Watch The Ball!

Taking in a game is a great way to immerse yourself in local life... and you may just catch a classic.

I love sport.

I’m not brilliant at any and I’ve been told I run like Bambi (not in a good way) but I’ll watch pretty much any sport that’s on TV, and if it’s live… so much the better.

Whatever game or match you go to, I find the community within the stands thrown together at the start is arguably something unique to the sporting world. That feeling of excitement about the action, interacting with those around you, joining together in triumph or disappointment. In fact, I would argue that this feeling begins even before the gates open.

I love to be among other fans walking into a venue, the numbers swelling from different directions, matching shirts, scarves and chatter. I love the feeling of being a part of something bigger than me; of a crowd of people acting as one, united by the anticipation of something special. Going home is different, with the crowd inevitably divided into winners and losers.

The supporters (for me) are what make live sport so exciting.

I’ve had some great sporting experiences on my travels this year. So far, I’ve seen the New York Yankees play baseball in (you guessed it) New York, ice hockey from Colorado Avalanche in Denver, Czechia vs Finland in the Eurobasket in Prague, and the Davis Cup Finals tennis in Valencia.

You know how every once in a while (if you’re lucky) everything just falls into place? When I was booking the tickets to April’s Colorado Avalanche vs Los Angeles Kings game in January, it looked far from a sell-out.

I was travelling with my sister and mum, and when we mentioned to our friends in Denver that we were going to the game they were amazed; the tickets by that stage were like gold dust. Colorado Avalanche was top of the league and it had become one of the must-see matches. By chance, we lucky Brits had nabbed some of the hottest NHL tickets of the season…

The game itself was incredible with one of the Avalanche players scoring a hattrick, which meant, to our surprise, everyone wearing a hat (see what they did there?) lobbing them onto the ice. Even though I wanted to share the experience with the thousands of other fans, the Colorado Avalanche beanie that I had bought just a few minutes earlier stayed firmly on my head.

In a similar luck of the draw moment, I was given a ticket to the Davis Cup Finals in Valencia the day before the event, not realising quite how monumental the match would be. There in front of me on court was Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who days before had won the US Open and at 19 years old (the same as me - hats off to you, Carlos) become the youngest ever world No.1 in men’s tennis. It was truly an evening to remember.

Sport will remain on my itinerary wherever I travel.

Top tip: To get the best tickets to sport at prices you’ll like, book early!