What are the best places to watch a game?

[ranchofan]

You know Stogi even if you are a Newman fan you are like me ..... we love our tri-tip. That is a piece of meat I love to cook. I love it with a dry rub or marinated, getting hungry just thinking about it.

[pops]

Best place is on top or in the announcer's box. Dry, warm and exclusive!

[ranchofan]

Well pops how about that invite??

[newmanfan]

1st Newman Game home game this weekend! Hope i can get a good seat it should fill up fast.

[pops]

ranchofan, just walk into the booth and pretend you belong there. A video camera and camera stand really helps.

[Ben Herrington]

haha, thats how the Live Streaming works too...

[sainttown]

This topic really encouraged me to make a profile lol. I played not too long ago, all over the NCL, I've seen my share of good fields and not so good ones. Among them...

Timberwolf Stadium (Fort Bragg)- Playing in 40-50 degree weather in the middle of thick fog is a pretty unique experience, especially the large amount of people who show up to support the Timberwolves. Feels like an open field when the fog rolls in.

Coach Carlson Field (Ferndale)- Not an NCL school, but definately a great experience. Went there for the playoffs in 06. Reminded me of Hoosiers haha. The small town really does congregate to support the Wildcats; there's a community band (which plays a tune which to this day is still stuck in my head, nothing like seeing your team go down in the last minute while hearing that song), crowds of people pouring out from the stands onto the field. The field itself should be classified as "mud spray painted green". I played one play and in running out to and from the field was covered in mud. Is there any other way to play??

Patterson Memorial Stadium (St. Helena)- Great stadium (stadium being a bit of a stretch here given the open feel to it). New turf field, new scoreboard good audio system, and some good bleachers (at least on the home side). About 20 years ago it was an absolute dump but it's the best field right now in the NCL South. Unfortunately while St. Helena boasts about having the "small town feel", the crowd is anything but. Hundreds of people pour in for the first two quarters and leave by the third even if the Saints are winning. The snack bar is pretty pricey as well, compared to others around the area. The rosters of the undefeated teams of 1960-1965 are a nice touch, as well as the bricks near the snack bar with former Saints' numbers or messages. The announcer though...gah.

Maize Field (Willits)- This one is my personal favorite. It's got a terrible track and the grass is atrocious, but it's got a homey feel to it. The Willits fans at home were much more subdued and calm than the ones I saw at home games (you will not believe how the girls from Willits throw themselves onto opposing players! ;D ). The band, oh wow, dominated by a tuba, they played some pretty rural selections, I was expecting a jug solo! Not to call them country bumpkins that is.

Napa Memorial in nearby Napa is amazing. If you haven't seen Napa play Vintage in the annual big game you are definately missing out! I've also heard that games at Elsie Allen are great given the amount of support to the team, even if it doesn't reflect how well the team actually does.

[scobserver]

thanks sainttown for the tips.....my question about ferndale, i've been the town long ago, there seemed to be two stadiums...one squeezed in by the high shcool, another in the middle of the grass area at the horse racing stadium....which one do they play in? If I remember right, the one at the school has no track and is astightly fit as I've ever seen bleachers...naturally I loved it!

i guess places like laytonville, point arena, etc. all have the "open" feel in that you can practically just walk along the sidelines and follow the scrimmage, there being next to no bleachers, etc.

[sainttown]

I remember asking my coach that same question! The one squeezed by the high school is the one used for football. The other is used for baseball/softball. At least I'm pretty sure it's for softball/baseball, I may have taken too many hits to the head in my time.

Let me reiterate about St. Helena; it doesn't have the "open" feel that the smaller mountain schools have (there's a track and a fence keeping you from the field). But it feels open in the sense that you feel far away from the action, as if everything is too spaced out. From the snack bar, you can barely see what's going on on the field given the large amount of space in your way and the large number of students who gather around there.

I probably wouldn't enjoy games at laytonville or round valley; after going to Napa Memorial a few times and seeing CN play, most small school stadiums/fields don't seem that interesting anymore!

[newmanfan]

Healdsburg is my Favorite place.

[zorn]

Hometown feel.. I love Healdsburg. stadium feel...Buchanan high school in Clovis was pretty damn impressive.

[oldcoach]

Any body at the Egg Bowl this year? 4,000 people on a great sunny day. Best high school football day I have ever seen.

[penguin]

I haven't been to many places outside Sonoma County, but I always prefer the stadiums where the bleachers are as close to the field as possible. Which is why I like El Molino's visiting side. Yes, the field stinks and the lights may be the worst in the county, but you're right on top of the field. And if you can find a good seat in home bleachers in St. Vincent's new field, it as the same feel.

[cotterstone]

sainttown, Great post, I have been to all the fields you mention except Carlson. I'm hoping to see a game there next year.
Penguin, SV is working hard towards bigger bleachers that match the fields. The Mustangs plays Calistoga this Sat. and I hope you find the best seat in the house.

[mustang]

The REC in Healdsburg is a dump!!!!!!! Absolute DUMP.... Portable bathrooms, high grass, bad lights, opposing teams have to change out in the grass of the baseball field because there are no locker room facilities. Absolute DUMP!!!!! uneven playing surface, old goal posts, no parking, below average snackbar.....did I say DUMP!!!