American Football in New York

Have you ever experienced the craziness and atmosphere of American football in New York? Attending an NFL game is one of the most exciting experiences you can have on a trip to the city.

The two biggest football teams in the city are the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Get your tickets and get ready to enjoy America's top sport live and in style - you'll have a great time!

Founded in 1925, the New York Giants are the American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. They belong to the Eastern Division of the NFC (National Football Conference) and throughout their history have won 8 NFL titles: four in the pre-Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and four more after the advent of the Super Bowl (XXII in 1986, XXV in 1990, XLII in 2007 and XLVI in 2011).

The New York Giants face their most passionate rivals the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, their legendary rivals.

Founded in 1959, the New York Jets compete in the Eastern Division of the AFC (American Conference) of the NFL. Since the 1960s, the team has not reached the Super Bowl and is one of only three National Football League teams to have won only one Super Bowl in its history, along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints.

The Jets' most iconic, stadium-shaking rivals are the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.

Both the Giants and Jets share the same stadium. Both play at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, located just 30 minutes west of Manhattan.

• Where: 1 MetLife Stadium Dr, East Rutherford, NJ 07073, USA.
• How to get there: You can get to the stadium by public transportation by taking the Coach USA Bus Service Meadowlands Express 351 bus service from Port Authority to MetLife Stadium on game days and get there in about 30 minutes. To get your bus tickets you must go to the Coach USA ticket office directly.

The best way to get your NFL tickets and enjoy a great American football game is through the internet, because going to the MetLife Stadium to try your luck if there are tickets left shortly before the games is not very advisable.

You can buy your tickets online at the Hellotickets website, both for the New York Jets and New York Giants.

The price of a ticket for an NFL game in New York varies from 20 Euros to 1500 Euros. This difference will depend on several factors:

• The teams playing each other
• The venue chosen in the stadium
• The time of the season when the game takes place
• How far in advance you buy your tickets

American football is the number one sport in the United States and tickets for the games are sold out months in advance. If during your trip to New York you want to include a football game, I advise you to buy tickets online before you travel.

• To go to a football game in New York the demand is high so it is common for tickets to sell out quickly. The key is to buy them as early as possible to get the best seat in the stadium at the cheapest price.
• Since the American ticket market is dynamic, prices go up as the date of the game approaches and supply decreases (just like flights, for example). If you wait too long, you run the risk of running out of tickets or having few tickets at a high price and in sectors with less spectacular visibility.
• Moreover, when you buy football tickets online you can choose the place you like the most. In my opinion, this is the quickest, easiest and safest option.
• Buying football tickets at the box office means that you will have to buy them when you are in New York, so you will have to adjust to the ticket window hours, travel to the stadium and wait in a very long queue to buy them.
• By getting your football tickets at the box office you will be months later than when you could have bought them at home. So there will be far fewer tickets left and perhaps at an unreasonable price. Or they will be sold out due to the high demand of the NFL.

MetLife Stadium is a new and large stadium. In general, there are no bad seats inside the stadium and you will be able to feel the atmosphere and the excitement of the game in any section of the stadium. However, when it comes to choosing a good seat in the stadium, the idea is to balance a good seat with your budget.

If you're a football fan and want to get a closer look at the plays and players, I recommend you invest a little more money to get good seats. The experience is worth it!

In any case, if you have doubts about the visibility of each sector, when you buy football tickets online you will see a picture on the screen with the exact views from each seat so you know what to expect from each location. Ultimately, the price of NFL tickets depends on how close you are to the field.

One of the things that sets the NFL apart from other major American football leagues is the apparent equality of its 32 teams. In other words, every team has a real chance of winning, which makes the NFL even more exciting.

If you're wondering how the football season works, you should know that the 32 teams in the National Football League are divided into two different conferences, the NFC (National Football Conference) and the AFC (American Football Conference), which are made up of 16 teams each.

Throughout the year there are many key dates in the football calendar to keep in mind:

Training Camps (late July)

Before the start of the pre-season games, NFL teams gather at various American universities for a few weeks to train and prepare for the first friendly matches.

Pre-season (August)

The pre-season takes place in August and NFL teams play between five and eight friendly games before the start of the season as such. Football tickets are usually cheaper for these games.

Regular Season (September - December)

The NFL regular season has a 17-week schedule with a total of 256 games against same-division opponents, as well as several interdivisional and interconference games. During the regular season you should mark your calendar for several important dates:

NFL Playoffs (early January-early February)

After the regular season games, the top two teams from each conference qualify directly for the Divisional Round Games, where they face the four winners of the Wild Card Playoff Round. From the Conference Championship Games, the winner of which will play in the Super Bowl.

At this stage of the competition, the teams play each other in the play-offs and only the best teams remain. The games become even more exciting and the price of football tickets for the NFL Playoffs goes up, but the spectacle is totally worth it.

The Super Bowl (February)

It's the game every team dreams of winning! In the Super Bowl, the champions of the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference battle it out for victory in a do-or-die battle. The whole country comes to a standstill to watch the sporting event of the year and it is almost like a bank holiday.

Naturally, football tickets for the Super Bowl are the most expensive of the season because everyone wants to be there and witness this great game, it's a unique experience!

When to go to the stadium?

MetLife Stadium is located in New Jersey, quite far from the centre of New York, so on match day I recommend that you get there well in advance so you don't arrive late in case there are any unforeseen circumstances on the bus ride to the stadium. At least an hour before kick-off.

This will also give you time to wander around the area, visit the team shop, find your seats or buy a snack. You will see the atmosphere before the game and how the stadium is gradually filling up. A sensational moment is when the players take the field: the stadium roars and the fans welcome them like heroes!

Is it possible to eat inside the stadium?

Yes, inside MetLife Stadium there are many food carts selling sandwiches, pizza, sandwiches, tacos... there is a lot of variety although the prices are a bit higher than outside.

However, you can also enter the stadium with food in clear plastic bags and bottles of water or soft drinks of 0.59 litres or less as long as they are factory sealed.

Is it possible to bring backpacks or cameras?

How long is an NFL game?

An American football game can last almost 3 hours. If we talk about the Super Bowl, it can last 4 hours including the musical show.

Do children pay admission?

According to MetLife Stadium's admission policy, children up to 34" (86.36 cm tall) can enter the stadium for free but must sit on the lap of an adult who has their own ticket. Also, MetLife Stadium does not allow prams or nappy bags.

If you are a sports fan and want to attend another event during your holiday in New York I recommend you other options such as: