This was my first full year on the road in pursuit of my Around the World in 80 Sporting Events goal of reaching 80 iconic venues and/or events by the time my biological clock hits 60 in June 2027.
As such, I saw a lot in 2025.
In total, I traveled 53,982 miles, set foot on two new continents (Asia and South America), witnessed 26 events, and spent many nights not in my own bed.
Here are my highlights from the year that’s about to have been.
Number 5 – A December Sunday at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field
Packers’ fans celebrate a score during their 28-21 victory over the rival Chicago Bears.
My final event of 2025 was just about everything I could have hoped for.
The visiting Chicago Bears and host Green Bay Packers were playing for the NFC Central Division lead, both had winning percentages of over .700 this late in the season (the first time that’s happened since December 11, 1932), the skies were clear, and the temperatures felt like single-digits by the time the late afternoon game concluded.
The fact that the game came down to the penultimate play, a Caleb Williams pass to the end zone was intercepte by Keisean Nixon sealed the Packers’ 28-21 victory.
The only things that would have made this a game 10-out-of-10 would have been that final Bears’ drive heading into the endzone we were seated in and an occasional snowflake falling to create a total commemorative snow globe moment.
All the Content from Event No. 34 Still Needs to be Created. Stay Tuned:-)
Number 4 – Lionel Messi’s (Likely) Final Competitive Home Match for Team Argentina
This sums up, perfectly, the adoration the Argentine fans have for Lionel Messi.
It’s widely assumed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the final international go-round for Argentine soccer legend, Lionel Messi.
If this in fact remains true, then I’m able to say I was among the 77,000 spectators in Buenos Aires’ Estadio Mas Monumental for one of the game’s greatest of all-time’s final competitive home match when Argentina defeated Venezuela, 3-0, in CONMEBOL’s Matchday 17.
I understood next-to-nothing the public address speaker said throughout, but what I did understand the unmitigated affection that crowd had for Messi. From the standing ovation he received as he stepped off the bus in the loading dock, to his first appearance on the pitch, to the two goals he scored (and even the one that was disallowed by an offsides call), to his exit from the pitch following post-match media.
That no one in the stadium considered leaving until he was off the field is a visual I’m unsure can ever be erased from my mind.
Check Out All the Content from Event No. 24 at this link.
Number 3 – Arkansas Pitcher Gage Wood No-Hits the Murray State Racers in the MCWS
Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood celebrates a big out during his 19 strikeout no-hitter of Murray State during the Men’s College World Series in Omaha.
Like so many, I walked into Omaha’s Charles Schwab Stadium that steamy June 16 afternoon pulling hard for the Cinderella team of the Men’s College World Series, the Murray State Racers.
By the fifth inning, however, allegiances were subtly shifting.
Arkansas Razorback starting pitcher Gage Wood was DEALING! It looked like the Racers’ batters were swinging wet lasagna noodles against Wood as the strikeouts mounted.
By the seventh inning, I’m fairly certain everyone in the park knew what was happening.
That it happened was too cool for school.
Wood threw the first no-hitter in MCWS play in 65 years. His 19 strikeouts were the most in a 9-inning MCWS game … ever.
That I was there and, through the generosity of a stranger, had seats behind homeplate, is truly remarkable.
Check Out All the Content from Event No. 19 at this link.
Number 2 – Indiana Class 4A High School Sectional Final in Historic Muncie Fieldhouse
The opening tip between Greenfield-Central (white uniforms) and Mt. Vernon in the Indiana Class 4A High School Sectional Championship at Muncie Fieldhouse.
I was born and raised in Indiana and, as such, have a special fondness in my heart for high school basketball.
It was a fairly regular part of my weekly life as a youngster before my family moved to Michigan before sixth grade.
So, of the many events I planned to witness in 2025, I eagerly anticipated taking in some Indiana high school tournament basketball action. The first round is known as Sectionals in the Hoosier state and I was underwhelmed by the competitiveness I saw at the first two sites visited.
But on Saturday of Sectional Week … well I saw a gem.
I went with my cousin, Brandon, and his daughter, Calah, to see the Class 4A Sectional Final at historic Muncie Fieldhouse on a warm March evening. That there was a line to get in boded well and that the favored team, Greenfield-Central, was a among the top five teams in the state also provided optimism.
What none of us knew until the game began is who, exactly we were seeing.
Greenfield-Central’s star, Braylon Mullins, would go on to win Indiana’s coveted Mr. Basketball honor a few weeks later. He was a 5-star recruit who was destined for Storrs, CT, and the then 2-time defending NCAA Champion Connecticut Huskies. Mt. Vernon’s standout was a junior who’d already committed to Purdue named Luke Ertel.
The two duked it out all night, Mullins scored 38 and Ertel 36, but the upstarts from Mt. Vernon came away with an 83-76 double-overtime win. A thriller to be sure and a terrific way to cap off my week feasting on basketball in hoop-crazed Indiana.
Check Out All the Content from Event No. 14 at this link.
Number 1 – Witnessing the Setting Sun at the Rose Bowl on January 1
The golden hour at the 2025 Rose Bowl. What a view!
Odd, isn’t it, that I traveled nearly 54,000 miles in 2025 and my most memorable moment came on the very first day?
Never mind the football game (which The Ohio State won in a rout over Oregon), I was there for the environment, the pagentry, and the sunset.
I got it all!
The Tournament of Roses Parade shortly after dawn, the B-2 bomber flyover at the conclusion of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the ceremonial coin flip featuring the Grand Marshal (Billie Jean King), the Goodyear blimp hovering overhead throughout, and, of course, the sunset that was appointment viewing for me during my youth and – who am I kidding?!? – adulthood.
I won’t lie, it was a long day – especially considering I participated in the Run with the Roses 5K at midnight – but it was the best day of the year by a long shot.
Check Out All the Content from Event No. 11 at this link.
Our view for Monday afternoon’s action thanks to the benevolence of Kevin Thompson.
During our first day at the Men’s College World Series, my father and I had a chance meeting with Kevin Thompson and his father, Jim. Kevin was attending his 48th MCWS, while his father has been in the stands for each Championship since 1955 (that’s 70 years for the non-math majors like me out there!).
Kevin had asked where my father and I would be sitting for our Monday doubleheader (Arkansas-Murray State elimination game in the afternoon and UCLA-LSU winner’s brack in the evening). I let him know we had seats in the outfield for both games and he said he’d “see what he could do.” We exchanged numbers and proceeded to watch Louisville beat Arizona. He and his father from the air-conditioned comfort of their suite; my father and I from the breezy sweat box that was Section 323.
I honestly didn’t give our exchange much thought until about the time I was in my hotel room witnessing J. J. Spaun sink an improbable 72nd hold birdie putt from 64 feet to clinch the U.S. Open Championship and I received a text message from the 402 area code. It read:
Hi - here are your tickets for Game 7 - Arkansas vs Murray State. ... Kevin Thompson from this morning. These seats are much better than the outfield tomorrow afternoon. Enjoy and have fun in Omaha!
As I cross-referenced the section and row, I realized this upgrade would put us behind home plate about nine rows back to witness the Cinderella Story of the tournament: the Murray State Racers.
Little did I know …
Witnessing History
Clockwise from upper right, the Arkansas dugout is ready pre-game; Murray Head Coach Dan Skirka and Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn meet with the umpires; Racers’ lead-off hitter Jonathan Hogart preps for his first at bat; who was this LSU rooting for; Racers players sign autgraphs pre-game.
Unless you were wearing a red ballcap with a white A atop the bill, if you happened to be at Charles Schwab Field Monday afternoon there was a pretty good chance you were rooting for the Racers.
I mean, come on, the Murray State Racers from Murray, KY!?! Enrollment of about 10,000 (undergraduate and graduate students), playing out of the Missouri Valley Conference, needed to win four-straight MVC Tournament Games just to make the field of 64, won of three of four against Ole Miss and Georgia Tech during the Regionals to advance, then beat Duke in two straight elimination games to qualify for Omaha.
Yeah, pretty much anyone who was anyone from Murray, KY, was in their seats well in advance of this win-or-go-home showdown with the third-ranked Razorbacks.
All I can say is that Arkansas starting pitcher Gage Wood was unphased.
Following the first inning when Wood disposed of Dustin Mercer and Carson Garner on strikeouts featuring filthy mid-90s heat, I turned to the fella next to me and said, “I don’t think Murray’s sees that sort of stuff on the regular in The Valley.”
He concurred
And Wood just kept dealing … and dealing … and dealing.
After he’d set down the first 15 Racers’ batters in order, my antennae was fully raised.
And by the time Wood finished the seventh inning still perfect with 13 strikeouts, I think everyone in the park was fully aware of what was occurring.
A two balls, two strikes pitch got away from Wood against eighth inning lead-off batter, Dom Decker. That hit-by-pitch only seemed to steel the Razorback’s will as he went on to fan the final six Racers and complete a 119-pitch, 19 strikeout, no-hitter.
A compilation of all of Gage Wood’s pitches to the final two Murray State batters.
The 19 whiffs were the most in a 9-inning game in MCWS history (the previous mark of 17 was shared by LSU’s Ty Bane [2023] and Arizona State’s Ed Bane [1972]. Ohio State’s Steve Arlin struck out 20 during a 15-inning outing in 1965.
And the no-hitter?
Well, it hadn’t occurred in Omaha since 1960 when Oklahoma State’s Jim Wixson no-hit North Carolina en route to a 7-0 Cowboys’ victory. Before that, it had occurred only one other time, back in 1950 when the MCWS first arrived in Omaha from Kalamazoo, MI, and Wichita, KS. Texas Longhorn Jim Ehler no-hit Tufts, also in a 7-0 victory. (Read about both here.)
Aside from some high school baseball and softball no-hitters I’d covered during my time as a sports writer, this was the first no-hitter of consequence I’d witnessed in person. My dad, interestingly enough, was in Wrigley Field on August 19, 1969, with his younger brother (Uncle Paul’s first-ever MLB game!) for Ken Holtzman‘s 3-0 no-no against the Atlanta Braves. Holtzman struck out none!
Postscript – About a month after this gem, the Philadelphia Phillies made Wood the 26th pick of the first round and signed him to a$3 million bonus on July 22. He’s off to Clearwater to begin his professional career.
The Arkansas Razorbacks mob starting pitcher Gage Wood following his MCWS no hitter.
Mother Knows Best (or Something Like That)
Our hotel in neighboring Council Bluff, IA, was crazy busy with youth baseball players, their families, and coaches participating in greater Omaha’s annual Slumpbuster Tournament that attracts over 8,400 players annually.
Because of this, it came as no surprise that the Best Western Crossroads of the Bluffs-provided breakfast was, shall we say, teeming with activity when I arrived on Monday morning. Rather than take what meager offerings I could scrounge together back to my room, I sat on some soft seating directly in front of the front desk. My father wandered by after refilling his coffee and we were chatting when a woman sat in another seat.
As one does, we began engaging in small talk and shared what we were up to. She offered that she was also in town for the MCWS and was, in fact, the mother of Oregon State Beaver centerfielder, Canon Reeder. Sadly, Danielle noted, Canon had made the final out in OSU’s game the night before (a 6-2 Coastal Carolina win). With teammates on first and second and two out, Reeder struck out on five pitches. She was hopeful for a more positive experience for Canon and his teammates the next day against Louisville in an elimination game. OSU scored three in the top of the ninth to tie the game only to lose, 7-6, it in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly to – you guessed it – centerfielder Canon Reeder.
My dad and I listened to that back-and-forth game on the radio as we made our way across Iowa the next afternoon, wondering how Danielle, her husband Craig, and Canon’s brother, Carson (both of whom we also briefly met) were holding up.
Postscript – We must’ve visited with Danielle for over thirty minutes and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen once the Beavers’ season ended. Canon had another year of eligibility but was also eligible for the MLB Entry Draft. He wound up being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th Round and, like Gage Wood, signed recently. Reeder is off to Bradenton and the Pirates’ Florida Complex League entry.
The Rosenblatt Stadium Tribute
The archway above the old scoreboard of Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium has been preserved.
When those fellas played it was not at Charles Schwab Field, but rather at historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Named for former the former Omaha Mayor – himself a semi-pro player who played against Satchel Paige and Babe Ruth – who was instrumental in bringing both minor league affiliates (Cardinals, Dodgers, and Royals) and the MCWS to what was once known as Omaha Municipal Stadium, Rosenblatt Stadium hosted the Series for 60 years (1950-2010) before the current venue was open for business.
City leaders have done an admirable job preserving part of that half century plus history by maintaining what amounts to a memorial of Rosenblatt at its former site which is now part of Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and its parking lot known as “Johnny Rosenblatt’s Infield at the Zoo.”
Dad and I paid it a visit Monday morning before heading off to the day’s games. It’s effectively a Wiffle Ball field in the outer reaches of the Zoo’s parking lot. They’ve kept markers to note where the actual 90-foot bases would be, have honored the past champions who played there, and have even kept the foul poles out in the parking lot.
Clockwise from upper left, a list of MCWS champions is displayed; the view from behind home plate; a list of professional winners who played at Rosenblatt; the signage notes where you’re at; this Rosenblatt informational sign is displayed at Charles Schwab Field; the original foul poles still stand in the parking lot; markers indicate where the bases would have been.
A Nightcap
Dad and I hanging in the shade prior to the LSU-UCLA start.
Have I mentioned it was hot while we were in Omaha?
The afternoon feels like temperatures that Monday again reached the mid-90s and, as nice those seats that Kevin Thompson provided us with were, they did not come with the steady breeze of the third deck from Sunday or any hope of midday shade.
That said, after finding some shelter from the swelter at Hook & Lime around the block between games, we returned to check out Louisiana State University and UCLA in the Bracket 2 winner’s finale.
We bided our time under the shade of the upper grandstand down the right field line until the rightful occupants of our seats arrived and then moved to our ticketed spot in the left center bleachers.
If there’s a bad seat at Schwab, I’m not sure where it is. It’s big enough to provide the electric atmosphere one seeks from an event such as the MCWS, but small enough to provide good sightlines and enough of an up-close feel no matter where you’re at.
That was true in the outfield as well. Yes, the seats were benches, but they were benches with backs and that was good news for the two of us. Sadly, however, we didn’t have those same seats from the afternoon for this evening’s game. If we had, we’d have only been eight rows behind LSU baseball legend Paul Skenes and his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne.
I’d looked forward to seeing these two juggernauts face off and, early on, it lived up to the hype. The Bruins plated three in the top of the first but LSU countered with four of its own – including a 3-run homer by Jared Jones.
The Tigers added another in the third and two more in the fourth and then I saw what was looming in the sky over the backstop and decided it might be best to get a head start on our trip to the parking garage.
Good thing too, because as we drove by Schwab 15 minutes later many fans were doing the same as the game had officially been suspended due to lightning in the area. It wound up not resuming until the next morning. We listened to the finish on our way to Dyersville, IA, and not even a good night’s sleep did UCLA any good. It lost to the eventual champions, 9-5.
Our view from the outfield at Charles Schwab Field as the game began and again as storm clouds began to build.
Embracing its History
This sculpture of celebrating MCWS players in front of Charles Schwab Field originally stood at Rosenblatt Stadium before making the move.
I’ll say this about Charles Schwab Field, though not the original Omaha home of the Men’s College World Series (see note about Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium above), the folks who operate the Schwab fully embrace the history of the MCWS in Omaha.
Outside the stadium, plaque after plaque commemorate past champions and inside the concourse features banners of past stars along with past champions.
Granted this facility is used almost exclusively for college baseball (the Creighton Blue Jays call it home during the season), but it still seems as much shrine as stadium.
Clockwise from upper left, a series of plaques hang outside Charles Schwab Field listing the MCWS winners by decade; similarly, in the concourse hang banners with images of notable past players along with the logos of the winning teams; and in the concourse behind homeplate is a plaque that features the name of the John D. Diesing Sr. Most Outstanding Players.
