I am not much a sports traveler.  I don’t chase “my” teams.  I don’t go checking off famous sports arenas.  I don’t chase big sports events.  Heck, what am I saying, I am not much a sports spectator.  I do it in big occasions (usually involving Georgia Tech, my alma mater) or when the opportunity comes up to do so and enjoy being with family or friends (which, I admit, is not often).  However, there are some things I have greatly enjoyed related to sports and travel.

All that said, I can get into sports easily when the right opportunity comes up.  Here are some examples of how travel and sports have offered some great experiences…

Traveling to the Olympics

First on that list is going to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics which I shared in another post.  Yes, a big enough event gets its own post :).

I worked in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, lived in the Olympic Village, and got to see many events (for free and in the dignitaries’ seating area!) – but that was not travel for me (though it was to many who came to be part of this great event).

With my awesome Mom at the Olympic Village cafeteria

Traveling for the Olympics may involve more expensive hotels than normal for the location, patience with crowds at events and in public transport, etc.  But it is a fun way to see a new place.  The older I get, the less likely I am going to want to deal with the crowds of these large events but I may have a Football (Soccer) World Cup in me…

Baseball’s World Series

Baseball may or may not be the world’s most boring sport (or is it cricket?) though it is a fun sport to be at to socialize.  But when the stakes are high, it can be as intense as any other sport.  I got to watch game 2 of the World Series in Toronto in 1993 where the Blue Jays played the Philadelphia Phillies.  I was working in Toronto at the time and our local office partner was able to produce tickets for us to attend (he wanted us happy about having to travel to Toronto weekly for months on end).  No complaints here.  And Toronto won that series on game 6.

My ticket!

Rugby Down Under

The day I landed in Sydney, Australia from the U.S. there was a key rugby match (away) between New South Wales and Queensland.  My friend is a big fan of his home state’s team and he asked if I was too tired to go to the pub with him to watch.  I was jet lagged and had spent the day walking around the city but could not say no.  Well, I could have but part of me was intrigued about how Australians watch their sports in pubs so I tagged along  He did a great job explaining the sport and the differences between union and league as I had watched international rugby matches before and was getting a little confused by what I was seeing in this match.  In any case, though I slowed down during the middle of the game, I soon got my fourth wind of the day when the game approached its exciting end.  It was a great intro to Australia right after arriving to hang out with him and his friends watching a sports event that locals love.

I had coincided with the Rugby World Cup when I went to Paris in 2006 but was not clued in before I went and was not yet too into the sport to have bothered to try to watch a match.  I regret that as I now find rugby an exciting sport to watch.  By the time I went to New Zealand in 2009, I was more into it having watched on TV some of the international series.  So I enjoyed a couple of nights going to a local pub and watching with the locals.

An English fan in Trocadero and a rugby ball in the Eiffel Tower during the 2007 World Cup

And Football (Soccer) Down Under

While visiting friends in Melbourne, the opportunity came up to watch a football (soccer) match where Australia played Japan.  One of my friends and I went with some co-workers.

The match was a friendly match and nothing to write home about but what is something to write about is how much drinking goes on in these matches and how not-well some of the locals handle their over-drinking.  Yes, sometimes as you walked around the stadium, you had to hold your nose as not everyone managed to reach a trash can or a toilet on time.  It was like a minefield!  No pictures needed for this…

Phone photo does not expose the minefields!

Baseball around North American Cities

One cool thing about catching a sports event in another town is getting to see the arenas where these events are held (though some I could care less if I see).  Sadly, professional sports are way too commercialized and the owners hold cities and their taxpayers hostage (don’t get me going on this…) so I seek to not sponsor the businesses with any regularity.  But I don’t deny having enjoyed watching the Yankees play at the no-longer-around Yankee Stadium or the Mets at no-longer-around Shea Stadium.  Though I admitted not being much into sports travel, I have to confess I DO want to go to Fenway and Wrigley some day as well as watch the Green Bay Packers play at home in the middle of a snowstorm (for real!).

Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field

I may be biased but one of the most historic college football fields is Georgia Tech‘s Grant Field where Bobby Dodd Stadium sits which celebrates its 100th birthday this year (as a full stadium).  It IS the oldest stadium in Division 1.  And it is the site of the most home wins in Division 1 (I’d like to see more of these lately…).  The foundation of the stands was built by students back in 1913 – amazing, huh?   Of course, a lot of re-building has taken place on the facility, some good and some not visually impressive but it really is not THAT important as the facility is a great one to watch sports:  it is not an abomination in terms of size so you really feel close to the field and it has great views of the Atlanta downtown skyline (I love being in the west stands late in the afternoon – great colors!).   This stadium witnessed the most lop-sided win in history in 1916 (granted the rules of the game are not the same now) where Tech beat Cumberland 222-0.  Not even a basketball score gets that high!  All school loyalty aside, it is part of college football history and a great place to experience.  I enjoyed it as a college student and now as an alum!

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So all this said and done, the opportunity to visit a landmark in sports history has come my way and I will be going in January 2014.  Stay tuned to find out where this is!!!

What fun sports travel have you done?

What do you recommend I don’t miss out?