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A "Dream"
24 Hours
When I can, I like to cram as much sports into a 24-hour period as
I can. Try this schedule:
At the start of the 24 hours on December 26, 1998, I was getting
a guided tour of the fabulous Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. Then
I hopped into the rental car and sped down to Tucson to take in the pre-game
tailgate party for the "Insight.com" football bowl game. After watching
my alma mater (West Virginia U.) lose its eighth consecutive bowl game,
I caught some shut-eye. Bright and early the next morning, I examined
every inch of the spring-training complexes of the White Sox and the Diamondbacks,
and prowled around Tucson Electric Park, the home field of the town's Pacific
Coast League team.
Then it was back up to the Phoenix area to visit the Anaheim Angels'
spring-training complex . . . then over to Scottsdale Stadium (spring home
of the Giants and former field of the AAA Firebirds of the PCL) to take
some pictures . . . then down to Tempe to see the Arizona Cardinals beat
the Chargers -- and earn a play-off berth for the first time in 14 years!
One of the highlights of my time in Arizona was being invited to join a
pre-game tailgate gathering by a wonderfully nice guy named Brad. The next
time I was in town to see the Cardinals play two years later, I got together
with him again.
Anyway, that trip in 1998 was a great way to spend 24 hours!
Another great day for me was mentioned in my "two greatest weeks"
page: seeing my Orioles beat the Blue Jays with my family in Toronto
in the afternoon, then buzzing down to Niagara Falls in time to check into
our hotel, and then dashing down to Buffalo to see the majority of a (f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g)
doubleheader in the beautiful stadium that is now called Dunn Tire Park
-- although at the time it was Pilot Field (and then became North Americare
Park).
And more recently, I was able to spend the afternoon visiting five
different baseball parks in the Tampa area (the spring training stadiums
of the Phillies, Blue Jays, Devil Rays and Yankees, and a guided tour of
Tropicana Field) and the evening attending a Monday Night Football game
in Tampa's brand new Raymond James Stadium (it pitted the Bucs against
Brett Favre and the Packers, no less!). That was a very neat day! Another
great afternoon-evening period was spent in Northern California, where I saw the
Giants beat the Rockies at three-month-old Pac Bell Park and 90 miles away in
Sacramento, I saw the RiverCats of the Pacific Coast League lose a game to
Tacoma in their equally new ballpark. Two brand-new parks in an eight-hour
span. I was in heaven!
Have you enjoyed a similar 24-hour period? Let
me know, and I'll share your experiences with our other visitors (see
below):
Written by: JDPinstripes@aol.com
I was lucky enough to be at Games 1 and 2 of the 2000 World Series.
In a period of let's say 28 hours I saw two ballgames I will never forget. First
of all I am a die-hard Yankee fan so the idea of a Subway Series meant a lot to
me....I paid a ton of money (street value) to go to Game 1 and was able to get
tickets with a friend for Game 2. Game 1 started a little after 8:00 p.m.
Saturday night and ended at 1:04 a.m. Sunday morning. I still remember almost
every exact detail from that night...and will for the rest of my life. But one
image will remained ingrained for life....Derek Jeter running from the dugout
being the first to greet Jose Vizciano after his GW single in the bottom of the
12th. Then all of us "Bleacher Creatures" stuck around and sung
"New York, New York" for the next half an hour. I didn't get back to
the house until 3:00 a.m. and I called my friend on the West Coast. Seven hours
later I was up and raring to go to game Two. We got there early, did a little
tailgating and it was on Clemens-Piazza II. The bat thing -- though strange --
was nothing compared to the earthquake in 89. It was almost as stunning. Clemens
had a bit too much caffeine in his system or something because he was jacked up.
But he calmed down to throw a hell of a game. Then the pen nearly gave me a heart attack,
nearly blowing a 6 run lead but the Yanks closed it out and they were up
two-love in the Series.....And I have not touched on the atmosphere but that's
for another day. That weekend was perhaps the best of my entire life...in terms
of baseball.
Written by: mrisley@stites.com
After reading your 24-hour experiences, I felt compelled to share
one of mine with you.
It actually was a work trip. I am a lawyer and had to be in
court in New Jersey (near New York City) in the morning on Monday, April
1, 1996. After my court appearance, I changed clothes and headed
to Shea Stadium to catch the Mets' opening day game against the Cardinals.
After that game, I drove over to the Meadowlands to watch the University
of Kentucky (where I attended law school) beat Syracuse for the NCAA basketball
championship.
It was a great sports day.
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