Stanley Cup runneth over

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
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Long-term readers (who read all the blogs) know that I got into hockey two seasons ago when my friend Mike suggested seeing games in all 30 NHL arenas. Over the past three seasons, we’ve managed to see 22 teams play in their home arenas. There’s nothing extraordinary about that number. Somehow though, there’s one interesting fact to go along with the Quest for All 30. The Stanley Cup Finals have come down to two teams I saw at home during the active season. In 2014, the Los Angeles Kings defeated the New York Rangers. 2015 saw the dreaded Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning for  the Cup.

During this current season, we made the now traditional Thanksgiving trip a double header of seeing the Penguins face the St. Louis Blues in Pittsburgh the night before Thanksgiving and then the Pens were the visiting team in Columbus the night after Thanksgiving. In February, as part of the side quest to see all five California AHL teams, sandwiched between San Jose Barracuda and Stockton Heat games, we made a return trip to the SAP Center to watch the Sharks defeat the Arizona Coyotes. As I type this, the Sharks and Penguins are getting ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday, May 30.

I have yet to determine if this year’s match up is my dream final or nightmare final. Before I became a more die-hard hockey fan, if someone asked what team I supported, I would have said the Penguins. This was more due the success they were having when I got more invested in sports than actually knowing anything about the team. Due to being a “fan” and because the Penguins social media manager was the only one to comment on my blog about searching for an official team, I was ready to pledge my allegiance to the Pens. Then something happened to make me question everything.

The second stop on the All 30 quest was San Jose. That night, my hockey life was changed forever. As I recounted in the previous blog about the trip, that night in San Jose was like a religious experience. I had seen the hockey gods and they wore black, teal and orange. From the moment the team took the ice through the giant shark head, I was in awe. With this newfound fandom, what was I to do about my original Penguin fandom? After some serious debate and consulting with Mike, I came to the conclusion that it only made sense to have an East team and a West team.

During the regular season, I would cheer for both teams then during the playoffs, I would have better odds of having a favorite team reach the finals. With the playoffs consisting of 16 teams, what were the odds that both of MY teams would make it the finals in the same year? Being a Miami Dolphins fan for 30 years, I was more prepared to be disappointed during the playoffs. Never would I have expected my two teams to battle each other for The Cup.

Now we’re on the cusp of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals and I find myself torn on actively rooting for one team or simply enjoying the games and hoping for a competitive series. Part of me says to cheer on the Sharks as this is their first trip to the Finals and it’s easier to potentially travel to San Jose for a game than to fly across the country to a game in Pittsburgh. On the other hand, having been a Penguin “fan” for 25 years, is it right to toss them to the side just because they happen to be playing the Sharks?

Then comes the factor of the Penguins’ newly celebrated HBK line. The trio of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, became a trio to be reckoned with during the series against Tampa Bay. They became such a sensation fans got the original HBK, “Heartbreak Kid,” Shawn Michaels to become a fan and the Penguins invited Michaels to attend game 5. Naturally, the wrestling fan in me sees this as a logical reason to throw support to the Penguins. Naturally then, I think if the Sharks wanted to secure their own section of wrestling fans, it would only make sense to bring Sharkboy to the Shark Tank as a wrestler liaison.

I will wrestle with my decision until the puck drops at the start of game 1. Maybe I should simply be pleased two teams I have chosen to support are playing for the richest prize in hockey. No matter the outcome, I finally have a championship series that won’t let me down. Although, if either team seriously wants my undying support, providing tickets to a game would help. Just being honest.

Lets go Sharks! I mean, lets go Pens!…uh, Sharks, Pens…um, Shens? Parks? This is going to be a soul wrenching series.

Geek Week 2016 Part 2: Montreal

On the road to Montreal 

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
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After a fun two days in Ottawa, it was time to cross the Ontario border and head to the Quebec city of Montreal. While it was intended to be a relatively short two-hour trip, the lack of scenery made it feel more like a five-hour trek.  

Our first stop in Montreal was a break for lunch. Mike had found a place online that looked appealing…or is that a-peel-ing? The Montreal institution known as the Orange Julep would serve as our welcome to the city.  


If you read the Ottawa blog, you may remember I said we left on March 17 in hopes of avoiding St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Apparently in Montreal, calendars are merely suggestions. Getting off the freeway at an exit a short half-mile to the Airbnb location, we quickly found out we had landed in the middle of a huge St. Paddy’s Day parade route and could not use the road we intended to use. Instead, we had to go about three miles out of the way to get around the closed off sections of town and find our way back to the townhouse. Normally, a slight detour wouldn’t be much of a problem. However, when you’re in a country where cell phone usage is out due to international roaming charges and all the street signs are in a foreign language, it can be a bit daunting.  

Once we got to the location and unpacked the car, it was time to hit the city. One positive I can give Montreal is the subway system is pretty simple to figure out and easy to use. We took the subway up to Olympic Park. The site of the 1976 Summer Olympics has been retrofitted to house a biodome, insectariums and the building used for the swimming events is now a fitness center. Sadly, Olympic Stadium, the former home of the Montreal Expos, now stands empty for the most part. 

After taking in the sites in Olympic Park, it was time to head back downtown to the Bell Center to watch the Canadiens de Montreal battle the Calgary Flames. I say battle, but really it was a continuation of the poor performance we saw the night before with the Canadians vs. Senators. At least this time the Canadians did manage to score a goal. Unfortunately, Calgary scored 4 to win the game and the home crowd booed their team off the ice.  Sadly for me is I failed to realize I was in a building where wrestling history will never (as much as it should by this point) be forgotten. I was in the same arena where the infamous Montreal Screw Job happened. That fateful night in November 1997 where Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart, or Vince McMahon screwed Bret, or Earl Hebner screwed Bret. Maybe it was Sunny. No matter who it was, this was the arena that changed the battleground of the Monday Night Wars and I almost left Montreal without realizing it. 

With the disappointing game and atmosphere still echoing in our minds, we needed something to erase the funk. On the walk back to the Airbnb, we decided to stop off at a barcade called Foonzo. If you’re ever in Montreal, I highly recommend stopping at Foonzo. Unlike most barcades that have different video game cabinets in the building, Foonzo has different tables set up with old school video game consoles. Everything from the classic NES to X-Box are waiting to be played. As long as you’re a customer, the games are free. Mike and I relieved the glory days of college with some N64 Goldeneye and Mario Kart. Having not played these games in 15-16 years, it was fun to look at them now and instead of seeing state of the art graphics, realizing they’re really blocky looking. A few games later it was time to call it night. 

The second day in Montreal was spent walking around Old Montreal, the base of Mount Royal and Parc Jean-Drapeau to see the Montreal Biosphere. While it was a nice day of site seeing, I have to say that there wasn’t much that I saw that would justify highly recommending a visit to Montreal to someone. Plus, the people of Montreal lived up to every horrible preconceived opinion I had about New Yorkers. That’s unfair to New Yorkers because they didn’t adhere to any bad opinions. Montrealers though were either rude or totally indifferent to anything we said to them. 

With four days in Canada behind us, it’s now time to cross the border back into America and “Feel the Bern” with a stop in Vermont. 

TO BE CONTINUED...

Geek Week 2016, Part 1: Ottawa

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
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For the third time in the last five years, I find myself on an extra excursion while on the Road to WrestleMania. Previously, as I recounted on a recent episode of the My 1-2-3 Cents Podcast, I traveled to New York City and Key West, prior to WrestleMania 28 with my friends, Jackie and Gary, whom I’d met at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago. Two years later, Jackie, who was working at a ski resort, and I made a road trip from Banff, Alberta to New Orleans stopping along the way to pick up Kevin before hitting “The Big Easy.”  

Kevin also made an extra trip this year and you can read about his exploits here. While Kevin was smart and headed for the warmth and sunshine of Florida, I went in the opposite direction. My friend Mike decided this was a good week to continue our goal of seeing all 30 NHL arenas with a visit to Buffalo, NY. Originally, Buffalo was the only NHL game we were going to see while hitting up all the New York AHL teams. After looking at the schedules some more, Mike decided it didn’t make much sense to only see one NHL game if we were going to be in the area for a week. Thus, the trip evolved to include stops in Ottawa and Montreal. That sounded good and then I had a look at the weather prediction for the week. Canada was only going to top out around 32 degrees for the days  we’re visiting.  It’s times like this where I don’t understand why people complain about global warming. 

Thursday afternoon (3/17), we skipped all the St. Paddy’s Day celebrations (or so we thought) and flew to Buffalo, arriving at 1am on Friday. After a short night of sleep, it was time to hit the road. Before leaving Buffalo, we stopped by the Wilcox house where Teddy Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States following the assassination of President William McKinley. Since I wasn’t that familiar with the events of McKinley’s death and Roosevelt’s taking over the Presidency, the tour was extremely interesting as well as educational. Would definitely recommend it if you ever find yourself in Buffalo. 

After the tour, it was time to hit the road for the five and a half hour drive to Ottawa. Maybe if it weren’t the dead of winter the drive would have been interesting. Instead, the drive was five hours of bare trees and dead grass. Eventually we made it to Ottawa and were ready for the first of three hockey games in three days. 

Once we dropped off the luggage at the airbnb apartment, we made our way down to the TD Place arena to watch the Ottawa 67s battle the Hamilton Bulldogs. The interesting aspect is how the hockey arena is built underneath a section of the football stadium’s seating.  As is a tradition whenever we see a hockey game, Mike and I try to track down the mascot to get a photo. During the first period, we hadn’t seen the mascot so we went in search of trying to find Riley Raccoon. Having no luck in our raccoon hunt, I asked a female usher if she knew where Riley liked to hang out. This was my first encounter of the trip that showed why Canadians have the reputation they have. She was very friendly and walked us around the arena to point out places we might find Riley. Later she gave us free Ottawa 67s pins to commemorate the game. Eventually we succeeded in our quest and got photos with Riley. The 67s won the game to the delight of the hometown crowd. Following the game, Mike and I went out for post-game snacks with a friend of his who writes for the 67s (@msconduct) before calling it a night. 

Saturday day was spent walking around Ottawa and examining different buildings. We saw Parliament and went up in the Peace Tower. It’s a memorial tower to honor Canadians who died during wars. There are remembrance books with the names of all the soldiers who died during a particular war. In the center of the room is an altar with the first book that commemorates those lost during the Great War. While talking with a security guard about the altar, he mentioned how the book is very regal looking because when it was made, the persons making it thought it would be the last book of its kind. Once again, while talking with the guard (and some of the tour guides as well), I was struck by how friendly they all were and their willingness to help. It made it very difficult to hang on to my 20-year irrational dislike of Canadians. 

With my opinions of Canadians being called into question, it was time to head over to the Canadian Tire Center to watch the Ottawa Senators battle the Montreal Canadians. Since Montreal is relatively close to Ottawa, I’d say the crowd was about a 60-40 split in favor of the hometown Spartans. Saturday night hockey game in Canada between two Canadian teams is what you’d expect if you follow hockey.  The crowd was into every play. Whenever the Spartans looked to score, there would be an audible gasp from the crowd when the Canadians goalie would block a shot. Unfortunately, due to a rash of injuries, the Canadians team is pretty much limping their way to the end of the season, which led to a very lopsided 5-0 victory for the Senators. Two fun hockey games down, it was now time to rest up and hit the road for a couple days in Montreal.  

TO BE CONTINUED...

Accountability Blog: A picture speaks a thousand words

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
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January 1: 190 Pounds
March 1: 173 Pounds

It’s only been two months since I started the #OperationFindMyAbs in earnest, but I can already see the results. This was made clear last week when Facebook reminded me how out of shape I was by bringing up a past memory. Earlier in the week I had joked with a friend after watching an episode of My 600 Pound Life that if my face ever looked like a live version of the happy face emoticon to let me know. I guess Facebook took my suggestion seriously because I couldn’t believe how much 2014 me could have been used in a text message to express happiness. 

Happy face emoticon 

When I decided to get serious about trying to get in shape, I told Kevin my short-term goal was to get down to 170 pounds by the time Wrestlemania week rolled around. While I should be able to hit that goal by the time we roll into Dallas on April 1, I’ve still got a ways to go to reach my ultimate goal. I still can’t see any abs and I need to work on building muscle now that I’ve gotten rid of most of the fat. This next month is going to be a real test of my willpower. 

As Kevin mentioned in his accountability blog for this month, there were some moments of weakness and setbacks in the last month. I had to go home for a funeral then went straight from there to San Jose for a weekend of hockey. I actually put on two pounds during that week due to lack of exercise and poor eating. 

At the end of March, in addition to spending a week in Texas for WrestleMania, the week before I’ll be going around upstate New York, Montreal and Ottawa in the ongoing quest to see all 30 NHL teams play at home. Two weeks on the road avoiding fast food and making sure to get in a daily workout won’t be easy. Even if I should suffer a setback, my determination will not be broken. The journey of 1000 miles starts with one step.

NHL Quest for 30: Pittsburgh

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
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It’s been awhile since I last wrote. I had planned on writing more this year but then life came along and decided that wouldn’t be the case. Hopefully, over the next few weeks I can get back on track. 

Anyway.

Long time readers with good memories may remember how two seasons ago, I  started a descent into hockey fandom after a friend proposed the idea of going to all 30 NHL arenas.  If you need to refresh your memory or missed it the first time, you can catch up here.  After a season of traveling coast to coast getting baptized into the church of hockey, I tried to determine which team I should pledge my fandom. The team I was leaning towards due to having been an unofficial fan already was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Much to their credit, the Pens twitter operator responded and encouraged me to make my fandom official.  

It didn’t take much twisting of my arm for me to go with the Penguins, though I still consider myself a fan of hockey in general and simply want to see a good game no matter which arena I happen to be visiting. The second season of the QUEST FOR 30 saw trips to Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay, Edmonton and Chicago. With the 2015/16 NHL season a little over six weeks old, there’s already been a trip to Vancouver that would rank in the Top 5 experiences so far. But this week is the moment I’ve been looking forward to since I fully immersed myself in the idea of the Quest. I finally get to step foot into Consol Energy Center and watch the Penguins battle the St. Louis Blues. Then two days later, it’s a trip to the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio to see the Penguins tussle with the Blue Jackets. 

Iceburgh

While I’m excited to make my second trip to Pittsburgh, the first was back in 1998  when I really could have used a GPS unit to navigate all the one way streets, I have some concerns about the game against the Blues. Over the past two seasons, I have seen the Blues play three games. In those three games the Blues are undefeated. Not only have they not lost, in the first game against the Minnesota Wild, I witnessed TJ Oshie record his first hat trick. In the second game against the Dallas Stars, Vladimir Tarasneko scored thrice to get a hat trick of his own.  A month ago in Vancouver, there were no hat tricks just a solid win for the Blues. On one hand, I am rooting for a Penguins home win. On the other, if the Blues remain unbeaten in my presence,  this could boost my negotiating role when I offer my services to attend all Blues games during the Playoffs. 

The Penguins haven’t gotten off to a great start this season. However there is still plenty of season left. Nevertheless, being in the home arena surrounded by Black and Gold will make the game exciting enough. Add in a quest to get a photo with Iceburgh to keep the streak of mascot photos alive and you’ve got the 
makings for a good night. 

I have heard only good things about the Blue Jackets arena so I’m looking forward to seeing if it lives up to the hype. Whatever the scoreboard says after the games, I’m just hoping my expectations aren’t too high and both experiences will rank high on the list when I get around to compiling my “Best” lists when 
recapping the Quest. Now, where’s Iceburgh?

Drop the Puck

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

Tonight is the official kick off to the 2014-2015 NHL season. Tonight will set in motion several stories to follow over the next eight months. Will the Los Angeles Kings be the first team since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings to win back-to-back Stanley Cups? Will the Chicago Blackhawks live up to preseason hype? Will a name change help the Arizona Coyotes gain a bigger fan base? Will I learn enough about hockey to actually write sensible, informative hockey blogs? 

The plan for tonight is to watch the Montreal Canadians vs. Toronto Maple Leafs game followed by the LA Kings banner raising game against the team who came in 2nd in my “which team do I cheer for” decision, the San Jose Sharks. While I won’t be there in person, it should still be a good game and I’m hoping the Sharks get some revenge on the Kings’ for their improbable playoff series victory. 

Right now the first live game on the calendar looks to be a trip to Anaheim to watch the Ducks battle the St. Louis Blues on October 19. Last year when I saw the Blues play, TJ Oshie scored the first hat trick of his career. Will Oshie turn in a similar outstanding performance? Will new Defense addition, Clayton Stoner add depth to the Ducks roster? Is it obvious with that last sentence, I shouldn’t actually talk about the specifics of hockey? 

2014 Stanley Cup

In addition to some Kings and Ducks game, I’ll once again hit the road with @mikedekalb to visit potentially 10 different venues this season. From Florida to Canada and states in between, hopefully my frequent flier club membership becomes beneficial. Also hoping to work in a handful of minor league hockey games as well.

People following the blog over the past few weeks should be aware that before the season started, I was in search of an official team to cheer for this season. I laid out my top ten choices and have come to a decision. I thought the decision would be tough but really there was very little doubt. I’m naming the San Jose Sharks as my west coast team. With time zones being what they are, I figured why not have a team that I can watch live given my work schedule. Out of the teams in the Pacific Division, the Sharks are my favorite. Not to mention, the Sharks play the Kings in an outdoor game at Levi’s Stadium. Since Kevin and I won’t be going to Wrestlemania next year, this would be a good excuse to see the stadium outside of football season. 

Iceburgh

While the Sharks are my “mistress” team as my friend calls it, my full support will go to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’ve liked the Penguins since the early ‘90s so it makes sense to stick with them. Plus, the Penguins actually responded to my blog regarding choosing a team. I figure if they’ll reach out to me then they may be a team that actually cares about their fans. 

Right now, if I have my date correct, the plan is be in Pittsburgh on January 18 for a game against the Rangers. If anyone from the Penguin organization is reading this and wants to be awesome and offer a tour of the arena or a guaranteed photo op with Iceburgh, or any other gifts that would be awesome. I will most likely also try to attend the Penguins games against the Sharks, Kings and Ducks in March. That would be a good hat trick road trip. 

The champs

Last season was an exciting season for a hockey fan. After a wild playoff series and exciting Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, I’m hoping there’s no hockey hangover for my second season of fandom. Now, drop the puck and start the season.

Which Hockey Team to Cheer?

Minnesota Wild

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

NHL preseason has started and the regular season is a mere three weeks away.  Last season I became a full on hockey supporter after seeing games in 10 hockey arenas and a wild post season which saw me regret caving in to common sense and not spending $700 to witness the final game of the Stanley Cup finals. That was last season though. Now is time for the new season. Already on the docket are trips to Dallas, Miami and Tampa with possible trips to Calgary, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Buffalo, Quebec, Ottawa and Boston in the planning stages. With the excitement of the new season in the air, I still have one major issue to contend with before October 8 rolls around. Which team do I cheer for this season? 

See, when I became a fan of hockey, I became a fan of the sport and not a specific team. Last season was about the thrill of experiencing hockey as a sport with no emotional attachment to any particular team or player. This season, I would like to change that and have a team to get behind and be devastated when they don’t win the Cup. The problem is how do I choose a team? What qualities do I look for in a team and why am I putting more of an effort into picking a team than I put into finding a job or a potential romantic partner? 

Sharks!

In realty, the main selling point is location, location, location. If that were the same with choosing a sports team, then the two logical choices would be either the Los Angeles Kings or Anaheim Ducks. I will most likely go to a few home games for both teams however I don’t know if they are the perfect fit for me. First off, the Kings won the Stanley Cup last season. If I were to become a Kings fan now, I would have the stigma of becoming a bandwagon fan and I don’t want that. Maybe that’s really not a big deal, but I’d rather watch a team become good rather than start at the top and have nowhere to go but down. 

More sharks!

After attending four Ducks games last season, I do enjoy the team. As an LA KISS season ticket holder, I am very familiar with the confines of the Honda Center and it would make a little bit of sense to pair up two teams in the same location for my fandom. Again though, the Ducks have been really good the last few seasons. I think I want more of an underdog team. 

Not an underdog team by any stretch of the imagination is the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’ve unofficially been a Penguins fans for 20-years so logically if I’m getting serious about hockey fandom this is the team I should root for, right? I mean the Penguins are the only NHL team of which I own a jersey. So why not root for them? I don’t have a good reason. Before we jump the gun and just go with the Penguins, lets keep looking at other teams. 

The Blues

While I currently live in Los Angeles, I am originally from Illinois. Going back to location as a determining factor, either the Chicago Blackhawks or St. Louis Blues deserve consideration for my support. Well, I am a fan of nothing Chicago related so that eliminates the Blackhawks. Most of my friends who are hockey fans and don’t cheer the Blackhawks cheer for the Blues. It would make some sense to cheer along for the Blues so we can bond over wins and share in the agony of defeats. Lets put the Blues in for possible consideration. 

Out of the ten arenas I visited last season, the two that really stood out as great atmosphere, great fans and good teams were San Jose and Minnesota. As I mentioned in my initial blog about becoming a hockey fan, the game in San Jose was like a religious experience. Plus, SJ Sharkie is one of the greatest mascots. San Jose is technically close enough to hit up a game or two during the regular season so that makes them a strong contender. 

Snoopy is Wild!

Minnesota on the other hand is the team I saw play the most times last season.  Pretty sure that’s a correct stat. Minnesota had the best pregame introduction of all the playoff games I saw in person. The fans were loyal and friendly, welcoming a newbie or couldn’t name one player on the team. So I’ll give them points for that. 

As far as players go, after witnessing his treatment by the hometown New York Rangers fans, I declared Brian Boyle to be the best player in the league. Now that Boyle has moved south to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team I’ll see in person in November, I would be remised if I didn’t toss them into consideration. 

Since I didn’t have an official NHL team to cheer for last season, I started a collection of minor league hockey jerseys. I chose the jersey primarily because of the logo. Using this logic for NHL teams, this adds, Ottawa, Florida, Winnipeg and Nashville to the list of potential teams. 

After what I’ve just written and talked through, there are nine teams up for consideration. I’ll throw in one random team to make it an even ten teams. 

Pittsburgh Penguins
St. Louis Blues
San Jose Sharks
Minnesota Wild
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ottawa Senators
Florida Panthers
Winnipeg Jets
Nashville Predators
Carolina Hurricanes

Okay, this is where you come in to play. I’ve listed ten teams. I will let the readers decide which team shall become my team. Either leave comments on our Facebook page or tweet responses to either @my123cents or @chadsmart. I will announce the winner on October 1.

Ultimate Geek Arena Goal

Trump Tower
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

Over the weekend news broke that come September the Trump Tower in Atlantic City, New Jersey would be closing down. As a wrestling fan this is sad news because Trump Tower is where Wrestlemania IV and V were held. There was virtually no chance of another Wrestlemania being held there unless the business takes a major downturn and WWE can’t get 70,000 fans to fill stadiums.

As I mentioned in a recent blog thanks to a friend who’s a huge hockey fan (@hockeytransplant on Twitter) I have started a series of trips to visit all 30 hockey arenas. Along the way, if given the chance we will often also go to a baseball or football game as well. During the three-day trip to New York in March, we attended a New York Islanders game. Besides crossing another hockey arena off the list, I was geeked up because I was in the arena where the New York portion of Wrestlemania 2 was held. This has lead to unofficially trying to visit as many Wrestlemania arenas/stadiums as possible.

With the news of the Trump Tower closing, I decided to look at the venues that have hosted a Wrestlemania to see how many are still in active use and how many I’ve actually visited. 

Here is the list of the 32 Wrestlemania locations.

Madison Square Garden

WM 1, 10, 20: Madison Square Garden; New York, NY.  Still in active use. Attended the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony as well as a New York Rangers game in 2014.

WM 2: Nassau Coliseum; Uniondale, NY. Wrestlemania 2 was held in three different locations. Since the other two arenas held other Wrestlemanias, I’ll get to them later.  As mentioned earlier, attended a New York Islanders game here earlier this year. Of all the arenas I’ve been to, this is most likely the worst. In it’s defense the arena is over 40 years old. With the Islanders moving to Brooklyn for the 2015-2016 season, I’m curious to see how long the Nassau Coliseum will remain open.

Andre the Giant & Bobby Heenan at Wrestlemania III
Photo courtesy: WWE

WM 3: Pontiac Silverdome; Detroit, MI – The site of the legendary Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match was closed in 2011 nine years after the Detroit Lions moved to the newer Ford Field.  With no plans to reopen, I don’t see any chance of visiting this historic Wrestlemania location.

Macho Man, Liz, and Hogan at Wrestlemania IV
Photo courtesy: WWE

WM 4 & 5: Trump Plaza (the name of this arena changes depending upon the casino sponsoring the event, technically the name of the venue is Boardwalk Hall); Atlantic City, NJ.  When Kevin and I made our Geek Week trip to New Jersey for Wrestlemania 29 there was talk of hitting up Atlantic City for a night. Plans changed so we never got to see the boardwalk. Had I known then that Trump Tower had potential to close, I would have definitely pushed to head down there and check out the building.  Since I don’t see myself going to New Jersey in the next two months, it’s safe to say unless someone reopens the building this will be another Wrestlemania location I won’t get to put on the visited list.

WM 6 & 18: Skydome (Rogers Centre); Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  With a future visit to Toronto to see a Maple Leafs game on the schedule, I will safely say that a trip to Skydome to see a Blue Jays or possibly an Argonauts game will also be on the itinerary. 


WM 2 &7: Los Angeles Sports Arena; Los Angeles, CA. The Sports Arena is located on the USC campus. While not regularly used for sporting events, the Sports Arena does host concerts every few months.  Whenever he plays Los Angeles, Bruce Springsteen always plays at the Sports Arena. I saw Springsteen play here in 2012 and Pearl Jam in 2013.

WM 8: Hoosier Dome (Building was demolished in 2008); Indianapolis, IN – Seeing how the stadium was demolished before I had a chance to visit Indianapolis it’s safe to say this goes on the never got to see list.

Caesar's Palace: Wrestlemania 9
Photo courtesy: WWE

WM 9: Caesars Palace; Las Vegas, NV. I have been to Caesars Palace but I haven’t seen the actual venue that hosted Wrestlemania 9. I’m not sure if I should count this venue or not. Maybe I’ll add an asterisk.

WM 11: Hartford Civic Center (XL Center); Hartford, CT.  Once again, the quest for hockey arenas will play a part in visiting the XL Center. Before the Carolina Hurricanes existed they were the Hartford Whalers and the XL Center was their home arena. It has been discussed to travel to Hartford as part of the trip to Boston.

WM 12 & 16: Arrowhead Pond (Honda Center); Anaheim, CA.  As a season ticket holder for the LA KISS arena football team, and having seen a handful of Anaheim Ducks hockey games, I have been to Pond several times. The first time I was here was for the Jonas Brothers concert taped for their 3D film. Yep, I just admitted that. 


Allstate Arena: Wrestlemania 22
Photo courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

WM 2, 13 & 22 Rosemont Horizon (Allstate Arena); Chicago, IL.  Wrestlemania 22 was the first Wrestlemania Kevin and I attended.

WM 14: FleetCenter (TD Garden); Boston, MA. I’ve walked past this building but haven’t been inside. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be attending a Boston Bruins game here next April.

WM 15: First Union Center (Wells Fargo Center); Philadelphia, PA. While in Philly back in May for the return of Chikara, we attended a Phillies game across the street from the Wells Fargo Center. Will eventually attend a Flyers game.

WM 17: Reliant Astrodome; Houston, TX. The Astromdome is another venue that has been shut down due to a new stadium being built before I had the chance to attend an event.

WM 19: Safeco Field; Seattle, WA. If I’m ever in town for a Seahawks game, or if Seattle gets an NHL expansion team then I’ll try and go to a Mariners game.

WM 21: STAPLES Center; Los Angeles, CA. Living in LA, I have been to Staples Center many times. Among the wrestling events seen here, I attended SummerSlam 2012 and 2013. Will be there next Tuesday to see Lady Gaga’s Art Pop show.

WM 23: Ford Field; Detroit, MI. The only Wrestlemania in the past nine years we didn’t attend. May have to try to do a Red Wings/Lions weekend trip. 

WM 24: Citrus Bowl; Orlando, FL 


WM 25: Reliant Stadium; Houston, TX

WM 26: University of Phoenix Stadium; Glendale, AZ

WM 27: Georgia Dome; Atlanta, GA

WM 28: Sun Life Stadium; Miami, FL 


Our view at Wrestlemania 29
Photo courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

WM 29: MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, NJ

WM 30: Mercedes-Benz Superdome; New Orleans, LA- For the past seven years, Kevin and I have done the annual Geek Week trip.

In the 30 years of Wrestlemania, 24 venues have hosted the event.  Of those 24 venues, three have been closed and another is set to close in the next few months. I’ve been to 14* of the remaining 20 arenas with plans to see events at another four over the next two-three years.

Levi's Stadium
Photo courtesy: WWE

WWE has already announced the location of the next two Wrestlemanias. Wrestlemania 31 will take place at the brand new Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA while Wrestlemania 32 will be at AT&T stadium in Dallas. As of now, it is uncertain if I’ll be making the trip up the coast to Santa Clara. If for some reason I don’t make it to Dallas, I can still mark it off the list as I saw George Strait’s final tour stop there in June.

When the idea was pitched to me to visit al 30 NHL arenas, I thought the goal could be fun if a bit unnecessary. Now that I’ve decided to try and visit all Wrestlemania locations, the NHL goal seems less insane.