Since the Kentucky Derby is right around the corner, I figured I would mention it a bit today. The Derby is one of sport’s greatest spectacles. Even if you aren’t a horse racing person, you probably have seen Churchill Downs, at least once, during the first weekend in May. The women wearing hats that are the size of a 3 person inner tube, everyone walking around with a gallon of mint juleps, and the infield looking like a mud wrestling moshpit at Woodstock. I am not sure why I care so much, but growing up we always made a point to watch the Derby as a family. Every opening weekend in May there was a small steer show in Hudsonville, Michigan all day on Saturday, then we would head home and walk in the door just in time to watch the race. Every year I had the hope that maybe it was the year we would see a Triple Crown winner. Anyways, moving on, it got me thinking today that it would be pretty cool to experience the craziness of Kentucky Derby week in Louisville at least once. Expanding off of that thought, if money wasn’t an issue, what is the one sports event that you would like to attend?
This is a tough choice for me, since I love almost all sports. Being on the grounds for the final round of the Masters would definitely make the top 5 list. It is amazing how beautiful the course is just on tv, I couldn’t imagine seeing it in person. And it is the Masters, the final round is always magical. What about tennis? Visiting the US Open could be pretty special, or Wimbledon, or Roland Garros. Then there is the World Cup. It would be amazing to see some of the group play games, be in a foreign country and see the passion from the locals. Of course this would be a little higher on my list if the USA soccer team would make a deep run, but seeing Messi in person would be pretty special. Some people might want to go to a Super Bowl, but I enjoy watching the commercials and spending the night with friends too much to be sitting in the crowd. A few people I know have been lucky enough to make the trip out to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, this is really high on my list. To see one end zone painted dark blue with maize lettering spelling out Michigan, the mountains overlooking the stadium, the Rose parade. It truly is the Grandaddy of em all, and I would trade being at all of the remaining Super Bowls for one trip to California to see my Maize and Blue run onto the field. Staying with college sports, it would be a lot of fun to be at one of the arenas for an opening weekend to see 6 games live especially if Michigan was there. Or making a trip to the Final Four could be pretty special as well.
When I was growing up I was lucky enough to visit Williamsport, Pennsylvania. For those of you who have no idea why that is special to a young boy, it is the home of the Little League World Series. I wish I could say that I was there to play in the tournament, but I guess it was close enough. One of our family friends played there 2 years in a row for Saudi Arabia. So in 1997 we headed out for a family trip to watch some of the games. When I got there it felt like I was a part of the team, I was able to hang out with most of the players (not only from Saudi but from every team there). A big part of the tradition is trading pins (all of the players get pins for winning regionals to make the World Series), and I was able to take home a hat full of pins from all over the world. Then we watched the championship game of California vs Mexico right behind a dugout. Life couldn’t get much better for a 10 year old kid. I even got an autograph from Charles White (Heisman trophy winner at USC), because his son played on the California team.
Looking forward, it would be cool to take my son there someday, but for me personally the event that I would choose to attend would be a summer Olympics. For some reason I find myself liking every sport during the Olympics, even weightlifting and badminton. It would be really cool seeing an American standing on the tallest podium receiving a gold medal while the Star Spangled Banner was playing. It might be just as fun interacting with people from all over the world when you weren’t at an event. What a cool idea. Maybe the games will come back to the United States at some point and I can catch a few events.
What about you?
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