Sunday, May 22, 2011

Favorite Stadium/Arena Experience- Matt V.

Stadiums/Arenas visited:
Amway Arena (Orlando Magic)
Amway Center (Orlando Magic)
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
Brighthouse Networks Stadium (University of Central Florida)
Daytona Speedway
Florida Citrus Bowl

Venues I'd Like to Visit:
The new Marlins Stadium (opening next year)
Soldier Field (Chicago Cubs)
Fenway Park (Boston Redsox)
The New Yankees Stadium (New York Yankees)
Old Trafford (Machester United F.C.)
AT&T Park (S.F. Giants)
Just about any NFL stadium

Favorite Venue:
Toss up between Amway Center, Wrigley Field, and Raymond James

Favorite Experience:
I just started actually visiting professional (and collegiate) sports in person when I started college and could somewhat afford it. Growing up in Niceville Florida did not exactly offer any real live event opportunities. The first professional sporting event I ever went to was an Orlando Magic playoff game in April of 2009. The ticket was a birthday present to see the Magic take on the 76ers, on their way to the NBA Finals. Although that experience was great, it is not my favorite. It is hard to argue against the technological awe that the new Amway Center creates yet working there never really gave me the true "experience" of the arena. Raymond James Stadium's pirate ship is also hard to contend with. If you have never heard the cannons fire as Tampa scores, you're missing out on a great NFL tradition. My favorite experience however would have to be visiting the classic Wrigley Field for a daytime Cubs game versus the Braves. This was the second live professional sporting event I ever attended and first I paid for. There is nothing more relaxing than having an Old Style while sitting in the Chicago sun watching the manual scoreboard change for a Cubs home run. Although I grew up a Marlins fan (and still somehow I remain a Marlins fan) a little bit of me took in the Cubs as a sort of step child. To me that is a day I will always remember and cherish. Attending live events is something I have always wanted to make apart of my regular basis and something I am only recently being able to accomplish. With limited experiences in a growing hobby as well as the opportunities the DeVos program is creating for me with a career in sports, I hope to add to these experiences in the near future.

Matthew Vinson














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