After 54 stadiums, and counting, here's a trip down memory lane

"How's the new stadium look?" has been a popular question thrown my way in recent months. I'll let you know when I see it.

No, I haven't done any of the tours because, well, it's a stadium.The field, I'm sure, is 100 yards long with two end zones and a pair of uprights. As for the bells and whistles, all the new stadiums are beautiful and, for the most part, built to satisfy the modern fan who won't go to a three-hour football game unless it feels like a two-week spa vacation.

Curiosity got the best of me on a walk this morning. How many stadiums have I been to since covering my first NFL road game in 1991? BTW, that was for a p.m. newspaper, in which I flew home to write the stories after the game at Foxboro Stadium. That's where the Patriots were coming off a 1-15 season, hadn't won a Super Bowl, played in an erector-set dump called Foxboro Stadium and were coached by Dick MacPherson.

The answer: 54, including neutral sites in Canton, London and Toronto.

U.S. Bank Stadium will be No. 55 when the Vikings play their first preseason game there on Sunday.

In a 32-team league, I've covered 20 teams in two different home stadiums. I've covered two in temporary homes, so the Vikings will become the first I've covered in three different home stadiums.

I've covered two teams — Rams and Raiders — that have had two cities, and one city — Houston — that has had two teams.

Of the 32 teams in the league right now, there's only 14 that I've covered in only one home stadium. So if you wonder why NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell shows up for ground-breaking ceremonies for practice facilities it's because The Shield is running out of candidates for new stadiums.

But this is a good thing. Pardon the Grumpy Old Men moment for someone who remembers actually packing a lunch before going to Cleveland Stadium to watch the Browns play. We didn't notice the decrepit stadium. In fact, we kind of liked it, except for when the action on the field took place behind one of the poles holding up the second deck. Or when Brian Sipe got bounced head-first off the Indians' dirt infield.

Except for touchdowns and really exciting plays, games were watched from the seated position because nobody in your row needed to get up every three minutes for sushi or a latte. We sat in way too small seats with way too big coats. At halftime, you ate your bag lunch. And you leaned over your food because the kids and the drunks liked to spit off the walkway above your head.

But if the team was good and it won, and Ozzie caught a pass, everyone went home happy with no mention of restroom wait times (if it was too long, you went in the sinks, people!), sound quality, internet connection or birds flying into windows.

Best stadium atmosphere: For me, it's hard to beat Lambeau Field. But I'll veer from the obvious and say Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Runner-up would be old RFK Stadium in Washington. Both of those venues had a college-like experience that was special.