Sure, I won't complain when the Earthquakes get a new stadium in 2014, but in the meantime, I…read moreactually find Buck Shaw pretty endearing. If you're a Quakes fan, you'll definitely want to make sure you go for some games here before the team leaves.
The best thing about playing at Buck Shaw is the intimacy - you feel like you're right down there with the players. Because it's a college stadium - and not a massive sports arena that seats tens of thousands and doubles as a concert venue - you're really close to the action and the rest of the fans, no matter where you sit. Most of the time at sporting events, you end up actually watching the massive TV showing you what's happening on the pitch, but at Buck Shaw I spend most of my time watching the players themselves, because they're so close. The pitch isn't as large as some soccer fields are, so even if the action is happening way at the opposite end, it's not too far away.
I really like the crowd at the Quakes games - a great mix of families and groups of friends in their 20's and 30's. Everyone seems to be there just to have fun and have a good time. It's not like some sports where you get very unruly fans, or even like European football which suffers from a lot of hooliganism.
Before the games, you can get food and drinks from the food trucks that set up there and enjoy the pre-game atmosphere. If you arrive really early, there's usually a special item given out at the match. Plus at the end, when we win, you get a collectible pin of one of the players.
Your experience at Buck Shaw will be most enjoyable if you come prepared. Yes, the seats are uncomfortable, but that's what those portable butt pads are for. If you want back support, then be sure to book your seats in the sections with seat backs. And please for goodness sake, if you're a lady, use the bathroom either before you arrive at the stadium or before the game starts. The one bathroom I went to before the game had three stalls. Yeah that line is going to take forever during halftime.
Useful tip - if you want the most affordable seats, pick up vouchers from T-Mobile for the T-Mobile PowerPlay Zone. They're $15 each, and then you take them to the Earthquakes offices and redeem them for any game in the season. And because no seat in Buck Shaw is a bad seat, you don't have to worry. And the section is right near the Ultras (but not too close!), so you really feel the excitement of being there.
As far as parking goes, it's definitely confusing because there are at least 5 lots and they're not clearly marked on El Camino, but if you get there early, you can get parking in the $10 lot. The stadium is also really convenient to the Santa Clara Caltrain station across the street. For our last game, we were coming back from SF so we got off the train at 6, getting plenty of time for the pre-game festivities, and then we caught the train down to SJ at 9:43 - perfect timing on both ends.