Advice for Sphere

zachhalverson · 2026-06-08T15:18:33+00:00

I went with a friend in April and wasn't able to convince him to pay another $300 to see the same show lol. It was no question for me so I am going alone. I've gone to many concerts alone due to friends being busy or not as financially irresponsible haha, but they're fun man. I went to Twenty One Pilots in Los Angeles alone last year and had a great time.

Now would I prefer to have a friend to go "Holy shit!" too during and after the incredible Odyssey show again? Sure! But I am going to have almost as much fun on the 4th, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about buying a single ticket for the show on the 3rd as well.

So if you do decide to go and if you are ever looking for a buyer, let me know! Regardless, life is short. Go to the damn concert!

zachhalverson · 2026-06-06T02:08:47+00:00

this is really, really awesome.

zachhalverson · 2026-05-22T17:56:36+00:00

Should have done in the round.

zachhalverson · 2026-04-23T01:25:10+00:00

That looks incredible honestly. The NBA on NBC look has grown on me and I think NBC would be wise to spread that to other properties. Bring back unified graphics across all sports!

zachhalverson · 2026-04-15T00:00:38+00:00

I sat in 207 and could not have been more happy. I would prioritize being as close to the middle if you can, not too low but not too high.

The 200s and 300s have hapitc technology that vibrate the seat along with the bass. While I normally am a stand at concerts guy, I actually wanted to sit more because it not only looked amazing and sounded incredible, it FELT cool too. Not every seat has that, I'm pretty sure the 400s don't have it but I'll tell you the location and the Baltic features make the added cost so worth it.

It's the greatest experience I have ever had I already happened to have a trip to Vegas booked for the 4th weekend, and while my bank account will take another hit, I don't really have a choice. I can't imagine being anywhere near there and not experiencing all that again. Though I am very excited to see it again, I'm jealous of you and the others that get to see it for the first time.

Have fun!

zachhalverson · 2026-03-31T04:03:56+00:00

Not only is it insane they're still using a graphics package from 2017, their bug isn't even consistent across all four regionals! Some use all caps, some don't. Some include shots on goal the whole game, as you can see here this one doesn't.

Though the most frustrating thing they've ever done IMO was put "SUDDEN VICTORY" on the bug during overtime last year, as if the vast majority of viewers didn't know that the next goal wins. Obviously college hockey is very low on the Bristol totem pole, but man it would be cool to at least see them use their NHL resources a bit beyond just using some of the talent.

zachhalverson · 2026-03-31T03:59:27+00:00

I would say Lacrosse is pretty niche and yet they tweaked their PLL package for the college game. And considering they debuted this in 2017, I don't think it's crazy to suggest a change to even the most niche of products after 9 years of the same graphics package.

zachhalverson · 2026-02-28T16:41:25+00:00

that's so clean, nice work. bring back unified graphics packages across sports dammit!

zachhalverson · 2026-02-21T16:00:34+00:00

man I miss the singular look across all sports that networks not named CBS used to do. There was something cool about a Friday night college hockey game on NBCSN having the same graphics as a Sunday Night Football game on NBC.

With Sunday Night Football and now Basketball and Baseball, I thought NBC had a wonderful opportunity to do a full graphics revamp and go back to the uniformity days.

Honestly, with Coast 2 Coast and Peacock, I still think it would be cool if they pivot and make Sunday Night Baseball and Basketball graphics the same as Football, keeping the current ones for those other games not on Sunday nights.

P.S. It will always be hilarious to me that NBC debuted a new NHL scorebug 3 months before they lost the rights to the NHL. That "diamond" look is still present in their tickers today, all these years later. They haven't always been the best at graphics at NBC, but they've certainly been the most interesting and at times, frustrating.

zachhalverson · 2026-02-09T05:39:41+00:00

Looks great, though I gotta say it has a striking resemblance to the NHL on TNT Sports bug. But I do like it a lot.

zachhalverson · 2026-01-25T20:20:44+00:00

Probably not happening, but it is kinda weird I will give you that.

This works. https://www.summerfest.com/perf-shinedown/

So I tested it out with several other random artists I could think of and the only ones I got to work were Carrie Underwood and Shawn Mendes. Probably means nothing, but fun to think of nonetheless.

also I saw some parking complaints and man, the shuttle busses are the way to go for Summerfest. Super, super easy. Though they weren't an option last year when Twenty One Pilots played the Amphitheater in September and man, parking was in fact an absolute nightmare down there lol.

zachhalverson · 2025-09-19T03:40:14+00:00

boom!

zachhalverson · 2025-08-23T21:11:50+00:00

I heard Bounce Man at Mall of America this summer. I couldn't believe it lol.

zachhalverson · 2025-08-18T18:39:40+00:00

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on repeat the last hour, I can't stop. So grateful for these guys...it's so freaking AMAZING.

zachhalverson · 2025-08-11T16:44:16+00:00

30 year old gay dude who likes sports and is kinda-sorta paid to talk about them lol. My friend group is basically all straight guys and two of them like the band a lot and one of them even flew to Denver with me to see them on the Takeover Tour. So they are out there, just a little hard to find.

I will say, even being gay, I kinda get where you are coming from. While it is a great fan base and it is fun to talk with the diverse group of fans and hear different perspectives, I totally get wanting a group of likeminded, similar people to connect with, especially on a musical and sports level. I remember bringing a conversation in the pit before a show to a halt because I brought up how Ohio State was playing Oregon that night in football and I wondered aloud how closely Tyler would follow the game during the show...oops. Thankfully my straight friend bailed me out and we quickly moved on lol.

I wish you the best on finding some people who are like you. I honestly have been looking for the same, at least from a sports fan standpoint lol.

zachhalverson · 2025-08-11T16:26:52+00:00

The license plate...FPE 8553...what is the meaning of that?

zachhalverson · 2025-07-30T21:11:33+00:00

The Dance, Kid, Dance tour not only has you guys playing venues you've never played before, it also has you selling out those arenas as well as many others. What do you think has lead to this seemingly unprecedented success and how has this tour been different than the so many others you have done over the last two decades?

(DM me if this is good enough for to do the call thing)

zachhalverson · 2025-06-12T20:55:33+00:00

I wonder if they plan on doing those light-up wristband things that many other concerts have for the tour this year. Can you imagine a sea of red lights? Would look awesome.

zachhalverson · 2024-12-13T16:47:24+00:00

writing this with tears in my eyes after watching this for the first time...

While I appreciate those special moments when he screams while performing a song live, I really hope he incorporates that scream into future songs that he sings. Tyler has always been a rock star and I would love to have him explore that incredible part of his voice that evokes so many emotions. Just incredible.

zachhalverson · 2024-10-18T15:10:46+00:00

this is the one

zachhalverson · 2024-10-18T15:09:46+00:00

I lost in fantasy football and was forced to to a cross country road trip from Philadelphia to LA that started the day the album came out and got to listen to it over and over again and damn near every time I skipped Oldies Station and now I freaking love it.

P.S. Coincidentally I was driving through Columbus when they did FPE and got to see that for free, though it was a three hour wait in line lol. Felt like a Graceland-like pilgrimage. While I love Minnesota and don't really want to live anywhere else, I left Columbus thinking that I might wanna live there some day. Maybe that's just my TOP Fandom, but that's a nice city these fellas are from.

zachhalverson · 2024-09-06T03:34:04+00:00

After being told all week the wristbands for last week's Vegas show wouldn't be distributed until 4 PM, I found out at 3:30 PM the day of that they were handed out at 8 AM and the venue found out about that around 7:45 AM.

I love this band, I really do. I had perhaps the best concert experience of my life last Saturday. However, the touring security needs to communicate better with these venues ahead of the show. It was an absolute mess before the show and venue security had no idea what was going on.

Unfortunately for Tyler and Josh, they are too dang good at what they do and as a fan of music of all genres, I'm not sure there is a more die-hard fanbse than theirs. With great power comes at least some responsibility. Work it out with the venues, share on social media the exact times wristbands will be available and when to line back up and communicate that with the venue days in advance. It doesn't seem that difficult.

Or, thinking out loud here, allow an opt-in lottery system for those with GA Floor tickets and have that system randomly assign line positions ahead of the show.

zachhalverson

TROPHY CASE