A Walk to Remember

As a kid living on Long Island, I drove to every sporting event I went to.  I'd meet my Dad at his office in Long Island City and we'd drive to Yankee Stadium, or my parents would drive me and my friends to Uniondale and drop us off at Nassau Coliseum; we'd meet them at the Long Island Marriot after the game and they'd pick us up.  Occasionally we'd take the Long Island Railroad to Shea Stadium, though a car ride was always preferred.  The driving trend continued when I moved to L.A., where I'd drive down to Dodger Stadium or the Staples Center or struggle to find parking within a mile of the Los Angeles Coliseum.  When I moved back to Manhattan I used public transportation to get to games; Madison Square Garden, Citi Field and the Meadowlands were all a short subway or train ride away from my apartment or office.

One thing I've never really done, though, is walk to a game.  In college we'd walk from our dorms to Princeton Stadium or Jadwin Gym, and here at Stanford I walk to Stanford Stadium and soon will be walking to Maples Pavillion, but that's expected when you live on a college campus.  What about people who live in cities where they can walk to see their favorite pro teams play?  This weekend I spent a great weekend in Chicago for a friend's wedding, and had Sunday afternoon free to explore the Windy City.  When I left my hotel room on Sunday morning to explore Millenium Park and walk to brunch, I saw droves of navy-and-orange-clad Bears fans walking across the city toward Soldier Field.  As I got closer to the stadium, I saw more and more people sporting Brian Urlacher,  Johnny Knox and Robbie Gould jerseys (in white, navy and orange) heading towards the stadium.

Located close to downtown Chicago, Soldier Field is perfect for fans who like to walk.

While I guess having tons of fans walking to the game might hurt the tailgating culture, I thought the fan walk was awesome.  People would round a street corner and join the line of fellow fans heading toward the game, immediately starting conversations about the team's chances against the Redskins that afternoon.  It gave the city and the team a very unique identity which, while foreign to me, I became immediately jealous of.  I walked to a bunch of World Cup games in South Africa this summer, and bantering with fellow USA fans on the way to games was one of the best parts of the experience.  To think that Bears fans living in Chicago can have that before every home game is pretty awesome, and is something I wish I saw more of growing up in New York, Los Angeles and now outside San Francisco.

My next scheduled sporting event is an Islanders game at HP Pavillion in San Jose, which again I'll be driving to.  Some time soon, though, I vow to find a game to which I can walk.  Any suggestions for walking-distance professional sporting venues that I can go visit?