Sports & Fitness US Sports - Favourite Places

I'm a huge sports fan and have grown up on Cricket and Rugby League. Boxing Day at the MCG and State of Origin at Lang Park are two of my favourite sports experiences. But in recent years I've come to love 3 US sports leagues. I love their rich history, amazing stadiums and fanatical fans.

Three of my favourites are: Oriole Park at Camden Yards Baltimore. Universally accepted as the best Ball Park experience in the States (PNC Park in Pittsburgh is right up there too). A magnificent stadium in downtown Baltimore not far from the Inner Harbour, and right next door to the NFL Ravens stadium.

Heinze Field, the home of the famous Pittsburgh Steelers is a magnificent experience, and if your seats are in the right spot you get a stunning view of the city skyline which is one of the best in the country. Always sold out, the fans are amazing.



New York Islanders at Nassau Colesium. Unfortunately the Isles are moving to Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, and the locals aren't happy. The Colesium is actually one of the most dated and uncomfortable stadiums I've been too, but it is like none other for atmosphere - and I caught a puck here and did some frosty tailgating, which is another great social aspect of US sports; NFL mostly.

Having a BBQ in a 25000 space car park (KC Chiefs) is a truly amazing experience and unlike anything we experience here.

Anyone else follow these sports? Basketball is not up there with these three IMO.

 

I grew up playing baseball. 20 years ago I was lucky enough to get the chance to not only visit Dodger Stadium with a rep team, but take batting practice on the field. Guys spend their entire pro career in the minor leagues and never have a moment like that. We also walked out on the field before the start of the Dodger game and got announced to the crowd. I'll have the memory of that day with me for life.

So... what was the question again?

 

Oh yeah.

I saw the Canucks play in Vancouver and there was 3 goals, 2 fights and a broken pain all in just the first period. That was cool.

One really nice little ground is the SkySox field in Colorado Springs. Been to a few AAA baseball games there and it's cool how intimate the atmosphere is. When you cuss a player, you know they can hear you

 

Some notable ball parks:
Yankee stadium
Fenway park
Dodger stadium
Wrigley field

All if these have a history of sporting moments...

 

I really love live Hockey. The skill of those guys is amazing. The puck control while travelling at such speeds is brilliant. Fights are relatively rare these days, but that's ok, the big body checks into the glass is still fun to watch.

The only minor league ball park I've been to is the Brooklyn Cyclines out at Coney Island. Just as much fun as the majors.

 

Nice, what a great experience. I've toured heaps of the stadiums and you often get into the dugouts and walk the warning track. Not as cool batting practice though.

 

All great places. The only one I haven't visited yet is Dodgers. Of that list, I rate the new Yankee Stadium as the least memorable. It's a great functional,stadium, but even on opening day the atmosphere was not like so many of the others.

The Phillies have great fans and a good Stadium. That's a great sporting town.

 

Yeah, Philadelphia reminds me of Melbourne ..A real passion for sports.

 

Yea phil seems to be the city to visit , they have big following for all their teams of all their sports.

Is there any overlap in the seasons? I'd want to go to different sports on the same trip. NBA would be higher priority than the others listed in this thread, though I don't really follow a specific team any more.

 

Although I've never been there, lambeau field, home to the gb packers is an experience. Can you imagine what that would be like in the dead of winter...those cheesehead fans are die hard... Heard reports of roadkill being cooked up for BBQ in the parking lot by fans before the game, especially if it's against their nemesis the Vikings.

 

You should be able to find schedules online
If NBA is your favourite amongst the others, I'd try and make it to a knicks game at Madison Square garden .

 

Went to see the L.A Dodgers play in L.A...

It was OK, but took almost 2 hours to get home due to traffic to get out of the joint..

So, yeah....yawn.

Not in love with any sports arena per se; just the sport in it.

 

Yeah there is overlap, and Philly is a great place to do it as all the stadiums are right together. I was there in April and saw an afternoon flyers game then walked next door to the evening Phillies game. There is also NFL/MLB overlap in Sept.

They are the two months I like to go. April for the close of NHL and opening of MLB. Opening day at any ballpark is a great experience. Then September for the start of NFL and close of MLB. this Sept I'm heading to a few more NFL games including Steelers V 49ers (might see Jarryd Hayne), Jets home game and Ravens home game. And then to a few more MLB games including the Yankees closer against the Red Sox.

There is certainly NBA overlap with MLB aswell.

 

I haven't been there, but have been to a few "tailgates" at other stadiums. It's a cool experience, and so friendly. They will take in anyone to their BBQ except opposition fans of course. Some of their cooking setups and menus are the most extravagant imaginable.

Some of the car parks open up to 6 hours before kickoff so people can be pretty lubed up by game time, and many don't bother going into the game, with the tailgate being the main event for them.

 

Agree with this. Anything at MSG is great. I saw Knicks Celtics which was ok. Can be a bit more expensive than other places of course. Rangers at MSG is amazing, but very expensive.

 

Great thread - I'm a huge NBA fan and don't mind NFL. In 2020 in dragging the family around to watch lots of live sports.

We were actually heading over later in the year but that trip had to be put on hold.

Cheers

Jamie

 

Saw SF Giants play, pretty good view. Saw Barry Bonds hit a home run into the water when he was only a few short of the all time record. The 'Giant' dogs were giant in name only I worked out.
I went to the big flea market at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena and had a sticky beak inside the stadium, pretty impressive, so much history there. Would love to see an NFL game over there one day but have never been during the season.

 

Given the amount of games the teams play in these leagues, there is so much opportunity to catch games. I think it is 82 games per team per season in NHL and NBA and 162 games in MLB. There is always something on, especially if you will be spending time in the North East where the major cities are so close together.

 

Any baseball fans looking for a fun display of big hitting, the Home Run Derby was on this morning and there is a replay running now on ESPN.

 

Saw the Lakers play at the Forum. It was getting pretty run down by then.

And saw the San Diego Chargers play at home. The game was good, but getting on the bus with the cheerleaders afterwards was much better!