I'll hit a few places I've been for sporting events, all of them fun in their own ways:

Fenway Park, Boston, MA in 1999 - fantastic place to watch a ballgame, though with COVID it'd be impossible, you are elbow to elbow with everybody and right down on the action.

Providence Park, Portland, OR - it has been newly renovated and with PSU getting kicked out for Timbers games, Davis no longer gets to play downtown against the Vikings. Crazy local fan base, they love the Timbers, and as one might expect, things can get a little bit heated in the crowd.

@ Boise State, great fans, tailgating top notch

@ Oregon, obnoxious fans, but you get to meet a lot of folks who are "famous" in UO and Nike circles, the Duck fanbase is more widespread than most know.

Daytona Speedway, Daytona, FL - a cathedral to racing, it's a total culture going to a NASCAR event. A very long party.

Wrigley Field, Chicago - another surviving tradition of neighborhood ballparks, fiercely loyal and hilarious, fanbase finally got that World Series recently, and Bill Murray cried.

@ Fargodome, North Dakota. A true college town, surrounded by not a ton of humans, but Morehead, MN is right next door. The fan base there is very loyal, and they show up, very friendly place, and cold.

@ Missoula - Montana fanbase has football embedded in their culture, a real way of life, party friendly, visitor friendly, and very spirited.

Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, NY, like a Field of Dreams reel, very, very pastime nostalgic. Awesome place to visit.

Not sports related, but in travelling around the country I think my favorite city visited was Savannah, GA. Very unique community...a lot of history dating back to the Revolutionary and Civil War times, some amazing stories are out there in the mainstream. Great place for St. Patrick's Day (2nd biggest get together outside of Boston) and Halloween -- Savannah is embedded deep in voodoo country...and they love to dress up and drink, even when there's no real occasion for it, let alone Halloween.

I'll throw in Washington State in Pullman. Nice campus, very friendly fans, small town atmosphere. If you're going on a football weekend, book ahead because every single hotel in the Palouse is taken. As for baseball, my son was going to quite a few games before they went to online classes. Not a great turnout of fans, but the stadium is right on campus so if the weather is good, it makes for a nice afternoon. Plus, Ferdinands is close by...best ice cream you can find. And get a tin of the Cougar Gold cheese! WSU is in the middle of nowhere, but if you happen to be planning a trip to that part of the world, it makes for a good time

I was raised to hate Notre Dame, but did see a football game there in late fall about 15 years ao. Something a college football fan ought to do once in life. The spirit, the fall colors...what football should be.

Thanks ! I'm taking an indefinite break from major league sports. Tired of hearing wealthy major league athletes and coaches preach about issues just because they have a soapbox, so I'm de- funding them albeit mostly symbolically. Doing the same with movie stars. When I'm done though Fenway Park is on the list.

I have an old friend from HS who lives in Eugene. Hates it there, but to be fair she pretty much hates the whole state and the way- left governor. I've considered taking the Coast Starlight up there for the scenery once COVID isn't as big of a threat. I heard the whole city practically shuts down when the Ducks are playing.

I saw PSU and ISU play at Providence Park in 2016. It was fun, but very underwhelimg due to a pathetic crowd. They didn't allow anyone to sit at either end zone. PSU's fight song was weird, sounded like musical pirates being chased by hornets Should've entered the raffle the cheerleaders were selling tickets for. Good chance to win. Coincidence- on the flight back sitting right in front of was Sac State's volleyball team. I could tell because they were wearing their Sac State- branded jackets and talking about volleyball.

I forget the name of the quirky pizza place across the street, but that was the best (and only) slice of bratwurst pizza I've eaten. I think it was called Hot Lips Pizza.

I like how they just let people walk in and take pictures of the blue field at Albertson's stadium.
When I visited Rice- Eccles Stadium (mostly to see the Olympic cauldron) the groundskeepers had mistakenly left all the gates open and gone for lunch or something. I could've walked right onto the field and run for a touchdown. I think I have a picture somewhere of that.

I believe both Missoula and Fargo-Moorehead could be baseball destinations as well, although if MLB gets its way none of the minor league teams in Montana will continue to have major league affiliations. Fargo is a worthy destination on its own though. I think I read there's a Montana senator who's looking to get MLB's anti- trust exemption revoked if they cut ties with all of the teams, something about the economic damage to the communities. Good luck with that !

I remember in 2000 the Division III Savannah College of Art and Design baseball team came out to play UCD, Sonoma State, and maybe some other teams. Their manager was big leaguer Luis Tiant, and they were using wooden bats while the Aggies were using aluminum. It was kind of a farce with that happening. UCD won something like 15- 2. One of their pitchers from that team- Charlie Zink- made it to the majors with the Red Sox I believe. They have long since eliminated that program and feature some unique sports, like women's rifle. I didn't know about the voodoo culture in Savannah. That sounds really interesting.

Regarding Savannah, take a walk or a bus tour downtown and check out the waterfront and Forsythe Park, some beautiful homes in the area. Try a Bonaventure Cemetery Tour, lots of pubs and live entertainment downtown, some great local food (strong foodie area)...also get in on a local 'ghost' tour. They'll dress up spooky and walk you around town and tell you all the stories, there are a lot of local aspiring actors, movie production folk and artists (thanks in large part to SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, a huge deal in town) so they make it fun.

Great suggestions, thanks ! Maybe I can meet Naughty Nelly Nutmeg, Beatrix Bourbon, and Voodoo Mama Juju lol. ("Office" reference)

Another visit to SLC is happening next month (planned in advance) Wouldn't mind seeing BYU, Utah Valley, or Weber State- in flyby fashion since college students are excellent at spreading COVID. I seem to be collecting visits to West Coast Conference schools (5 so far), so BYU would be quite appropriate. If the WCC dumped BYU and San Diego it could change its name to the NFC (No -Football Conference)

Too bad the Salt Lake Bees won't be playing. Smith's Ballpark is a great place to see a game if you like baseball but don't like strangers. Going on a Sunday most of the Mormon fans are MIA so you have legroom for days. It'd be nice if they didn't play "Safelite repair- Safelite replace !" after every foul ball. I saw former Aggie Ty Kelly play there. He couldn't buy a hit in that series, but he started a game- winning rally for the Las Vegas 51's by reaching on a fielding error.

I need to use up all those Southwest travel funds before Savannah, Fargo, or Missoula though. I know you can fly to Savannah from Atlanta (or another intermediate destination) on a different airline but Southwest will get you to Atlanta by way of Honolulu. I was looking at buying a ticket from Sacramento to Cleveland once. Practically every flight had a stopover in Baltimore. What ?

I don't know much about baseball, but I will say that if you are thinking of a trip to the southeast, Oct-Dec is a beautiful time of year. I usually take a couple cross country flights a year on Southwest and I suppose I'm getting old because I look for Denver layovers. I appreciate a real bathroom halfway through!

Get some Mexican food at The Red Iguana in SLC. Best I've ever had...aside from the food in Mexico ;-)

Thanks. You know, that sounds very familiar. I think I might've even seen the Red Iguana on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive- Ins, and Dives. I'll look up how to get there from my hotel.

Edit. Oh that's really easy. I can hop on Trax, followed by a 6 min ride and walking 2- 3 blocks. Nice ! I really like how so many of their stops are named after whatever place of interest is right next to them like Ballpark, Airport, Planetarium, etc..

I'm the same way. The stars have to really allign for anyone to be able to use the airplane restrooms. I vaguely remember using one back in the late 80's. That only happened because I was a child travelling alone and got to sit in the front. Whatever airline I was on (American or America West) was serving meals on a SF- Phoenix flight ? That might have been the trip where I met Yogi Berra (on the return). He was a Houston Astros coach then and there were some young men in suits with him- probably players.

I had to change planes both ways in Phoenix last time. You'd think an hour and 15 min is enough time to get your gate, eat something, and use the john. Not there. Had to cross no less than 6 moving walkways and haul behind.

I read up on Pullman. Sounds like a really nice city. Looks like Alaska Airlines is the best airline to take.

Yeah Alaska flies to Pullman from Seattle. Or you could take southwest to Spokane and drive about 1 1/2 hours to Pullman. You can also check out U of I in Moscow, about 10 minutes from Pullman.

I changed my mind already about the destination. Lol