Do you want to watch a soccer match in England, 12-year-olds playing baseball all over the country or eight football games on any given Sunday?
No problem, ESPN and other cable packages allow the average fan to watch almost any major sporting event, and many more obscure sports, from all around the world (curling fans in Canada are still waiting their turn).
However, there’s still nothing like witnessing a sporting event live and in person.
The atmosphere and anticipation of the crowd cheering together as one, the athletes leaving everything they have on the field and the sports that bring people from all walks of life together for a few hours a day with one common purpose: the love of the game.<br/>It can't be matched. A fan will sit in front of his TV and mutter the words "Man I wish I was there," but you don't see a fan sitting in a stadium saying, "Man I wish I was watching this on TV."It can't be matched. A fan will sit in front of his TV and mutter the words "Man I wish I was there," but you don't see a fan sitting in a stadium saying, "Man I wish I was watching this on TV."
It can’t be matched. A fan will sit in front of his TV and mutter the words “Man I wish I was there,” but you don’t see a fan sitting in a stadium saying, “Man I wish I was watching this on TV.”
A favorite conversation of sports fans who happened to witness a game worth mentioning in person goes something like this. Friend/coworker/mailman: Hey, did you catch that game last night? After the question is asked you smile, pause for effect and say the three words you have been holding for this particular occasion, “I was there.”
The next time you have the chance to either watch two teams you don’t really care about on TV or go to a local sporting event in person, I would recommend the latter.
This does not just pertain to professional or major college sports either.
College campuses can provide some of the best atmospheres in sports, just ask football fans at the Swamp in Florida or the Horseshoe at Ohio State. Or, for the basketball fan, two of the best atmospheres in the country are the Cameron Crazies at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium or just down the road at Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas.
Yes I am biased, but there are also very good sports teams here at Baker. Two of the most exciting sports moments I’ve seen have been at Liston Stadium. Those would be Derek Doerfler’s 62-yard field goal against William Jewell to win the game two years ago and Matt Germain’s goal in overtime in the first round of the men’s soccer national tournament last season against Park University.
Sure Baker doesn’t have the shear number of people, but there’s no reason why Liston Stadium can’t be full when the Baker football team takes on MidAmerica Nazarene University or when the Baker soccer team battles Graceland.
There is something refreshing about watching a high school or small college game. There are no million-dollar contracts or shoe deals, just athletes who play for no reason other than that they love the sport.<br/>&#160;