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Taking the family out to a ballgame is a long-time American tradition that has sadly become a rare luxury for many. The astronomical rise of ticket prices for professional sports league like the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball coupled with the poor economy means that fewer and fewer people can even afford to go anymore. There seems to be no end in sight to the financial abuse of fans. Billionaire NFL franchise owners and millionaire football players fight over every last dime that is squeezed out of the working fan, and an NBA labor dispute is looming as well. All of this negativity in pro sports is why Spring training baseball is so refreshing, and why it is something that all sports fans should experience.
My family and I have spent time in the Phoenix area in March each of the last three years, and had an opportunity to check out Cactus League games each time. It truly is an incredible sports experience, but it is one that you don't even have to be a baseball fan to enjoy.
The weather in Phoenix in March is about as close to perfect as possible, with temperatures averaging just about 75-80 degrees daily. Our time there each Spring gives us hope that Winter is ending and allows us to feel the warm sun on our skin for the first time in months.
Spring training is very unique in that there is nothing in all of pro sports that allows for a more interactive and intimate experience for the fans. There are fifteen Major League Baseball teams that all train in the Phoenix area, and they play games daily at ten different stadiums that are all just minutes apart. Each team has separate practice and training facilities that are open to the public, and kids can get autographs, take photos, and get a chance to mingle with their favorite stars.
While sometimes it seems that our favorite sports have become about nothing more than money, the Spring training experience is all about the fans. Ticket prices are incredibly low (they start at about $6 for lawn seating and my sons and I sat in the 5th row behind home plate at one game for about $20 each!) and the small stadiums usually only hold a maximum of 8,000-10,000 people, meaning there is not a bad seat in the house. Fans can park right out front and usually pay no more than $5. Most of the big stars play the first five or six innings of each game, and then they come out and sign autographs for kids. The players are accessible in a way that rarely occurs during the regular season. In one game, my kids were able to get autographs from half a dozen of the best players on their favorite team. They even scored game-used balls and bats, and this was all while the game was still going on!
The experience for hard-core baseball fans is amazing, but these Spring games have a lot to offer casual fans as well. My ten-year-old daughter has no interest in sports, but she loves Spring training. It is an opportunity to enjoy the weather, play carnival style games, eat all of the great food that ballparks have to offer, and interact with celebrity athletes that she knows from television.
Sports fans usually think of pre-season games as nothing more than an inferior version of the real thing, and for the most part they are right. Spring training is the one exception to the rule; and I encourage all fans to get out to Arizona or Florida sometime and check it out for themselves. It is what pro sports should be all about, and a great time at an affordable price. There are numerous sources online and in the local Spring training communities available to help you plan the perfect trip.
Tim Claiborne is the founder of the Pro Sports Fans Union, a sports consumers advocacy organization based in Albuquerque, NM. You can contact Tim at tim@timclaiborne.com. For more information on the Pro Sports Fans Union visit http://www.prosportsfansunion.com
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