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I'll start with mine, rugby is my passion and there is no finer place to watch it than NZ. I have watched the Lions in 2005 and the World Cup in 2011 and the event consumes the entire country, everyone from the most tattooed Maori biker to the genteel lady in the post office has an opinion and as a rugby fan you are welcomed regardless of who you follow and where you are. I have watched Aussie Rules in Melbourne and seen the passion of a sport played by, at most 2 states, in one country at the bottom of the world, but, boy it matters......I have watched club rugby in Fiji for £2 a ticket, perched on a grass bank with picknicking grandmothers and screaming kids and nobody really watching the game at all. I have seen the gambling frenzy that Thai boxing and Takrow engenders in the residents of Bangkok and the partisan lunacy of College football in the USA, but I still have a long wish list......
I'd love to watch the Alpe d'Huez stage of the Tour de France, a heavyweight world title fight in Vegas, a downhill at Kitzbuhel, the darts at Lakeside, an Argentinian football derby or the Melbourne Cup.......plenty to plan for!!!!

   I've been on lots of sporting holidays, but only once for a sporting event.
   It was spur of the moment. I was in Hong Kong with clients when England beat Denmark in the 2002 World Cup. Three glorious goals to nil. I was still besotted with the beautiful game at that time (I had a season ticket to QPR, and never missed a home game. This was not a season ticket with a husband or boyfriend, by the way, this was my on-my-own-in-the-paddock seat, the closest you could get to "stands". I was next to an odd assortment of fellow supporters.)
   My work colleague (another female footie fanatic -- she supports Burnley) and I decided we'd go to Japan to see England play Brazil (we figured since we were in Hong Kong we were half way there). So we got the next plane to Tokyo. We had no ticket, but heard about a company that delivered to your door if you paid by credit card. We found a hotel, and one thousand dollars lighter each, we went out drinking. The city was abuzz with football supporters, nearly all male, who were so impressed with us being there we never bought a drink the entire time we were in Japan. After about a minute's sleep we got on the train to Shizuoka the next day.
   When Owen scored, and England was one nil up against Brazil, I thought I was having a heart attack, and Paula thought she was having a stroke. We'd never been so excited in our lives. We'd already made enough contacts to get into the semi final for free.
   Then reality struck and Brazil beat us, 2:1.
   We went back to Tokyo that night, and flew back to Hong Kong the next day. I don't remember anything about Japan at all.

Well now, funny you should ask that!  We're off to Le Mans Classic on Monday, a race held on alternate years for classic cars!  my dearly beloved used to restore antique racing cars in a former life and was once given a collection of tea chests full of bits and told "this is a D type Jaguar.  can you rebuild it?"  obviously, (despite this being pre the internet), the answer was yes and so we are hoping that this along with a couple of other beauties he rebuilt will be racing.  We've been to Le Mans 24 hour race probably a dozen times and love it!  

Essentially, I guess it could be said we will travel almost anywhere for motor sport!  Be it bikes or cars, we'll go.  For our 20th anniversary next year, its the Race to the Skies, Pikes Peak race in Colorado.  We have yet to see a formula 1 race but with their costs being so high (most of which seems to end up paying for Bernie Ecclestones daughters), I struggle to justify it.  One race day ticket to the British Grand Prix, for example, would cover the cost of our entire trip to Le Mans, tickets for us both, camping included for 5 days!  

We've visited Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, the UK, amongst other places for races, be they 4 wheels or 2, the perfect reason to travel!!!!!  Two birds with one stone?  Oh yes!!!

I still say Ronaldinho fluked that second Brazilian goal, Liz. Typical England - 1-0 up and one of their players sent off, and we lose to a fluke mis-hit cross!

I used to make a point of flying to MIland once a year to watch the AC Milan vs Inter game at the San Siro. Ah, the experience is still up - it's a wonderful event, so atmospheric. And it's a microcosm of Italianism, too.

http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/mywanderlust/members/sergeant_pluck/experiences/calcio-milanese_4804

Also, by accident one night, we were diverted - because of inclement weather in the Falklands - to Rio de Janeiro, the night before the '98 WC Final. We were praying for the weather to remain bad 'down south' and it did, and what a party. What. A.Party. Unfortunately, Brazil lost the plot that night, Zidane scored twice and France beat Brazil 3-0, but I doubt if I'll ever see something like that again.

I would've loved (and still may) follow the Lions - maybe in 2017, I'll go to NZ.

One of these days I'm going to hop on the bike and get over to the Isle of Man for the TT races, as I doubt that any type of motor racing is as exciting as that. It's legalised lunacy. I can hammer round a track on a sports bike, but I have nowhere near the 'stones' to ride a motorcycle like that.

   Pluck, we were behind the goal at the other end when Ronaldinho scored that goal, and (as there were no big screen replays in the stadium) it was only when I got home that I saw exactly what happened. Soon after he was sent off, but we didn't see that properly until later either! Unfortunately, we saw the Rivaldo goal from the same angle as Seaman. Textbook. 
   What people don't realise, however, is just how unbearably hot it was in that stadium. The heat was oppressive and you could see England wilting. I'm convinced it affected their performance.
   I've never been on holiday to watch motor racing, but I saw Mansell win at Brands Hatch in 1986. That was interesting.

Terrific post, Howellsey. I've always felt sporting events offer a great insight into a country. In fact, I just got sent a link to a blog by a guy who'd gone to a football match in Istanbul. It's sounds pretty intense, but next time I'm in Istanbul I hope there's a match on.

Most memorable sporting event for me in my travels was watching the Aussies play the West Indies at Sabina Park in Kingston. Watched it from 'The Beach', a cordoned off section in front of the scoreboard with a sandy beach and a pool. It cost $25 to get in, but once you were in you could indulge in as much rum, Red Stripe and KFC as you could handle. I've got a lovely photo of me and the Red Stripe girls, but sadly it is in my storage unit in Sydney otherwise I would post it.

The other great thing about watching the cricket in Kingston was that after each days play we'd hitch a ride from a passing ute to the Hilton where the Aussie team were staying and swim in the proper pool there. (The staff either assumed we were staying there or had simply given up). My girlfriend wasn't watching where she was going and swam into Matthew Elliot as he was doing 'cool down' laps. He never played another Test for Australia.

I didn't travel to Australia specifically to see an Aussie Rules match but really was hoping we'd be able to go to a game in our 6 weeks there. We saw Hawthorne vs Essenden in Melbourne on the last day of our trip (thanks to lovely friends to bailed us out when my bank froze my account for the second time!)
I can remember being amazed that the tickets were so cheap and that there was no segregation at all with the seating. Anyone could sit anywhere, didn't matter which team you were supporting. No crowd trouble either!
The atmosphere was great and stayed that way, even on the train on the way 'home'.
I remember muttering at one point that it all seemed a bit tame compared to the stories I'd heard but within seconds one player was unconcious before he hit the floor. He was out cold for about a minute and half. I wish I hadn't said anything!

I'd love to watch some cricket in the West Indies or on the sub-continent where it engenders the same passions that football does in Europe or South America! I agree that sport is a great way of breaking down boundaries with locals......One of my fondest travel memories is being invited to play beach football with a group of kids and teenagers in Mpande on the Wild Coast in South Africa!

As the Tour de France starts today, I'll share my only sports related travel. I went to Paris for the final day Tour de France in 2010, I've been an avid fan for over twenty years and have always wanted to see a stage. With a cheap eurostar ticket the weekend was a perfect opportunity, I couldn't get anywhere near the finish line on the Champs Elysees but managed to bag a spot on Rue de Rivoli just up from the 1km marker. There is a carnival procession by all the sponsors as the Caravane arrives about two hours before the cyclists. The atmosphere was fantastic, watching the peloton fly past was unbelievable, they were so close you could touch them and to feel the wind rush as they swept past amazing. Cav won for the second time in a row which was a fantastic end to a great day. I'd love to be able to follow Le Tour around for a few days at the least, taking in either L'Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux or Col du Tourmalet. Vello Yellow is your man for Le Tour, he followed it round on his bicycle for the whole three weeks in 2010 & 2011.

I went to a football match when I was in Kiev six years ago, purely on the spur of the moment when I saw a poster saying that Dynamo had a home game. It was a lot of fun, and very cheap.

I also found myself in Prague at the same time as Hearts of Midlothian were playing away to Sparta Prague in the UEFA Cup. I spent most of the day hanging around in the old town drinking beer with Hearts fans in various stages of inebriation (it was an evening kick-off so they had all day to drink), almost got given someone's ticket for the game as 'Wee Jimmy' hadn't returned to the hotel the night before and no-one knew where he was; sadly (for me) he eventually turned up, having got lost in the old town and spent the night on a park bench!