Posts Tagged ‘Basketball Games’
Holidays in the Usa – a Sports Extravaganza
Andy Adams asked:
They say that they do everything bigger over in the good old United States of America; buildings, technology and even food (leading to bigger waistlines too). This fact can be attributed to their sports too. American sports are popular all over the world not just for the average Joe American.
Major sports such as American Football, Baseball and Basketball games are syndicated all round the world for fans to watch on TV. But nothing quite beats being there in person, cheering with the crowd, taking in the electric atmosphere. Many British holidaymakers are timing their holidays with sporting events in the States so that they can add a bit of variety to their holidays.
There’s plenty of regular season games for all the big four (Basketball, Baseball, Football and Hockey) and tickets are rather easy to get hold of, with many arenas and clubs using online booking systems such as Ticketmaster so you can get your tickets sorted early.
In other cases most hotels’ concierge services have connections to the stadiums and may be able to pull a few strings for visitors looking to make the most of their holidays.
One point to be careful of is ticket touts, yes these vultures exist stateside too, and prey upon impressionable tourists, my advice is to stay clear, it isn’t uncommon for tickets to be fakes or getting a child’s ticket instead of an adult’s one. After all you didn’t come thousands of miles to get swindled.
The main attraction of American sports is how much effort and style goes into their big events, the Football has Superbowl, a national treasure in itself. American football is as popular (possibly even more) than football, sorry, I mean soccer, is in the UK.
This is the ultimate in sporting entertainment with fireworks a plenty, pulse pounding action and the halftime shows. The halftime shows are like an arena concert unto themselves, with past performers such as Prince, Paul McCartney and the infamous Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake incident! This year Superbowl XLII is going to be taking place in Phoenix, Arizona and is in March.
The NBA basketball goes above and beyond Superbowl with not only an All-Star game but an entire weekend devoted to the festivities. Apart form the game itself showcasing the cream of it’s NBA basketball players there are other events such as a celebrity game (last year including names like The Green Mile’s Michael Clarke-Duncan and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx) and the high-flying Slam Dunk contest. Basketball is a growing sport over here in the UK and what better way to see the pros than getting to New Orleans for February the 17th.
These are just two stand out spectacles on offer, people that have gone on holidays to America and seen sporting events like these have had a great time, especially families. One activity I have done myself is visit the historic Madison Square Garden arena in New York which was due to host a boxing match between Lennox Lewis and Michael Grant in 2000, and whilst we were unlucky in trying to get tickets we were still able to get a great guided tour of the arena including trophy rooms, locker rooms and the Theatre upstairs that has hosted awards shows and events such as VH1’s Divas Live. Many arenas in the United States offer these tours normally during the day even whilst they’re setting up for events like the boxing match previously mentioned.
In general if you can get tickets good and early then you could easily add some interest and value to your holidays this year!
They say that they do everything bigger over in the good old United States of America; buildings, technology and even food (leading to bigger waistlines too). This fact can be attributed to their sports too. American sports are popular all over the world not just for the average Joe American.
Major sports such as American Football, Baseball and Basketball games are syndicated all round the world for fans to watch on TV. But nothing quite beats being there in person, cheering with the crowd, taking in the electric atmosphere. Many British holidaymakers are timing their holidays with sporting events in the States so that they can add a bit of variety to their holidays.
There’s plenty of regular season games for all the big four (Basketball, Baseball, Football and Hockey) and tickets are rather easy to get hold of, with many arenas and clubs using online booking systems such as Ticketmaster so you can get your tickets sorted early.
In other cases most hotels’ concierge services have connections to the stadiums and may be able to pull a few strings for visitors looking to make the most of their holidays.
One point to be careful of is ticket touts, yes these vultures exist stateside too, and prey upon impressionable tourists, my advice is to stay clear, it isn’t uncommon for tickets to be fakes or getting a child’s ticket instead of an adult’s one. After all you didn’t come thousands of miles to get swindled.
The main attraction of American sports is how much effort and style goes into their big events, the Football has Superbowl, a national treasure in itself. American football is as popular (possibly even more) than football, sorry, I mean soccer, is in the UK.
This is the ultimate in sporting entertainment with fireworks a plenty, pulse pounding action and the halftime shows. The halftime shows are like an arena concert unto themselves, with past performers such as Prince, Paul McCartney and the infamous Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake incident! This year Superbowl XLII is going to be taking place in Phoenix, Arizona and is in March.
The NBA basketball goes above and beyond Superbowl with not only an All-Star game but an entire weekend devoted to the festivities. Apart form the game itself showcasing the cream of it’s NBA basketball players there are other events such as a celebrity game (last year including names like The Green Mile’s Michael Clarke-Duncan and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx) and the high-flying Slam Dunk contest. Basketball is a growing sport over here in the UK and what better way to see the pros than getting to New Orleans for February the 17th.
These are just two stand out spectacles on offer, people that have gone on holidays to America and seen sporting events like these have had a great time, especially families. One activity I have done myself is visit the historic Madison Square Garden arena in New York which was due to host a boxing match between Lennox Lewis and Michael Grant in 2000, and whilst we were unlucky in trying to get tickets we were still able to get a great guided tour of the arena including trophy rooms, locker rooms and the Theatre upstairs that has hosted awards shows and events such as VH1’s Divas Live. Many arenas in the United States offer these tours normally during the day even whilst they’re setting up for events like the boxing match previously mentioned.
In general if you can get tickets good and early then you could easily add some interest and value to your holidays this year!
An Audio Mp3 Book Turned My Son Into a Better Basketball Player!
Paul Simari asked:
Brian made the varsity basketball team as a sophomore last year, which rarely ever happens at Dover High School. Not only did he make the team, but he was the starting forward, and led the team in rebounding and finished second on the team in scoring. That was last season. Now, as a junior, he knew this was his year to take over the team. He would have college coaches coming to watch his games, and recruiters would be calling to speak with him. If he continued to play well and improve, this would most likely mean a free college education for Brian – and as his father, I was all for that!
But Brian started off the season playing well below his standards. It seemed like he lacked concentration and motivation, and his play was unusually slow and sloppy. He still was able to score like he did last year, but he was getting by using his pure physical size and strength most of the time instead of his talents. He was still good – but he had the potential to be great … he just needed a little fire to get there!
I remembered back when I was in high school. I was a football player. Whenever I felt that I needed some motivation before games, I always listened to speeches on tape by my favorite football coaches – Knute Rockne, Vince Lombradi, Bill Walsh. After listening to those guys in the locker room, I would get out on the field and fight my *** off for my team!
And then it hit me – if that worked for me, then it sure as hell should work for Brian too!
I knew that he liked to listen to music on his mp3 before basketball games and in the locker at halftime, so I downloaded an audio book online called “Motivational Speeches For Athletes By Professional Coaches” onto Brian’s mp3 player. The next day, an hour before the start of his next game, I told him to listen to it. After the book finished, he looked at me and simply nodded his head. He didn’t say a word, but I could tell that it worked.
Brian went out that night and scored a school record 47 points. After the game, he thanked me for giving him that audio book. He said it was exactly what he needed to motivate him and get him to play up to his abilities.
Now, several months later, Brian has maintained his awesome play, and he has had Villanova, Seton Hall, and Rutgers all come knocking on our door!
Brian made the varsity basketball team as a sophomore last year, which rarely ever happens at Dover High School. Not only did he make the team, but he was the starting forward, and led the team in rebounding and finished second on the team in scoring. That was last season. Now, as a junior, he knew this was his year to take over the team. He would have college coaches coming to watch his games, and recruiters would be calling to speak with him. If he continued to play well and improve, this would most likely mean a free college education for Brian – and as his father, I was all for that!
But Brian started off the season playing well below his standards. It seemed like he lacked concentration and motivation, and his play was unusually slow and sloppy. He still was able to score like he did last year, but he was getting by using his pure physical size and strength most of the time instead of his talents. He was still good – but he had the potential to be great … he just needed a little fire to get there!
I remembered back when I was in high school. I was a football player. Whenever I felt that I needed some motivation before games, I always listened to speeches on tape by my favorite football coaches – Knute Rockne, Vince Lombradi, Bill Walsh. After listening to those guys in the locker room, I would get out on the field and fight my *** off for my team!
And then it hit me – if that worked for me, then it sure as hell should work for Brian too!
I knew that he liked to listen to music on his mp3 before basketball games and in the locker at halftime, so I downloaded an audio book online called “Motivational Speeches For Athletes By Professional Coaches” onto Brian’s mp3 player. The next day, an hour before the start of his next game, I told him to listen to it. After the book finished, he looked at me and simply nodded his head. He didn’t say a word, but I could tell that it worked.
Brian went out that night and scored a school record 47 points. After the game, he thanked me for giving him that audio book. He said it was exactly what he needed to motivate him and get him to play up to his abilities.
Now, several months later, Brian has maintained his awesome play, and he has had Villanova, Seton Hall, and Rutgers all come knocking on our door!