Coolest place you've ever played a sports event.

Minute Maid Park & Jacob's Field.

We were team sponsors and did events where we did a "fantasy camp" followed by a pick up game.

We also did an employee and customer events on the court at Madison Square Garden, but I didn't personally participate in those.

 

While covering NBA playoff series, we would play media games as out-of-town writers vs home writers. Played at Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium, the Spectrum, the Meadowlands, the Richfield Coliseum, Hinkle, the Fieldhouse in Indiana, etc. That didn't suck.

 

I did laps in the Olympic pool in Munich where Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals.

I played golf in St Lucia, a nine hole course where a Cow was tethered to the tee box on the par 3 over looking the Carribean. The cow kept the grass short.

 

In high school, our conference rented out the RCA Dome in Indy every four years. Obviously, the thought was you'd get to be on the field and play once in your high school career. Thankfully, my game there fell during my senior year. We lost, but I actually had a really solid game at WR, four or five catches for near 100 yards.

I'd had the chance to walk the sideline there twice before because my father was an assistant coach, so I wasn't quite as amazed by astroturf as my teammates were. I'll never forget one freshman getting his ass chewed because as we entered the stadium, in street clothes, he took off sprinting for the game field and started dancing because he was the first to "touch the turf". Rummaging through some stuff at my parents' home, I came across that game tape recently. It was fun to watch.

I shot around in Hinkle Fieldhouse while my wife was a student there. I'm a classic farmboy Indiana kid, so that was quite a thrill. Also, we talked our high school assistant coach into driving us to Knightstown, Indiana (Hickory High's home gym) one summer. This was the late 90s and the gym wasn't really a tourist attraction that it sort of is today, so a guy unlocked it for us and let us shoot around for a couple hours.

Again, not interesting or noteworthy to those non-Hoosiers, but I've played basketball at Kokomo's Memorial Gym, New Castle's Chrysler Fieldhouse, Anderson's Wigwam, Marion's Bill Green Arena, and Richmond's Tiernan Center. (Believe it or not, I went to a little county school...not an NCC school). Those are five of the top 12 or so high school gyms in the nation based on seating capacity.

 

Wrestled againt Evanston High school at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. Also was in the stands at Assembly Hall for state wrestling tournaments.

 

I'm a Navy veteran, so not sure if you are bragging or asking for condolences!
Funny story: In '92 I was decomming a ship, so we got to talk straight with the detailer to get our choice of duty stations. One guy asked for shore duty on Diego Garcia. This was just at the real dawn of computerized everything. The detailer said "Uhhhh, I don't have that in my computer. I'm going to have to check a book."

 

I have shot around on the court at the Palestra, and played in an annual "touch" football game at Franklin Field -- sports vs. everybody else at the newspaper -- and probably got concussed. I also ran at Penn Relays as a senior, when the college newspaper's 4x100 got our butts whupped by 40-somethings from Runners World.

My first 5K, last month, was through the Lincoln Tunnel.

I've only done ridealongs at Charlotte and Texas Speedway. Actually being behind the wheel must be amazing.

 

I played two games at the Philly Spectrum. Our home rink was where the Flyers practiced so if they changed the practice schedule they would take our ice time in return for time there.

 

Being in the race car all decked out in a fire suit, helmet, etc. was pretty cool. I still think being in my truck banditting the track was better! I was there for an infield presser. Arriving way early and knowing no one would really care, I took full advantage! I've also done a ride along on the track with Austin Dillon in a truck. We were going about half the speed as I was in the race car, and about double what I was in the my truck, but I was still kind of hanging on.

 

I got nothing, but my brother played a vintage base ball game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, which I thought was cool. I think he also played at the Field of Dreams field in Iowa, but not 100% positive on that.

 

The day it snowed at college in Florida, students ran for the stadium pretty quick. Back then there was Astroturf, which helped the snow stick longer, and we all had one hell of a snowball fight. Put up a snowman, too.

That was a pretty sportin' time.

 

I played basketball at Armory Fieldhouse at the University of Cincinnati. It was the Bearcats' home court during the Oscar Robertson era.