Sport in New York when visiting for week in December

quinn05

Hi All,


I will be surprising my better half by proposing to her this December (mid Dec) and taking her to New York for 6 days to holiday and pick out the ring. I have most of it planned including taking her to broadway but am hoping we can get in a sporting event too. We have been to LA before and loved seeing the basketball so i am waiting at the moment to see will the NBA problems be sorted-if so i will get tickets for them but if not can anyone suggest another good sporting event.
I love NFL but with the weather may not be the best idea.

What do peole suggest or would only basketball be the best to see?

Thanks

jack presley

Ice hockey's your best bet. The Rangers play at the Garden which is the same place as the Knicks play their basketball and it's a good night out. I was at a game in Apri and even though they lost, there was good atmosphere and it's exciting to watch.

crapmanjoe

jack presley wrote: »

Ice hockey's your best bet. The Rangers play at the Garden which is the same place as the Knicks play their basketball and it's a good night out. I was at a game in Apri and even though they lost, there was good atmosphere and it's exciting to watch.

Yeah ice hockey is the only real option in manhattan, so sign of basketball strike being resolved

Nfl in meadowlands in jersey is also an option, pretty much a game on there ever Sunday. Hard to get ticktets, expensive and gona be very cold in December

Fr Tod Umptious

crapmanjoe wrote: »

Yeah ice hockey is the only real option in manhattan, so sign of basketball strike being resolved

Nfl in meadowlands in jersey is also an option, pretty much a game on there ever Sunday. Hard to get ticktets, expensive and gona be very cold in December

Yea you will freeze your ass off at a football game, and if you are not actually into the game you will be bored too.

Ice Hokey def the best bet, downtown, indoors, and if you get bored you can leave and still be in the middle of the city.

jack presley

Nice beer (if a little expensive) and the usual hot dogs/snacks at MSG as well so you really can't go wrong

You can buy your tickets at the US Ticketmaster and choose to pick them up at 'will call' so it's easy enough to get sorted too. As they play so many games in the NHL there's a good chance there'll be a game on one of the days you're there too

Regarding the NBA, even when there is an end to the lockout there's going to be 30 days before the 1st game so it's unlikely there'll be one on when you're over. You could check the college schedules although I don't know if there are many games played in new York.

quinn05

Thanks lads

Might try the ice hockey so.

Cheers

cheesehead

College basketball: St. John's vs. Fordham on Saturday, December 17th at Madison Square Garden. High level College Basketball game between two NYC teams. Madison Square Garden is one of the "Cathedrals" of basketball in the US. Also, it's easy to get to if you're staying in NYC. Even if the game might not be a great match-up (St. John's should win fairly easily), it's cool to say you saw a game at MSG.

Pro Football: Giants vs. the Redskins at the Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday, December 18th. I wouldn't worry too much about the weather being too severe. You might not know too much about American Football, but this should be a pretty good game between two old rivals. Securing a ticket might be tough (or costly), but it's a thought if you're up for a new experience. American Football is truly "America's game" now, and the atmosphere surrounding these games is quite good. Also, the Giants are having a "decent" year, and should still be in the playoff hunt come mid-December.

quinn05

Thanks guys

It looks like i have only 2 options

NFL with the jets versus washington or college basketball in madison square. The hockey is not on th edays we are there or is clashing with other events.

If it was the knicks id go basketball but since its college im edging towards nfl but the weather is putting me off this. Defo wont to go to one- what do people think will be better atmosphere?

Thanks

jack presley

quinn05 wrote: »

NFL with the jets versus washington

I presume you mean the Giants? Jets @ Washington today!

quinn05

Yep meant the giants :-)

Fr Tod Umptious

quinn05 wrote: »

Thanks guys

It looks like i have only 2 options

NFL with the jets versus washington or college basketball in madison square. The hockey is not on th edays we are there or is clashing with other events.

If it was the knicks id go basketball but since its college im edging towards nfl but the weather is putting me off this. Defo wont to go to one- what do people think will be better atmosphere?

Thanks

Even though I prefer NFL as a sport over basketball I would still advise you go to the basketball at MSG

College basketball is a big deal in the US, not as big in NY as it is in the South but it's still a big deal, so there will be an atmosphere there

The ticket price will be more reasonable for basketball than football
You will be downtown so if you are not enjoying it you can leave and step out into Manhattan.
It will be warm inside MSG

The football on the other hand ...
Will be outdoors so you will freeze your ass off out there
Is in NJ so there is travelling time, and if you or your soon to be wife don't enjoy it you have to make your way back to downtown.
Ticket will be more expensive

I went to a lot of sports events in my years in the US, NFL, baseball, NBA, NHL, soccer but one of the best I enjoyed was a college ice hockey game at Harvard, and I don't really like hockey.

Hazys

Its pretty mild in the Northeast at the mo. You wont freeze at all or come close to that. It was 16C last week in Boston and the forecast is has nothing below -2C for the next 10 days.

Worst comes to worst all you'll need is a good winter jacket nothing more if you go to the football game.


I did go to a Patriots Vs Ravens playoff game in mid Janurary a few years, it was -20C when we were tailgating, great craic but it rose to -3/-4C by kickoff and with all the clothes we had on, we were roasting.