In the name of pure nostalgia, I’ve decided to rank my top five favorite sporting events I’ve attended to this point in my life.
Looking back, I realized just how blessed I am to have experienced all these things, and I hope there’s a lot more experiences to come, but even if there aren’t, I’m truly lucky.
These rankings are based on my personal preferences, the fan experiences, histori- cal significance and sensory feelings at each event. Let’s get into them.
1. Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR
I’ve only been a NASCAR fan for two years now, and before then, I too just viewed it as a boring sport where they “just drive in circles,” but that changed after I attended a race at Texas Motor Speedway. This event was far less significant than oth ers lower on the list, but the experience was unmatched.
It’s hard to explain in words, but I’ll try. The roar of the engines is like nothing I’ve ever heard. Even with headphones, it’s so loud that you can feel the vibration from the sound in your chest. The cars demand your attention not only because of their noise, but also because of the speed at which they fly by. Blink and you’ll miss it.
And if that wasn’t enough, you also get to watch them pass each other for position and occasionally get in crazy crashes. Not to mention the smell of burnt tire rubber in the air, there’s nothing like it. It’s hard to imagine until you experience it, but I truly believe even the least interested person could appreciate it. When I went, my favorite driver crashed and finished in the 30s, but I didn’t care. It was so awesome that it ended up becoming my favorite sport.
2. Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers, MLB
I was in Boston for a family trip and the timing was perfect. I was a Rangers fan, and my favorite ballpark was Fenway Park. It was just a regular season game on a Thursday night, but the experience was surreal.
The Rangers disappointed me with a loss, but Fenway Park was everything I imagined and even more. It was a cool summer night in July with an unreal crowd, that was fully engaged in cheers, chants and ballpark traditions. Even going for the opposing team, the environment was special to be in. The well-known Green Monster did not disappoint, and neither did the classic narrow wooden chairs that were nearly 80 years old. Everything is so condensed and compact, which gives the fan a personal experience from any spot in the ballpark. Even the outside of the park is beautiful, and it quite literally is planted in the middle of the city. Every little detail surrounding Fenway expresses its history, which is what makes it special. I also very much enjoyed a Fenway Frank and frozen lemonade during the game to cap off my experience. I believe it’s the best experience in all of baseball because of its history, geography and fan-tradition.
3. Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl: Dallas Stars vs. Nashville Predators, NHL
Any hockey fan knows, for your city to host the Winter Classic is a big deal. The NHL chooses two teams to play on or around New Years Day in an outdoor stadium, and they chose the Dallas Stars to host the Nashville Predators in the Cotton Bowl that year. And as a Stars fan, I was pumped. At the time, the Cotton Bowl was nearly 90 years old, and to accompany that vintage feel, each team wore special edition throwback uniforms. Hockey is usually played in an arena with 20,000-ish fans, so to see over 90,000 fans gather and cheer was special. It’s just a regular season game, but the Winter Classic is a oncein- a-lifetime opportunity, which creates a playoff-like atmosphere. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house, and the game was a backand- forth battle, which the Stars prevailed in, to cap off an amazing experience. The event was perfectly unique, putting hockey at the center of attention on a mass scale, in a country dominated by football and baseball.
4. Bedlam Football: Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma, CFB
I’m from Oklahoma, and everywhere you go in the state, Bedlam is a big deal. My mother graduated from Oklahoma State, and our fandom over the Cowboys football team is one of our greatest bonds. Anyone familiar with college football knows that Oklahoma leads the all-time series by over 70 wins, so there’s a sense of Sooner arrogance surrounding the topic where I’m from. At the time, #7 ranked Oklahoma State hosted #10 Oklahoma in Boone Pickens Stadium, and even though the Cowboys were ranked higher, they still felt like the underdogs given the history involved. Oklahoma State was 10-1 and Oklahoma was 10-1, and the Cowboys had clinched a Big 12 Championship trip already, while the Sooners could with a win.
The Sooners were quarterbacked by Caleb Williams, who would go on to win the Heisman the next season, and the Cowboys had a historically good defense. It was a back-and-forth game of swings, surrounded by a deafening, high-emotions crowd for both sides. It came down to the final play where Oklahoma State secured a game winning sack to eliminate the Sooners from Big 12 and College Football Playoff contention, and the crowd rushed the field. Following the game, you could feel the weight of the result in the thrill of Oklahoma State fans and the agony of Oklahoma fans as the stadium buzzed. Everything about that rivalry game was special, and it’s a moment that I’ll always remember.
5. Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions, NFL
Unfortunately, I am a Cowboys fan, but this game was back when hope still prevailed in 2016. It was Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott’s rookie seasons, and the Cowboys entered the game at 12-2 on the season. Dallas had the dynamic rookie duo surrounded by veterans Dez Bryant and Jason Witten on offense, and Sean Lee and Byron Jones on defense.
Detroit was manned by Matthew Stafford, who would go on to win the Super Bowl in 2022, who at the time, did everything he could against an elite group. The Cowboys would win 42-21, and I’ll never forget how special that team was to watch. Elliott broke off a 55-yard touchdown run, and Bryant threw a touchdown pass to Witten; two moments forever engraved in my mind. On top of that, it was my first time at AT&T Stadium and an NFL game. The stadium was spectacular in every aspect, including the 60-yard long jumbotron, and it’s still the best in the league to this day.
And at the time, the crowd of 100,000+ fans was like nothing I’d ever seen. I’ll always remember that game because not only was it my introduction to live NFL football and stadiums, but it was the best and most hopeful season that the Cowboys have had in my lifetime.