Review: NFL Experience Made Feet, Me Sore
The weekend attendance numbers for the NFL Experience came out today: 42,238 visitors packed the convention center on Saturday (a one-day record for the attraction), and another 35,152 did the same on Sunday.
So that explains why, during the nearly three hours I was there Sunday, I spent about an hour and half standing in line—for three activities.
It would have been one thing if, at the end of each wait, I had been thrilled by a gravity-defying rollercoaster ride. Or watched a circus freak hammer a nail into his head. Or seen the Mona Lisa.
Instead, I got to attempt to toss three footballs as far as I could, throw two footballs through a moving hoop, and watch a teenager in my group run a timed 40-yard dash. (I declined to participate in that last trial because my feet were numb from all the standing and shuffling.) He finished the run in 5.4 seconds. Thirty minutes in line for 5.4 seconds.
At the risk of stating the obvious, I should point out that I could have staged each of these exercises in the park near my house with a stopwatch and a few props.
I suspect that the NFL Experience is more enjoyable when it’s possible to stroll around and sample the offerings at leisure. Which would probably mean going on a weekday. Be advised.
