Sometimes the best part of traveling is the memories you make. We’ve partnered with adventure, culture, and luxury traveler Dr. Cacinda Maloney from the blog Points and Travel, as she discovers the world of crazy sports fans that travel the world!
Are you a big sports fan? Have you ever traveled for a sport? Of course, we all have our favorite sports teams, but THESE crazy sports fans are a bit different. Many of them go to great lengths to support their teams by sneaking into games, standing in line in the freezing cold, crying to get a ticket, and shouting until they are hoarse. They spend their hard-earned money traveling the world just to cheer on their teams with their favorite piece of memorabilia.
“I am living with two crazy sports fans myself and know how they go to the ends of the earth to participate in a game. They have to wear the right shirts, colors, and certain memorabilia – and that is just to watch the games on television from our living room on game day! So you can image what they do when they actually travel to the event! For my two, nothing is too wild and crazy when it comes to traveling for their sport!”
Cacinda Maloney of PointsandTravel.com
Photo courtesy of PointsandTravel.com
“I love all sports and have traveled all over the world to watch different sporting events. My favorite team is the New York Yankees and although I don’t have to leave North America to watch them, I always have them with me when I travel! My Yankees hat has been to over 200 countries and both the north and south poles!”
Lee Abbamonte of LeeAbbamonte.com
Photo courtesy of LeeAbbamonte.com
“One time while sitting in the airport in Valencia, Spain I noticed an extremely good-looking man across the terminal. It wasn’t until he sat right next to me on the plane that I believed dreams really could come true. We started with small talk and he told me he played “futbol,” so I proceeded to tell him I also played for 9 years. Soon after he finally said he played for Real Madrid and that I should come to the game on Sunday- I didn’t flinch. Like a true American, I made signs and a t-shirt and showed up to the stadium on that Sunday without a ticket. When I arrived at the booth, I was devastated to find out the game was sold out. I started to fake cry when an elderly man came over and asked me what was wrong. I informed him that I met “Angelo” on a plane and he was expecting me. Minutes later he came and brought me two tickets to the game because he was a club member. When the players ran out, I waved my sign proudly and Angelo saw me in the stands (he couldn’t NOT see me with my eclectic outfit). At the end of the game, I saw him looking in the stands so I ran down to the field and he gave me his jersey. Call me crazy or dedicated, let’s just say I have the best souvenir EVER!”
Ashley Colburn of AshleyColburnProductions.com
USA vs. Serbia in San Diego Photo (not the Real Madrid game!) courtesy of AshleyColburnProductions.com
“We were already in Europe when we learned of a ‘friendly’ match between the U.S. Men’s Soccer team and the Switzerland team set to take place in Zurich. We had friends traveling to the game from America – and we decided we couldn’t miss it. We drastically detoured from our original travel plans in Croatia and Slovenia and instead flew to Zurich to join our friends at the stadium and cheer on the U.S. of A.!”
Sarah Monroe Moran and Chris of JetSettingFools.com
Photo courtesy of JetSettingFools.com
“My husband is a big football/soccer fan (what you call it does depend on which part of the world you live in), and we have successfully been to Brazil for the World Cup in 2014 and the Euros in France in 2016. He will definitely travel to see these major events to catch a game (or two, depending on how many he wins in their lottery systems) – as well as sight see along the way. We do this using points/miles so our costs aren’t so bad!”
Ruby Escalona of AJourneyWeLove.com
Photo courtesy of AJourneyWeLove.com
“The Ryder Cup is unlike any other golfing event around the world. Every two years, those fortunate to have tickets to this coveted event either side of the pond, experience an electric atmosphere where the world’s finest golfers go head to head. We have been fortunate to experience the last three Ryder Cups with the “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012 being our first and undoubtedly best experience as the Europeans fought back from an improbable deficit to defeat the American team on home soil.”
Chris Boothman of a BritAndASoutherner.com
Photo courtesy of ABritAndASoutherner.com
“Terrence has been a lifelong Seattle Mariners fan even though he is a native New Yorker. He loves the team so much that we have actually partnered with them when visiting Washington, traveled to see them when they are playing out of state, and partner with local sports teams during away Mariners games just so we can get in to see the game and report. Seattle represent!”
Victoria Yore of FollowMeAway.com
Photo courtesy of FollowMeAway.com
“Cricket in India is akin to a religion with the mass hysteria and devout following it garners. I’ve stood in line for hours, bunking classes and even giving up on hard earned pocket money to buy tickets in my school and college days. Now, first come first serve requires a combination of good technology and luck and sometimes even that’s not enough for a ticket. If that fails, begging or bartering for VIP tickets. If even that is not available, standing outside the stadium hoping for someone to carry an extra ticket to accommodate us. It’s tough being a fan of a popular sport and even tougher getting to see it live. However, there’s no comparison to seeing it live with thousands of fans cheering beside you.”
Rishabh & Nirali Shah of Gypsycouple.com
Photo courtesy of Gypsycouple.com
“I met one of the World’s best tennis players, Ivo Karlovic, randomly through a friend in London and he invited me to a couple of his tennis games. First, I attended a game at the Queens Cup, then I watched him play against Andy Murray in Wimbledon. It was a real privilege to watch a game from the players’ box in Wimbledon because Wimbledon is considered to be the most prestigious tennis tournament around the world and sometimes people camp outside all night to get tickets to see the games. After this, we became friends with Ivo and I watched him play in Monaco at the Monte-Carlo Open, at Roland Garros in Paris, and also at the US Open. I became a real tennis fan and I travel around to see as many games as I can.”
Barbara Wagner of Jet-Settera.com
Photo courtesy of Jet-Settera.com
“You can find us cheering on the brew crew all across the states! Every year we attend at least 30 games traveling to Chicago, St Louis, and even further to cheer on the Milwaukee Brewers. We are lucky to live less than 10 miles from Miller Park. This stadium is like no other in the US. The ballgame starts in the parking lot where we tailgate hours before heading into the game. Don’t miss the famous sausage race in the middle of the six, it’s one of my favorite things to do in Milwaukee.”
Hannah & Adam Lukaszewicz of GettingStamped.com
Photo by GettingStamped.com
“I once snuck into a Super Bowl, not a contest or ticket gift. The night before the game (I was in college), my upstairs neighbor (a track star) pounded on my door. His kitchen was on fire. Seemed he was cooking a steak but fell asleep. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and put it out. I asked what he was up to for the rest of the weekend and he said he was working the ticket entrance the next day at the Super Bowl. “WHAT?” I said, “My team (Dolphins) are playing.” He said, “Man come to gate B9 at 1 pm.” I found him, but he said his supervisor was nearby and to find something that looks like a ticket (this was before scannable tickets). I saw people walking up holding tickets in hand so I found a piece a thin cardboard and ripped a piece about the same size, walked back to the gate, gave it to my friend. He said, “Enjoy the game, Sir.” I walked around the stadium, dodging ushers and guards for the first half, getting all the way down to the first row, 50-yard line. At halftime, I had enough and left the stadium but what an adventure that was!”
Charles McCool of McCoolTravels.com
Photo courtesy of McCoolTravels.com
Latest posts by Cacinda Maloney (see all)
- How NOT to be a tourist in a new city… even if you are one! - December 3, 2019
- Do’s and don’ts for surviving long-haul air travel - November 11, 2019
- Here not there: Avoid overtourism with these gorgeous alternatives - October 11, 2019
Travelocity compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site; such compensation may include travel and other costs.
What a fun story! You truly ARE a die hard sports fan!!!
When you fake cried OMG I was dying!
What a fun read!
We love sports but have never traveled the world for sports.
You are such an inspiration!
Saved the best for last. 😀 Thank you for including my story along with these other cool, fun, amazing epic sports and travel adventures.
OMG. Talk about a sports fanatic! LOL. That’s awesome thought. I’m good with watching my sports locally, but, hadn’t thought about traveling to make sure I watched my favorite team! And I love that you had the opportunity to sneak in to see your team play the superbowl!
My family are all huge sports fans so any opportunity we get to go to any game we will jump at the chance. From the examples above, the Ryder Cup really jumped out at me as Im British by birth but became an American citizen a few years back. Now I’m always torn at this tournament as I want both sides to win!
I’ve never really been much one for sports. Well… I guess I used to like baseball as a younger kiddo, but not much since then. I feel out of touch in a lot of ways since I don’t have things I’m super obsessed with like sports or tv shows.
What a fun post. Everyone looks so happy! I love seeing this. Sports really do bring people together and create great memories. Even if you are not into sports you can have fun with others who are really into the games.
I’m not a sports fan but I love the idea of this, since I love to travel. It would be really cool to see your favourite team play in different places around the world.
So jealous! We are HUGE sports fans, but haven’t had the time to travel to a game. We generally only make it down to Philadelphia to see our teams. When we were younger, we did manage to get to New York to see them. Looks like so much fun!
Awesome website man, looks very nice. Ive been looking for something like this.
This is a interesting article by the way. I am going to go ahead and save this article for my sis to read later on tomorrow. Keep up the first-rate work.