Darren Rovell of the worldwide leader recently posted his top 10 “hottest tickets in American sports”. I agree with Rovell on the Derby, Sox-Yanks at Fenway, and Duke-Carolina at Cameron, but I’ve got 7 others I’d rather see than what he lists:
World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, Jacksonville, FL: The Florida – Georgia football game may be the toughest College Football ticket in the nation; seats are available online for no less than $300 for the ’06 game in APRIL. The party starts up Thursday and runs hard through Thursday night, not to mention that it’s October in Florida. And you’d prefer to be at The Masters?
Cowboys @ Eagles, October 8, 2006, Philadelphia, PA: OK, so maybe this is just a one-off, but consider this: who in their right mind scheduled this game — T.O.’s return to the City of Brotherly Love — at 4pm in early October? Half of the crowd will have been drinking since 8 a.m. Enough said.
NCAA First Round, Anywhere: The Final Four is a tougher ticket, but nothing beats the first round for pure excitement and drama. Take this year — would you rather have watched Northwestern State beat Iowa at the buzzer, or Florida blow out UCLA? In ’98, I watched the 14-seed Richmond Spiders (my alma matter) beat 3-seed South Carolina in D.C., and it was the single greatest sporting event I ever attended. Simply unforgettable.
Pro Bowl, Honululu, HI: Yeah, yeah, I know. The game totally sucks. But it’s in Hawaii, and it’s one of the biggest parties of the year! I’m leaving at halftime to hit the waves anyway.
The Beanpot, Boston, MA: College Hockey is one of the more underrated sports in the country (well, 95% 0f it). Similar to football and hoops, NCAA hockey is flawed but consistenly exciting, containing passion that the pro game sorely lacks. And while the Frozen Four is great, nothing captures the fervor of the game like Boston’s annual Beanpot tournament between BC, BU, Harvard and Northeastern. If the final is BU-BC? Even better. (Go Terriers.)
Iditarod Dog Sled Race, Anchorage and Nome, AL: As I have mentioned before, this race is the essence of sport — competitors risking life and limb to merely compete, showing a love of the game above most mainstream sports in this country. And while watching the beginning or end (or both) of this race isn’t exactly a tough ticket, it isn’t an opportunity that comes along every day. Being there would be the memory of a lifetime.