Favorite sport to attend as a fan?

Ah, memories. My uncle used to race greyhounds ("dugs" as he called them in his thick Glaswegian brogue) in Scotland. He said on race day he'd run his down on the banks of the Clyde River to tire them out or fill them full of brown bread and water so they'd be sluggish come race time. Then the next time out he'd starve them so they'd go off at big odds and he'd clean up.

I've been to greyhound racing in Florida and it's pretty exciting but seems to be far more regulated now than it was in the old country.

 

Mr Huggy,

If you missed the parade, you'd never know which of the dogs had been stuffed. You might as well by a lottery ticket in that case.

My cuz raises and races them (from his chateau in Calgary, he trips to Fla.) Can't beat it.

YHS, etc

 

I was at that game as a fan as well. I snuck into Uncle Sam's section. I was a ruthless asshole to Mexicans that night. And I loved it.

 

Interesting. My experience is that some dog along the inside rail always wipes out around the third turn, taking about two or three other dogs out of the race, two of them invariably the pair on which I boxed an exacta.

 

Major-league baseball is great; in fact, most events are great in person. But I can't remember a more compelling afternoon/evening than attending a football rivalry game at the youngest Editude's college this fall. Standing the entire game, people body surfing after touchdowns, an inspiring sense of hope and expectation, and postgame eats with a bunch of fired-up fans. Good times.

 

Hockey ... a great game in person (and, I appreciate it on TV). To me, there are few better sights and smells than walking into an empty arena, with a big, bright white sheet of ice dominating the building, and smelling that chilled-water smell.

The games are usually tense, fast and I really enjoy the mix between the speed and the power (even at the lower levels of the game, which I'm usually stuck watching).

In the warmer months, baseball ... although I've been spoiled, having grown up with historic stadiums (old Bush Stadium in Indy -- of "Eight Men Out" fame -- was a miniature version of Wrigley ... I have little motivation to go to its comparatively nice, but blase, modern replacement). Thankfully, Wrigley Field is a short daytrip away.

 

Hockey. 'Nuff said.

 

Every sport at every level (pro/minors/college/even prep) has it's positives and negatives. There is something special about international soccer (while you guys mention the last US/Mexico game, my favorite US games were Mexico Feb. '01 (Columbus) and Jamaica Oct. '01 (Foxboro, the day bombs started flying around Afghanistan - back when the War on Terror was about some Osama guy) when they clinched a spot in Korea/Japan.

Not sure if you want, but on a different message board people started throwing out their favorite sporting events they've attended (here, we could probably put an "as fans" moniker to keep it in line with the initial subject.

6. Ohio-Florida - 2005 NCAA Tournament
5. USA v. Mexico, Feb. '01, Columbus
4. 33rd Ryder Cup, TCC
3. 1999 MLB All-Star Game - Pregame and 1st 2 innings only.
2. 2004 ALCS Game 4
1. 1999 ALDS Game 5 Boston-Cleveland

 

Amen

 

Is there anyone who thought piping in music DURING the game is a good idea?

 

I can really seem to only stomach the sports that I've covered the least. For me that would be baseball and hockey.

I like baseball because it isn't too terribly expensive, you usually can always get tickets on short notice and I've become more of a fan in the past few years.

I like hockey for many of the same reasons others have mentioned. I've been known to go to minor league games when I'm on the road for hoops in the winter if the schedules work (for example, a Friday night before a Saturday game).

 

I love checking out a baseball game because it's laid back, easy to get to and it's an experience in itself. Sure, it's fun to go to a basketball game or a football game, but every baseball park is unique in itself and being at a game there, to me, is just another checkmark on the list.

Oh, and if it's a good game, that's a huge bonus.