Greatest Sporting Events in Person

[SuperHornet]

1. The first game played by the Orlando Thunder in the old WLAF. Kerwin Bell was the QB, and he led the fluorescent lime green-clad Thunder to a 35-34 win over the San Antonio Riders (featuring Jason Garrett and John "Bradshaw" Layfield) at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

2. The Mattos March....

[93henfan]

1. The first game played by the Orlando Thunder in the old WLAF. Kerwin Bell was the QB, and he led the fluorescent lime green-clad Thunder to a 35-34 win over the San Antonio Riders (featuring Jason Garrett and John "Bradshaw" Layfield) at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

2. The Mattos March....

This is the "greatest" thread, not "most obscure".

[SuperHornet]

93: It said "Greatest Sporting Events IN PERSON." Those are the best I've attended.

And the Mattos March isn't obscure at all to Hornet fans, let me assure you....

[93henfan]

I also heard, through my dad and uncles, that there was a little throwing of races going on here and there.

The summer I worked there I got a "tip" from somebody I trusted that a horse was a lock to win their race. I wasn't much of a bettor, but I ended up doing a "wheel" bet for the exacta in that race hoping a longer shot would come in second. It hit.

The Big B was one of the most entertaining places I've ever been. Used to see Phillies and Flyers there all the time including Pete Rose.

One more note on Brandywine, if you check out satellite view of "Clubhouse Lane" in Wilmington, the infield and outline of the track is still there to this day. Direct link: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8329644 ... a=!3m1!1e3

[UNI88]

That was a serious damn track.

Yup. I may have gone over this before but on the photo the left side was the "Clubhouse" and the right side was the "Grandstand". Once inside the pay gate there were only three egresses between the two sides. The two were a perfect example of class structure and it was so stark, I wish I had a video or photos to really do it justice.

If you were in the Grandstand, you were surrounded by the common folk dressed in their finest cutoffs and T-shirts. Floors were concrete and littered with race tickets, peanut shells and empty beer cups, the lighting was dim and depressing and it was hot as hell as the meets basically ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Then you step through the magic portal into the Clubhouse and you're met with clean, white tiled floors, bright lights, men in sports coats and women in dresses (kids had to have collared shirts), and air conditioning. I think it only cost $5 to go into the Clubhouse, but it may as well been $500.

Wow, I just looked at that photo again and you can even see the lighting difference.

Were you popping your collar back then?

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[89Hen]

One more note on Brandywine, if you check out satellite view of "Clubhouse Lane" in Wilmington, the infield and outline of the track is still there to this day. Direct link: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8329644 ... a=!3m1!1e3

I've seen that on other sites and that is not the infield pond. I think that pond was around another track that they used for training. That football and baseball field are for Concord HS (our rival HS) and those were there since the late 70's.

The clubhouse/grandstand was basically if you draw a straight line up Shipley Road in the parking lot behind the Lowe's. The mall sits directly on where the track was. Where all those houses between Clubhouse Lane and Brandywine Pkwy were all parking lots behind the clubhouse. I'm 100% sure of this because I worked parking and know exactly where the lots sat.

[93henfan]

One more note on Brandywine, if you check out satellite view of "Clubhouse Lane" in Wilmington, the infield and outline of the track is still there to this day. Direct link: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8329644 ... a=!3m1!1e3

I've seen that on other sites and that is not the infield pond. I think that pond was around another track that they used for training. That football and baseball field are for Concord HS (our rival HS) and those were there since the late 70's.

The clubhouse/grandstand was basically if you draw a straight line up Shipley Road in the parking lot behind the Lowe's. The mall sits directly on where the track was. Where all those houses between Clubhouse Lane and Brandywine Pkwy were all parking lots behind the clubhouse. I'm 100% sure of this because I worked parking and know exactly where the lots sat.

That's what I thought as well; hence my Trader Joe's comment earlier. My memory was that as you went north on Concord Pike and crossed Naamans Rd, you basically saw the Brandywine parking lot on the right and the back of the stands maybe 200-300 yards away?

But then I saw the sources you mention stating that was the track outline. I figured I must have misremembered (sounds like a Hillary term).

[89Hen]

That's what I thought as well; hence my Trader Joe's comment earlier. My memory was that as you went north on Concord Pike and crossed Naamans Rd, you basically saw the Brandywine parking lot on the right and the back of the stands maybe 200-300 yards away?

Almost, but the stands more or less faced the Pike and most of the parking was behind it. From the Pike all you could see was the back of the wall in turn 2 (for lack of a better descriptor) and maybe the top of the Clubhouse.
Could definitely see the lights.

[GannonFan]

That's what I thought as well; hence my Trader Joe's comment earlier. My memory was that as you went north on Concord Pike and crossed Naamans Rd, you basically saw the Brandywine parking lot on the right and the back of the stands maybe 200-300 yards away?

Almost, but the stands more or less faced the Pike and most of the parking was behind it. From the Pike all you could see was the back of the wall in turn 2 (for lack of a better descriptor) and maybe the top of the Clubhouse.
Could definitely see the lights.

Yeah, that's how I remembered it. I hardly ever went north on 202 past it back in the days when it was there, but we would come down Naamans Rd towards 202 and you could see it on your right. You could see more of the track from than vantage point than 202 I believe. I think I could even see the dirt on the track. I never remember it looking like much, always seemed like a run-down kind of place, but in truth I was never in it and I only saw it in the years before it closed.

[89Hen]

Yeah, that's how I remembered it. I hardly ever went north on 202 past it back in the days when it was there, but we would come down Naamans Rd towards 202 and you could see it on your right. You could see more of the track from than vantage point than 202 I believe. I think I could even see the dirt on the track. I never remember it looking like much, always seemed like a run-down kind of place, but in truth I was never in it and I only saw it in the years before it closed.

Not sure on seeing the track, but I rarely went on that little stretch on Naamans to the Pike. Our valet lot was right on Naamans and I know for certain you could not see the ground level at the track from there. We used to race people's cars in and out of the lot because they couldn't see us.

This was the front (back) entrance that was only for valet. It was 60's swagger.