• Goags20172
    162
    I posed this question a couple years ago 2017/2018 I believe) and got some good suggestions, but I'm sure we have some new members, and you have visited some new places since then. I have.

    Anyway, do you have any recommendations for places to see a sporting event, especially baseball ?

    I have been to the following 4- year schools over the years, in chronological order. An asterisk indicates I saw a sporting event there as well.

    Fresno State* (It was an early 80's Cow Bowl Game between UNLV and Toledo. UNLV, which featured Randall Cunningham and Ickey Woods, won the game but forfeited due to ineligible players)
    UC Berkeley*
    Sac State* (school field trip- don't blame me)
    UC Davis*
    Portland State*
    Portland
    San Diego
    San Diego State
    Santa Clara*
    Utah*
    Washington
    Seattle U.
    Nevada- Reno
    San Jose State
    New Mexico
    Boise State
    Arizona State
    Chico State*
    St.Mary's*
    San Francisco*

    I did visit El Paso in July, but didn't see UTEP. In near 100 temperatures it didn't seem worth it to go there knowing everything (including the water fountains and restrooms) would be

    Anyway, I'm looking for some new places to visit in 2021, or whenever they let fans attend. I'm considering Cal Poly, Long Beach State, and Stanford. The third choice is a bucket list destination.

    Has anybody been to Cal Poly ? Worth the trip ? Although I've seen that Long Beach is nice overall the neighborhhod housing Blair Field gets some poor marks for safety from my online searches. Is that accurate ?

    How about UNLV ? It's pretty close to the big hotel/casinos it would appear. Reno is a no- go. Last time I was there a crazy woman yelled at me from the Circus Circus parking garage and accused me of human trafficking because I was using a smartphone for Google Maps while I walked around. And the Jimmy Johns across the street from UNR messed up my order...ugh mayonaise ! I ordered a Slim 2...they're supposed to give you condiment packets. You have to pay more for them to slather them on the bread. Plus their ballpark is basically just Dobbins Stadium with lights and more trees.

    Fresno State and UOP are not options. Went to a Fresno Grizzlies game last year. A man was only too happy to try to run over my foot with a full baby stroller to get to his destination within Chuckchansi Park a second earlier. Would like to say that didn't typify my experiences with Fresnans (Fresnecks ?), but that would be a lie.

    When I was in Reno I saw a comedy show- Bob Zany. He asks where people are from. Once this lady said she was from Fresno he would stop periodically and explain his jokes to her as if she were a toddler. Then he picked on a 21 year- old for being 21 and having a hippie starchild name.. Great show !

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  • AggieFinn
    418
    I'll hit a few places I've been for sporting events, all of them fun in their own ways:

    Fenway Park, Boston, MA in 1999 - fantastic place to watch a ballgame, though with COVID it'd be impossible, you are elbow to elbow with everybody and right down on the action.

    Providence Park, Portland, OR - it has been newly renovated and with PSU getting kicked out for Timbers games, Davis no longer gets to play downtown against the Vikings. Crazy local fan base, they love the Timbers, and as one might expect, things can get a little bit heated in the crowd.

    @ Boise State, great fans, tailgating top notch

    @ Oregon, obnoxious fans, but you get to meet a lot of folks who are "famous" in UO and Nike circles, the Duck fanbase is more widespread than most know.

    Daytona Speedway, Daytona, FL - a cathedral to racing, it's a total culture going to a NASCAR event. A very long party.

    Wrigley Field, Chicago - another surviving tradition of neighborhood ballparks, fiercely loyal and hilarious, fanbase finally got that World Series recently, and Bill Murray cried.

    @ Fargodome, North Dakota. A true college town, surrounded by not a ton of humans, but Morehead, MN is right next door. The fan base there is very loyal, and they show up, very friendly place, and cold.

    @ Missoula - Montana fanbase has football embedded in their culture, a real way of life, party friendly, visitor friendly, and very spirited.

    Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, NY, like a Field of Dreams reel, very, very pastime nostalgic. Awesome place to visit.

    Not sports related, but in travelling around the country I think my favorite city visited was Savannah, GA. Very unique community...a lot of history dating back to the Revolutionary and Civil War times, some amazing stories are out there in the mainstream. Great place for St. Patrick's Day (2nd biggest get together outside of Boston) and Halloween -- Savannah is embedded deep in voodoo country...and they love to dress up and drink, even when there's no real occasion for it, let alone Halloween.
  • Oldbanduhalum
    589
    I'll throw in Washington State in Pullman. Nice campus, very friendly fans, small town atmosphere. If you're going on a football weekend, book ahead because every single hotel in the Palouse is taken. As for baseball, my son was going to quite a few games before they went to online classes. Not a great turnout of fans, but the stadium is right on campus so if the weather is good, it makes for a nice afternoon. Plus, Ferdinands is close by...best ice cream you can find. And get a tin of the Cougar Gold cheese! WSU is in the middle of nowhere, but if you happen to be planning a trip to that part of the world, it makes for a good time
  • 72Aggie
    300
    I was raised to hate Notre Dame, but did see a football game there in late fall about 15 years ao. Something a college football fan ought to do once in life. The spirit, the fall colors...what football should be.
  • Goags20172
    162
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    Thanks ! I'm taking an indefinite break from major league sports. Tired of hearing wealthy major league athletes and coaches preach about issues just because they have a soapbox, so I'm de- funding them albeit mostly symbolically. Doing the same with movie stars. When I'm done though Fenway Park is on the list.

    I have an old friend from HS who lives in Eugene. Hates it there, but to be fair she pretty much hates the whole state and the way- left governor. I've considered taking the Coast Starlight up there for the scenery once COVID isn't as big of a threat. I heard the whole city practically shuts down when the Ducks are playing.

    I saw PSU and ISU play at Providence Park in 2016. It was fun, but very underwhelimg due to a pathetic crowd. They didn't allow anyone to sit at either end zone. PSU's fight song was weird, sounded like musical pirates being chased by hornets Should've entered the raffle the cheerleaders were selling tickets for. Good chance to win. Coincidence- on the flight back sitting right in front of was Sac State's volleyball team. I could tell because they were wearing their Sac State- branded jackets and talking about volleyball.

    I forget the name of the quirky pizza place across the street, but that was the best (and only) slice of bratwurst pizza I've eaten. I think it was called Hot Lips Pizza.

    I like how they just let people walk in and take pictures of the blue field at Albertson's stadium.
    When I visited Rice- Eccles Stadium (mostly to see the Olympic cauldron) the groundskeepers had mistakenly left all the gates open and gone for lunch or something. I could've walked right onto the field and run for a touchdown. I think I have a picture somewhere of that.

    I believe both Missoula and Fargo-Moorehead could be baseball destinations as well, although if MLB gets its way none of the minor league teams in Montana will continue to have major league affiliations. Fargo is a worthy destination on its own though. I think I read there's a Montana senator who's looking to get MLB's anti- trust exemption revoked if they cut ties with all of the teams, something about the economic damage to the communities. Good luck with that !

    I remember in 2000 the Division III Savannah College of Art and Design baseball team came out to play UCD, Sonoma State, and maybe some other teams. Their manager was big leaguer Luis Tiant, and they were using wooden bats while the Aggies were using aluminum. It was kind of a farce with that happening. UCD won something like 15- 2. One of their pitchers from that team- Charlie Zink- made it to the majors with the Red Sox I believe. They have long since eliminated that program and feature some unique sports, like women's rifle. I didn't know about the voodoo culture in Savannah. That sounds really interesting.
  • AggieFinn
    418
    Regarding Savannah, take a walk or a bus tour downtown and check out the waterfront and Forsythe Park, some beautiful homes in the area. Try a Bonaventure Cemetery Tour, lots of pubs and live entertainment downtown, some great local food (strong foodie area)...also get in on a local 'ghost' tour. They'll dress up spooky and walk you around town and tell you all the stories, there are a lot of local aspiring actors, movie production folk and artists (thanks in large part to SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, a huge deal in town) so they make it fun.

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  • Goags20172
    162
    Great suggestions, thanks ! Maybe I can meet Naughty Nelly Nutmeg, Beatrix Bourbon, and Voodoo Mama Juju lol. ("Office" reference)
  • Goags20172
    162
    Another visit to SLC is happening next month (planned in advance) Wouldn't mind seeing BYU, Utah Valley, or Weber State- in flyby fashion since college students are excellent at spreading COVID. I seem to be collecting visits to West Coast Conference schools (5 so far), so BYU would be quite appropriate. If the WCC dumped BYU and San Diego it could change its name to the NFC (No -Football Conference)

    Too bad the Salt Lake Bees won't be playing. Smith's Ballpark is a great place to see a game if you like baseball but don't like strangers. Going on a Sunday most of the Mormon fans are MIA so you have legroom for days. It'd be nice if they didn't play "Safelite repair- Safelite replace !" after every foul ball. I saw former Aggie Ty Kelly play there. He couldn't buy a hit in that series, but he started a game- winning rally for the Las Vegas 51's by reaching on a fielding error.

    I need to use up all those Southwest travel funds before Savannah, Fargo, or Missoula though. I know you can fly to Savannah from Atlanta (or another intermediate destination) on a different airline but Southwest will get you to Atlanta by way of Honolulu. I was looking at buying a ticket from Sacramento to Cleveland once. Practically every flight had a stopover in Baltimore. What ?
  • fugawe09
    171
    I don't know much about baseball, but I will say that if you are thinking of a trip to the southeast, Oct-Dec is a beautiful time of year. I usually take a couple cross country flights a year on Southwest and I suppose I'm getting old because I look for Denver layovers. I appreciate a real bathroom halfway through!
  • AggieFinn
    418


    Get some Mexican food at The Red Iguana in SLC. Best I've ever had...aside from the food in Mexico ;-)
  • Goags20172
    162
    Thanks. You know, that sounds very familiar. I think I might've even seen the Red Iguana on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive- Ins, and Dives. I'll look up how to get there from my hotel.

    Edit. Oh that's really easy. I can hop on Trax, followed by a 6 min ride and walking 2- 3 blocks. Nice ! I really like how so many of their stops are named after whatever place of interest is right next to them like Ballpark, Airport, Planetarium, etc..
  • Goags20172
    162
    I'm the same way. The stars have to really allign for anyone to be able to use the airplane restrooms. I vaguely remember using one back in the late 80's. That only happened because I was a child travelling alone and got to sit in the front. Whatever airline I was on (American or America West) was serving meals on a SF- Phoenix flight ? That might have been the trip where I met Yogi Berra (on the return). He was a Houston Astros coach then and there were some young men in suits with him- probably players.

    I had to change planes both ways in Phoenix last time. You'd think an hour and 15 min is enough time to get your gate, eat something, and use the john. Not there. Had to cross no less than 6 moving walkways and haul behind.
  • Goags20172
    162
    I read up on Pullman. Sounds like a really nice city. Looks like Alaska Airlines is the best airline to take.
  • Oldbanduhalum
    589
    Yeah Alaska flies to Pullman from Seattle. Or you could take southwest to Spokane and drive about 1 1/2 hours to Pullman. You can also check out U of I in Moscow, about 10 minutes from Pullman.
  • Goags20172
    162
    I changed my mind already about the destination. Lol
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