The road trips that lead to sports nirvana and a really fun time

“I took the road less travelled upon and that made all the difference,” was once famously said by American poet Robert Frost and was referring to seeking your own path in life; which is a great lesson for living your life but not ideal for following your sports dreams. The uniqueness of the sports arena is that it is one of the few places where an individual fan can gather with his fellow fanatics and feel like one collective unit, like the team behind the athletes. Being a diehard fan of a baseball team or a NASCAR driver doesn’t really make pure logical sense, but we’re humans, not Vulcans and there’s a reason nobody takes a road trip to attend an algebra tournament.

The two experiences that can make a sporting event great are attending a championship or playoff game between two rivals whose fans love to hate each other and going to an event that is so unique and fun that it can be a lifelong memory, even if you weren’t a fan of the sport.

NASCAR’s popularity is at an all-time high and the Daytona 500 is its Super Bowl, except instead of coming at the end of a long season, it kicks off the NASCAR season in February and is possibly one of the country’s biggest parties. Plus, a road trip to Daytona Beach, Florida in the heart of wintertime is always a good time. Whether you get to spend time relaxing on the beach or not, you’re going to want to check out the Daytona 500 Experience a few days before the race. The Daytona 500 experience is a fan friendly attraction located next to the racetrack. At Acceleration Alley, you can get a simulated feel for what it’s like for Jimmy Johnson to blow by Kurt Busch along the wall and get a glimpse of the highly tuned skills and coordination it takes to drive a NASCAR car. The ride provides you with a rush of adrenaline and an IMAX theatre 3D movie provides you with a glimpse of the fun you’ll have when you attend the race.

Get ready for over three hours of fun and exhilaration as you join about 170,000 race fans at the speedway to cheer on their favorite drivers. The power of the cars whirling at 200 mph is palpable and if you’re not a fan of the sport you will be when you leave. If you are able to get into the Sprint Fan Zone you will feel closer to the action and at the Budweiser Party Porch, you’ll enjoy be bonding with strangers more at Florida’s loudest party.

Ever since Babe Ruth made his road trip from Boston to New York in 1920 the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry has transcended sports. From Bucky Dent’s homerun in 1978 to decide a one-game playoff for the Yankees to Aaron Boone (Red Sox fans say his name a bit more colorfully) winning the 2003 A.L. pennant with a homerun in extra innings of Game seven, the Yankees have long pushed die-hard Red Sox fans to drink. But, after the miraculous 2004 season when the Sox came back from 3 games down to break “the curse” and win the World Series, the two teams have been battling it out for baseball supremacy.

Whether you go to the new, palatial Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, or the old, legendary Fenway Park in Boston, a chance to attend a Red Sox-Yankee playoff game can be bigger than the World Series. A road trip to either one of these cities during the playoffs will remind you of the passion that sports can bring out in the true fan. The electricity in the air at both parks will move you to your feet at the big moments and you’ll either leave heartbroken or enthralled, but either way, you’ll never forget you were there.

When planning the ultimate sports road trip, use a site like RentACarNow.com to get the lowest options on car rental prices.

What are the top sporting events you personally have seen live? Here are the top 10 events I have been at.

With CC Sabathia on the mound last night flirting with a perfect game it got me thinking about the most memorable sporting events I have witnessed in person. This one is a tough one for me as I have been fortunate enough to have been to so many great events. Here is my top ten list counting down from ten to one!

10. Game 1 of the 1986 World Series. We had great seats courtesy of my friend Mike who’s dad hooked us up big time with field level “old orange seats” behind home plate. Tim Teufel lets a grounder go through his legs to lose the game for the Mets. I am sure Bill Buckner was laughing when that happened. Little did he know what he was in for later in the series…..and little did I know what game 6 would become. I ended up turning down tickets for game 6  due to flu like symptoms, biggest mistake of my life.

9. I was in Boston one week before 9-11 with friends to relive the old college days at Boston University and take in a Red Sox/Yankees game. Mike Mussina carries a legite perfect game into the 9th inning. One out to go for a perfect game and he gives up a hit to Carl Everett of all people. The Yankees win the game and sweep the series as me and my friends serenade Sox fans with brooms. Little did I know what was going to happen a week later. We flew home that Monday on the same route the 9-11 Hijackers would take out of Boston a week later. Scary and sad.

8. Smarty Jones wins the Kentucky Derby. My first trip to the Derby. An absolute incredible event experience. Kentucky Derby instantly becomes my favorite major event.

7. 1995 Greenwich Village Little League game in North Meadow Central Park. The Expos take second place as I manage my first and only Little League team. To think those kids I managed are now 25 years old makes me sick.

6. Big John Stud comes to the Westchester County Center 1984. Nothing got bigger then this in WWF wrestling pre Wrestlemania. I can’t tell you how pysched I was for this match at the time.

5. 1996 World Series clincher at Yankee Stadium. We had seats in the right field bleachers. Yankees win their first World Series since the 70′s. Boggs rides around the stadium on the horse. Yankees fans go nuts on River Avenue. I took my dad and I will always share this experience with him. I also went to Game 1 with my friend Jason as the Yankees got pummeled and we just happened to scalp tickets in the section with Braves families. Not too much fun but game 6 made up for that one.

4. The Giants beat the Pats in the Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. I took my father-in law to the game who is a die hard Giants fan. I think I enjoyed this one as much as seeing the Pats lose as watching the Giants win it. I am a die hard Jets fan but root for the Giants as long as they are not playing the Jets, especially when they are playing the Pats. It was an incredible game and now a great memory.

3. Jets beat the Pats in Foxboro last year to win a trip to the AFC championship game in Pittsburgh. No feeling like being in the crowd in a hostile enviornment and sharing in such a huge win with other fans who traveled to the game. Too bad the following week in Pitt I wouldn’t be too happy.

2. The New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup in game 7 at the Garden, 1994. “This one will last a lifetime.” I didn’t realize Sam Rosen actually meant it! I cant even describe how good this one felt and what it was like outside the Garden that night. Magical.

1. The New York Rangers defeat the New Jersey Devils in game seven of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. Never ever felt an energy in my life so low when the Devils scored to tie it to send it to OT. Never felt an energy so great when Matteau scored that goal!

The British Open, another top 100 Sporting Event is taking place today!

The British Open is the next top 100 sporting event to take place. This year it is being held at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, Kent. The British Open is one of my favorite golf tournaments only because it includes a trip to Europe. When the British Open was last at Royal St. George’s in 2003 the fairly unknown Ben Curtis won it. It would be great to see another American win against a tough European field this year. I doubt it will happen since the only American with a chance is basically a 28-1 long shot. What ever happened to American golf? I never thought I would be saying that.

Britain is a great place to visit especially if you love golf. Here is my shameless plug for Golftours.com. Golftours.com can help you re-enact your favorite British Open moments whether it’s in England at courses such as Royal St. George’s or in Scotland at the world famous St. Andrews Golf Club. Another good reason to visit Royal St. George’s is you can play other great links courses such as Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club or Princess Golf Club which are both former British Open Courses. You can actually play every course the British Open has ever taken place on if you wanted to. This is something you could never do in the states with playing all the US Open courses and the Masters course. Try booking a tee time at Augusta!

Special thanks to my man, Nic Makepeace, interning for me this summer all the way from London helping me out with these international event posts.

Baseball All-Star Game, Phoneix Arizona!

I am heading out to the Baseball All-star game in Phoenix tomorrow for another top 100 sporting event taking place on Tuesday night. I love Phoenix for sporting events as the city caters to the hospitality industry and it’s definitely set up to accommodate a large number of fans in town for all the festivities. In fact it wasn’t too long ago that Phoenix hosted the Super Bowl (Giants over the Patriots). My only knock on the city for sporting events is it is spread out which makes hitting multiple events difficult. Some of my favorite activities to take in are the Workout day (Sunday), Home Run Contest (Monday), and of course the game (Tuesday). Tickets are really cheap this year. I saw some on www.trustedseats.com for literally under face value. Usually the cheapest seat you can buy will run you $400 dollars so take advantage of some of the $150 bargains this year in a weak secondary market. Ill also be in town for the Maxim party to take place at the W Hotel in Scottsdale on Sunday night at 10 PM. It should be a sick event if the Maxim Masters Party and the Maxim Kentucky Derby party are indicators. The top 100 sporting events keep coming, next up British Open!

Are these the five worst things you can see at a sporting event?

I’m not sure about you but I found  Casey Anthony being found not guilty yesterday extremely offensive.

It got me thinking what I find really offensive at a sporting event.

Here are my top five most offensive sites at a sporting event.

5. Those empty seats up close while people are packed in the bleachers

4. Die hard fans in the upper deck and the empty suit on his cell phone in the front row

3. The $10 Beer, you just feel like you got ripped off unless you are a New Yorker then its normal

2. Guy who wears the jersey of the wrong player (Jets fans if you own a Mark Gastineau or Keyshawn Johnson jersey get rid of it)

1. Even worse the guy who wears his own jersey, Jets #99 “Goldberg”