12/22/24
July 13, 2004
The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip: Jim and Andrea Siscel just wrapped up a 55,604-mile tour of every major- and minor-league ballpark in the United States and Canada, a project that took nearly three seasons to complete. They created a trip website as they went.
Their response for "worst stadiums" was probably unexpected. Usually Fenway and Wrigley are at the top of best stadium lists. I think they were judging only the practical aspects. worldcup2002: I don't think they're rich - I think it just takes the will (and insanity) to do it. I'm spending September on a cross-country motorcycle trip, which is epic for me, but these two are probably twice my age and on a fixed income. Bravo, geezer role models!
posted by dusted at 12:35 AM on July 14, 2004
There's also the The Ultimate Sports Road Trip. Both trips are impressive.
posted by jasonspaceman at 06:28 AM on July 14, 2004
Wrapped up? I see a lot of minor leauge stadiums they haven't been to.
posted by corpse at 06:34 AM on July 14, 2004
Wrapped up? I see a lot of minor leauge stadiums they haven't been to. Lazy bastards.
posted by scully at 07:24 AM on July 14, 2004
There's also the The Ultimate Sports Road Trip. Both trips are impressive. I would have found the so-called Ultimate Sports Road Trip if they'd chosen a name that was both more humble and more accurate...but I suppose The Road Trip For Four Leagues And Four Sports In North America Only just doesn't sound as impressive. You let me set the itinerary for a sports trip, and it'll be a thing to impress a genuine sports fan, not a League Fan. Give me the budget to actually do it, and I'll write a book that'll make Frank DeFord quake in his loafers!
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:28 AM on July 14, 2004
a genuine sports fan So because I enjoy a league sport, I'm not genuine? I see how it is.
posted by rocketman at 07:43 AM on July 14, 2004
That's one ugly site. But kudos to the old couple. I love how stories always come out where people visit baseball stadiums. It's never football, basketball, or hockey.
posted by emoeby at 08:14 AM on July 14, 2004
How about The Road Trip Involving the Sports People Watch and Not Some Platonic Idealized Sport Noone Can See on the Walls of the Cave?
posted by yerfatma at 09:06 AM on July 14, 2004
The "Toronta" Blue Jays. At least they got the pronunciation right.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 09:29 AM on July 14, 2004
You let me set the itinerary for a sports trip, and it'll be a thing to impress a genuine sports fan, not a League Fan. Give me the budget to actually do it, and I'll write a book that'll make Frank DeFord quake in his loafers! I'm sure you believe that, but writing your words is a hell of a lot easier than doing their actions! And I really doubt anyone gave them the budget to do their trip, either.
posted by dusted at 09:59 AM on July 14, 2004
So because I enjoy a league sport, I'm not genuine? I see how it is. I don't think you do. I don't recall saying, or implying, anything about you. My criticism was aimed at a couple of individuals who chose the grandiose name "The Ultimate Sports Road Trip" when, in fact, they selected only the four most popular leagues in the four most popular sports in North America. If you still want to feel offended, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about that. Oh, and yerfatma? There are an awful lot of people right now watching this obscure Platonic Idealized Sport called bicycle racing right now, in this little local event called the Tour de France. A few weeks ago, a lot of people were watching a Platonic Idealized Sport called tennis, at this obscure little event called Wimbledon, and in a few more weeks, a lot of people will be watching that same obscure little sport at Flushing Meadows. An awful lot of people stand around in the snow to watch a the Platonic Idealized Sport of ski racing at this wonky little nobody-ever-heard-of-it event called the Hahnenkamm. I could go on, but you probably get the idea: there's a huge amount of history, pageantry, spectators, amazing athleticism, and over-the-top partying at sporting events around the world, and to call a trip "Ultimate" that leaves out all of the above, just seems a bit much to me. It invites a certain amount of mockery, and I mocked. So sue me.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:31 AM on July 14, 2004
Ok, we get it. You're a Real Fan and you've stumbled across the sports world's deep, dark secret: many, perhaps most, self-identified fans aren't fanatical at all. They're casual followers. Drives me nuts too: there's nothing worse than being introduced to someone with the words, "He's a Red Sox fan, just like you!" Because they aren't. Not like me. They wanna talk about how Pedro's a girl, Manny's an idiot and the team is worthless, whereas I follow the team instead of regurgitating media opinions. But you know what? These "fans" who do not pass Anubis' feather v. heart test are being friendly. It could be worse: the weather, politics, stocks-- at least they're trying to talk to me about something that actually matters. So I try not to tell them they're wasting their lives because they'll never be as cool as me. The idea that sports realness has an inverse correlation with their popularity is laughable. Moreover, it's snobbery. We come to sport to see human beings vie for perfection. We come to sport to see human beings fail. As a wise man once said, "What might be right for you, might be right for some." Why insisit that everyone see things your way and only appreciate what you appreciate? Your constant defense is, "I wasn't talking about you"; to whom are you speaking?
posted by yerfatma at 10:49 AM on July 14, 2004
Wrapped up? I see a lot of minor leauge stadiums they haven't been to. Yeah, I wondered about that. They visited 140 minor league parks, but according to the official minor-league baseball site, there are 180 teams. Some of them are in Mexico, so that explains a few of the ommisions (they visited all parks in the U.S. and Canada). We're going to have to send them on another trip! What other parks did you notice?
posted by dusted at 11:13 AM on July 14, 2004
Jesus, lil_genuine_sportsfan. Why don't you try to find a higher horse to sit on? Or a bigger chip for your shoulder?
posted by rocketman at 11:22 AM on July 14, 2004
and I'll write a book that'll make Frank DeFord quake in his loafers! I didn't know who Frank DeFord is and curiosity got the best of me, so I did a little search and came up with this. Frank Deford is among the most honored and versatile writers in the country, his work appearing in virtually every medium. In the spring of 1998 he returned to the staff of Sports Illustrated, where he had worked from 1962 through 1989. Deford is a correspondent on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" and he appears on National Public Radio each week on Morning Edition.... Deford is the author of 12 books.... Two of his books...were made into movies.... Among his many honors, Deford is a member of the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. Six times he was voted Sportswriter of the Year by his peers in that organization. The American Journalism Review has cited him as the nation's best sportswriter, and twice he was honored as Magazine Writer of the Year by the Washington Journalism Review.... lil_brown_bat, I think we can add Huge Ego and Delusions of Grandeur to your General Assholishness.
posted by dusted at 11:51 AM on July 14, 2004
lil_brown_bat and rocketman and dusted: I think what we have here is a failure to communicate. rocketman, I think you were just being silly and sarcastic to start with. Unfortunately this doesn't come across too clearly in our text-centric world, and L_b_b, I think, misunderstood. And dusted, whoa! Let's check out L_b_b's general coolness. Can't we all just get along? (say it like Rodney King)
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:59 PM on July 14, 2004
No. She dissed Frank DeFord. CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND?
posted by rocketman at 01:40 PM on July 14, 2004
But to be completely serious, I'm sorry, lil_brown_bat. I don't take well to snobbery - and what you wrote came off like that to me. I'm not accusing you of it, just saying I took it that way. In my original comment, I was being sarcastic, but whatever. The great thing about sports is that they totally don't matter.
posted by rocketman at 01:49 PM on July 14, 2004
I'm spending September on a cross-country motorcycle trip... Awesome! What kind of bike do you have? What is your route? Keep us up-to-date if you are going to have access to a computer.
posted by NoMich at 02:49 PM on July 14, 2004
Awesome! What kind of bike do you have? What is your route? Keep us up-to-date if you are going to have access to a computer. Here's the route and here's the bike. The route is still very much in progress - I'll probably have to scale it down if I want to be able to relax and not worry about making it back on time. I also need to decide if I want to go through Canada and Toronto/Montréal, or go through the Midwest and Chicago. I'm looking into making a mini-blog for the trip, but I'm going to be camping a lot. I'm not sure how much access I'll have to a computer or internet connection. This thread is a mess. Oh well. Sorry for attacking, lil_brown_bat, and sorry everyone else for sidetracking once again. Shake hands and make up?
posted by dusted at 03:15 PM on July 14, 2004
Keep us up-to-date if you are going to have access to a computer. You can't do a worse job than I did when I attended Euro 2004. I blame the fact that I went with 3 high school friends. We drank, made fun of eachother, and drank more. I don't have a single story that anyone outside our clique would think was funny or interesting. Some day I'll post some pictures.....someday.
posted by usfbull at 03:17 PM on July 14, 2004
One last derail: Have fun, dusted. I'd like to hear how the trip went. I'd like to some sort of trip like that sometime on my bike. Maybe I'll just do Raleigh, NC to the western upper peninsula of Michigan. I'm sure that'll be long enough of a trip.
posted by NoMich at 03:34 PM on July 14, 2004
Zen and the Art of SportsFilter
posted by yerfatma at 03:48 PM on July 14, 2004
Zen and the Art of SportsFilter I've given up on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I always get about 2/3 done, where he's heading West out of Montana and the chautauqua keeps getting more and more esoteric. I start smelling bullshit and schizophrenia and my brain checks out. I've attempted the book about five times; I'll finish it one of these decades.
posted by dusted at 03:58 PM on July 14, 2004
That's funny: I can't stand New Age-y crap, but I tore through that book. It gave me cliche-itis, e.g., "It really made me think," "Stopped and evaluated," etc.
posted by yerfatma at 04:47 PM on July 14, 2004
The sequel, Lila is a whole 'nother ballgame. You couldn't pay me to attempt that again. Not in a million years. Wouldn't touch it with a 10' Pole*. Damn cliche-itis. * I've never actually met one that tall.
posted by yerfatma at 04:49 PM on July 14, 2004
dusted, that bike is sweet. And by sweet, I mean totally awesome. Man. Yeah, you definitely need to do a roadblog. Ha. Roadblog. Geddit? Geddit! Seriously, it would be fun to see a pic of you at every stop along the way. Day 1: Shiny bike, smiling dusted. Day 10: Dusty dinged bike, toothless dusted. Have a great trip! Vroooooooooooom!
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:13 PM on July 14, 2004
btw, check out my bike.
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:15 PM on July 14, 2004
posted by dusted at 06:08 PM on July 14, 2004
I also need to decide if I want to go through Canada and Toronto/Montréal If you come through T.O., stop in for a beer....
posted by smithers at 07:49 AM on July 15, 2004
Definitely! Thanks for the offer.
posted by dusted at 11:47 AM on July 15, 2004
If I get rich, I'll visit all the stadia that hosted World Cup final matches. But, damn, those two are a cool couple. I hope I'm that fun when I'm their age. Inspirational.