It's actually less US-centric than I was expecting (kudos to the author), but let's face it: the US is one of the few countries in the world that has sustained multiple major sports with long traditions. Most other places you visit have only one or two major team sports that have consistently held their country's attention for at least a few decades, whereas American sports fans divide their time between baseball, pro basketball, college basketball, pro football, college football and pro hockey... all of which have been major players in the national sporting landscape for 50, 75 or 100+ years. And that's before you talk about the following Nascar gets, or the major individual championships that land places like Augusta and Churchill Downs on this list.

Most of the venues listed are here because they're old and they're associated with either winning teams or major championship events. I don't necessarily agree with the MSG listing, or with Old Trafford, which is great for a soccer/football virgin, but not necessarily more dramatic than the other places Craig mentioned.

A sport that should probably be represented is US college football, but there are too many choices. Combine 100+ years of history and tradition with huge, passionate crowds of 50,000 - 100,000+ spectators, and you've narrowed it down to maybe 50 different college stadiums.

Max

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