You don’t truly know a city until you’ve seen its sport!
Generally people travel because they are searching for something different. Unfortunately, despite their best intentions they inevitably end up seeing more of the same. Sure, when you head away to a new place you want to see the main attractions and partake in the normal ‘top 10’ activities: Beaches, zoos, shopping & lining up (…a lot of lining up). The problem is, you’ve travelled to this place to see something different, yet you end up surrounded by a bunch of tourists looking for the same thing. The question we ask is: Where are the locals?
Is this truly reflective of the city? Do you hear any local accents?
When you attend a sports event in a town, you can expect a genuinely unique experience. The locals ARE there, and they turn up every single week. You will get the passion and excitement you would expect from a tourist attraction, however the cultural experience you gain in the process will be hard to beat. Form your opinions of the city here, among locals, not at the ‘attractions’ among tourists and guide books. Sport knocks down boundaries and connects people like very few other things. It’s time to put yourself in the game.
So, if you are planning a trip, you should make sure you include a stop at a local sports event. It is one of your best opportunities to do something authentic with the locals from that town or city. A very useful site to help you plan your local and authentic sporting experience is SportsWhereIAm.com.
This post was contributed by our host sponsor SportsWhereIAm, who believes that to truly know a destination is to know the locals, understand the customs, the rituals and where to eat and of course, which team to follow. You can also follow them on Twitter @sportswhereiam.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
