Category Archives: Sports

Yankee Stadium

The New York Yankees are to Baseball as the Bulls are to rugby in South Africa, and Yankee Stadium feels a little like Loftus. They have won 27 World Series Championship, 16 more than the nearest rivals the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees last World Series victory was in 2009, which was their first season in the brand new stadium.

Myself and Jano outside Yankee Stadium in New York!

My first baseball game I have ever attended was at the old Yankees stadium in 2007, which was just across the road from the new stadium. Construction on the new stadium had begun in 2006 already.

The modern concourse at the new $1,5 billion Yankee Stadium

The old Yankee Stadium was often referred to the house that Ruth built, after the Yankees most famous player Babe Ruth. Which was bought from their mortal enemies the Boston Red Sox in 1919. That trade is believed by Red Sox fans to be one of the reasons behind their 86-year World Series drought.

The outfield, bleachers and the huge scoreboard at Yankee Stadium

The new Yankee Stadium has all the bells and whistles. Escalators and elevators are in abundance to help move the crowds to their seats. The walkways are wide and there are food outlets everywhere.

The giant US flag flying behind the bleachers at the new Yankee Stadium

The new Yankee Stadium can hold over 50 000 people, and Yankee fans are every bit as passionate about there team as Bulls fans. It must be intimidating for a visiting team to play at the Bronx zoo (one of the many nicknames from Yankee Stadium). The Yankee’s record shows dominance rarely seen in any sport.

As with most baseball stadiums Yankee Stadium is steep in tradition and the Yankees rich history is on display through this wonderful modern masterpiece, which cost $1,5 billion to build.

Jano and Kerry with the baseball diamond in the background.

If you are ever in New York, try and make it to a game at Yankee Stadium, you can watch the crowd as much as the baseball and learn a little more about America’s favourite pastime… and about the passion that drives it.

Wrigley Field

Wrigley field must be one the most amazing places to visit in Major League baseball. Wrigley Field is the home of the Chicago Cubs and is the second oldest ballpark in the majors, after Fenway Park in Boston (home of the Red Sox). It was build in 1914 and now has a capacity of 41 000.

Busy concourse before the start of the gam at Wrigley Field.

The Wrigley Field is located to the North of the city, while US Cellular Field home of the White Sox is in the south side of Chicago. Last year when we were is Chicago for a few days, we went to two games at Wrigley Field, but the Cubs lost both of them. So I was keen to go again and hopefully see the Cubs win!

So after a visit to US Cellular Field over my first weekend in Chicago, it was time to go watch the Cubs on the second weekend. Getting to Wrigley Field is really easy, the red line stops about 50 meter from the stadium. As soon as you are off the train you can feel the festive atmosphere in the streets, there is even are brass band playing.

Brass Band playing outside Wrigley Field before the game.

The Cubs last won the World Series in 1908, the 104 years since then is the longest championship drought of any major sports team in North America. But the fans still show up and support their team. Wrigley field was close to capacity for this game, and the Cubs managed to win in extra innings.

Great view of the all the action from our seat on the upper level at Wrigley Field.

One of the very unique features of Wrigley Field is that many of the houses on west and north side have built seats on their roofs to allow people to watch the game from there. Many of them seem to have an indoor area, bars and televisions to help make the experience as nice a possible. It sounds like they have an agreement with the Cubs to share revenue to allow them to do this.

Rooftop seats on the house across the street from Wrigley Field

I love going to baseball game, and will visit Wrigley Field a few more times this summer!

US Cellular Field

Probably my favourite thing to do while traveling is going to sporting events. The US is particularly fun in this regard, since there seem to be endless choice of sports to watch. And many of them we seldom get to see in South Africa. Baseball is probably my favourite US sport.

Stunning view of Chicago from the 500 Level of US Cellular Field

Baseball has such a rich history, and has been a professional sport for almost 150 years. Chicago has two teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox. I have been to Wrigley Field the home of the Chicago Cubs last year when we were in Chicago, so I was keen to go to US Cellular Field, the home of the White Sox.

The White Sox rich History is displayed on the walls of the Concourse

US Cellular field was completed in 1991 to replace the then oldest major league ballpark Comiskey Park. US Cellular Field (New Comiskey Park back then) was built across the road of the old stadium, which was demolished for parking after completion of the new one. It is a very impressive stadium, with a capacity of just over 40 000. US Cellular Field is really easy to access; it is located next to a big 14-lane highway running south from Chicago. I was able to take public transport to about 400 meters from the stadium.

The Giant Scoreboard and Bleacher seat at US Cellular Field

The view of the City from the upper deck is amazing. There are three levels in the stands, and all seats have an unobstructed view of play. The concourse behind the stands is filled with refreshment counters and the walls are decorated with pictures and stories of the White Sox legends. The White Sox last won the World Series (meaning the champions of the US) in 2005 after an 88 year drought.

The view from one of the 40 000 unobstructed seats at US Cellular Field.

It is really fun to visit a place like this. I feel like I am part of a sacred game and get to see the culture of a country and city from the inside.

Fernie Alpine Resort

As the ski season progressed, I found it increasingly difficult to remember what skiing was like before we landed in Fernie. Fernie Alpine Resort is known for its legendary powder, and we had an amazing time experiencing the powder first hand.

Fernie Alpine Resort provided the perfect place for us to spend our first ski season in a ski resort. To be honest I can’t remember how I decided on Fernie as our destination for this trip, except that an average of 52 cm of fresh snow per week sounded like a lot. Whatever the reason was, it turned into the most amazing holiday we could have ever dreamed of. This season Fernie Alpine Resort got 1110cm of snow, and we got to ski in almost all of it.

Fernie Alpine Resort has a vertical of 1082 meters. The top elevation is at the top of the polar peak lift, which offers some of the most amazing views over the Lizard mountain range and the valleys on both sides including the city of Fernie.

Stunning view from the top of Polar Peak lift in Fernie Alpine Resort

Fernie Alpine Resort has some really steep and challenging terrain in 5 awesome bowls. My best day in the resort was towards the end of our Nonstop instructor’s course one remarkable Thursday. It snowed about 20 cm over night, but continued to come down as we drove to the ski hill. At this stage we had learned how to ski and have fun in powder and the Griz was giving us a chance to try out our new skills. The Griz is the local legend that points his musket at the clouds to bring the astonishing amount of fresh dry powder snow down on Fernie Alpine Resort.

On this incredible Thursday it felt like we were skiing fresh tracks all day. Every time we would get to the top of the mountain, we were unable to see even our own tracks left only 30 minutes ago, it was snowing that hard. On this glorious day we got to ski Anaconda Glades, a very steep double black with very tight trees not once but twice. Something I would never have done before the Nonstop course. It was the best day ever!

At the start of the season I thought that RCR (the resort owner) should replace some of the older lifts and infrastructure. But after almost never having to queue to get onto a lift, get food or drinks, I am happy for them to leave everything as it is. Anything to keep the crowds away!

The city of Fernie has a long history and started as a mining town, and predominately is still a mining town. It does not offer all the tourist bells and whistles you will find in a place like Whistler, but is a very authentic BC ski town. Our kids loved the Fernie Aquatic Centre and the multiple parks.

We had some great snow in Fernie Alpine Resort, this week was over 2 meters!

Local knowledge is a great asset when skiing in Fernie Alpine Resort; it will help you have some of the best skiing in your life on any given day. So if you ever find yourself in Fernie Alpine Resort, make sure to get a guide or an instructor to help you see the best the resort has to offer.

We would love to get back to Fernie next season! All I have to do know is get a job as an instructor!

There is a book full of amazing picture taken at one of the Cat Skiing operations in Fernie, Island Lake Lodge. It was done by some local legends. It is called Bears Above the Valley.

Sunshine Village Resort

Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort, Lake Louise and Norquay are often referred to as the big 3. All three resorts are located in the Banff National Park. Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort is about 20 km from Banff. There is a big parking lot once you get to the resort, but I suspect that parking can be quite a problem in peak season.

One of the great things about Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort is that it is located very high. The base parking lot is at 1660m, the day lodge at 2160m and the top of Lookout Mountain 2730m. This all translates to a super long season, starting in November and ending in late May.

Three great Ski Resorts in Banff National Park

The lifts are mostly express quads, one thing we found interesting is that we did not ride a single quad with footrests. Not that we minded, but it almost seemed like they took a decision not to install footrests. I wonder why? The high speed gondola from the parking lot in over 4 km long, and takes a while.

The ‘base’ area at the top of the gondola is huge, and there is everything you need. From shops, day-care, sit down restaurant, hotel and a big day lodge. This also where we say a big Ford that was adapted to be able to drive on snow…what a ride!

Ford snow mobile – What a ride!

The ski area at Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort is gigantic; it has a beginner area with a carpet lift, as well as an express quad servicing green and blue runs. The rest of the resort has numerous blacks and double blacks. Some of them completely in the alpine and other through trees. There is also a big free ride zone, which you can access through the lift system. You just need the normal backcountry gear.

There is also a skier cross course at Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort, while we were there the Canadian team was using it to train.

Overall Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort is great resort, and the very long season must help them generate more income. Which probably allow the Scurfield family, who has owned the resort for 30 years, to invest more in infrastructure.

I could definitely spend a season at Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort. It will be awesome to get to know every detail of the vast terrain.