Top 20 Places to Watch Sporting Events

jwfgeol

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Aug 16, 2007
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Knoxville, TN
A local columnist had this in the paper today (venues he has been to personally for a sporting event).

1. The Rose Bowl - A National Historical Landmark with a backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains and Southern California weather. This place has it all. I can't wait to get back on Labor Day.
2. Notre Dame Stadium - The facility itself isn't outstanding but the setting and tradition are. No place else has Touchdown Jesus.
3. Churchill Downs - Do yourself a favor and take in the Kentucky Derby once in your life.
4. Neyland Stadium - This isn't a homer call. Neyland should be on anyone's list.
5. Yankee Stadium - Even sitting through a two-hour rain delay to see the Mariners play was cool.
6. The Swamp - Next to Neyland, the best scene in the SEC.
7. Madison Square Garden - I've never seen a game of much consequence there but just sitting in the seats picturing Willis Reed limping in or Ali-Frazier is moving.
8. FedExForum - It's still new but what a fabulous venue for basketball, especially a UT-Memphis game. And Beale Street right outside the door.
9. Tiger Stadium - The one in Baton Rouge, and it's got to be a night game.
10. Freedom Hall - A second great venue in Louisville. Home to six Final Fours and a nifty 1980s overhaul.
11. Sanford Stadium - I could pick even more SEC football settings but I'll stop here, between the hedges.
12. The Pit - I've seen the Vols lose three times in Albuquerque. That long ramp from the locker room down to the playing floor makes visitors think they're descending into the netherworld. In a sense, they are, once the altitude and the home crowd kick in.
13. Orange Bowl - By 2003 it had seen better days but I'm glad I spent a few hours there before the wrecking ball arrived.
14. Bud Walton Arena - Better than Rupp. Great sight lines. Love the band marching in. (But watch out, Thompson-Boling is gaining ground all of a sudden.)
15. Dodger Stadium - I was surprised to see a huge rat on a spotless concourse. Still, it was a well-groomed rat.
16. Assembly Hall (Illinois) - Like SEC football, I've never seen a bad atmosphere for Big Ten basketball. Too bad Chief Illiniwek got retired by the PC police.
17. O'Connell Center - It's funky but the "Rowdy Reptile" students and the humidity make visitors sweat.
18. California Memorial Stadium - Where else can you see naked guys in trees up close and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance?
19. Pauley Pavilion - A Garden of Eden campus, all those banners, plus the UCLA cheerleaders.
20. Hayward Field - They don't call Eugene, Ore., "Track City" for nothing. It's the only place where a crowd of 10,000 cheers every lap and charts every discus throw. OK, you had to be there.
 
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Apparently the columnist has never been to Columbus. I would've imagined the Horseshoe would be on just about any top list to watch a sporting event.
 
Apparently the columnist has never been to Columbus. I would've imagined the Horseshoe would be on just about any top list to watch a sporting event.

He probably will on Sept 7, 2019 when Tennessee plays in the 'shoe for the first time.
 
Yeah. A lot of the sites he mentions seem locality based. (Ex. a lot of SEC sites)

Yeah, he admits there are a lot of college venues because that's where his itinerary takes him. I think his stipulations were that he personally had to attend a sporting event there and the stadiums had to still be in use (he omitted Crosley Field in Cincinnati and Tiger Stadium in Detroit).
 
A local columnist had this in the paper today.

8. FedExForum - It's still new but what a fabulous venue for basketball, especially a UT-Memphis game. And Beale Street right outside the door.

12. The Pit - I've seen the Vols lose three times in Albuquerque. That long ramp from the locker room down to the playing floor makes visitors think they're descending into the netherworld. In a sense, they are, once the altitude and the home crowd kick in.

8. Too bad they don't have a real pro team.

12. If Houston/NC State had played their 1983 title game elsewhere, do the Wolfpack win? I thought the location played a role in the outcome.

No Lambeau or Wrigley Field? VERY surprised.
 
Yeah. A lot of the sites he mentions seem locality based. (Ex. a lot of SEC sites)

I agree, so I am going to add some based on places I've been to.

1. The Palestra in Philadelphia - You can feel the history of college basketball oozing off the walls.

2. Angles Stadium - Absolutley gorgeous.

3. Arrowhead Stadium - Chiefs fans are very loud.

4. Fenway Park - I dislike the Red Sox, but how could you possibly leave this off the list?

5. Wrigley Field - Haven't been to a game there, but I did drive around the outside of it when the Cubs were out of town.

6. Shark Tank - Best of the new NHL arenas.

7. The Big House - Drove past it, will never go to a game there. It's like sunken into the ground.

8. Camden Yards - Broke the baseball stadium mold.

9. The Colosseum in Rome - Have to see it to believe it.

10. Camp Nou, FC Barcelona - Went on a tour there in the summer. Spectacular, they have huge screen videos of what it's like when it 's filled...unbelievable. The largest stadium store I've ever seen. I think the store can hold almost as many people as the stadium.


Sandra
 
This is a great thread. I'm going to amend the original post and add two categories...great places I've been to that no longer exist, and places I've never been to but desperately want to see a game at:

Great places I've been to:
1. Montreal Forum - Amazing history, although the new Bell Centre sounds louder on TV.

2. Boston Garden - I saw rats, and not all of them had Celtic uniforms on :)

3. Maple Leaf Gardens - Old and historic.

4. The Spectrum - Now hosts AHL games.

5. LA Forum - I've never been to Staples Center. Reminded me of Madison Square Garden without the blue seats.

6. Mile High stadium - Bronco fans are loud...and mean. Bunch of bullies. The only place I've ever actually felt threatened.

Places I must get to:
1. Rexall Place in Edmonton.
2. The Saddledome in Calgary.
3. The Pit in New Mexico.
4. Great America Ballpark in Cincinnati.
5. Neyland Stadium in Tenenssee.
6. Cameron Indoor Stadium in Dukieland.
7. The Swamp in Florida.
8. Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
9. Tiger Stadium in LSU.
10. The Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry.
11. Rupp Arena in Kentucky.
12. Wembley Stadium in England.
13. Old Trafford, Manchester United
14. The Bernebeau, Real Madrid
15. Ibrox in Glasgow when Rangers plays Celtic - a rivalry like no other anywhere on the planet.
16. The Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
17. Aztec Stadium in Mexico City.
18. Camp Nou when FC Barcelona is playing.
19. San Siro Stadium in Milan when AC Milan is playing Inter Milan. Both teams call San Siro home.
20. Any stadium in Tahiti (because I want to go to Tahiti!)


Sandra
 
This is a great thread. I'm going to amend the original post and add two categories...great places I've been to that no longer exist, and places I've never been to but desperately want to see a game at:

Great places I've been to:
1. Montreal Forum - Amazing history, although the new Bell Centre sounds louder on TV.

2. Boston Garden - I saw rats, and not all of them had Celtic uniforms on :)

3. Maple Leaf Gardens - Old and historic.

4. The Spectrum - Now hosts AHL games.

5. LA Forum - I've never been to Staples Center. Reminded me of Madison Square Garden without the blue seats.

6. Mile High stadium - Bronco fans are loud...and mean. Bunch of bullies. The only place I've ever actually felt threatened.

Places I must get to:
1. Rexall Place in Edmonton.
2. The Saddledome in Calgary.
3. The Pit in New Mexico.
4. Great America Ballpark in Cincinnati.
5. Neyland Stadium in Tenenssee.
6. Cameron Indoor Stadium in Dukieland.
7. The Swamp in Florida.
8. Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
9. Tiger Stadium in LSU.
10. The Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry.
11. Rupp Arena in Kentucky.
12. Wembley Stadium in England.
13. Old Trafford, Manchester United
14. The Bernebeau, Real Madrid
15. Ibrox in Glasgow when Rangers plays Celtic - a rivalry like no other anywhere on the planet.
16. The Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
17. Aztec Stadium in Mexico City.
18. Camp Nou when FC Barcelona is playing.
19. San Siro Stadium in Milan when AC Milan is playing Inter Milan. Both teams call San Siro home.
20. Any stadium in Tahiti (because I want to go to Tahiti!)

Sandra

As for the one place you would NOT want to go to: Nassau Mausoleum.
 
As for the one place you would NOT want to go to: Nassau Mausoleum.

I've been there, it's a disgusting, rodent-infested, ugly, decrepit building that's ready to fall apart any minute now. Remember when the center ice scoreboard crashed to the ground when luckily nobody was in the building?

It fits, though, as Ice-lander fans deserve a building like that. They're a bunch of front-running fans who come described as empty seats unless the team is playing well.

The entire organization, from the owners to the fans to the team to the building to stupid Ice Girls that bother Henrik, should all go away and never return.

My mood just went decidedly South.....


Sandra
 
I've been there, it's a disgusting, rodent-infested, ugly, decrepit building that's ready to fall apart any minute now. Remember when the center ice scoreboard crashed to the ground when luckily nobody was in the building?

It fits, though, as Ice-lander fans deserve a building like that. They're a bunch of front-running fans who come described as empty seats unless the team is playing well.

The entire organization, from the owners to the fans to the team to the building to stupid Ice Girls that bother Henrik, should all go away and never return.

My mood just went decidedly South.....


Sandra

A Rangers fan who hates the Islanders and looks like Rosalyn Sanchez?

Wow... I think I'm in love... :luvlove::luvlove::luvlove::luvlove::luvlove:
 
A Rangers fan who hates the Islanders and looks like Rosalyn Sanchez?

Wow... I think I'm in love... :luvlove::luvlove::luvlove::luvlove::luvlove:

Umm...no.

I also said Roselyn Sanchez is perhaps 1,000 times prettier than me. Maybe 1,000,000. I was just trying to give an idea what I look like when someone asked. My hair is very similar to hers. Facially, not quite...........;)


Sandra
 
If you ever go to Great American Ballpark let me know.

Rupp Arena is a tough ticket to get for Kentucky basketball.
 
The authors selections are a joke...moreso since you need to separate the various sports before any objective or subjective rankings can be made.
I'll reiterate that he said these are places that he personally has seen a sporting event. I should have put that in the original post. Wrigley, Lambeau, Fenway, etc. would be on any list of top stadiums. Chances are he has never been there.
 

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