Ever considered what it would be like to go to every stadium of your favorite sport?

[Mitchell]

This is for all the sports fans of the TMF. Have any of you considered what it would be like to view a game in every stadium or arena of your favorite sport? When I was younger, I used to dream of going in the car and driving to see a game in every baseball stadium. I've heard of people who have done this. In fact, there are at least two books to my knowledge of people who did a trip such as this. Back in 1985, a man named Bob Wood, a teacher from Washington state, drove his Toyota over 15,000 miles to see games over a two month period in every baseball stadium. Being that he was a teacher, and had limited resources, he managed to get complimentary tickets from about half the teams to their games by writing to them and stating that he was traveling to every baseball stadium for the purpose of writing a book. He did his trip the affordable way, staying in campgrounds, motel 6's and friend's homes to cut down the cost. This book is one of my favorites. It is well written, and thrilling to me of how a man could spend time and drive so many miles to accomplish a dream.
Then, in 1998, a college student, John Nordhal, drew upon Wood's idea after he saw him on a TV interview, and decided to do a similar trip to every NBA arena, a more difficult task even because Nordhal did his trip in the winter, when he also had to battle snow and ice. There was a more updated book written in 1998 by someone who's name I cant remember. He did a trip to all the baseball parks as well, this time covering 30 stadiums as the leagues had expanded to more cities since Wood's trip in 1985. One has to be a devoted fan and very perservering to do such a trip. My question to the sports fans is: If you had the time and money, would you ever consider making such a trip to every arena of your favorite sport? I've thought of it, but doubt I would. Unless I was a multimillionaire, which I'm not, flying to all those cities wouldnt be possible. Driving all around the country for two months so many miles would just seem too darn far to do, and wouldnt be cheap either, as hotels and such would come into play along with food, tickets and gas. Taking a trip to every arena in a sport might be a pipe dream, but it is great to read about such trips from the experiences of others, to know that such a trip can and has been done.

Mitch

 

[the_Baron]

very interesting topic mitch.

while i don't anticipate making one of those trips, i do still try to take in a baseball or hockey game whenever business or vacation brings me to a new location. over the years i've had the chance to see some of the stadiums and arenas and i have enjoyed it very much.

 

[Traveler]

Me personally,I go to the most beautiful ball park 5 to 6 times a year,that park is Wrigley Feild in Chicago.I know I am biased,but everytime I go there I get just like a little kid.It is one of the most beautiful parks in the major leauges.I know might be off topic but,really only park that I would like to visit would be Fenway in Boston,and sit on top the green monster🙂

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Only if I could be selective...
For instance, I have no desire to go to any games at Tropicana Field in St. Pete. The place on TV looks like an indoor Kinney garage, and the crowd noise sounds like the guys I used to hang out with in the high school bathroom to smoke cigarettes and pass joints around.
Wrigley Field is another story! I'd love to go there.
I've been to Fenway. EVERYONE should see Fenway. There's something about the place, the atmosphere, the smells, the green paint on the stanchions...it's like the old Yankee Stadium, before it was redone in the '70s. I'm sure the old Comiskey and Forbes Field had the same feel to it.
Camden Yards is great, and imagine how really great it would be if the Birds became competitive...I used to go to the old Memorial Stadium when I visited my family down in Baltimore. The place had a unique flavor. It was horseshoe shaped, and had tremendous acoustics! If your voice was loud and powerful enough, you can heckle the opposing batter to distraction, and they'd hear you from foul pole to foul pole. One night, I swear, I made the muscles bulge out of George Brett's neck...Memorial Stadium is gone, too now.
One of my absolute fave venues, though, was the old Metropolitan Park in Norfolk. It sat 6,000 comfortably for Triple-A. Minor League baseball is da bomb. The field announcer's talking throughout the whole game, in between batters, in between plays, welcoming visiting groups, having trivia contests, awarding prizes, everyone's involved. I went to games there at a special time, if one was a Mets fan...I pretty much watched the 1986 World Champions play there for the Tidewater Tides for the 1981, '82, and '83 seasons. Unfortunately, the old Met Park is gone, they've built a 12,000 seat mini-Camden Yards on Norfolk's Waterfront, and it's reputed to be the finest minor league facility in the country.
I know I'm digressing, but it was a nice, cool Saturday night in the summer of 1982, and the Tides are hosting the Yankee farm club, the Columbus Clippers. During BP, this enormous football sized player for Columbus named Steve Balboni's putting them over the wall, one after another. Great entertainment! One ball reached I-64 behind the left field fence. Another bounced off the scoreboard. Yet another hit the Marlboro Man right in the nuts. Well, my friend and I were truly astounded. So, Balboni goes oh for four in the first game of this twi-night doubleheader. In the second game, taking his place in Center was this other guy, a smallish, young guy, and he went four for five in the second game, and drove in five runs. He won the game, in fact. After the game, I called home, and told Dad what happened. I told him of the other guy's performance in the second game.
"Was this guy named Don Mattingly?" he asked.
Pause.
"How did you know?"
I was in a lousy mood today, but this thread put me in good cheer. Thanks.

 

[Mitchell]

No problem, Mr Knox, my friend. Thank you for the post. I hope all is well with you and the Mrs. I miss seeing you in the chat. Thanks for the feedback, and I totally understand the point of what you said.

Mitch

 

[Limeoutsider]

Id do it baseball and hockey

 

[Mitchell]

Thanks for the reply, Limey, oh, and congratulations on reaching the Cherry feather. 10,000 posts is a level I'll never see in my lifetime. I'm still a hundred odd something away from 1000! LOL!

Mitch

 

[tommytikl]

Slightly off topic but I hear that the Cubs stadium is coming down in favor of some new park.
I just heard about this, is this true!?

Just wondering.

It would be cool, I would try to go to every stadium in football...that would be tough in one season!!!

 

[Limeoutsider]

Of course, I dont know how the baeball one would go, as Ill get stuck at Jacobs Field

 

[CurtWild]

i would love to do this for hockey and baseball.i do consider myself lucky to live in NY where i can go see the Yanks in The House that Ruth Built and the Rangers at The Worlds Most Famous Arena.

before i die i would love to go to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.i would`ve liked to go to the Montreal Forum(was that the name?) before the Habs moved

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Hey, Mitch, I saved the media flyer handed out with every program from that Tides game I mentioned, the one with Mattingly playing his usual minor league position in Center field. One of the other outfiielders was a William Showalter. We all know him as Buck. Here's an oddball: trying to get his career going again was the old Boston third baseman and future manager Butch Hobson. In another game that year, while with the visiting Columbus Clippers, Hobson let five runs in with his glove and drove in another six.
Met Park was a great place! The Tidewater Tides' first baseman was a guy named Ronald McDonald. I'm not kidding! We used to have our own cheering fan club section for him. We drove him nuts, to be honest. The Mets later cut him. I don't think the Mets, at that sensitive time and place, were ready for a guy named Ronald McDonald just when they were poised to get back into contention.
Caught a lot of stars on the way up. The 1981 shortstop for the Rochester Red Wings sticks out in my memory. He wore number eight, and I was perplexed by the "Junior" appendix to his last name, since, wracking my head, I'd never heard of his father, Cal Ripken "Senior". Either way, quite a fuss was made about him, and he stuck out in that lineup like a man with boys.
I saw Darryl Strawberry down there when he was farmed out. Jesus, he was built like a 1200 pound deer, even back then! He had some very, very impressive moonblasts in BP. Everyone was excited about him.
To me, that was a very special time. We have a double-A club here in Trenton that's been very successful, and it wasn't half as much fun as the old Met Park down in Norfolk. Probably because it wasn't so contrived. It was what it was, no professional marketing suits calling the shots. Just small town people, small town businesses sponsoring, a small town atmosphere. A lot of fun.

 

[giantfan121262]

I think I would love to vist every baseball stadium. I know that it would be alot of time and money but that would be something I'd might look forward to when I retire. Baseball is my passion.

I would love to see a few football stadiums of the past. Such stadiums are

Los Angeles Colessieum
Soldier Field
Bloomington (Where the Vikings used to play)

I would love to go to Lambeau Field. It's a tast for what the stadiums used to be. That playing a football game is also contending with the elements. The fans are close knit and really dedicated to their team so I would imagine they would be good people to interact with.