>
> That's the truth. I think hockey on television is boring, but a game live and in person is fantasticaly entertaining.
>
> And I don't mean just the crowd antics alone--normally I'd say that if you really want to follow the action of a given sporting event, the best seat in the house is usually the one right in front of your television set. But somehow with hockey, I get a better sense of the game when I'm there. Maybe because you can see the entire rink?
>
> koala"Ice Dogs"mom

I've been a fan of stock car racing my whole life, and I have to admit that watching it on TV gives you a great perspective. You have two or three experts explaining all of the details, instant replays, in-car cameras, and you see it all from the comfort of home without paying an arm and a leg for tickets.

On the other hand, you go to the track and you can watch the cars you want, not the ones chosen by some unseen stranger. Also you don't have commercials that interrupt the action and leave you wondering where your favorite driver is for several minutes. You hear more at the track than you do on TV. And you can smell the exhaust and feel the vibrations. And naturally the crowds are part of the scene.

I haven't been to a track in several years, but for a while I saw a race or two a year and caught the rest on TV. That gave me the best of both worlds.

Without changing the subject completely, I would like to mention that I have ridden antique motorscooters around the track at Charlotte's Lowes Motor Speedway and at Indianapolis. That is high on my list for thrills. Now, when I watch a race at those tracks I can almost see my Cushmans buzzing along the white line. I guess there is no substitute for being there.
Howard