Sports Road Trip: Phoenix
is greated at University of Pheonix Stadium.
Guest Post: The Sports Brethren
How Can a Stadium be Named After an Online University?
For all intents and purposes, this was my first time in Phoenix; it was resplendent with potential.
Entering from the West on the freeway you can make out the University of Phoenix Stadium just north of town. It looks like a grain silo. It looks like a melted Hershey kiss. It looks like, god forbid, a soccer stadium. I eyed it with disdain, as that was the battlefield on which my Panthers would soon play.
Phoenix has an exponential history with sports. While the Suns have been there for forty years, and the Cardinals have called Phoenix home for twenty, the Coyotes, Mercury and Diamondbacks have only been around since the 90s. NASCAR has a race in Phoenix, and they are trying to get an MLS squad there, which is surely the reason soccer hasn’t caught on in the US.
It’s a pleasant town, as are its surrounding metropolises that house their sports teams. Technically, only the D’backs, Suns, and Mercury play in Phoenix, along with the Arena League Rattlers. Everyone else is either in Tempe or Glendale. It’s kinda like those smaller fish you see drafting with sharks, only the sharks are Steve Nash.
The secret is out, as Phoenix is the fastest growing city in America and let me tell you, it shows. There’s a ton of construction going on, and high rises are sprouting up like wildflowers. The greater the population, the more sports fans. From what I gathered, Arizona State’s still the biggest draw in town, but I’d like to gauge the city when the Suns are in full bloom.
A day on the road
Stopping to shop (and dance) Refueling…
Ready to drive again…
The sports fans of Phoenix are a dichotomy. There are fanatics for the Sun Devils, and bottle-throwers for the Diamondbacks, but we didn’t see too many gung-ho types for the Cardinals. That probably has something to do with their, y’know, performance more than anything else. The denizens are very proud of their new stadium and it inspires sympathy more so than any other emotion. It’s kind of adorable.
All in all, Phoenix is a great town for sports fans and I eagerly look forward to returning when Old Jesus leads our Panthers to the Super Bowl in February. Hey, we did beat the Cardinals…
Good thing this picture ain’t in focus.
Want to guest blog? Email mhblatt(at)gmail.com if interested.
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