Another good reason to just stay home and watch all the games on the big-screen TV:
The NFL wants all fans patted down from the ankles up this season to improve fan safety.
Under the new "enhanced" pat-down procedures, the NFL wants all 32 clubs to search ticket-holding fans from the ankles to the knees as well as the waist up. Previously, security guards only patted down fans from the waist up while looking for booze, weapons or other banned items.
With this policy, you'd probably have a better chance of sneaking something through at the airport than you'd have an NFL game. At least at the airport, they have the serious purpose of preventing planes from being blown out of the sky. This seems mostly aimed at the tiny handful of hooligans who always try to ruing everything for everybody else.
What's that we've been hearing for 10 years -- let's be careful not to overreact to terrorism by willingly giving up our freedoms? Hell, we don't need terrorism as an excuse; we're more than happy to do it just because somebody in a uniform says to. The NFL issued a statement encouraging fans "to come early, enjoy their tailgating tradition and be patient as they enter the stadium." Riiiiight. Say, tailgater, open up that trunk, please; your car looks a little suspicious.
