Revisiting The Great Northeastern Sports Roadie

As my thoughts drift to joys I took for granted before the pandemic, none resonates more vividly than memories of great sports road trips.

I moved to Central Canada in the mid eighties after growing up in northern British Columbia. People I share that with ask “Aren’t you doing it backwards?” British Columbia is among the most beautiful places on earth as its license plate motto attests. My stock replies to that are “You can’t eat scenery” and “Life isn’t lived in a postcard”.

As a teenager, I didn’t appreciate the scenery. As I grew up in it, I assumed it was normal and unexceptional. Only on trips home later in life did I come to appreciate how special it was. Truth is, unlike the rest of my family, I’m a city person and BC only had Vancouver — a major city I had already seen. You could cross the border to Seattle but otherwise you were on a plane if a major city was your destination.

I have yet to move back. While I miss friends and family terribly, I am enjoying the advantages of where I am. Yes, the winters are hell and, no, I’ve never felt like I fit in socially or culturally.

But if geography is destiny, being in the Northeast allows you to see some great things, events and places that just aren’t available elsewhere. For a sports fan, the northeast is Mecca. With its cluster of major cities, each with MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA teams, a sports traveler could visit any of NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and hit three games in one weekend. What the uninitiated don’t realize is how close together the northeastern cities are and the possibilities this raises for a three day, multi-city sports trip.

Syracuse — Buffalo corridor

The nearest NFL city to me is Buffalo, NY — home to the Bills and the NHL’s Sabres. In normal times, the NFL schedule comes out in May and the NHL schedule in June. There are a few weekends each year when the Sabres play at home on a Saturday and the Bills play at home on a Sunday, making for a great two-sport weekend.

If you are looking for touristy things to do in Buffalo, between games, there is the Albright — Knox Art gallery, and great architecture like Darwin Martin House by Frank Lloyd Wright and the art deco Buffalo City Hall. Niagara Falls is only thirty minutes away as well. I will state here and now that as a twelve year Buffalo Bills season ticket holder, their tail gate party is second to none.

If your Bills weekend happens before the NHL season starts, consider taking in a college football game of the University of Buffalo Bulls. They play in the Division II Middle America Conference but don’t mistake that for poor quality. They have sent Pro Bowl pass rusher Khalil Mack and wide receiver Namaan Roosevelt to the NFL and host an enjoyable game day experience with affordable ticket prices.

If your sporting tastes are more Division I collegiate, the Syracuse Orange is a perennial championship contender in NCAA Men’s basketball. While their men’s football program has lost prominence since the halcyon days of Donovan McNabb and, before him, Jim Brown, the program frequently cracks to top 20 Division 1 rankings. As an ACC school, their schedule can include powerhouses like Florida State, Clemson and Notre Dame. Football game days are Saturdays. Basketball game days vary by the week.

Funny story — on one of our Syracuse — Buffalo weekends, the NCAA moved our Orange football game on a flex schedule from afternoon to evening, which I completely ignored. Thinking the game was a 1:00 PM start we began our tailgate party good and early only to find we were the only ones there. A courteous Syracuse police officer came by and told us to move our vehicles to the other side of the road to avoid a $150 dollar fine. Nothing like Western New York hospitality!

Buffalo — Pittsburgh — Cleveland

As you can see from the enclosed map, these three cities are no more than three and a half hours apart by car. All three have NFL teams. Pittsburgh has the Pirates and Cleveland has the Indians in MLB. Pittsburgh has the Penguins and Buffalo has the aforementioned Sabres in the NHL. This makes for myriad possibilities for a three day sports roadie depending on how the schedules line up.

Aside from championship sports teams, Pittsburgh is known as the City of Bridges, making for a spectacular skyline. The Pirates and Steelers stadia are next door to each other and a ten minute walk apart. Hotels nearby on game days are expensive. If you can stay at a Pittsburgh hotel near the subway line, the subway fare is free on Steelers game days and stops at Heinz Field.

Tourist attractions include the Andy Warhol museum and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpiece, Fallingwater, in nearby Mill Run, Pa. For the shoppers on your trip, check out Grove City Premium Outlets. The southside strip has a lively bar and nightclub scene.

University of Pittsburgh boasts a storied Division I NCAA football program having graduated the likes of Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Larry Fitzgerald, Curtis Martin and Aaron Donald. Their games are usually on Saturdays at Heinz field.

One lasting impression I have of Pittsburgh aside from its architecture is that everyone smokes and has tattoos. It’s residents are referred to as Yinzers. Where the south is known for saying “Y’all”, Pittsburghers are known for saying “Yinz”.

Cleveland, like other rustbelt cities, has lost population and jobs since the seventies. It is reinventing itself through urban renewal and attracting the creative class with affordable housing and commercial/industrial space. The legendary Flats night club and entertainment district is going through a resurgence. Next to Cleveland Brown Stadium is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Lebron James came home to deliver the Cavaliers an NBA title before departing for Tinseltown. The Indians have been on the doorstep of victory in the MLB post season for several years, losing narrowly in the 2016 world series to the Chicago Cubs. Don’t look now but the resurgent Browns are a lofty 8–3. Cleveland and its Lake Erie neighbour, Buffalo, are the ultimate underdog cities that lost population and industry for years. But they haven’t lost their sense of humour as evidenced by these “tourism” videos.

Washington — Baltimore — Philadelphia

The driving distance between these three cities is just over four hours. While I’ve visited all of them, it was separately, and not on a three day sports roadie. In past seasons, I have seen the NFL schedule bestow fans with gifts like a Saturday — Sunday — Monday football lineup, back to back, in Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. That’s all the proof I need to confirm that God is a sports fan. This is late season football in cold weather but the three day sports roadie can be done.

I’ve attended Phillies, Eagles and Flyers games in Philadelphia and a Redskins (Football Team) game in Washington. There are enough tourist attractions in these two cities to merit their own article. If you are attending three games back to back in different cities, your tourism time will be limited.

The Washington Football Team’s stadium is in Maryland. The closest subway station (Morgan Boulevard) is a one mile walk. It is worth noting that the county where the team’s stadium resides forbids the sale of alcohol on Sundays. You are advised to purchase your game day beer well in advance. The tailgate at Fedex Field was great, by the way, second only to Buffalo.

Philadelphia’s stadia and sports facilities are a sports fans dream as the homes of the Phillies, Flyers, 76ers and Eagles are all located side by side by NRG subway station. There are a lot of wonderful things to see and do in old Philadelphia but, if your time is limited and you can’t do them all, run the Rocky steps at the Museum of Modern Art.

Cincinnati — Morgantown — Pittsburgh

These three cities are separated by just over 6 hours of driving time. This roadie was actually done over 4 days. We did a Thursday Night NFL game in Cincinnati and had no games on Friday. With our unscheduled Friday, we visited the Muhammad Ali Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. The University of West Virginia Mountaineers hosted the Kansas State Wildcats on the Saturday in Morgantown. Then we were off to Pittsburgh for the Sunday Night NFL Football game between the Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cincinnati is in a picturesque setting on the Ohio river. We enjoyed a scenic riverboat cruise where we learned about the area’s colourful history. There are pedestrian bridges across the Ohio river taking you to the state of Kentucky. Both Paul Brown Stadium, home to the Bengals and Great American Ball Park, home to the MLB Reds overlook the river, making for a striking skyline.

As the Mountaineers eked out a close victory against the Wildcats, the stadium broke out in song to John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads”. It was one of the most moving sports experiences of my life. We met some wonderful Mountaineer fans who hosted us for a post game celebration in their RV.

College football fans will note that the powerhouse Ohio State Buckeyes are located in Columbus, Ohio. As Columbus sits conveniently between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, this makes for a possible Bengals — Buckeyes — Steelers road trip as well.

When 65,000 plus people party hard, as they do in tailgating, regrettable, even tragic things can happen. Ridiculous, funny things can and do occur as well. You are advised to govern yourself accordingly. Know your limitations and have a transportation plan, especially in the excitement of game day where open public drinking is allowed. There is a reason why there is a jail and medical infirmary many NFL stadiums. Thankfully, these incidents are the exception and not the rule.

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In my group of friends, the sports road trip took on increasingly therapeutic proportions. Symbolically, the trips came to represent a reprieve from the rest of our lives in which we lived for everyone else’s benefit. We would meet regularly at our favourite watering hole to reminisce about the good times we had and great people we met on the last roadie and discuss where we were going next year. It has been an annual ritual to meet when the schedules were released to plan our next roadie. This is the first year where there hasn’t been a next year.

I believe I’ve made the most of my sports tourism opportunities offered by Northeastern geography. Growing up in northern British Columbia, I’d watch NFL games on TV thinking I’d never get a chance to see one live. I never dreamed I’d live somewhere where I could go every year.

I still pinch myself and feel the excitement of a child when I approach a stadium on gameday. Whatever the future holds, these trips have given me some of the best memories of my adult life. If your proximity to the Northeast allows to embark on a multi-city sports roadie, you owe it to yourself to do it at least once.