservice and the St. Louis Rams organization for graciously extending an invitation for me to continue my crusade.

 

See my other visit to the
Edward Jones Dome:

June 2007 Edward Jones

Stadium Review #12 - The Greatest Show on Turf
Columbus Day weekend was to be the backdrop for my trip to Stadium #12, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO.  The additional day off, thanks to my new favorite explorer, was the perfect excuse for a road trip to St. Louis (my apologies to Ponce De Leon, but you don’t have a national holiday named after you).  The icing on the cake was an offer for free tickets to the St. Louis Rams game from Tom Schlaker, the Delaware North Companies Sportservice General Manager, and the St. Louis Rams organization.  So armed with a pair of tickets to the game and an extra day off from work, Crystal and I were on our way to St. Louis in SmarTruck Jr. 

St. Louis makes for a great weekend getaway.  I found the downtown area to be clean and safe to walk through at night offering plenty to see and do.  After a visit to the Gateway Arch and a complimentary tour of the local Anheuser-Busch Brewery (free samples included), visitors to St. Louis have plenty of options for local restaurants and bars with live St. Louis jazz and blues.  We stopped in at BB’s Jazz, Blues, and Soups for a bowl of their chicken gumbo and a sampling of local blues music.  LaClede’s Landing, adjacent to the Edward Jones Dome is a thriving bar scene with restaurants, nightclubs, and bars.  I highly recommend stopping in at The Big Bang, a dueling piano bar, and then checking out Club Buca for overpriced drinks and eye candy.

 I was equally impressed with the St. Louis Rams fans and the gameday experience offered in their fair city.  Gameday kicks off early on Sunday morning, with tailgaters in the parking lots next to the stadium.  Parking is $30.00, but out come the umbrella tents and full sized grills firing up a plethora of cholesterol-laden meats.  The local radio stations also host organized tailgating parties next to the stadium with live bands, free giveaways, and a mini-version of the NFL experience.  The game itself was an exciting touchdown-fest as the visiting Arizona Cardinals outlasted the hometown St. Louis Rams to post a 34 - 31 victory on the road.  Tom came through with excellent seats in section 114 on the 50-yard line.  But it seemed that I was seated in a fairly quiet and subdued section of fans, as when I left to answer nature’s call, Crystal overheard some wondering what happened to the “loud guy with the camera”.  When I returned, wearing my throwback St. Louis Rams, Lawrence Philips jersey I held out hope that I might see a thrilling come from behind victory, but it was not meant to be. 

After the game, Crystal and I were invited for a behind the scenes stadium tour including some time down on the field.  To get the full Edward Jones Dome FieldTurf experience, I ran my own version of the “Greatest Show on Turf”, running go-routes in the endzone as I caught touchdowns from the golden arm of Tom Schlaker.  In the waning moments of the imaginary two minute offense in my head, I went deep and cradled in a remarkable over the shoulder grab which I took 98-yards for an impressive, game winning touchdown a-la Torry Holt (if he were 5’7” with blazing 6.3 40 speed).  The experience left me hopped up on adrenaline, and hunched over ready to collapse. 

The Food - Toasted Ravioli
All visitors to St. Louis must try their toasted ravioli, which is a local delicacy.  A breaded, deep fried ravioli that is served with a fresh marinara, the toasted ravioli makes for an excellent starter to any meal.  The stadium food and beverages at the Edward Jones Dome are excellent.  I highly recommend the Big City Red Dog, a tasty 13-inch dog that compliments their locally brewed Anheuser-Busch products quite nicely.  I also liked that individually packaged servings of sour kraut are available to accent your sausage or dog experience.  I grabbed a bunch of those little condiment rarities and shoved them into Crystal’s purse – those will come in handy someday.
 

St. Louis Rams
2008 NFL Schedule

     1 Sun, Sep. 7 at Philadelphia 1:00 PM
     2 Sun, Sep. 14 N.Y. Giants 1:00 PM
     3 Sun, Sep. 21 at Seattle 4:05 PM
     4 Sun, Sep. 28 Buffalo 4:05 PM
     5 Sun, Oct. 5 BYE
     6 Sun, Oct. 12 at Washington 1:00 PM
     7 Sun, Oct. 19 Dallas Cowboys 1:00 PM
     8 Sun, Oct. 26 at New England 1:00 PM
     9 Sun, Nov. 2 Arizona 1:00 PM
    10 Sun, Nov. 9 at N.Y. Jets 1:00 PM
    11 Sun, Nov. 16 at San Francisco 4:05 PM
    12 Sun, Nov. 23 Chicago Bears 1:00 PM
    13 Sun, Nov. 30 Miami Dolphins 1:00 PM
    14 Sun, Dec. 7 at Arizona 4:15 PM
    15 Sun, Dec. 14 Seattle 1:00 PM
    16 Sun, Dec. 21 San Francisco 1:00 PM
    17 Sun, Dec. 28 at Atlanta 1:00 PMM

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