Turning An Idea Into Reality

Growing up in a family of all boys, sports were essential to life. I idolized my older brothers and wanted to participate in every sport they did, be it soccer, swimming, or hockey. Combine the drive to be like my siblings with the rich and deep history of Los Angeles sports teams I quickly became addicted to the Kings, Lakers and Dodgers (never liked the LA football teams and was glad the Rams and Raiders left). The only drawback was that I rarely got to see the games live.

20 years later I am even more of a sports addict. I can't turn on a tv without checking ESPN, Fox Sports West, the NHL Network, or the Soccer Channel. Then about 4 years ago I got a crazy idea in my head. "How cool would it be to see all the NHL arenas...wait, and the baseball stadiums...hold on, could I possibly go to a home game of all the major sports in North America?" That thought brought on my new obsession in life, a single home game of every NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL and MLS teams. If a team moves cities, that is a new one on my list. If a new team is added to the league, notch another city I must visit. I also had some parameters for the games:

1) Even if I have been to the stadium, if I don't have a ticket it doesn't count (Fenway and the Garden are some examples)
2) When I get a ticket, I have to try to get one with a picture on it. I will allow ticketmaster tickets but the printed season tickets are way cool; and here is the reason why:
3) I will laminate every ticket and place them on my 9 foot by 6 foot map of the US
4) Each stadium/arena I visit I will try to get as many pictures as possible especially of the famous features (Yankee Stadium outfield with HOF monuments, Lakers championship banners)
5) Finally I will write a short blog on each game detailing what I saw, how the fans are, what the arena is like, and if possible something funny or interesting that happened in or at the game.

Again, the dream started a couple of years ago so I will have to catch up for a while on the old games. This is a great adventure for me, it will allow me to see cities I never dreamed of going to, meet people whom I would never have had the chance to meet, and have some adventures with my friends. I hope people enjoy the ride...