Bring on 2010!

As I wrote about last week, 2009 was probably the best year of my life, especially when it came to my sport and travel, so 2010 will have to be pretty good to be able to compare. Luckily, it’s already starting to look like a great year for sport, even if I wont be able to get to the biggest event of the year.

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games
The Olympic games are the reason I’m in Vancouver. Well, that and I’m afraid of the ultra cold winters in the rest of Canada. Olympic fever has well and truly hit the city of Vancouver, with now less than 40 days until the opening ceremony at BC Place.
I’m starting to get pretty excited about the coming games, having started training for my new job as part of the 50,000 strong work force of paid and volunteer workers here in the Olympic city making sure the games go off without a hitch.
While I don’t yet have tickets to any events, I’m determined to find a way to be part of the crowd and witness some of the games first hand. Even if it is curling.

NBA, NBA and more NBA
I’ve stated previously that one of my goals, over my next 2 years in North America, is to see every NBA team play, and to see a game in each city. So far, I’ve seen nine games in seven NBA cities, featuring 13 of the leagues 30 teams. With Patrick Mills looking likely to get some action soon, another trip down to Portland before the Olympics start could be in order.

With the success of my November NBA journey from Toronto to Minnesota, in which I saw a number of amazing games, I’m starting to plan another NBA road trip for next winter, this time hitting the South of the US in around December 2010 and finishing in early January 2011. Once again the bonus is avoiding the cold Canadian winter, and getting a chance to see games in 10 NBA cities, from Miami to San Antonio to Memphis to Charlotte.

2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa
No I’m not going. I wish I was, but then, maybe I’m just getting greedy? It is definitely an event that I do wish to get to at some point in the future though, and with Australia bidding to host in either 2018 or 2022, I may get the chance. It certainly wouldn’t be the same as travelling to some far off part of the world to see it, but having the biggest sporting event in the world come to me, would be pretty special too.

This years event, in June and July, sees Australia in a group with Germany, Serbia and Ghana, so I’ll be doing whatever I can to be in a bar showing these matches on June 13, 19 and 23.

With Canada not typically a “football country”, and having not made it to the finals, I expect the atmosphere wont be quite as good as the UK in 2006, where I watched the last World Cup Finals from. This is the world game, however, and if there is one thing you can be sure of is that you can find a football fan anywhere you go.

2010 FIBA World Championship, Turkey (Men) and Czech Republic (Women)
The Australian Boomers, once a consistent medal threat in international basketball, has struggled of late, however with the emergence of young players like Andrew Bogut, Patrick Mills, Nathan Jawaii and Joe Ingles, the current group looks capable of hanging with the best in the world when the championships get under way in late August
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Australia’s womens team, the Opals, are the current World Champions, and despite having lost the 2008 Olympic gold to the Americans – once again – will feel confident of their ability to retain their title when the tournament gets underway in late September.

Like the FIFA World Cup, the two basketball world championships are two major events that I would one day like to attend in person, but at this stage will settle for watching them from afar.

"You got to know when to hold ‘em"
One of the few sporting events I will be partaking in for 2010 will be some Texas Hold ‘em Poker in (where else) but Las Vegas? While I’m certainly no Gus Hansen or Joe Hachem, I’ll be throwing my money down for a couple of small tournaments while in Vegas. As everyone knows, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – I’m pretty sure my money will do that same

Is that all?
While I’ve started planning to get to sporting events for 2010 already, a lot of the time the best opportunities come when you’re not expecting them, and I’m sure I’m going to get to a few random events throughout the year. Among the other live events I’d like to get to are the US Open Tennis, an NFL Football game, an NCAA (College) basketball game and a WNBA basketball game.
Whatever way you look at it, its looking like being a big year in sport. Is anyone else planning any trips to see their favourite team play?

What is better than Sport and Travelling?

I Love Sport.

No kidding, I'm a guy. Not exactly a big revelation.

No I mean I REALLY love sport. Any sport really. It's got everything, heroes, villains, comedy, tragedy. Australian Rules Football was my first sports love, Basketball perhaps my biggest.

I'm also a massive travel junkie. Since I got my passport 5 years ago, all I've wanted to do is get out and see the world.

These two things would seem at odds with each other - how do you follow your footy team back home when you're away for two years at a time? They don't have to be though.

I've discovered in my travels, that, while I still love the sports, leagues and teams I grew up with, I become addicted to the local sports and teams when I get somewhere else. It has all of the same elements. While the game itself may be different, all of the good stuff is still there. The passion for your club, the historical (and often arbitrary) arch rivals, and people coming together for a shared goal.

The perfect example of how much of a travelling sports junkie I really am - and the inspiration to start blogging - came on the weekend just past, when I was in Calgary during the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup. I'd never heard of the Grey Cup - the CFL's version of the Super Bowl - until a week ago, while in Saskatoon, Canada, with some local friends watching their team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, win their way into the cup against the Montreal Alouettes.

When I arrived in Calgary, the host city, it was filled with football fans from all over Canada who were there to celebrate their game and enjoy the Grey Cup Festival. Even fans of the teams who didn't make the final were there proudly wearing their teams colours. This was a celebration of the sport and the game as much as it was about who was going to be the eventual champion.

I found myself well and truly caught up in the atmosphere, and while I still didn't know a thing about Canadian Football, I adopted a team - the Roughriders - and joined in the festivities.

The game itself was no let down. Montreal were the favourites, while Saskatchewan were easily the crowd favourite, with a sea of green in the stands. While the 'Riders got out to a good lead at half time, Montreal fought back and won in a fashion befitting a Hollywood movie. Damon Duvall, the Kicker/Punter for Montreal had a very dirty match, shanking a pair of punts in the third quarter to gift the 'Riders a score. He would have his chance at redemption however, lining up for goal with 2 seconds on the clock. He missed it. More pain. And yet another chance. The Roughriders had too many men on the field, so he would now line up from 10 yards closer, and this time there would be no mistake. He was now a hero. Where else can you get drama like that other than the sports field?

Throughout the game I cheered, booed, celebrated, rode every pass, every kick and ultimately was bitterly disappointed that the Roughriders lost, despite being a fan of the game for exactly one week. I couldn't have been more into it had it been my beloved St Kilda Saints losing a winnable AFL Grand Final. Oh, lets not talk about that.

I've been lucky enough to witness some amazing things happen in sport, in stadiums (and bars) all over the world. But I'm just getting started. Over the next two years I'm going to be living in Canada and trying to get to as many sporting contests as possible in North America (and hopefully Europe) with a big one first as the 2010 Winter Olympics comes to my new home, Vancouver in a little over two months.

On this blog I plan on talking about all things to do with sports throughout the world. The similarities, the differences, what makes each sport so important to each region and what lessons my favourite sports in Australia could take from all of this.

Most of all I'm gonna have some fun. After all, what could possibly be better then travelling and watching the top sports in the world?