Spectator Sport entertainment in USA
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New Jersey Nets
Overshadowed by but better than the Knicks, the Nets play exciting ball, though their closest championship call was being runners-up in the 2002 and 2003 finals. Perhaps what the Nets have needed is a total relocation – which is indeed in the cards. Real estate mogul Bruce Ratner bought the Nets in 2004 and after three years of delays and lawsuits his plan to build a new stadium was finally given the green light in 2009. The controversial $4 billion project will bring an 18,000-seat arena, the Barclays Center (www.barclayscenter.com), to Brooklyn. The Nets, in the process, are likely to be rechristened the Brooklyn Nets. Construction on the stadium began as this book was …
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USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
The pro tennis circuit’s final Grand Slam event each year, the US Open (www.usopen.org) takes place over two weeks at the end of August at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Tickets usually go on sale at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) in April or May, but are hard to get for marquee games (held at Arthur Ashe Stadium). General admission to early rounds is easier; they run about $80 (top bleachers on Court 7 can take in five matches at once). Check out the USTA site in January or February for updates. The USTA has 30 outdoor courts and an indoor tennis center with 12 courts (per hr outdoor court $20-30, indoor court $20-62) that can be hired. Reservations…
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Chicago White Sox
The White Sox play at US Cellular Field (aka The Cell, though often referred to by its pre-corporate-sponsorship name, Comiskey Park). Less loved than the Cubs despite their 2005 World Series win, the Sox resort to more promotions and cheaper tickets to lure fans to their southerly location. Thus, you might be treated to a pre-game ’80s hair band or a free hot dog with admission. Tickets are available through the team’s website, at the ballpark box office or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Sell-outs aren’t usually an issue. The Cell sports a couple of cool features, such as the Bullpen Bar, where you sip your beer practically right freakin’ on the field; and the pet-check, wh…
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New York Knicks
They’re bad and in trouble of late, kicking off the 2009–10 season with the worst start in franchise history – losing nine out of ten games. Recent scandals – like the $11 million sexual harassment suit in 2007 against former coach Isiah Thomas that preceded his dismissal – haven’t helped. All the same, the blue-and-orange are loved. The first song to popularize hip hop, actually, gives it up for the beloved Knickerbockers (Sugar Hill Gang sings ‘I have a color TV so I can watch the Knicks play basketball’). Despite big crowds of Spike Lee and 18,999 others at the Garden, the Knicks haven’t won a championship since 1973.
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Chicago Fire
Thanks to Chicago's large Latino and European communities, the city's soccer team, the Fire, attracts a decent-sized fan base. The team plays in their brand-spankin' new stadium – Toyota Park – way southwest of downtown and the season runs from April to September; the finals are in October. Fire tickets are available through Ticketmaster, and are fairly easy to come by. Less easy is getting to the stadium in suburban Bridgeview. If you get to Midway Airport via the Orange Line, you can catch the suburban Pace Bus No 386 Toyota Park Express, which runs on game days only. The full trip from the Loop will likely take an hour or so.
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New York Giants
One of the NFL’s oldest teams, the Giants (part of the NFC conference) shocked the world (and themselves) with a 2008 Super Bowl championship won off their stingy defense and the sometimes maligned arm of quarterback Eli Manning. Like other sports franchises in the NY region, the Giants longed for a new stadium and their wish was granted. Barring any unexpected delays, the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands Stadium (no name change here) should be up and running by the time you read this. Double in size to the old stadium, it has a handy new rail link to the city courtesy of NJ Transit.
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New York Mets
In 2009, the Mets moved from Shea Stadium (where the Beatles played in the 1960s) to a new stadium next door, Citi Field (where Paul McCartney played to a sold-out crowd in 2009). Still New York’s ‘new’ baseball team, the Mets joined the National League in 1962. Fans still hold onto the magic of ‘86, when the Mets last won the World Series in a miraculous comeback. Their blue-and-orange logo shows select buildings from New York’s five boroughs. The stadium is 35 minutes by subway from Midtown.
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New York Jets
The Jets, generally less popular than the Giants, have yet to return to the big time since the fabled 1969 Super Bowl when flashy quarterback Joe Namath ‘guaranteed’ a victory – and delivered. Games are always packed, though, and new fans easily get swept away by the contagious ‘J-E-T-S!’ chants. Now, if they can just get a quarterback who will produce… The Jets are now co-owners (with the Giants) of a shiny new stadium, which may or may not bring the team a winning record.
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New York Yankees
The Bronx Bombers are the USA’s greatest dynasty, with 27 World Series championships racked up since 1900. In 2009, the team returned to fine form with a World Series victory, the Yanks’ first since 2000. The roster – led by Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter – is something of a single-team all-star lineup. Since 2009, games are held at the new Yankee Stadium, a $1.5 billion stadium near the former 1923 stadium. Note: cheap seats in the bleachers are alcohol-free.
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Chicago Bulls
They may not be the mythical champions of yore, but the Bulls are still well loved and draw good crowds to their basketball games. Tickets are available through the United Center box office – located at Gate 4 on the building’s east side – and at Ticketmaster outlets. The season runs from November to April. On game days, the Chicago Transit Authority runs a special express bus (No 19) on Madison St that heads west to the stadium.
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Newport International Polo
Tranquilly set amid the stone barns and walls of the 100-acre Glen Farm (established in the 1600s), bring a picnic basket for a fieldside tailgate and watch the US team take on Egypt, Jamaica and other Olympic-caliber squads. Crowds aren’t large and you’ll be close enough to hear snorting horses and walloping mallets. The season runs from May to September.
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New York Rangers
Manhattan’s favorite hockey squad ended a 54-year dry spell by hoisting the Stanley Cup in 1994, though a dip in play has plagued recent seasons. One of the all-time-greats, right-winger Jaromir Jagr left the team in 2008, leaving a noticeable void in his absence, though hopes are high that new head coach John Tortorella can bring the team back to life.
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New York Red Bulls
After several years of delays, the Bulls’ new purpose-built, $150-million soccer arena is nearing completion. Located a few blocks from the Harrison PATH station (a 20-minute ride from Manhattan on the red line) near the Passaic River, the 25,000-seat stadium will see action from April to October, during the Bulls’ 30-game season.
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New England Patriots
The three-time Super Bowl champs play football in a new state-of-the-art stadium that’s just 50 minutes south of Boston, but it’s hard to get a ticket (most seats are sold to season-ticket holders). From I-93, take I-95 south to Rte 1. Otherwise, direct trains go to Foxborough (off Map p71) from South Station.
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights
With fiery coach Greg Schiano leading the Scarlet Knights from scapegoat to end-of-season bowls, Rutgers (college football’s oldest team) is now actually turning the heads of New York football fans. Games are held just outside the university’s New Brunswick campus, about 35 miles southwest of Manhattan.
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New Jersey Devils
The Devils may not be New Yorkers, but they’re bigger winners, hoisting the Stanley Cup three times in the past 15 years (most recently in 2003). They’ve also managed to retain their sizeable fan base following their move to Newark (to the custom-built Prudential Center) in 2007.
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Griffin Stadium
Nicknamed ‘the swamp’ (coz only Gators get out alive), this 88,548-seat stadium is home to the UF’s Gators football team, which plays seven games a year here from August to November. Visit www.gatorzone.com for info about the team and other Gator sports.
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Staten Island Yankees
These Yanks have been champions of the New York–Penn title three times in the past decade (including 2005). If you don’t catch a fly ball, you can at least catch some fab Manhattan skyline views from the stylish waterfront stadium.
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New York Islanders
New York City hasn’t given much Islander love since their remarkable consecutive four-year Stanley Cup streak (1980–83). If you venture out to their Long Island home, give a high-five to Sparky the Dragon for us.
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Brooklyn Cyclones
The Mets’ farm team brought baseball back to Brooklyn (finally) in 2001. The minor league team, part of the New York–Penn League, plays at a beachside park a few steps from the Coney Island boardwalk.
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Boston Bruins
The Bruins, under the former star power of Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and Ray Bourque, play ice hockey at Banknorth Garden. That is, when they are not involved in a labor dispute.
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Columbia Lions
Harlem has its own cute baby-blue Ivy League team for Saturday college football action. The Lions will likely lose, but at least tickets aren’t a problem.
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Boston Celtics
From October to April, the NBA Boston Celtics play basketball, and the NHL Boston Bruins play ice hockey.
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New York Liberty
Still searching for their first championship, the women’s WNBA team plays a 34-game season from May to September or October.
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