kepdawg
06-26-2007, 12:42 PM
101 things all sports fans must experience before they die
By Jim Caple
Page 2
101 Things (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/070625)
The 101 Things Sports Fans Must Experience Before They Die:
1. Summer Olympics (every four years in a different city). With 10,000-plus athletes from 200 nations, this is the world's biggest party (did I mention the 130,000 condoms they give to the athletes?). The host city is almost always worth the trip itself (well, maybe not Atlanta) but the 17 days of exhilarating sporting performances will provide memories that will last long after the $24 souvenir T-shirt has faded. Guaranteed, you will see something that makes you proud to be human and call yourself a citizen not of one specific country but a citizen of the world.
2. World Cup (every four years in a different country). Look, Americans shouldn't feel guilty about not liking soccer any more than we should for not using the metric system. But whether you're a fanatic about the sport (a lot of the world) or are bored by it (the U.S and Canada, Down Under, and the Coalition of the Unwilling), we can all appreciate a huge international party filled with fans so passionate they set themselves on fire to inspire their team before the game (as opposed, say, to Detroit fans, who set others on fire after the game). Look at it this way: The World Cup was such a spectacle last summer that Germany was actually afraid it would run out of beer. And if a team actually scores, so much the better!
3. Winter Olympics (every four years in a different city). Definitely smaller and obviously colder than their summer counterparts, the Winter Games are in some ways more appealing. Because they are smaller, they are also more manageable, relaxed and intimate. Plus, it's hard to beat finishing up a day with a mug of mulled wine or hot chocolate mit schuss at a world-class ski resort overlooking snow-capped peaks. Or, in the case of Bode Miller, beginning the day there.
4. The World Series (every October, various cities). No championship can match the dramatic moments regularly produced each October (and occasionally November). Willie Mays racing with his back to the plate. Bill Mazeroski waving his cap as he comes home. Carlton Fisk waving his home run fair. Kirk Gibson limping up to pinch hit against Dennis Eckersley. Jack Morris stomping to the mound for the 10th inning of Game 7. Derek Jeter lining a drive into the bleachers. There's a reason they call this the Fall Classic, and it's not because of all the Fox B-list celebs.
5. NCAA subregional (March, various sites). The only problem with March Madness is that the championship game too seldom lives up to the previous two weeks of cuticle-devouring excitement. For the best experience, steer clear of the actual Final Four and go to a subregional instead. You get more games (four the first day), more upsets, more spirit and enough excitement to leave even Dick Vitale hoarse.
6. Spring training (February-March, Florida and Arizona).
7. NFL conference championship (January in various NFL cities).
8. The Masters (April, Augusta, Ga.).
9. Wimbledon (late June-early July, London).
10. Tour de France mountain stage (July in various rotating cities in France).
11. Premier League Soccer game (fall-spring, England).
12. Rose Bowl (New Year's Day, or thereabouts, Pasadena, Calif.).
13. NBA Finals (June, various cities).
14. College World Series (June, Omaha, Neb.).
15. Red Sox-Yankees game (April-October, Boston or New York).
16. Hall of Fame induction (July, Cooperstown, N.Y.).
17. Michigan-Ohio State football (November, Columbus, Ohio, or Ann Arbor, Mich.).
18. The F.A. Cup (fall-spring, England).
19. Duke-North Carolina basketball game (winter, Chapel Hill or Durham, N.C.).
20. The Stanley Cup playoffs (late spring, various NHL cities).
21. British Open (July, Great Britain).
22. Cubs game in the Wrigley bleachers (April-September, Chicago).
23. A game at Notre Dame (fall, South Bend, Ind.).
24. ACC basketball tournament (March, various sites).
25. A soccer game at Maracana Stadium (various dates, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
26. Little 500 (late April at Indiana University).
27. Tailgating in the SEC (fall, SEC campuses).
28. A game at Rucker Park (anytime, Harlem).
29. U.S. Open tennis (late August, New York).
30. Bayou Classic (November, New Orleans).
31. Kentucky Derby (May, Churchill Downs, Ky.).
32. The Indy 500 (Memorial Day weekend, Indianapolis).
33. The All-Africa Amputee Football Tournament (Sierra Leone).
34. MLB Opening Day (April, various cities).
35. Boston Marathon (April, Boston).
36. Frozen Four (April, various cities).
37. Canadiens-Leafs game (winter, Montreal or Toronto).
38. Auburn-Alabama football game (November, Tuscaloosa or Birmingham, Ala.).
39. Town ball in Minnesota (summer, towns throughout Minnesota).
40. The Iditarod (February, Anchorage to Nome, Ala.).
41. An NBA game from courtside (winter-spring, any NBA city).
42. Baseball All-Star Game (July, rotating cities).
43. Il Palio horse race (July and August, Siena, Italy).
44. Play Pebble Beach (year-round, Pebble Beach, Calif.).
45. Daytona 500 (February, Daytona, Fla.).
46. Running of the Bulls (July, Pamplona, Spain).
47. Triple Crown Surfing (November-December North Shore, Oahu).
48. Lady Vols game (winter, Knoxville, Tenn.).
49. Caribbean World Series (January, various sites).
50. Heavyweight championship bout in Vegas (sporadic).
51. Indiana high school basketball tournament (March, Indiana).
52. Golden Gloves tournament (regional).
53. Green Bay Packers game in the snow (December, Green Bay).
54. Koshien baseball tournament (spring and summer, Nishinomiya, Japan ).
55. All Blacks rugby game (various dates, New Zealand).
56. World Figure Skating Championships (annual, around the world).
57. Dubai World Cup (late March in Dubai).
58. Calgary Stampede (July, Calgary, Alberta).
59. National Veterans Wheelchair Games (summer, Milwaukee).
60. Maui Invitational (November, Maui, Hawaii).
61. Midnight Madness (October, all over the country).
62. A Big 5 Game at the Palestra (winter, Philadelphia).
63. Camp out for tickets (any event).
64. Wife Carrying World Championships (June in Sonkajarvi, Finland).
65. U.S. Pond Hockey Championships (January, Minneapolis).
66. World Armwrestling Championships (annual, Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Conn.).
67. Sumo championship (various cities, Japan).
68. 24 Hours of Le Mans (May, Le Mans, France).
69. Prefontaine Classic (June, Eugene, Ore.).
70. The USTA boys tennis championship (August, Kalamazoo, Mich.).
71. Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (August in Sturgis, S.D.).
72. The Beanpot hockey tournament (first two Mondays in February, Boston).
73. Field of Dreams Ghost Sundays (select days in summer, Dyersville, Iowa).
74. Racing at Saratoga (late July-August, Sarasota, N.Y.).
75. Beach volleyball (summer, various cities).
76. Swimming championships in Australia (various dates, Australia).
77. The Dakar Rally (January, southern Europe and North Africa).
78. Rickwood Classic (summer, Birmingham, Ala.).
79. Junior league hockey in small-town Canada (winter throughout Canada).
80. Henley Regatta (July, Oxfordshire, England).
81. Minnesota high school hockey tournament (March, Minnesota).
82. Little Brown Jug race (September, Delaware, Ohio).
83. Bay to Breakers (May, San Francisco).
84. A Raiders game in the Black Hole (fall, Oakland, Calif.).
85. Iowa-Iowa State wrestling match (winter, Iowa).
86. The Ironman (June, Hawaii).
87. "Monday Night Football" (September-December, various NFL cities).
88. Women's College World Series (June, Oklahoma City).
89. Show-Me State Games (July, Columbia, Mo.).
90. Little League game (spring, early summer, everywhere).
91. A Permian High School football game (fall, Odesssa, Texas).
92. Pakistan-India cricket (occasional meetings).
93. Hot dog eating championship (July 4, Coney Island).
94. Tough Guy (January, outside Wolverhampton, England).
95. Ultimate Fighting Championship bout (various dates, Vegas).
96. The All-American Soap Box Derby (July, Akron, Ohio).
96. NCAA women's volleyball championships (December, rotating sites).
97. Calaveras Frog Jumping Jubilee (May, Calaveras County in California).
98. The Baja 500 (June, Baja Peninsula).
99. A Harlem Globetrotters game (many dates, many cities).
100. Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (February, New York).
101. Driving the Ring (daily, western Germany).
Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached here. His Web site is at jimcaple.net, with more installments of "24 College Avenue." His new book with Steve Buckley, "The Best Boston Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial, Debatable Questions for Die-Hard Boston Fans" is on sale now.
By Jim Caple
Page 2
101 Things (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/070625)
The 101 Things Sports Fans Must Experience Before They Die:
1. Summer Olympics (every four years in a different city). With 10,000-plus athletes from 200 nations, this is the world's biggest party (did I mention the 130,000 condoms they give to the athletes?). The host city is almost always worth the trip itself (well, maybe not Atlanta) but the 17 days of exhilarating sporting performances will provide memories that will last long after the $24 souvenir T-shirt has faded. Guaranteed, you will see something that makes you proud to be human and call yourself a citizen not of one specific country but a citizen of the world.
2. World Cup (every four years in a different country). Look, Americans shouldn't feel guilty about not liking soccer any more than we should for not using the metric system. But whether you're a fanatic about the sport (a lot of the world) or are bored by it (the U.S and Canada, Down Under, and the Coalition of the Unwilling), we can all appreciate a huge international party filled with fans so passionate they set themselves on fire to inspire their team before the game (as opposed, say, to Detroit fans, who set others on fire after the game). Look at it this way: The World Cup was such a spectacle last summer that Germany was actually afraid it would run out of beer. And if a team actually scores, so much the better!
3. Winter Olympics (every four years in a different city). Definitely smaller and obviously colder than their summer counterparts, the Winter Games are in some ways more appealing. Because they are smaller, they are also more manageable, relaxed and intimate. Plus, it's hard to beat finishing up a day with a mug of mulled wine or hot chocolate mit schuss at a world-class ski resort overlooking snow-capped peaks. Or, in the case of Bode Miller, beginning the day there.
4. The World Series (every October, various cities). No championship can match the dramatic moments regularly produced each October (and occasionally November). Willie Mays racing with his back to the plate. Bill Mazeroski waving his cap as he comes home. Carlton Fisk waving his home run fair. Kirk Gibson limping up to pinch hit against Dennis Eckersley. Jack Morris stomping to the mound for the 10th inning of Game 7. Derek Jeter lining a drive into the bleachers. There's a reason they call this the Fall Classic, and it's not because of all the Fox B-list celebs.
5. NCAA subregional (March, various sites). The only problem with March Madness is that the championship game too seldom lives up to the previous two weeks of cuticle-devouring excitement. For the best experience, steer clear of the actual Final Four and go to a subregional instead. You get more games (four the first day), more upsets, more spirit and enough excitement to leave even Dick Vitale hoarse.
6. Spring training (February-March, Florida and Arizona).
7. NFL conference championship (January in various NFL cities).
8. The Masters (April, Augusta, Ga.).
9. Wimbledon (late June-early July, London).
10. Tour de France mountain stage (July in various rotating cities in France).
11. Premier League Soccer game (fall-spring, England).
12. Rose Bowl (New Year's Day, or thereabouts, Pasadena, Calif.).
13. NBA Finals (June, various cities).
14. College World Series (June, Omaha, Neb.).
15. Red Sox-Yankees game (April-October, Boston or New York).
16. Hall of Fame induction (July, Cooperstown, N.Y.).
17. Michigan-Ohio State football (November, Columbus, Ohio, or Ann Arbor, Mich.).
18. The F.A. Cup (fall-spring, England).
19. Duke-North Carolina basketball game (winter, Chapel Hill or Durham, N.C.).
20. The Stanley Cup playoffs (late spring, various NHL cities).
21. British Open (July, Great Britain).
22. Cubs game in the Wrigley bleachers (April-September, Chicago).
23. A game at Notre Dame (fall, South Bend, Ind.).
24. ACC basketball tournament (March, various sites).
25. A soccer game at Maracana Stadium (various dates, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
26. Little 500 (late April at Indiana University).
27. Tailgating in the SEC (fall, SEC campuses).
28. A game at Rucker Park (anytime, Harlem).
29. U.S. Open tennis (late August, New York).
30. Bayou Classic (November, New Orleans).
31. Kentucky Derby (May, Churchill Downs, Ky.).
32. The Indy 500 (Memorial Day weekend, Indianapolis).
33. The All-Africa Amputee Football Tournament (Sierra Leone).
34. MLB Opening Day (April, various cities).
35. Boston Marathon (April, Boston).
36. Frozen Four (April, various cities).
37. Canadiens-Leafs game (winter, Montreal or Toronto).
38. Auburn-Alabama football game (November, Tuscaloosa or Birmingham, Ala.).
39. Town ball in Minnesota (summer, towns throughout Minnesota).
40. The Iditarod (February, Anchorage to Nome, Ala.).
41. An NBA game from courtside (winter-spring, any NBA city).
42. Baseball All-Star Game (July, rotating cities).
43. Il Palio horse race (July and August, Siena, Italy).
44. Play Pebble Beach (year-round, Pebble Beach, Calif.).
45. Daytona 500 (February, Daytona, Fla.).
46. Running of the Bulls (July, Pamplona, Spain).
47. Triple Crown Surfing (November-December North Shore, Oahu).
48. Lady Vols game (winter, Knoxville, Tenn.).
49. Caribbean World Series (January, various sites).
50. Heavyweight championship bout in Vegas (sporadic).
51. Indiana high school basketball tournament (March, Indiana).
52. Golden Gloves tournament (regional).
53. Green Bay Packers game in the snow (December, Green Bay).
54. Koshien baseball tournament (spring and summer, Nishinomiya, Japan ).
55. All Blacks rugby game (various dates, New Zealand).
56. World Figure Skating Championships (annual, around the world).
57. Dubai World Cup (late March in Dubai).
58. Calgary Stampede (July, Calgary, Alberta).
59. National Veterans Wheelchair Games (summer, Milwaukee).
60. Maui Invitational (November, Maui, Hawaii).
61. Midnight Madness (October, all over the country).
62. A Big 5 Game at the Palestra (winter, Philadelphia).
63. Camp out for tickets (any event).
64. Wife Carrying World Championships (June in Sonkajarvi, Finland).
65. U.S. Pond Hockey Championships (January, Minneapolis).
66. World Armwrestling Championships (annual, Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Conn.).
67. Sumo championship (various cities, Japan).
68. 24 Hours of Le Mans (May, Le Mans, France).
69. Prefontaine Classic (June, Eugene, Ore.).
70. The USTA boys tennis championship (August, Kalamazoo, Mich.).
71. Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (August in Sturgis, S.D.).
72. The Beanpot hockey tournament (first two Mondays in February, Boston).
73. Field of Dreams Ghost Sundays (select days in summer, Dyersville, Iowa).
74. Racing at Saratoga (late July-August, Sarasota, N.Y.).
75. Beach volleyball (summer, various cities).
76. Swimming championships in Australia (various dates, Australia).
77. The Dakar Rally (January, southern Europe and North Africa).
78. Rickwood Classic (summer, Birmingham, Ala.).
79. Junior league hockey in small-town Canada (winter throughout Canada).
80. Henley Regatta (July, Oxfordshire, England).
81. Minnesota high school hockey tournament (March, Minnesota).
82. Little Brown Jug race (September, Delaware, Ohio).
83. Bay to Breakers (May, San Francisco).
84. A Raiders game in the Black Hole (fall, Oakland, Calif.).
85. Iowa-Iowa State wrestling match (winter, Iowa).
86. The Ironman (June, Hawaii).
87. "Monday Night Football" (September-December, various NFL cities).
88. Women's College World Series (June, Oklahoma City).
89. Show-Me State Games (July, Columbia, Mo.).
90. Little League game (spring, early summer, everywhere).
91. A Permian High School football game (fall, Odesssa, Texas).
92. Pakistan-India cricket (occasional meetings).
93. Hot dog eating championship (July 4, Coney Island).
94. Tough Guy (January, outside Wolverhampton, England).
95. Ultimate Fighting Championship bout (various dates, Vegas).
96. The All-American Soap Box Derby (July, Akron, Ohio).
96. NCAA women's volleyball championships (December, rotating sites).
97. Calaveras Frog Jumping Jubilee (May, Calaveras County in California).
98. The Baja 500 (June, Baja Peninsula).
99. A Harlem Globetrotters game (many dates, many cities).
100. Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (February, New York).
101. Driving the Ring (daily, western Germany).
Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached here. His Web site is at jimcaple.net, with more installments of "24 College Avenue." His new book with Steve Buckley, "The Best Boston Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial, Debatable Questions for Die-Hard Boston Fans" is on sale now.