GABA Q&A: Which events top your sports bucket list?

We've previously talked about the best events we've already attended, so today we're going to talk about the ones that we still want to go to. What are the top 3 things on your sports bucket list?

Jorge

Kaci asks excellent questions about live sporting events, and they really put into perspective what a crummy fan I am in that regard since the truth is I don't really yearn to see many sporting events in person. (Can we talk about bands on my bucket list? Because that'd be a deep and stimulating conversation.) But the one that leaps to mind is, unequivocally, a World Series game. Ideally one featuring the Atlanta Braves, but it seems like it'll be a few years before they even sniff the playoffs so I'll have to put a pin in that one. October baseball in general would be cool; some frigid, high stakes night game. Beyond that? I've yet to witness an NFL game in person, but I really have no desire to do so. Oh you know what? PBA. I want to see a professional bowling event featuring Pete Weber because that guy is basically Kingpin IRL. Wears Oakley blades while he bowls and crotch chops after a strike? Sign me up.

Cockaboose

Masters. Check. World Series. Check. Final Four. Check. Olympics. Check. But, I have not been to the Super Bowl. Do I want to go? Yes. Heck yes! But I don't want to pay thousands of dollars for a single ticket either. The Super Bowl is, unfortunately, for the elite rich, corporate execs, and those that are lucky enough to know someone who knows someone that can get them a ticket. Of course, you got the lottery for those handful of fans that might be able to grab the nosebleed sections too. But, I want to go the Super Bowl and I want to go to a city that can really host it - like Miami, San Diego, Nola and even Atlanta (unless Ray Lewis is in town). And, I want to go not because I can say I went to the Super Bowl, but because of all the events, hoopla and fanfare in the days leading to the most-overhyped-event-of-the-year game. Yes, the Super Bowl. I really want to go. For now, I'll keep scratching my lotto tickets and hopefully win so I can afford to buy Super Bowl tickets.

After the Super Bowl, it will be the Kentucky Derby and College Football National Championship.

Hoops

So I think the biggest issue here is separating the event itself from the teams involved. For instance, I'd love to go to a World Series game, but I'm not going to be half as invested in it if the Cubs aren't playing.  Similarly, the College Football National Championship interests me, but not half as much without the Gamecocks.

With that in mind, like Cockaboose, I've been pretty lucky to check off a lot of events that I'd really want to attend already (Masters, U.S. Open, and the World Cup).  One thing I've learned is that you want to be careful about the games you attend - it'd be great to go to the Final Four for instance, but not if it's being played in the Jerrydome and you're sitting upper deck.  So with that in mind, here are the three things I'd like to do before I die (and that I think I might one day be able to afford to do, as well):

• A U.S. World Cup qualifier, somewhere in Central America, though for safety's sake, probably not in the Azteca.

• The North London Derby, at White Hart Lane.  I'm fully invested in this soccer stuff now, y'all.

• The College World Series.  Really jealous of all y'all that got this done in either the early 2000s or during the Michael Roth Era, but timing never really worked out for me.  I'd like to change that in the near future, preferably with the Gamecocks in tow.

Kaci

I kind of want to go to every major sporting event that there is and every venue that has a reputation for being great because I really love the experience and atmosphere of live sports. So my sports bucket list is stupidly long, ridiculously expensive, and unlikely to ever be completed. It's pretty easy to come up with my top three though.

The first two are the CWS in Omaha and the CFB national championship game. Football and baseball are my two favorite sports and I'm far more passionate about them at the college level, so I would love to be there in person to see each of them on their biggest stage. In a perfect world I will one day attend each of those events to watch the Gamecocks, but I would have an emotional stake in either event (particularly the CWS) even without my team there.

The last event in my top 3 wasn't even on the list a year ago: the World Cup. I've never had anything against soccer, but I've never really cared about it either. But last summer I got unexpectedly swept up in the fervor of the World Cup and was blown away both by how excited I got about the games and the depth of the emotion involved in it for people around the world. I need to experience that in person one day.

Katie

Like Kaci, I pretty much want to go to everything. Since that seems relatively unfeasible, though, my top three would be:

• The Stanley Cup Final, preferably with a team I actually cheer for. I didn't go either of the times the Blackhawks have been there recently, and even sitting at home, I could tell that the atmosphere was totally electric. I'd love  to be able to experience it in person.

• The Super Bowl, regardless of the teams who are playing. While I'd prefer, again, for it to involve a team I like, I've always found it pretty easy to pick a side in the Super Bowl, even if it's just because I don't care at all about one of the teams, and choose the other by default.

• The Olympics, either in the summer or the winter. I'm always ridiculously jealous whenever I meet someone who's been to the Olympics. When I was little, I saw some Olympic teams in the Atlanta airport when the games were there, but I'd really like to get to go to the actual athletic competitions.