US Sports

[SonofScray]

Am going to the USA this year and want to see some Ice Hockey, Football or Basketball etc.

Would be interested to hear your stories of going along, how you got tickets, what your experience was like if you have done so in the past.

Would love to see the Bruins play at home, or the Jets, and Lakers for instance.

[Missing Dog]

Re: US Sports

I've had the pleasure of going to all 3, as well as the baseball.

Probably the best place for tickets is http://www.stubhub.com/

I went to 2 NBL games, and the tickets were easy to get, admittedly they were low drawing games. One was the Vancouver Grizzles v San Antonio Spurs. Andrew Gaze was playing for San Antonio, but didn't get on the court in that game.

I went to the opening game of the MLB season at Yankee Stadium. They were playing Detroit and it was Roger Clemens 1st game for the Yankees.

Probably my favourite game was the NHL game between Montreal Canadians and the Boston Bruins in Montreal. So much history between these 2 teams. The atmosphere was fantastic.

Finally, I was in Atlanta around Thanksgiving Day and noticed that Georgia Tech were playing Georgia university. I wondered down and managed to talk my way in to the stadium, walked up in to the stands and managed to sit in the aisles and watch the last half.

There is so much sport to see in the states that you should manage to see something.

[LostDoggy]

Re: US Sports

I've been to the baseball twice - Detroit in 2005 & Pittsburgh in 2007. It wasn't hard to get tickets at the game and they were cheap too!! There always seems to be some special going on too. Really enjoyed both games, they really make an effort to keep the crowd entertained.

[wimberga]

Re: US Sports

G'day SonofScray,

What parts of the USA will you be visiting?

I am currently a few weeks into a 12 month University exchange at Clemson University in South Carolina. So far I have managed to see an NBA game in Atlanta between Atlanta and the Phoenix Suns. This was a cracker of a game and the tickets were pretty easy. I just went to the Hawks website and bought the tickets on credit card, then printed them out and it was that easy.

Secondly, after being too a number of College basketball games already, I would definitely recommend seeing one of those if you can. There are obvious differences between the pros and college (eg: the games go for 2x 20 minute half's and the shot clock is 35 seconds) and the players are not as polished as in the pros, but for atmosphere you cannot beat it. For long parts of what I thought would be a super interesting encounter in Atlanta, the crowd seem uninterested until the very last moments of the game. College is the entire opposite, as there is constant noise, chants and the college band plays aswell. The cheerleaders are just as good too.

Hope this helps you in some way mate

[SonofScray]

Re: US Sports

G'day SonofScray,

What parts of the USA will you be visiting?

I am currently a few weeks into a 12 month University exchange at Clemson University in South Carolina. So far I have managed to see an NBA game in Atlanta between Atlanta and the Phoenix Suns. This was a cracker of a game and the tickets were pretty easy. I just went to the Hawks website and bought the tickets on credit card, then printed them out and it was that easy.

Secondly, after being too a number of College basketball games already, I would definitely recommend seeing one of those if you can. There are obvious differences between the pros and college (eg: the games go for 2x 20 minute half's and the shot clock is 35 seconds) and the players are not as polished as in the pros, but for atmosphere you cannot beat it. For long parts of what I thought would be a super interesting encounter in Atlanta, the crowd seem uninterested until the very last moments of the game. College is the entire opposite, as there is constant noise, chants and the college band plays aswell. The cheerleaders are just as good too.

Hope this helps you in some way mate

Thanks for your responses guys/girls.

Trip will include LA, Vegas, Memphis, NY, and Boston. La, NY and Boston are earmarked as chances to catch some sport; have been told by a friend that walk up tickets to Rangers, Islanders and Devils NHL games shouldn't be too scarce but I am hoping that the fixture is kind to me and I can see the Bruins. Ice Hockey is my favourite US sport so a game here is a must. I'd love to catch an NFL game in NY as well.

College basketball games sound fantastic, figured that they would be more difficult to get to. I'll have to research this option a bit in the event we can't get to a game in LA.

Vegas and Memphis from what I can tell will be light on for chances to see live sport - although I am keeping an eye on the UFC schedule for Vegas.

[LostDoggy]

Re: US Sports

Try and see a good NCAA football game, depends when and where you go, but seeing something like the Red River shoot-out or Michigan-Ohio State at Michigan (average crowd is 108,000+, but you might have to wait a couple of years for Ohio to drop and Michigan to go up before it's amazing again) would be gold.

Related to American Sports, couple big names are down here for the tennis.
Terrell Owens has been seen around a bit, especially when Roddick is playing and i saw Steve Smith from the Panthers yesterday at the Monfils - Isner match

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: US Sports

I was in Dallas for work (quite) a few years ago and our US office was in Stadium Drive. The Texas Rangers were playing the Yankees and I was told I had no chance of a ticket.

As I was so close I strolled down anyway and had no problem getting a single ticket, even though it was officially a sell out.

[GVGjr]

Re: US Sports

Am going to the USA this year and want to see some Ice Hockey, Football or Basketball etc.

Would be interested to hear your stories of going along, how you got tickets, what your experience was like if you have done so in the past.

Would love to see the Bruins play at home, or the Jets, and Lakers for instance.

I have been to Canada and the States a few times and have always tried to get to as many sporting events as I could.

One year I saw the Canucks play, went to a NBA games between the Suns and the Lakers albeit sitting only 5 rows from the back of the venue. Danny Ainge shot the lights out.
I saw a College game of basketball and even went to some local wrestling show in Calgary.
Like SS mentioned, getting tickets wasn't that hard. The College basketball was through a friend though.

[mighty_west]

Re: US Sports

I went to the States in '93 with the bro [Flamethrower], only got to 2 Baseball games, the Cali Angels v Milwaukee @ Anaheim Stadium & the Florida Marlins v San Diago Padres @ Joe Robbie Stadium, there were only 2 & a dog at both venues, so tickets were easy to get.

I'll get Flamethrower to post some of his experiences, he has been over there at least a dozen times.

[Flamethrower]

Re: US Sports

As mighty west said, I have been to the US many times and have seen heaps of baseball, hockey and american football all over the country.

I usually organise my tickets before I go, which is a lot easier since they started selling them on the internet. My first few trips ordering tickets by snail mail.

I have never had a problem getting tickets to any baseball game, including highly popular games like when the Yankees visit Fenway Park in Boston. Even when a game is officially "sold out" I have bought a single seat at the box office on game day.

I would recommend though if you are going in a group of 2 or more and want decent seats to prebook seats as soon as possible on the net. Just visit the home team's website and go from there. Sites like StubHub are useful for sold out events for pairs of tickets.

In my experience NFL tickets can be the hardest to get. If you plan ahead, try all of the various ticket websites, and are prepared to pay above face value, you should be able to get tickets to most games.