Nosebleed section

In the United States and Canada, the nosebleed section are the seats of a public area, usually an athletic stadium or gymnasium, that are highest and, usually, farthest from the desired activity. A common tongue-in-cheek reference to having seats at the upper tiers of a stadium is "sitting in the nosebleed section," or "nosebleed seats." The reference alludes to the tendency for mountain climbers to suffer nosebleeds at high altitudes.

The term appeared in print as early as 1953 when it was used to describe the last row in the end zone at Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium (later John F. Kennedy Stadium) during that year's Army-Navy football game.[1]