Game 6 of 122

Friday, September 10th, 2010 – Cincinnati Reds @ Great American Ballpark (vs. Pittsburgh Pirates).


A great night spent with some great friends at Great American Ballpark…OK, so it is a little corny. Wow, I have never had seats to anything this good. We were sitting in the 3rd row behind home plate – the tickets included dinner and drinks before (and during) the game. We attended the game with our good friends, the Huots. Our kids were very disappointed not to be able to go to this game as they are starting to enjoy daddy’s little obsession.  However, they got to see mommy and daddy on TV all night.

That is me in the red shirt, Deb on my left and our friends Mike & Elaine.

Cincinnati is a short drive (90 miles) up the highway from Louisville and we couldn’t pass up this opportunity on a beautiful Friday night. Now is a great time of year for the Reds as they are making a long overdue playoff run – not quite as long as their opponent that night – the Pittsburgh Pirates, which ironically we got to see play two games in a row.

The ballpark is very nice, although my opinion may be skewed as a result of the good seats we had, but I am not a fan of the big “black hole” that seems to exist in center field (see picture).

The Reds blew a 2-run lead in the top of the 9th, but came back to win it in the 12th inning. We didn’t stay until the end because it was getting very late for the babysitter.

Current record: 3-3; 57 total points scored.

Game 5 of 122: Sunday, September 5th, 2010 – Pittsburgh Pirates @ PNC Park (vs. Washington Nationals).

We spent Labor Day weekend at my parent’s house in Knox, PA where we got to visit with both my brother’s and sister’s families as well. The weather had turned a bit colder for most of the weekend, but the sun came out for a great day at the ball park. With the exception of my brother-in-law, who had to work, all 15 of us went to the game - which included my two kids, 5 nephews and 1 niece.

We were able to get a nice group ticket package that included good seats near the foul pole in the lower section of left field; a hat for everyone and our name on the scoreboard (although we were not fast enough to get a picture of it). We were almost able to catch a foul ball, but it landed in an empty seat 2 rows behind us. Speaking of empty seats, there were a lot of them (only 18,000 people in total) as you can imagine for a team that hasn’t had a winning season in 18 years…embarrassing.

The Pirates lost 8-1, but the best part about then entire day was that after the game, all the kids got to go down to the field and run the bases. On the field behind home plate, is a sign that says “PNC Park – The Best Ballpark in America.” They may not have a great team, but this is a must-see park for any baseball fan as the design with the river, bridges and skyline are amazing.

Current record: 2-3; 50 total points scored.

Recap of 1st 4 Games

Due to the fact that I didn’t launch my blog at the same time I started my project, I will quickly recap the first 4 games (which includes the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins) and then make every effort to write a quick update as each future game is completed.


Game 1 of 122: Saturday, May 15th, 2010 – Baltimore Orioles at Baltimore Park at Camden Yards (vs. Cleveland Indians).

I was already planning to be near Baltimore to visit my brother-in-law, Jeremy, for his 50th birthday party. As a side note, for those of you that follow horseracing, I was in line at the airport Starbucks in Louisville with Calvin Borrell (2010 Kentucky Derby winner) who was actually on his way to race at the Preakness in Baltimore.

While visiting my family, Jeremy and I decided to see an Orioles game. We ended up with great seats in the 2nd row behind the Orioles dugout. Camden Yards is truly one of the best baseball stadiums in the country. I have been there a number of times in the past, but I am still fascinated each time by the design. The warehouse in the outfield offers a unique touch and it is a great place to watch a game. Unfortunately the Orioles lost 8-2, but held a 2-0 lead up until the top of the 9th.

A special thanks to the Kahn family for hosting me.

Current record: 0-1; 10 total points scored.


Game 2 of 122: Friday, June 11th, 2010 – Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field (vs. Chicago White Sox).

A friend of mine, Tom Letto, and I took at quick road trip up to Chicago to see a Friday afternoon game. With some friends of ours from the printing industry, we took a limo to the game and grabbed a few drinks before hand. What I found most interesting was that is seems nobody was working in all of Chicago on a Friday afternoon. Our trip was the day after the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Combine that with the fact the Cubs were playing the White Sox and the city was ready to party.

Wrigley Field is a must for any sports fan just because of its historical design and that it is now one of the oldest stadiums in all of baseball. We had great seats in the 2nd level along the 1st base line. Unfortunately, the White Sox got the best of the Cubs that day, 10-5.

A special thanks to Tom for traveling with me and getting discounted hotels.

Current record: 0-2; 25 total points scored.


Game 3 of 122: Saturday, June 19th, 2010 – St. Louis Cardinals @ Busch Stadium (vs. Oakland Athletics).

This game became a family getaway weekend. St. Louis is a quick 4 hours drive from Louisville; therefore, all 4 of us drove to St. Louis on Saturday morning and took in some tourist attractions (Arch and Zoo) both Saturday afternoon & Sunday morning. In the evening, we attended the baseball game. It was the first professional game for our kids and they really loved it – as long as you kept the cotton candy, hot dogs and ice cream flowing.

Our seats were in the upper deck, but you could really see all the action and they offered an incredible view of the Arch in the background. A late afternoon rain-shower before the game made for a very humid evening, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Ryan kept telling me, “Dad, you know this is a real baseball game.” I guess up until know, baseball only existed on TV for him. Ryan and Deb lasted until the 7th inning while Taylor and I stayed until the 8th, but waited in the hotel parking lot (right across from the stadium) to watch the fireworks as the Cardinals won 4-3.

Current record: 1-2; 32 total points scored.


Game 4 of 122: Saturday, August 7th, 2010 – Florida Marlins @ Sun Life Stadium (vs. St. Louis Cardinals).

Due to fact that Deb and the kids were out of town for the week – Ocean City, MD with Deb’s sister’s family – I decided to pick a city and attend a game. I contacted the best man from our wedding, Anthony Jardina (aka Ed for those of you from Grove City), who lives in Ft. Lauderdale. I hadn’t seen Ed in over 10 years and it was good to catch up with him and his family for a nice, albeit, short weekend.

Thanks to Heidi Offel we had great seats – 1st row down the 1st base line. The only problem with watching a baseball game in a football stadium is that you have to constantly turn your head to see home plate. The Marlins plan to have a new stadium in the next few years.

A large rain storm delayed the start of the game, but to-date, it was the best game so far. The Marlins came from behind to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th and won it in the 10th inning 5-4.

A special thanks to Heidi for the tickets and Ed for the hospitality.

Current record: 2-2; 41 total points scored.

The purpose of this project / goal

My goal of seeing a professional sporting event in the 122 venues of all NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB started as just something that seemed fun to do and activities for the family over the next 15 years. At age 35, I wanted to accomplish something rare by the time I reached age 50. I am actually starting over from scratch and any game I have attended in the past does not count.




As I started completing games, I thought perhaps I could use my experience to help raise money for charity – in my case, cancer research. I'm sure everyone knows of at least one person whose life has been impacted in some way by cancer.  For me, my father, uncle and mother-in-law have battled forms of this disease, as well as several friends.  I am encouraged by the V Foundation's mission and want to help them find a cure for cancer.  For more details on my fund-raising efforts and / or to make a donation, please visit: http://www.firstgiving.com/christopherapel  You can also donate by clicking on the link on the site bar of my blog.




As more and more people learned about my project, many asked why I was not creating a blog to track my progress. I am a finance guy and all the details of my games where meticulously tracked in a large spreadsheet, but that is probably not very interesting for many people to read. Up until now, my social media / networking skills consisted of Facebook only, which by the way, “friends” of mine can see more photos of the progress at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=178041&id=615559754