I have been to a lot of athletic competitions in my life...and amazingly I have saved tickets stubs from most everyone. Before I start to lose memory due to old age, I wanted to log all the games so that I can keep the memories fresh. It may not be that exciting to you, but I am stocked to have done this. If you have been to any of these games with me and have a specific memory, please by all means, let me know so I can share it.
Soccer - MLS Sounders
I have seen so many games over the first two and a half years of existence - I think the number sits at about 30 MLS matches, 3 Open Cup matches and 3 Champions League matches. I won't go through all of them, but here are the most memorable games of the MLS Sounders:
-May 14, 2011 Portland Timbers @ Seattle Sounders
America's premier soccer rivalry was finally back. The stadium was buzzing and the ECS broke out their now famous 9-banner Tifo display. Unfortunately we settled for a tie.
-Oct 5, 2010 US Open Cup Final
Columbus Crew @ Seattle Sounders
Was there ever any doubt that we would defend our championship at home? The atmosphere in Qwest rivaled that only of the home opener.
-Sept 1, 2010 US Open Cup Semi-Finals @ Starfire
Chivas USA @ Seattle Sounders
The fact that this game was standing room only was actually a good thing as we were close enough to touch some of our favorite Sounders. Nate Jaqua led us to a 3-1 win.
-June 5, 2010 New England @ Seattle Sounders
A 3-0 win led by an amazing strikes by both Leo Gonzalez and Steve Zakuani.
-Aug 5, 2009 Barcelona @ Seattle Sounders
The best team in the world wore their salmon kits and dismantled us from the opening whistle
-May 30, 2009 Columbus @ Seattle Sounders
Nate Jaqua's goal still rates as one of my favorites - time stook still the second he struck it perfectly with his boot.
-Mar 19, 2009 NY Red Bulls @ Seattle Sounders
This is a day that I will remember forever...it was the start of the cities love affair with the team. 30k fans standing all night, chanting, holding scarfs and watching Fredy Montero, the kid I had been hyping all pre-season long, score two goals in a 3-0 romp.
Soccer - USL Sounders
-Sept 14, 2008 Atlanta Silverbacks @ Seattle Sounders
Mac Kandji scored and openly mocked the ECS. For some reason I was ok with the cockiness.
-August 7, 2007 US Open Cup Quarterfinal
Colorado Rapids @ Seattle Sounders
Sounders crushed their MLS foe 5-0!
-October 1, 2005 USL Championship Game
Richmond Kickers @ Seattle Sounders
Preston Burpo stood on his head and the Sounders won in PK's. This was my first Sounders game and really the start of my love for the team. Up to then I supported the MetroStars but they just a constant letdown in all phases.
Hockey
-Nov 25, 2006 Tri-City Americans @ Everett Silvertips.
Very impressive support. Fans filled the 8300 seat Comcast Arena.
-Feb 17, 2004 Minnesota Wild @ New Jersey Devils
-Feb 25, 2004 Buffalo Sabres @ New Jersey Devils
-Jan 09, 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning @ New Jersey Devils
-Dec 28, 2003 Everett Silvertips @ Seattle Thunderbirds
I had been used to NHL hockey up to that point, so I remember this being a disappointment. They had cool uni's though.
-May 15, 2003 Game 3 Eastern Conference Finals
Ottawa Senators @ New Jersey Devils
-Oct 29, 2002 Carolina Hurricanes @ New Jersey Devils
-Jan 10, 2001 Phoenix Coyotes @ New Jersey Devils
-Oct 6, 2000 Montreal Canadians @ New Jersey Devils
-May 24, 2000 Game 6 Eastern Conference Finals
Philadelphia Flyers @ New Jersey Devils
Devils sent the series to Game 7 after being down 3-1. The walkway over Route 3 was really really loud and shook with all the Let's Go Devils chants.
-Jan 5, 1999 San Jose Sharks @ New Jersey Devils
-Jan 10, 1997 Chicago Blackhawks @ New Jersey Devils
-Dec 5, 1996 Calgary Flames @ New Jersey Devils
-Oct 25, 1995 Vancouver Canucks @ New Jersey Devils
-Mar 18, 1995 Tampa Bay Lightning @ New Jersey Devils
-Sept 23, 1994 NY Islanders @ New Jersey Devils
-April 2, 1994 NY Rangers @ New Jersey Devils
-Nov 13, 1993 San Jose Sharks @ New Jersey Devils
-Oct 23, 1993 Florida Panthers @ New Jersey Devils
-Mar 20, 1993 Quebec Nordiques @ New Jersey Devils
-Feb 27, 1993 Ottawa Senators @ New Jersey Devils
Minor League Baseball
-Aug 14, 2011 Tri-City Dust Devils @ Everett AquaSox
We laughed when Marcus Littlewood came to bat. Then he went 3-3 and played some fine defense. Oh, and he hit the ball completely out of the park. I then found out that he was a liegit prospect - 2nd round draft pick in 2010 who we might see in Safeco someday. After the game I got to run the bases with my daughter.
-July 15, 2010 Boise Hawks @ Salem-Kaizer Volcanoes vs Boise Hawks
$1 beers. $2.25 hot dogs. $3 baseballs. Abby's second game. Amazing stuff
-July 14, 2010 Tri-City Dust Devils @ Eugene Emeralds
Abby's first minor league baseball game
-2008 @ Tacoma Rainiers
-Aug 19, 2004 Newark Bears @ Somerset Patriots
Last minor league game on East Coast before making the big move
-July 26, 2003 Hudson Valley Renegades @ Staten Island Yankees
I had to travel to the dump known as Staten Island to catch a Yankees game (wow, I really was loving minor league baseball at the time), but it was well worth it - the NY skyline in the distance remains the best view to date.
-July 12, 2003 Binghmaton Mets @ New Haven Ravens
Second oldest baseball field in the US at the time. Went with my boy BuStoller
-July 5, 2003 New Britain Rock Cats @ Trenton Thunder
Joe Mauer had just been drafted #1 overall in 2001 and was starring for the Rock Cats that day. Bernie Williams was rehabbing in CF for Trenton. Mauer hit a BOMB to center that actually spun Bernie in a circle. The young catcher ended up on third with a clean triple.
-June 19, 2003 Vancouver Canadians @ Everett Aqua Sox
I'm still not sure what an Aqua Sox is
-Aug 20, 2002 Pawtucket Red Sox @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre Red Barons
While waiting in line for tickets, someone offered me two free tickets. We decided to sit in the upper deck and I caught my one and only baseball. Ok, I didn't catch it - it came up into our section. There were like 5 other people and no one moved for it...so I went up a few rows and picked it up.
-July 26, 2002 NJ Cardinals @ Hudson Valley Renegades
Nothing says fun like minor league baseball in Southern NY State
-May 5, 2002 Erie SeaWolves @ Reading Phillies vs Erie SeaWolves
-Sept 5, 2001 Vermont Expos @ Williamsport Crosscutters
Did you know that they don't play in the same stadium as the LLWS? A few of my BU boys didn't at the time.
-Aug 20, 2001 Bridgeport Bluefish @ Somerset Patriots
-Aug 18, 2001 Macon Braves @ Lakewood Blueclaws
-Aug 15, 2001 Brooklyn Cyclones @ New Jersey Cardinals
I was stoked because my favorite ball player of all time, HoJo was Brooklyn's manager. I had the opportunity to get his autograph but felt weird having seen twenty 8-year olds wanting the same thing. I settled for a picture with him in the background.
-July 25, 2001 Team Taiwan vs Team USA @ Skylands Park
-July 21, 2001 Jamestown Jammers @ New Jersey Cardinals
-July 5, 2001 Hudson Valley Renegades @ New Jersey Cardinals
-June 22, 2001 Long Island Ducks @ Atlantic City Surf
Three years after his last game with the Mets, I once again saw Carlos Baerga play - only this time it was in the independent Atlantic League for the Ducks. I still have a picture with him at bat.
-June 10, 2001 Elmira Pioneers @ New Jersey Jackals
-May 11, 2001 Lehigh Val. Black Diamonds @ Camden River Sharks
I think this might have been the first ever game at Campbell's Stadium, located right below the Ben Franklin Bridge.
-Apr 29, 2001 @ Harrisburg Senators
Ballpark locate on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna River. Tons of flies.
-Aug 30, 1997 Lowell Spinners @ New Jersey Cardinals
-June 21, 1997 Lowell Spinners @ New Jersey Cardinals
My first game at Skylands even though the team had been around for three years at the time.
Major League Baseball
-Sept 19, 2009 Yankees @ Seattle
-Aug 28, 2008 Minnesota Twins @ Seattle
-Aug 2, 2008 Baltimore Orioles @ Seattle
-Aug 5, 2006 Philadelphia Phillies @ Mets
The absolute hottest day of the year - 105 degrees in the parking lot. I couldn't even wear my jersey it was so nasty. Went with Chris, Rich and Sarah.
-June 17-19, 2005 Mets @ Seattle
Ugggh. Swept by the freaking Mariners. Don't want to talk about it.
-July 16, 2004 Cleveland Indians @ Seattle
-June 27, 2003 Mets @ Yankees
The girl I was dating at the time got me Subway Series tickets for my birthday. Too bad she didn't plan for the traffic. We got no where in our car, so we parked and took the train and didn't get to the game until the 7th. We lost and I got heckled the whole time. Good times.
-Sep 4, 2002 Minnesota Twins @ Seattle
My future mother-in-law scored us amazing tickets simply by saying we were engaged (which we weren't). We sat in the front row on the first base line, got to see Jon Olerud stretch and had our picture taken with the Moose.
-Aug 3, 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks @ Mets
My one and only doubleheader. At the time the Mets were 55-52 and thought they were in the Wild Card race (they had just traded in two separate trades Jason Bay, Bobby Jones and Jay Payton for john Thomson and Steve Reed.) We got swept and it was the beginning of the end of the 2002 season.
-May 28, 2002 Philadelphia Phillies @ Mets
Sept 23, 2001 Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles
Cal Ripken Jr's last home game. Never seen so many flashbulbs go off at once.
-Apr 29, 2000 St Louis Cardinals @ Phillies
My boy jay and I went to the Vet (wow, what a shithole) to watch McGwire take batting practice. I was so naive, but i loved every minute of it. He CRUSHED the ball.
NFL Football
-Nov 8, 2009 Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks
I showed up after the first quarter because of a Sounders playoffs game on tv. The Hawks started slow, then Matt Stafford ended up throwing 5 INT's. Qwest is as loud as everyone says it is.
NBA Basketball
-Jan 23, 2005 Utah Jazz @ Seattle Sonics
-Nov 26, 2004 NJ Nets @ Seattle Sonics
Apparently the Nets starting line-up was R-Jeff, Travis Best, Eric Williams, Jason Collins and Alonzo Mourning. Luckily pre-Vince, but wow, that is terrible. Meanwhile, Seattle finished 52-30 and was the most exciting team in the league.
-Dec 27, 2003 Minnesota T'wolves @ Seattle Sonics
-Feb 21, 2003 NJ Nets @ Washington Wizards
I am told that I saw MJ drop 43 as a 40-year old against my hometown team. Somehow I forget all the specifics, but I know I was at a Wizards game sometime in 2003.
-Jan 10, 2002 LA Clippers @ NJ Nets
-Jan 9, 2001 Philadelphia 76ers @ NJ Nets
College Basketball - UW
-Feb 12, 2011 Stanford @ UW
-Nov 13, 2009 Wright St @ UW
-Feb 14, 2009 Oregon @ UW
-Feb 10, 2008 #4UCLA @ UW
Huskies shocked the 21-2 Bruins 71-61. Jon Brockman and Kevin Love both had double-doubles.
-Mar 1, 2007 USC @ UW
-Dec 22, 2006 Weber St @ UW
-Feb 26, 2005 #9 Arizona @ #14 UW
This ranks as probably the best college bball game I have ever been to. Nate Robinson, Tre Simmons, Will Conroy and Brandon Roy against Salim Stoudemire, Hassan Adams and Channing Frye. Towards the end of the game, the Dawg Pack held up a sign with Frye's cell number on it, encouraging everyone in attendance to give him a call later that night. Oh, and I was introduced to Pulled Pork sandwiches with Man Sauce.
College Basketball - Bucknell
I went to so many games when I was in college. Unfortunately I didn't save many ticket stubs, so I can't list them all. However, these are some that still stick in my mind.
-Jan 1, 2003 American @ Bucknell
I drove out with my boys MikeyMLF and StollerCoaster to watch the final game at Davis Gym (and get a free t-shirt). Not even a year out of school, it was a blast. Unfortunately I have yet to see Sojka Pavilion. Sad
-Feb 21, 2001 Lehigh @ Bucknell
I don't remember all the specifics but we were down like 7 with under a minute left. Lehigh wouldn't hit their foul shots and with less than a second on the clock, Brian Werner hit a 63-footer to tie the game. All of my buddies had left but i refused to leave games early. I was sitting behind the bucket with The Herd and was 80% sure he hit it once it left his hand. Amazing.
-Mar 4, 2000 Patriot League Tournament @ Lafayette
I don't remember much about the game (besides that we lost as a #3 seed), but the car ride to the depressing town of Easton, PA with 6 of my boys was epic fun. StollerCoaster got verbally abused by some Lafayette d-bag. Good times.
-Dec 8, 1999 Princeton @ Bucknell
Easily one of my favorite BU teams of all time. Unfortunately trailing by 1 with under 10 seconds to go, we threw the ball out of bounds on final possession and lost. I believe it's chronicled in John Feinstein's book, so prove me wrong with the exact details if you want.
UW Husky Football
-Nov 18, 2010 UCLA @ UW
Must-win, nationally-televised Thursday night game. Dawgs won 24-7 to start their four game winning streak. I was amazed at the volume inside Husky Stadium and finally got a sense of how important a new stadium is to the safety of the crowd.
Arena Football League
-July 11, 1998 Milwaukee Mustangs @ NJ Red Dogs
-Aug 1, 1997 Nashville Cats @ NJ Red Dogs
-May 30, 1997 Albany Thunderbirds @ NJ Red Dogs
-May 23, 1997 NY Dragons @ NJ Red Dogs
-May 9, 1997 Iowa Barnstormers @ NJ Red Dogs
I saw THE Kurt Warner play Arena Football. That's right. Who else besides my boy Jay can say that?
WNBA
-June 20, 2007 Detroit Shock @ Seattle Storm
-June 9, 2007 Minnesota Lynx @ Seattle Storm
-Sep 3, 2005 WNBA Playoffs Houston Comets @ Seattle Storm
-May 21, 2005 LA Sparks @ Seattle Storm
-Oct 3, 2004 WNBA Playoffs Sacramento Monarchs @ Seattle Storm
Soccer - MetroStars
-July 22, 2000 Miami Fusion @ MetroStars
First game of a doubelheader featuring La Firpo vs Deportivo Cali. Miami was out of the league the following year.
-Jul 29, 1998 Kansas City Wiz @ MetroStars
-Aug 21, 1996 DC United @ MetroStars
-July 14, 1996 MLS All-Star Game and Brazil vs World All-Stars
My mom drove me and three of my buddies down to the Meadowlands on arguably the hottest day of the year. To this day I have never seen as many soccer fans in one place. I remember Tab Ramos blasted a shot home for the win.
-May 24, 1996 Fiorentina (ITA) @ MetroStars
Long before watching Barcelona and Chelsea play at Qwest, I got to see Argentinian legend Gabriel Batistuta play in the Meadowlands. It was my first taste of big time soccer.
Random Events
-June 20, 2003 CFL: Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ BC Lions
Great way to spend my 23rd birthday
-Feb 3, 2001 NCAAB: Brown Bears @ UPenn Quakers
As part of a doubleheader including Rown University, my boy Jay and I got to watch a game at the historic Palestra, which opened in 1927 and was home to the Big 5 basketball games. It is the closest to Hoosiers I will ever get.
-May 23, 1998 NCAA Lacrosse Final Four at Rutgers
Went with my boy Jay and saw #5 Maryland crush #1 Loyola 19-8 and #3 Princeton beat #6 Syracuse 11-10. We got to see the Powell brothers as well as Jesse Hubbard, easily 3 of the best lacrosse players ever.
-Jan 24, 1997 NCAAH: SUNY Cortland @ Army
I'm not even sure this should count as a sporting event, but it's pretty cool to say I've been to a hockey game at West Point.
