text: Tonight was incredible. I attended my very first football game, the Ottawa REDBLACKS against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and it couldn’t have been more fun! I had four tickets for the Club level seating on South side at TD Place and decided to bring along my sister, my sister’s boyfriend and Steve.
  We wanted to go a bit early to check out the pre-game entertainment and we’re so glad that we did! Outside, in one of the original buildings from Lansdowne Park, there was a tailgate party and in the area just outside of the stadium, there were food truck and music and tons of people having a great time. The energy was palpable!
  After spending some time outside, I was really anxious to get inside to get an official t-shirt and to check out the stadium. I have never stepped foot into a football stadium so seeing the inside of one was really, really exciting for me! As we were walking to the Club Lounge area, I was able to catch my first glimpse of the field with the bright lights and it brought me home to some of my favourite movies – Rudy was, of course, the first one to come to mind. There’s something quite magical about a football field surrounded by lights.
  We crossed from North side to South side and found the Club Lounge and what you need to know right off the bat is this: if you can afford to get Club tickets, DO IT. With Club seating, you get:
  At 7pm, the game started and the cheerleading and dance team, as well as the players, flowed on to the field in a great opening ceremony. I was SO excited to see the cheerleaders because, earlier this year, I did a workshop with them at their training facility on social media! To see the team on the field doing what they were SO excited about pre-season (and I’m sure are even more excited about now) was really, really cool.
  Pictured above: LOVED the field, the fans and the teams… So much passion and love of the game in this stadium.
  While the REDBLACKS didn’t win their game tonight, I still had an incredible time and I know that my friends did too. Between the amenities in the Club Lounge, the attentive staff, the fantastic food, the entertainment and the passion felt from the team, I had one of the best nights out that I have had in awhile.
  I’d HIGHLY recommend that you take your family to one (or more!) of the home games this year. The entertainment value is high, the production value is high and it truly is a one-of-a-kind experience right here in Ottawa. You can check out their schedule, buy tickets and more all on their website. If you do go, don’t forget to tag your social media updates with the hash tag #RNation so that you can become a part of the community online, too!