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Who has attended a major sports championship?

JMSBFD

HR All-State
Nov 27, 2021
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Who has been to a major sports championship, signature event, or marquee entertainment ceremony (i.e., super bowl, world series, world cup, major golf or tennis, wrestlemania, golden globes, olympics, etc)? Price of tickets? Any good stories? Worth the time and dollars spent?

Probably a good story about Mardi Gras that none of us want to hear again. And my mom is not a major event even though some of you would like to think she is.
 
Saw FSU win their 1999 National Championship in New Orleans against Michael Vick and Va Tech. It was glorious and epic and worth all the money I spent, including on Bourbon street that night. What happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans.
 
I saw the Cubs win their first game in a World Series since 1945 when they beat Cleveland in game 2. It was about $1k, which was a bargain compared to tickets at Wrigley.

I saw Steve Alford’s first game coaching Iowa when they beat #1 UConn at Madison Square Garden. Seemed like a big deal at the time.
 
87 World Series games 6 & 7, free tickets and private suite for game 6. 2001 World Series games 6 & 7. 4-0 baby, Twins & Dbacks. Back when baseball was still fun and watchable.
 
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2008 Cy-Hawk game

Ahh when drinking was still fun. I stuffed a six pack of glass bottles into a shoe bag with the liquor and 3 of the bottles broke and I was soaked in michelob on the pedestrian bridge to Hillcrest about 6 hours before this moment:

 
2008 Cy-Hawk game

Ahh when drinking was still fun. I stuffed a six pack of glass bottles into a shoe bag with the liquor and 3 of the bottles broke and I was soaked in michelob on the pedestrian bridge to Hillcrest about 6 hours before this moment:

I think you and 99 percent of the board have different definitions of major events. But csb.
 
Preakness
Ladies Day at Ascot
PGA Championship
Big 12 Championship

Ascot was definitely the coolest, but I did get to watch a Triple Crown winner (American Pharoah).
 
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What about entertainment awards ceremonies? I worked with a girl that was a seat filler at these events for a few years. Interesting "job" so to speak
 
Who has been to a major sports championship, signature event, or marquee entertainment ceremony (i.e., super bowl, world series, world cup, major golf or tennis, wrestlemania, golden globes, olympics, etc)? Price of tickets? Any good stories? Worth the time and dollars spent?

Probably a good story about Mardi Gras that none of us want to hear again. And my mom is not a major event even though some of you would like to think she is.

During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta which was in between my junior year at college I went to work for my college wife’s father who was a VP of Eric Chandler Merchandising which ran what was essentially a temporary mall of stores in Centennial Park inside a large temporary building made from US Air Force temporary hangars. It was right next to the AT&T stadium where the bomb went off. Well after working there as general staff assisting the local stores getting setup, I was offered a substantial pay raise and job upgrade to working directly for Eastman Kodak. I was assigned to be a technology demonstrator for both high end one on one appointments with celebrity clients in the CNN Center as well as general tech demonstrator at their exhibit in the indoor mall. So I got to meet a ton of sports, tv, movie, and political celebrities one on one including people like Bill Clinton, King Faud, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Jordan, and a literal ton of celebrities.

The other benefit was I got a number of free tickets to various events direct from Kodak. If I wasn’t working, I got corporate seats to most events including the Opening Ceremonies, Tennis finals, baseball medal games, most track and field events and I got to see the team finals of the women’s gymnastics team. The only corporate seats I couldn’t score was the basketball finals, soccer finals and closing ceremonies but my college wife not knowing I had zero interest in soccer, had already purchased two tickets for me and her to the soccer finals anyways.

In addition to that, as a kid my parents owned a sporting goods store in the Tampa Bay Area and were longtime Bucs fans so we got tickets to Super Bowl 25 to watch the Bills lose the first of their four Super Bowl losses. As an FSU fan I went to the 1996 Sugar Bowl which was 1 vs 2 only to see Warrick Dunn’s grandmother food poison several of our players and we suffered a miserable loss. I also went to a College World Series game in Omaha. And I’ve been to playoff games for 1-AA supporting my law school Bill & Mary and for Div 2 to support the near local Valdosta State (which are highly enjoyable games to attend).
 
2019 Stanley Cup - Game 4 - Let’s. Go. Blues, right @CJBauer



Ryder Cup
Open Championship
Two PGA Championships
Several Masters
Holding out for the US Open at Pebble in 27

No Rose Bowls, no national semi-finals, and no Final Fours ‘cause I’m an Iowa fan and we can’t have nice things.

Best event that’s not a final - Wednesday practice round and Par 3 at the Masters
 
I witnessed Boston Red Sox win their first World Series championship in 89 years or whatever it was. But being a Cardinal fan I thought it sucked
 
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Went to the Orange Bowl when FSU beat the cornshuckers for the 1993 National Championship. Also was at the Sugar Bowl disaster a few years later.

The best trip I've taken to a major sporting event was in 1983. I was home from college for the summer, and a few of us were at a buddy's house watching Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals. One was a huge lakers fan, the other a huge spurs fan (I'm a diehard Celtics fan). The brother of the Spurs fan lived in San Antonio, and called at halftime; jokingly asked when we'd be there & said getting tickets wasn't hard. We laughed, but as the 3rd quarter was going on we started talking about it & realized that none of us had a damn thing to do; by the end of the 3rd quarter we'd decided we were going. Called bro & told him we'd be there Friday morning.
The three of us left at lunchtime Thursday, drove non-stop to San Antonio. Got there mid Friday morning, hung out, went to Game 3 Friday night. Saturday we went back downtown, saw that there was only one decent hotel near the arena, and figured the Lakers must be staying there. Went in & saw Magic & Rambis eating lunch in the hotel lobby restaurant. They were just finishing, so when they headed to the elevator we hopped in with them & pushed a random button. Chatted with them on the ride, found out they had practice a little later, so went back over to the arena & hung out around there. Stood by a back entrance with a few of them and a security guard, watching on a little black & white tv the Eastern Conference game 3. Got pics with most of the Lakers (Kareem, Wilkes, Rambis, Nixon...Magic blew us off. Years later, I realized he probably had to hustle off to bang a groupie), several of the Spurs (Gervin, Gilmore), as well as two college players who were at there to formally announce whether they were going pro or staying for another year in college (Drexler, Olajuwon).
Nixon, Wilkes, and Gilmore were all very nice, stayed & chatted with us for a bit & were part impressed/part thought we were nuts for driving across the country just to attend a couple of games. I especially remember Nixon's reaction when we told him we'd driven for the games from Tampa. "Tampa FLORIDA? You guys must be some serious basketball fans!"
Back then, the NBA was just starting to regain popularity. IIRC, neither game sold out, and on the Saturday when we were there talking to/meeting players, we were about the only ones doing so. They could leisurely stroll from the hotel to the arena without being mobbed by people asking for photos, autographs, etc. I'm sure they are escorted nowadays.
 
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Masters twice, PGA Championship, World Series in Atlanta twice, CFB National Championship (Noles vs. Auburn), Daytona 400, and 2 FA Cup playoffs featuring The Arsenal. Poster above said it all--tv doesn't do the Masters justice.
 
Does scoring two points in the FSU IM 2002 basketball championship count? Otherwise, the best I have is the inaugural ACC Championship game.
 
Saw FSU win their 1999 National Championship in New Orleans against Michael Vick and Va Tech. It was glorious and epic and worth all the money I spent, including on Bourbon street that night. What happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans.

Saw the '93 championship in person.
 
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Does the 2002 Iowa HS 4A state championship football game count? If so, then yes!!
 
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20 NCAA Wrestling Championships,PGA(at Koehler)IHSSA FB Championships;Rose Bowl,Outback Bowl,NASCAR(multiple),indy 500.
 
Masters-2x
Super bowl-2x
Rose bowl1x
Orange bowl -1x

cost - worth every dollar spent

best event masters - TV does not do that place justice
Which Rose bowl? I've been to one....in 2016, and it was not worth it.....at all unfortunately.
 
Australian Open tennis 2012; Melbourne is a great visit
US Open tennis 2019; row 12 to watch Rafa
Game 4 World Series 2016; actually sat across the street with my sons on a rooftop; great view and awesome time
 
2 Ryder Cups
Solheim Cup
Indy 500's
Iowa Energy D-League Championship
Pat Summit's last game NCAA Elite 8 Womens
 
Went to the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl to see FSU win their national titles.
Been to the Masters several times and Daytona 500 a couple of times.
 
Which Rose bowl? I've been to one....in 2016, and it was not worth it.....at all unfortunately.
Was like 2008 I think Year Illinois won the b10

tix we’re obtained before knowing who was going to be playing Beautiful stadium and area
 
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