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I’ve attended SO many games at this stadium, and not just for the Dodgers either as I’ve been to several UCLA-USC Crosstown Rivalry baseball clashes here, too…

SPORTS EVENTS I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHILE I’M BREATHING ON THIS PLANET

Not too long ago…

I was thinking about the various athletic events and games that I have fantasized about attending in my lifetime because they’re so iconic and traditional,

Something that I would remember for a long time, as the biggest sporting event I had ever attended came to pass twenty-five years ago;

The 1999 Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, which involved UCLA in what would be the last time that the Bruin football program would play in that “Grandaddy of Them All”;

Even though those Bruins lost to Wisconsin that New Year’s afternoon, I still had a good time as I camped (and almost froze) on Colorado Blvd the previous night and got to see something that everyone should see in person at least once in their lives – the Rose Parade.

I still have the ticket stub from that contest, on a lanyard hanging from a peg in my closet.

Anyway,

I was contemplating the sporting events that I would very much like to see with my own eyeballs, as opposed to on TV;

To be at such iconic events, soaking up the atmosphere.

Here are the eleven athletic events that are widely known as iconic and traditional, that would be so cool for me to watch in person…

  • Army vs Navy Football (#1 CHOICE) – The Nation’s Rivalry. A game where though there’s usually no postseason bowl at stake and no future NFL draft picks are involved as for the players from West Point and the Naval Academy who are obligated to serve in the Army and Navy, respectively, for approximately five to eight years upon graduation, this game means ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING not only to those young men on the field, but for every Cadet and Midshipman attending those academies as the entire student bodies of those two schools go to that game, and are quite emotional one way or another at its end.
  • Michigan vs Ohio State Football – The second of five rivalry games that I would love to see and experience; being among over 100,000 rabid Wolverine and Buckeye fans where an appearance in the College Football Playoff – as well as the Big Ten championship – is on the line every year; I’ve wondered if there the security and police presence in Ann Arbor and Columbus is doubled or even tripled to prevent any brawls between the two fan bases. Being that my alma mater UCLA will be in their conference as of this coming August 1st, I’m glad that neither team is on the Bruins’ schedule this coming season!
  • Alabama vs Auburn Football – The Iron Bowl. For the same reasons that I stated regarding Michigan vs Ohio State, I would love to experience the atmosphere of this traditional clash; as is the case with Ann Arbor and Columbus, I reckon the security and number of police is greatly multiplied In Tuscaloosa and the Plains during that weekend. Any rivalry where the animosities are so intense, a fan of one team poisons a tree from the town that the other team plays in, is worth checking out.
  • Texas vs Texas A&M Football – You know this is a rivalry of pure hatred when one school’s fight song does nothing but bad mouth the other school. Not only that, I remember while a student at UCLA watching this game on TV and seeing the Longhorn and Aggie players get in an all-out brawl during the pregame warm-ups! And the best part of it all is that after twelve years, this most extremely pronounced collegiate rivalry is returning as Texas will join their A&M enemies in the SEC this fall.
  • Harvard vs Yale Football – I don’t imagine fans and alums from these two flagship Ivy League institutions brawl or engage in any other blatant animosities when their Crimson and Bulldogs play. But any rivalry that’s been played for nearly 150 years, which has involved players who have gone on to pretty much lead this country, including presidents, is attractive to me as far as experiencing the atmosphere even though like Army vs Navy, none of the players will likely end up in the NFL. Not that they would need it as they would have a better chance of owning a team.
  • World Series if the Dodgers are in it – For obvious reasons, me being a lifelong Dodger fan (except for a few years in junior high) and all. Though I’d have to win the lottery or a huge jackpot in Las Vegas for me to be able to afford tickets.
  • College World Series if UCLA is in it – I wish I would have gotten that chance in 2013 when those Bruins reached the Promised Land in winning that first baseball national championship in Omaha
  • College Football Playoff Championship Game if UCLA is in it – Much like the World Series, I’d have to win the lottery or score at least a million dollars in video blackjack, video poker, or the slots in Vegas for me to see the Bruins try for their first title in what’s now seventy years this season. Not that their chances are good – at all – with them being in the Big Ten with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State now.
  • Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA – Unlike the World Series, the College World Series, or the College Football Playoff, a team from the L.A. area doesn’t have to be involved for me to want to see and experience what is the Mecca of youth sports – thought it would have been very cool to see El Segundo’s dramatically epic triumph last year!
  • An English Premier League Soccer (football) Match – Preferably the Merseyside Derby (Liverpool vs Everton) or the Manchester Derby (Manchester United vs Manchester City) as in the case of Liverpool in particular, it would be part of what would be a Beatles pilgrimage for me; Arsenal vs Chelsea in London would be very cool to see and experience as well. I’m always fascinated every time I catch one of those Premier League matches on TV; how could I not be such when 70,000 fans are singing their club’s song at the top of their lungs? “You Never Walk Alone”, sung by the Liverpool FC fans, gave me chills when I saw/heard it on YouTube.
  • Opening Ceremonies for the Summer Olympics – I missed my chance in 1984 when the Games were held in L.A. and So Cal, not that I would have been able to go as my grandmother’s best friend’s funeral was held on the same day that Rafer Johnson (RIP) lit the torch in the Coliseum. That torch will be lit again here in 2028, but as the case with the World Series and the College Football Playoff I know I would have to win eight figures in Vegas or in Lotto to have a chance of buying a ticket.

Oh well, a guy can dream, can’t he?

Perhaps I could check off some of these items on this bucket list one day.

But for now,

Watch for Part Two of my sports bucket list, where I mention the things I would like to do, as opposed to merely watching other people doing;

It will appear on this blog soon…

Another place I’ve been to SO many times – roughly 200 or close to it – to see my alma mater’s football team…