NCJ - list was America, but agree if global then Wimbledon makes it, as would Wembley Stadium for soccer....and for that matter some might put the Coliseum (Rome not the Masoleum in Uniondale..lol !!)
I agree with the MSG and Yankee caps in other countries. That is why I where my Mets or Islanders cap when I am traveling.mjmaherjr post=448842 said:Nathalie and I have become friends with a lot of people all over the world from traveling and whenever they ask about the US and sports they always ask about MSG. Most will mention yankee stadium also. As a Met fan it pains me to say it but no matter what country we go to we will see people in yankee gear. Heck even in Zambia we saw kids with yankee hats. Ironically whenever I'm wearing my St Johns gear we will pretty much always run into a Johnnies fan at some point but they are travelers from the US also but like clockwork we will be walking down the street someone and someone will say " Go Johnnies ". Most older fans from the 80s and 90s
Not keeping up with analytics has ruined the game. The defensive shifts, mindset for every at bat to be a HR, walk or strikeout, all the pitching changes. They need to adjust the rules to get the game back to what it was meant to be.RedStormNC post=448856 said:Re: baseball declining popularity, NYT has article on the drivers of decline and what MLB is trying to do to counter it
I was huge baseball fan through my late teens but interest dropped off a cliff after the strike in 1994. I rarely ever watch a game, and just read the headlines of Yankees/Mets or if something just comes across that catches my interest.
Baseball, Popular but No Longer Dominant, Seeks to Reclaim Its Cool
[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/sports/baseball-popularity-black-participation.html[/URL]
In that vein, I would nominate Augusta National as the most iconic American sports venue.NCJohnnie post=448857 said:Iconic speaks to an enduring symbol of greatness so not sure current popularity is determining factor although if a sport has become irrelevant. it's clearly not enduring.
Hard for me to see how Wimbledon does not meet the definition in the same way Churchill Downs does; both have been around forever and are the first thing you think of when you think of their sport. Even very casual tennis and horse racing fans immediately think of both places when the sport is mentioned.
That's an interesting take. For me personally the Old Yankee Stadium was special I've probably been there more than met games because most of my friends from work are yankee fans. Thew new yankee stadium means nothing to me ( I'll still go to games there with friends ) but now my yankee friend fans usually prefer going to citifield after work to watch a game because the stadium itself they all love. MSG every time I walk in I still get that special feelingBeast of the East post=448871 said:I've only been to yankee stadium a handful of times over the years. They are the enemy, and feels a little like a mobster strolling into the social club of a rival gang. It might be a friendly visit, but you don't talk about where your allegiance lies.
I'm always awestruck by the Yankees historical dominance of baseball. As a Met fan the comparisons of the two franchises are like comparing Ancient Rome to almost any other culture or country. The Yankees dominated for much of the 20th century and no one comes close.
As a kid and an adult, I look at a vacant field pre game and imagine Ruth in right field, DiMaggio or Mantle in center, Gehrig at first, Berra or Dickey at catcher. The list goes on and on.
The old stadium renovated or not , was hallowed ground for any sports fan. The greatest players of any sport played there. If you've ever been to the suites there, the hallways and suites are littered with candid off field photos of innumerable great yankees. A veritable hall of fame just with great Yankees.
Because of this aura, the new stadium, replete with the classic Yankee design retains much of the same in a way a new MSG cannot. Walking to the Stadium, passing the site if the old stadium, I am conscious of the fact that the ghosts of those stars are present.
Because of this, Yankee stadium embodies not just a franchise, but a symbol that speaks to America and the world.
And counter to nearly all Met fans, when at Yankee stadium I root for the Yankees. After all, I'm a New Yorker thru and thru.
[attachment=2391]DA8BAC25-8A63-4758-9F49-F767229D2131.jpeg[/attachment]Monte post=448880 said:My little piece of history. Seat I sat on at last game of original Yankee Stadium in 1973. Wanted to take the entire seat but it was impossible to disassemble without tools, and would have even been more difficult to take home by train.
[attachment=2390]6C932C21-EA58-4AD9-A949-D37A0D6B2306.jpeg[/attachment]
Hahaha. For the record, back then they welcomed the help with demolition. Basically they said "take what you want". Just don't want you to think less of me then you already do.mjmaherjr post=448881 said:[attachment=2391]DA8BAC25-8A63-4758-9F49-F767229D2131.jpeg[/attachment]Monte post=448880 said:My little piece of history. Seat I sat on at last game of original Yankee Stadium in 1973. Wanted to take the entire seat but it was impossible to disassemble without tools, and would have even been more difficult to take home by train.
[attachment=2390]6C932C21-EA58-4AD9-A949-D37A0D6B2306.jpeg[/attachment]
I'd have taken a KegMonte post=448882 said:Hahaha. For the record, back then they welcomed the help with demolition. Basically they said "take what you want". Just don't want you to think less of me then you already do.mjmaherjr post=448881 said:[attachment=2391]DA8BAC25-8A63-4758-9F49-F767229D2131.jpeg[/attachment]Monte post=448880 said:My little piece of history. Seat I sat on at last game of original Yankee Stadium in 1973. Wanted to take the entire seat but it was impossible to disassemble without tools, and would have even been more difficult to take home by train.
[attachment=2390]6C932C21-EA58-4AD9-A949-D37A0D6B2306.jpeg[/attachment]
Pretty sure that's impossible for the majority of us. /media/kunena/emoticons/wink.png/media/kunena/emoticons/smile.png/media/kunena/emoticons/grin.pngMonte post=448882 said:Hahaha. For the record, back then they welcomed the help with demolition. Basically they said "take what you want". Just don't want you to think less of me then you already do.mjmaherjr post=448881 said:[attachment=2391]DA8BAC25-8A63-4758-9F49-F767229D2131.jpeg[/attachment]Monte post=448880 said:My little piece of history. Seat I sat on at last game of original Yankee Stadium in 1973. Wanted to take the entire seat but it was impossible to disassemble without tools, and would have even been more difficult to take home by train.
[attachment=2390]6C932C21-EA58-4AD9-A949-D37A0D6B2306.jpeg[/attachment]
Monte post=448882 said:Hahaha. For the record, back then they welcomed the help with demolition. Basically they said "take what you want". Just don't want you to think less of me then you already do.mjmaherjr post=448881 said:[attachment=2391]DA8BAC25-8A63-4758-9F49-F767229D2131.jpeg[/attachment]Monte post=448880 said:My little piece of history. Seat I sat on at last game of original Yankee Stadium in 1973. Wanted to take the entire seat but it was impossible to disassemble without tools, and would have even been more difficult to take home by train.
[attachment=2390]6C932C21-EA58-4AD9-A949-D37A0D6B2306.jpeg[/attachment]
Once the memorabilia market exploded, which it did by the time Shea and (renovated) Yankee Stadium closed, that was the end of the freebies.Beast of the East post=448890 said:Monte post=448882 said:Hahaha. For the record, back then they welcomed the help with demolition. Basically they said "take what you want". Just don't want you to think less of me then you already do.mjmaherjr post=448881 said:[attachment=2391]DA8BAC25-8A63-4758-9F49-F767229D2131.jpeg[/attachment]Monte post=448880 said:My little piece of history. Seat I sat on at last game of original Yankee Stadium in 1973. Wanted to take the entire seat but it was impossible to disassemble without tools, and would have even been more difficult to take home by train.
[attachment=2390]6C932C21-EA58-4AD9-A949-D37A0D6B2306.jpeg[/attachment]
Both mets and Yankees were smarter when they closed both stadiums. They warned fans that vandalizing any property would result in arrests. Then sold seats, signs, even the foul poles.
NCJ--you will love Saratoga as a great historic venue which has probably the most superb racing season of any US track. It has more Grade 1 Races over its40 days season than any other track in the US along with the Grade 2 and Grade 3, basically one of these per day along with other stakes races. If you go, suggest that you attend a few sessions and if you want to try Clubhouse dinning, a nice way to enjoy the day, you book well in advance. We used stay in Vermont at one of the inns as a little more quiet and easier to book than in Saratoga but now a friend has a lake house nearby so we save on hotel nights and have a little more to "invest". Maybe you could catch a steeplechase race when you go. They race Wed to Sun and best to get tickets in advance.NCJohnnie post=448885 said:BR, Saratoga is on my bucket list. I've been a horse racing fan for 45 years and can't believe I still haven't been there. On the other hand, I don't think I've enjoyed anything I've done since I retired more than going to the Derby. The most exciting 2 minutes in sports and a really cool experience even though it poured Derby Day. But it was beautiful Friday for the Oaks and besides I won that day lol.
Yankees were actually selling full seats and seat backs (which you took). I remember the YAnkees charges a lot more for a pair of seats (about $1400) than the Mets did (about $900). My wife got me a pair of Met seats (Mezzanine green - the loge I sat in were sold out).Monte post=448891 said:Once the memorabilia market exploded, which it did by the time Shea and (renovated) Yankee Stadium closed, that was the end of the freebies.Beast of the East post=448890 said:Monte post=448882 said:Hahaha. For the record, back then they welcomed the help with demolition. Basically they said "take what you want". Just don't want you to think less of me then you already do.mjmaherjr post=448881 said:[attachment=2391]DA8BAC25-8A63-4758-9F49-F767229D2131.jpeg[/attachment]Monte post=448880 said:My little piece of history. Seat I sat on at last game of original Yankee Stadium in 1973. Wanted to take the entire seat but it was impossible to disassemble without tools, and would have even been more difficult to take home by train.
[attachment=2390]6C932C21-EA58-4AD9-A949-D37A0D6B2306.jpeg[/attachment]
Both mets and Yankees were smarter when they closed both stadiums. They warned fans that vandalizing any property would result in arrests. Then sold seats, signs, even the foul poles.
NC if you are up here that time of the year let me know because I can definitely get the 114 crew to do a road trip because OLV72 and Ralph go every year ( OLV72 Huge Horse Racing Fan ) and Nat and I go up there every couple years and Monte is known on slow sports days to go down to the subway and throw a slice of Pizza on the ground and bet with his bookie how long till a rat come and takes it so we can definitely get a crew up there. Plus we have redmen guys that live up not far from there.NCJohnnie post=448885 said:BrooklynRed wrote:
most of the venues are for a specific sport and not multiple sports and some that are memorable no longer exist (Ebbets Field-where I was introduced to Baseball). Having been to all baseball parks discussed, it is a close call between Wrigley and Fenway but I love Wrigley, and the surrounding Wrigleyville area (maybe I am swayed by the beer vendors who carried beer in glass bottles that they opened and poured to order). As to football venues, I like Michie Stadium at West Point--always memorable with corps of cadets, cannons and mule rides in the end zone, and the fall scenery is the best. The name MSG has the most recognition in the US as befits an iconic venue but all the indoor arenas look alike as they are basketball and hockey combined venues--even the outside facades are blah. For basketball, I would say its the Palestra or Hinkle, made famous by Hoosiers. Horse racing Saratoga vs. Churchill Downs, I'd pick the older course--Saratoga. While Churchill has the Derby and the Oaks, it has considerably less Grade 1 stakes when compared to Saratoga.
BR, Saratoga is on my bucket list. I've been a horse racing fan for 45 years and can't believe I still haven't been there. On the other hand, I don't think I've enjoyed anything I've done since I retired more than going to the Derby. The most exciting 2 minutes in sports and a really cool experience even though it poured Derby Day. But it was beautiful Friday for the Oaks and besides I won that day lol.