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Do you still enjoy attending games?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by MTM, Mar 23, 2015.

  1. mpcincal

    mpcincal Well-Known Member

    I'm a person who still prefers being at the games live and soaking in the atmosphere. And I absolutely love going to a new ballpark/stadium/arena for the first time just to see what it's like there. And I went to Arizona week before last, hitting six games in five days with my dad and uncle and enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.

    Baseball's my favorite sport, and I enjoy major and minor-league ball whenever I can get it (Where I live is about two-three hours from the nearest teams), and I had a great time at the two Chargers games I went to in recent years. Seeing both those sports on TV is great, but like I said, I just prefer the experience of being there when I can afford it. I really don't care much about basketball either way (though I would like to see the NCAA Tournament's opening weekend sometime), and hockey to me is the biggest gap between live and TV -- I love to watch a game live, but have trouble getting into it on TV.

    One thing about me is I'm single and childless, so I can just go on a daytrip sometimes to see a game in Anaheim on my own and it won't cost as much. Also, the key is not doing it too often. Ever since I was a kid, going to a game live was a special thing because we just didn't get to do it all the time. One year, in 1981, my Dad got Angels season tickets with four other guys (we lived a half-hour from the Big A at the time), and even with just a quarter of the tickets (and some of those being wiped out by the strike), in the latter part of the season it got to be more of an obligation rather than a treat to go to the games. To this day, the only sport I would even consider season tickets would be football (8 games a year, once a week), and for reasons stated by others above, I would have to really think about it.
     
  2. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    I don't know how prevalent it is across MLB, but it's always been the case that you can bring food/drinks into the Ballpark. Our first game there as a family -- shit, that was a long time ago -- it was back-to-school night and they gave out these cool backpacks with a little zippered, insulated pouch at the bottom. I immediately confiscated all three -- the kids certainly weren't going to use them for school -- and we use them to this day. Of course you can't take booze, but we'll pack several bottles of water, some Gatorades, individual packets of crackers, goldfish, etc. Makes a helluva difference in the bottom line. Usually all I buy there is a couple of beers for Mom and me and maybe a thing of cotton candy for the youngest.
     
  3. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    When it comes to pro sports, that's my philosophy. We live a few hours from the nearest pro team, but if we're ever on vacation in an MLB city I'll make it a point to go to a game. And I'll splurge. We'll get good seats, eat overpriced ballpark food, and generally say "screw it" for a night. When you only go once a year or every two years, it's easy to take that attitude.

    I also enjoy wandering around the ballpark and soaking it in. I remember going to a Cardinals day game at Old Busch Stadium, and for some reason they had an American Legion game there afterward. There were a few hundred people watching it, so the place was almost empty. I hung around for the whole thing, moving around the lower bowl and just looking at the architecture. It was interesting.
    I love sitting in an empty stadium. One of my life's goals is to go to a Marlins game or something where there's only 1,500 people in the crowd. You're damn near guaranteed a foul ball and you get to look at the intricacies of the place. Good times, man. Good times.
     
  4. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I have two minor league baseball teams and a minor league hockey team within about a 45 minute drive. We usually go see one of them at least once a year, especially if there are discount nights. They're a lot of fun.

    Local D-I college football team's roughly an hour away. Haven't been to a game in years, mostly because I'm working when they're playing. Would like to go again sometime.

    For MLB, we usually go to one, perhaps two games a year, just because of the cost. Usually we find a place to eat lunch or dinner near the park before the game, so it's less, and then have a drink and a snack at the game. We find tickets on Stubhub, usually for less than what the team is charging. When we've traveled, I try to go to a visiting ballpark. I've found seats on the foul lines for at least 1/3 less,and sometimes half, the price the team is selling them for.

    Only been to one regular season NFL game in my adulthood. Would like to go again, but costs, plus, as many have noted, time is also a factor. It would be an all-day thing for a mini-vacation. Have to get the energy and desire to go.

    Haven't been to an NBA game in 6, 7 years. No real reason. We usually do try to get to an NHL game at least once a year, but we didn't get to go this year.
     
  5. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Never to the NFL. I don't know when I will go to the Niners' new stadium -- maybe for Wrestlemania or the monster trucks.

    Try to get to minor leagues, where there's a merchant night with free tickets.

    We will go to both baseball teams once a year, and I like going to A's because you can sit anywhere ... But the kids do like the gleam of the ballpark in SF.

    Their favorite sport to attend, by far, is hockey. They also kind of like MLS (and the new stadium here is supposed to be a jewel).

    I'll probably never go again without my kids, though. The days of a couple of beers at the game with friends are long past. I've tried it recently and it's just an awkward reminder of what we aren't.
     
  6. Twirling Time

    Twirling Time Well-Known Member

    I go to at least one MLB game a year. A former co-worker gets season tickets and they are about 25 rows straight back from home plate. Face value is $48. If I had to pay it, it's worth every penny. Only way I'll ever take in a baseball game live.
     
  7. KYSportsWriter

    KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

    I've only been to one pro game, when the Yankees played in Cincinnati in 2012, and spent around $140 -- $50 ticket, $50 for gas, $25 for food/drink/program at stadium and $10 for parking. It was great to finally get to see an MLB game.

    We do have two minor league teams -- Louisville and Lexington -- about an hour or so drive away. Last time I went to a game in Louisville, parking was free and the tickets were about $10 for lower level seats. The food prices were outrageous, and so was the team shop. Prices in Lexington were about the same.
     
  8. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    USMNT matches, yes. Everything else, no. I'll watch it on TV.
     
  9. SpeedTchr

    SpeedTchr Well-Known Member

    I live near teams in every major pro sport and several major D1 universities, as well as a host of minor league franchises, and don't go to any of them. I lost my love for most sports after years of being forced to watch for work. It's amazing, for example, how much 8+ years of women's hoops coverage will make a person hate that damn sport.
     
  10. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    Also, one of the perks of minor league games is the in-game awards/promos. My favorite is free car washes to the dirtiest vehicle in the parking lot.
     
  11. Gomer

    Gomer Active Member

    My decision to go into journalism changed how I enjoyed my sports. I miss being biased and emotional. I'd love if I could suspend my need to analyze.

    Still go (not as a reporter) to a few CFL games every year, one NHL game (only when we're gifted tickets, can't afford them otherwise) and a handful of summer league baseball games. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but I always look at the fans losing their minds with excitement and wonder if I'd have been like that had I not chosen this profession.
     
  12. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Still dying to see a Premier League game in person, preferably the most heated rivalry when neither side stops chanting.

    Caught an Ajax game in Amsterdam about 10 years ago and it was cool at times but the game was boring and the crowd followed suit.
     
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