From a European perspective, the biggest event I was attending this week was the Champions League match between Inter Milan and Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Inter Milan were coming into the tournament as defending champions and the hype had translated into high ticket prices.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
As usual I showed up to the stadium with no ticket in hand expecting to buy a ticket from a ticket tout (most tickets online were well over £350 for the cheapest seats). Most touts on the street wanted more than £200 for …

One of the main reasons for taking the trip to London this week, was that the San Francisco 49ers were hosting the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium in the NFL’s annual regular season game in London. The game was scheduled to kick off at 5 pm on Sunday night.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
After spending the day with one of Nicole’s friends from high school I arrived at Wembley around 4 pm. Rather than check out the pub scene around the stadium, I decided to look for a ticket. I found an …

We landed in London on Friday morning and were planning to stay with our friends for five days. We chose London because our friends have a son eight months older than Dylan. Thus, it would be a good “first” trip to Europe to see how well we could travel. Arsenal was home against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon meaning I would be spending the day with the Arsenal boys.
Pre Game Dining
Nicole’s favorite part of hanging out with the Arsenal boys is the great lunch we go to before the …

After attending 17 sporting events in 15 days in three countries it was time to go home. Here were my stats:
I attended 12 games in England, 3 in Scotland and 2 in Finland.
I attended 10 soccer matches consisting of 4 English Premier League, 2 Champions League, 1 Europa League, 1 Scottish Premier League and 2 Carling Cup.I attended 2 rugby matches – 1 in the Guinness Premiership and 1 in the Magners League.I attended 2 county cricket matches – both Division I and Division II.I attended 2 NHL games …

I extended my trip one day in order to attend the Chicago Bulls pre-season game versus the Utah Jazz at the O2 Arena on Tuesday night. In all practicality I probably should have flown back to Chicago instead, since I did attend the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics pre-season game two years ago at the O2 Arena.
The O2 Arena is located in zone 2 for underground purposes but is at the end of the zone. The station to get off at is North Greenwich.
Obtaining TicketsI had looked up …

Since I napped most of Monday afternoon, I spent Tuesday morning touring Birmingham. I walked through the Bull Ring Markets (one of Birmingham’s biggest tourist attractions) and Victoria Square. My train was scheduled to depart Birmingham New Street at 12:10 pm and arrive London Euston at 1:34 pm.
I made it back to Big Chris’ house without incident this time. I walked directly from Waterloo station to his house learning from my mistake last Thursday. Rather than relax at Big Chris’ I took the train over to …

My flight from Helsinki was on time and we landed shortly before 9:10 am. In order to meet the Arsenal boys for brunch I hopped on the underground from Heathrow and got off at the Charing Cross tube stop.
Pre Game DiningBreakfast was scheduled for 10:45 am at the National Gallery Restaurant by Trafalgar Square. I arrived on time as more Arsenal boys showed up in the subsequent minutes. Breakfast was a much better experience than lunch two weeks ago.
Doubleheader PossibilityDuring breakfast we discussed the possibility of attending …

When I originally planned my journey around the United Kingdom, I knew I would attend the Arsenal match versus Blackburn Sunday afternoon at 1:30 pm and Hospitality Jim had a ticket waiting for me for the game.
In order to partake in all of the festivities I needed to take an early flight as the Arsenal boys usually meet up for brunch three hours before kickoff. Thus, I booked an 8:00 am flight out of Helsinki that was scheduled to land in London at 9:10 am.
In order to get to …

On Thursday night I booked my hotel for Helsinki. I normally book hotels at this last minute. First, it limits my options if not many hotels are available – making my decision easier. Second, it allows me to receive good deals if the hotels discount their rooms since nobody will be staying in them. Third, if I change my plans I do not need to cancel one hotel room and rebook.
I made a reservation at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel. The rate was 67.20 euros per night which was not …

One of the strange things about Europe is that someone you know from the United States is bound to be in the same location as you at some point. This was the case with my friend Todd San Jule. The last game Todd and I had attended together was the Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers NFC divisional playoff game on January 12, 2008.
This time we agreed to meet for the Fulham and Basel Europa League match at Craven Cottage. In order to get to Craven Cottage I took the …