First published in 2003, Patricia Schultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s List sold over 3-million copies, spawned a documentary TV series on the Travel Channel, and turned the world into passport-carrying dreamers.
With all due respects to Ms. Schultz, however, I don’t have Finnish opera or bathing with strangers in Budapest on my personal bucket list.
Growing up, I wanted to see a World Series game. I wanted to see Johnny Unitas throw a touchdown pass.
If I’ve learned anything, though, from covering and writing about sports for more than 40 years, it’s that our lives pass all too quickly to be spending our nights and weekends sitting at home, watching games on TV.
Allow me, therefore, to present my own bucket list, designed for the sports fan.
The first version of the list appeared in the Fort Worth newspaper in July of 2007. I’ve revised and updated it for your enjoyment.
As I urged in my original column, don’t just sit there. As I found out, Johnny Unitas isn’t going to be around forever.
How many of these great places have you visited?
- The Super Bowl
Corporate fat-cats are accorded far too many of the seats, but the excitement and raw energy inside the stadium and throughout the host city are unsurpassed in American sport. Take a deep breath – and a selfie or two or three – because you’ll be sitting at an event that 100 million people will be watching on TV. Maybe one day DFW will get to host another one.
- The Masters
I’ve moved this up one notch on the list, because it’s earned it. The Masters is every golfer’s mecca. Were it not a golf course, Augusta National would be one of America’s most beautiful national parks. Probably the hardest ticket in sports. People have died, still stuck on the waiting list.
3, Summer Olympics
In person, every event at an Olympics seems memorable and hugely important. But you don’t make this journey just to watch France win team handball. Go to the Olympic Stadium, see the cauldron aflame and savor a day of drama on the track, where the winner of the 100 meters is proclaimed the World’s Fastest Man. They cry real tears at the Olympics – both the losers and the winners.
- World Series game
Thanks to the Rangers, some of you have already checked off this one. But any year, any game will do. At your first one, you’ll look around the stadium, see the bunting, and you’ll remember playing catch with your dad.
5, Opening Ceremonies, Olympic Games
Lots of pomposity and pageantry, with the host nation attempting to symbolically assert its place in history with fireworks and Hollywood effects. The march of athletes is fun, albeit lengthy. You’ll remember the lighting of the Olympic cauldron forever.
- World Cup
Samba with Brazilians in the town square. Sing along with Germans on the train. At the end of months of qualifying, the world comes together for four weeks of unmatched passion. Be advised: Soccer’s next World Cup will be in Qatar during the months of November-December, 2022. Yep, Qatar.
7, Wimbledon
Even with the retractable roof now on Centre Court, the All England Club is like being in church for a fortnight. Stroll the grounds. Don’t forget to save room for the strawberries and cream.
- NFC or AFC championship game
Winner goes to the Super Bowl. That’s powerful stuff. And there’s a home crowd to heighten the anticipation. (Warning: Referees may sometimes be criminally negligent).
- NCAA men’s basketball Final Four
The Saturday semifinals tend to be better than the Monday finale. The atmosphere is worth the distant seat.
10, College Football Playoff championship game
Without the heavy corporate presence of the Super Bowl, fans of the two participating teams are very much in evidence. Tension is thick. Emotions are high. This is a great event, though we all know it would be even better if the playoff field was expanded.
11, Ancient Olympia, Greece
The same starting line, the same olive groves, the same stone entry as the world’s original Olympians.
- NBA Finals
The Finals don’t have quite the majesty that the Super Bowl has or the history of baseball’s World Series, but the best-of-seven battle between East and West – or LeBron James versus whoever — makes for a compelling show, especially in person.
- Kentucky Derby
All disqualifications aside, the Derby mystique persists. The hats, the mint juleps, the roses, the losing tickets – it’s horse racing’s big day and still a treasure.
- The Rose Bowl
The panorama at the “Granddaddy of Them All” never disappoints, as TCU fans saw first-hand one magical New Year’s Day in 2011.
- Winter Olympics
The Winter Games are best viewed outside, with a cold nose and holding a hot chocolate. The downhill is the signature event to see.
- Tour de France
Don’t let the Lance Armstrong scandal stop you. Thread your way through the crowd to the top of a tour mountain, marvel at the unique spectacle, order the crepes.
- Any Game 7
Doesn’t matter whether it’s the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup playoffs or the World Series. After Game 7s, there’s no tomorrow (to coin a phrase).
- Royal and Ancient Golf Club, St. Andrews
The Old Course is called the “Home of Golf,” and no one dares argue. The view up the 18th fairway, with the Royal and Ancient Club in the distance, has remained largely unchanged for more than 125 years. At last check, a round of 18 will set you back $431.97.
- Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, N.Y.
Babe Ruth’s uniform, Ty Cobb’s sharpened spikes. It’s where baseball history truly comes to life.
- Daytona 500
“The Great American Race” is NASCAR’s Super Bowl. Too bad it’s in February.
21, AT&T Stadium
New stadiums abound, but Arlington’s home of the Cowboys is a palace unmatched in size, customer comforts and visual delights. The 60-yard video board will make you realize that all stadium TV screens should be suspended from the roof.
22, Fenway Park
The Green Monster grabs your attention, but don’t forget that it’s also the same field that Ruth, Yaz and Ted Williams played on.
- Wrigley Field
Make sure it’s a day game in at least late spring – to give the ivy time to bloom — for the full Ferris Bueller experience.
- Lambeau Field
The NFL has steamrolled its past, except at Lambeau. Don’t miss the exceptional Packers museum, with its life-sized replica of the Bart Starr Ice Bowl sneak.
- Title fight in Las Vegas
True, boxing is struggling to regain its historical compass. But nothing beats a big-fight weekend in Vegas for celebrity-watching, high rollers, and limo-induced traffic jams. Get ready to rumble.
- Stanley Cup deciding game
Skating around with the Cup is one of sports’ great traditions.
- U.S. Open tennis on a Saturday night
Ladies and gentlemen, please turn off your cellphones. And behave yourselves.
- Duke vs. North Carolina basketball (at Cameron Indoor Stadium)
Still college basketball’s best version of the Hatfields and McCoys.
29, Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Cliffs, sea lions, the crashing ocean . . . and bogeys.
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (Canton, Ohio)
Not quite the Louvre ambience that Cooperstown has, but it’s been impressively remodeled to give pro football’s history the home it deserves. You’ll love the way they dramatically display the Hall members’ busts. Lots of bronzed Cowboys heads to enjoy.
- Southeastern Conference football game
Hush, Big 12 fans. There’s nothing like a Saturday in places such as Tuscaloosa, Athens and Knoxville, where you’ll find close to 100,000 football worshippers, all convinced that it really does mean more. Arrive early and tailgate.
32, English Premier League
Many great and storied venues to choose from, but Old Trafford (home of Manchester United), Emirates Stadium (Arsenal), Liverpool and Newcastle are especially grand places to watch the world’s best soccer league.
- Red Sox-Yankees game
Managers change, legends retire, but the iconic uniforms are still the same and the Red Sox and Yanks remain the bitterest of rivals.
- Indianapolis 500
I can’t even tell you who won last year’s race, but enough Speedway lore remains that race day is always a visceral experience of roaring engines and nostril-filling smells.
- NFL Draft
Now that it’s become a traveling road show, the draft has become more circus than substance. Can those people in Nashville who watched on big-screen TVs, a half-mile from the main stage really say they’ve been to the NFL Draft?
- College World Series, Omaha
The event misses Rosenblatt Stadium’s charm and history, but the CWS still puts on a seductive two-week show.
- Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Smog, high altitude, 114,465 spectators and the toughest home-field advantage in soccer.
- U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials
Because of the depth of U.S. talent, it’s the world’s best track meet. Only the top three get to go to the Games. Best when Eugene, Ore., is hosting.
- Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal
Two of the greatest tennis players of all time, Federer and Nadal have met 38 times (Nadal leads head-to-head, 23-15). They’re this generation’s Borg-McEnroe. Catch them while you still can.
40, Bayou Classic (New Orleans)
More than just the annual Grambling-Southern football clash, it’s a spectacle, where the Battle of the Bands – not the final score – is what sends the fans home talking.
- Cactus League spring training
Great weather and a plethora of fan-friendly ballparks within easy driving distance.
- Boston Marathon
Revered even more after the bombing tragedy. This is the race that introduced us to Bill Rodgers, Johnny Kelley, Heartbreak Hill and Rosie Ruiz. The first race was held in 1897.
- Little League World Series, South Williamsport, Pa.
For more than 60 years, this quaint little town on the Susquehanna has been the dream destination of every 12-year-old baseball kid.
- NHL Winter Classic
The NHL may have jumped the shark by awarding an outdoor “Winter Classic” to Dallas for New Year’s Day, 2020. But previous games in the Classic series have captivated bundled-up, cold-weather crowds in northern football venues.
- Olympic Stadium, Berlin
Built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympics, it survived World War II and, despite machine gun holes from the Russians, remains one of the world’s great sporting venues.
- Baseball Opening Day (day openers only)
No sport does its first day of the season with better flair than baseball.
47, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (Kansas City)
More than a baseball museum, it’s a fascinating history lesson that every American should see.
- UEFA Champions League Final
The greatest prize in European club soccer, contested by the best teams in the world.
- FA Cup Final
The best of British football battle in the world’s oldest (circa 1871) soccer competition. No hooligans, please.
- Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
Distinctly British, the first race was held on the Thames in 1829. A crowd of 250,000 lines the river banks to watch.
- X Games
After 24 gnarly years, it’s become hard to ignore them.
- New Zealand national team rugby match
See the All Blacks — dressed in, duh, all black — do the original Haka (origin of the Trinity High tradition).
- Ryder Cup
Although a made-for-TV production, the Ryder Cup is the perfect place to let your golfing hair down and cheer and jeer like a normal sporting event.
- Notre Dame football game at South Bend
Not just the football stadium, but the entire campus — the Golden Dome, the grotto, Touchdown Jesus, Rudy — makes this a special place.
- Pauley Pavilion, UCLA
It’s been renovated, but a lot of the history remains. This is where the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, and his Bruins won 10 NCAA titles. And it’s also where in 1984 the world was introduced to Mary Lou Retton.
- Lake Placid, N.Y.
The village in the Adirondacks (population: 2,638) is hard to get to, but worth the trip. See the rink where the 1980 Miracle on Ice took place.
- Monaco Grand Prix
The premier Formula One race through the twisting streets of Monaco.
- NCAA men’s basketball tournament (first round)
Any site will do. Bring your bracket.
- Allen Fieldhouse (Lawrence, Kan.)
History abounds. The court is named in honor of James Naismith, who invented the game and whose “original rules of basketball” sit behind glass in the building’s outstanding museum.
60, Il Palio, Siena, Italy
The first of the famous horse races was held more than 350 years ago.
- Madison Square Garden
The historic Garden, the one where Jack Dempsey fought and where Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy, was closed in 1968. The location, iconic ceiling and ambience remain, however.
- New York Marathon
The race begins on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and ends in Central Park, traversing all five New York boroughs.
63, Memorials to college sports tragedies
The campus memorials at Marshall, Evansville and Oklahoma State all tastefully and beautifully commemorate the tragic accidents that struck their teams.
- Bristol Motor Speedway (Tennessee)
High banks and tight turns make this short track a unique NASCAR experience.
- World Figure Skating Championships
Away from the spotlight and politics of the Olympics, the sport crowns its true champions.
- Calgary Stampede
Chuckwagon races and a Rocky Mountain backdrop make this 10-day rodeo special.
- Australia national swimming championships
This is the swim-crazy Aussies’ version of the NCAA basketball tournament.
- Harvard-Yale football
College football’s longest-running rivalry game.
- The Ashes
The world’s oldest cricket rivalry, matching England and Australia.
- Texas-Oklahoma football game
Corny dogs, the State Fair and the Cotton Bowl make this an annual tradition for fans of the two schools. One day they’ll wise up and move the game to Arlington.
71, Muhammad Ali training camp (Deer Lake, Pa.)
The camp features log cabins (and a mosque) that the champ himself helped build. Rocks at the camp bear the names of past champs. Sinatra and Elvis once visited Ali there.
- Iron Bowl, Alabama vs. Auburn
Recent years, spoiled by poisoned trees, have elevated this bitter classic into must-see status.
- Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield, Mass.)
Plenty of good stuff to see, including Cliff Hagan’s Dallas Chaparrals jersey.
74, Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory (Louisville, Ky.)
Yes, it’s just a factory, but fascinatingly fun. Have a wooden Louisville Slugger bat made with your own autograph on it. Pose for selfies in front of the giant bat outside the entrance.
- Rugby World Cup
The latest will be hosted by Japan in fall of this year. Let the scrumming begin.
- Duke Kahanamoku Classic, Hawaii
The best surfers in the world tackle the tastiest waves on the north shore of Oahu.
77, World ski flying championships, Oberstdorf, Germany
Any ski jumping is fun to see, but this is where things went spectacularly wrong for Vinko Bogataj, earning him U.S. TV immortality as ABC Wide World of Sports’ “agony of defeat” guy.
- Hockey in Montreal
Hockey has always been best viewed with French subtitles. The Canadiens have a new arena, but plan a side trip to the original Montreal Forum.
- The Superdome (New Orleans)
It’s hosted Super Bowls, political conventions, the pope, and it’s survived a tragic hurricane. It’s become the stately granddaddy of domed stadiums.
- Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore)
The stadium that launched the retro era of ballpark construction. Be sure to take a side trip to the Babe Ruth birthplace and museum, just a short walk away.
81, French Open tennis
Summer heat, red clay, but hey — it’s Paris.
82, Rickwood Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
Oldest surviving professional baseball park in the country. Every May the minor league Barons leave their new modern park and stage a throwback game at Rickwood.
- Japanese baseball league game
Catch a game – and eat sushi — with the Yankees of Far East baseball, the Yomiuri Giants, to get the full sensory experience.
- Australian Rules Football final
Immortalized on late-night ESPN, the Grand Final of Aussie Rules football was played on the Melbourne Cricket Ground last year in front of 100,000.
- NCAA women’s basketball Final Four
Not as bracket-riveting as the men’s tournament, but the top seeds all have avid followings, like the Baylor Lady Bears. Quit complaining that nobody is dunking.
- High school football in Texas, Ohio or Western Pennsylvania
Here they take their high school football seriously.
- Epsom Derby (Surrey, England)
Long before there was a Kentucky Derby, there was “The Derby, ” inaugurated in 1780.
88, Camp Nou (Barcelona)
One of the world’s storied stadiums, Camp Nou is the 105,000-seat home of the FC Barcelona soccer club. Best visited when bitter rival Real Madrid is in town. Don’t forget to try the tapas.
- Utah Olympic Park
Bobsled and luge meets throughout the winter. Ride a bobsled or slide down the skip jump yourself, if you dare.
- Grey Cup
Hey, there’s an extra man on the field! Catch the Canadian league’s championship game before the real winter weather hits.
91, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
I used to have this one listed a lot higher, but the grand old Coliseum is undergoing an extensive so-called renovation and has lost a lot of its Olympic luster. Still, it was host to Super Bowl I and both the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games, and the Coliseum’s importance on the world sporting map can’t be overstated.
- Preakness
Second leg of racing’s Triple Crown. Pimlico is rich in history, including, sadly, its role in the saga of ill-fated Barbaro.
93, Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La., on a Saturday night
College football’s premier night venue has an atmosphere all its own. Loud and liquored-up. Come early for the tailgate scene. Be sure to visit mascot Mike the Tiger next door in his $3-million habitat.
94, Army football game at West Point
Go in the fall when the leaves are changing colors and you’ll see why George Washington handpicked this location.
95, Field of Dreams (Dubuque County, Iowa)
If they build it, we will come. Bring your glove. You never know who’s going to come out of the cornfield.
- Kyle Field (College Station)
It’s been renovated and remodeled, but the Aggies’ historic, sway-tested football home remains one of America’s unique venues.
- Munich Olympic Stadium, Germany
The main stadium for the 1972 Olympics, it’s still an architectural masterpiece. Chillingly, you can see nearby the former Olympic Village apartments, where the Munich massacre began.
- Cape Cod League
The major league of college summer baseball, amidst a Cape Cod setting. Wooden bats, too.
- Iditarod
Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, in early March. Billed as “The Last Great Race,” it’s hard to argue that it isn’t the coldest.
100, Hotter ‘N Hell 100 (Wichita Falls)
What could be more fun to watch than a five-hour, 100-mile bike ride in the heat of a Texas summer?
