
### [SUMMER OF BASEBALL 2023: STOP 4](2026-08-16_summerofbaseball2023)

The Worcester Bravehearts are an interesting story. They came into the city of Worcester in 2014 and were the talk of the town baseball wise for a while - winning five league championships and attracting rather large crowds. However, in 2021...the WooSox moved in. There was concern that the arrival of affiliated Minor League Baseball would, in effect, kill the Bravehearts (a longer season, more seats, and a downtown location being major factors).

A few years later...I’m honestly not sure where things stand. A combination of the WooSox and other factors seemingly led to Bravehearts attendance suddenly dropping in 2022 (not helping: the team finished 7th out of eight teams). The team was able to rebound both on and off the field, and eventually, the two teams entered a “strategic partnership” (which included the WooSox stadium hosting the league’s All Star Game); however, this coincided with the sale of the Bravehearts - a move which is still up for debate as to whether it will help or hurt. One thing that did raise some eyebrows after the sale, however, was the departure of the team’s long-time General Manager (who ended up taking a job with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies of Minor League Baseball's Eastern League). One thing that kinda sorta helps the Bravehearts (for better or worse): WooSox tickets are apparently some of the priciest in all of Minor League Baseball[^1].

Fitton Field itself (or Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field as that’s the official name of the baseball stadium) is actually pretty interesting: it’s on the campus of the [College of the Holy Cross](2025-10-21_holycrosshockey_mens) and hosted an independent team for a bit before the Bravehearts were founded (as well as a “100 inning game” for ALS research hosted by Rhode Island's LEAST favorite former Red Sox player). It has also supposedly hosted Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams, as its history dates back to 1905 - seven years before the opening of Fenway Park. 

In all honestly, there’s not much to say about the stadium: the entrance is towards the first base side of the grandstand, the stadium is more or less in the side of a hill, the concourse forms the top of the seating bowl (similar to Brockton), and there’s a picnic area near field level on the third base side. There is, however, one fun bit of “trivia”: the night before I visited for a game in 2023 (on Memorial Day Weekend), the scoreboard caught fire and was out of commission for the game (and was eventually replaced of course). The PA announcer for the game made several jokes about the scoreboard between innings (partially as he had to announce the score as well).

Worcester was, along with all ten Cape League stadiums, one of the places I visited BEFORE even living in Massachusetts: we did a week on Cape Cod in 2021, but I went up early and caught a game here[^2]. In addition to many Bravehearts games over the three years I made visits (2021, 2022, and 2023), I also saw a special "police vs. fire department" game which featured wavy foul lines and a walk-off (to date, it's actually the most recent time I've been to Fitton Field).

### MERCH

Each time I visited, merchandise was sold immediately to the right of the gate. From what I remember, the stand has various layouts - some of them allowing fans to walk into them, and others not as much. 

One of the reasons I ended up making many, MANY visits in 2022 specifically: jerseys. The team sold out of jerseys in my size when I had arrived on opening night, and it took almost a month for them to get restocked. In addition, I once ordered a jersey from the team only to have to give it back, as it was requested by the player's family (I did get a replacement however).

---

### ON DECK

A stadium that had a unique quirk for the couple of years that I visited.

---

[^1]: Part of why I say "apparently": I've been to ONE WooSox game, but it was a company outing, so I didn't have to buy my ticket (also worth noting: my last Red Sox game at [Fenway](bananaball_bospt3) was a free ticket as well).

[^2]: Had this trip included a visit to [Brockton](2025-08-22_brorox), I MIGHT have a Brockton Rox hat with a closed back (which, in case you forgot, I don't).

Worcester's oldest current baseball team

Worcester Bravehearts (Futures League) @ Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field (Worcester, MA)


### [SUMMER OF BASEBALL 2023: STOP 2](2026-08-16_summerofbaseball2023)

I realize I've never spoken about _why_ the Futures League exists when the NECBL is a thing, but a big part of its existence is two groups trying to set up NECBL clubs but being denied (the Futures League started up in 2011). While the Futures League is, more or less, a "standard" summer baseball league, many of its teams play in stadiums much more "built" than NECBL teams as many Futures League stadiums are former minor and independent league stadiums, but there are some exceptions to that - including today's team.

The Westfield Starfires were added to the Futures League in 2019 after another team (who will be talked about later) moved to the NECBL (similar to [Bristol](2026-06-30_briblues)). As the newest member of the league with no Minor and/or Independent League ties, there's not that much to say about their history, but that's also because they've only been to the league's championship series one time - which they lost.

As alluded to earlier, Billy Bullens Field is a bit of an anomaly in the Futures League (though it’s similar to the aforementioned team to be named later). Instead of being a former minor league/indie stadium, it’s basically a more built-up community ballpark (similar to, once again, [Bristol](2026-06-30_briblues)). In that sense, the atmosphere is quite different from your average Futures League game: it’s more similar to a higher level NECBL field (or the [Wilmington Sharks](2026-06-22_ilmsharks)) than a regular Futures League game.

There is a rather large grandstand with plastic seat backs, but you could just as easily sit on the concrete of it (partially as some parts do not have the plastic seats). In my visits here, I’ve never really explored what’s on the first base line: the gate is on the third base side, and concessions and merch are right next to it heading towards the left field foul pole, so there's really no reason to go past the grandstand.

I will note, however, that this is the stadium where I learned the magic of putting barbecue sauce on plain mac and cheese, so there’s that...

### MERCH

It’s hard to miss the merchandise tent, as it’s basically right after you walk in. While most of it isn't super "out of the ordinary", Bullens Field has apparently seen a lot of crazy and interesting things happen during games, as the Starfires use the term "Bullens Magic" quite a bit (to the point that it's all over their merch).

I’ll be honest: I think Westfield has my favorite hat in the Futures League; there’s something about the colors and logo that appeal a lot to me. Having said that, however...they didn’t have any hats I was interested in the first time I came here. I was able to get a hat the second time, however, and I actually got jerseys both times.

A modern anomaly for the Futures League

Westfield Starfires (Futures League) @ Billy Bullens Field (Westfield, MA)


_(NOTE: The day this was originally published was the final day of the New England summer leagues, as the Futures League crowned its 2026 champions: the [New Britain Bees](2026-07-27_nbbees)[^1].)_

Back in 2023, I had a goal: Visit every summer collegiate team I knew of in New England. This ended up taking MONTHS of planning, as I had to figure out how to squeeze the 31 visits into the weekends of June and July (though thankfully, I was also able to use a few weekdays as well). After each visit, I wrote down a few thoughts on the stadiums and what I thought about the experiences (aka the precursor to THIS site).

In the years that followed. I never looked back at what I wrote...until I started this blog. I felt that what I had back then was too widely varied: some were interesting, others a bit too simple, and I actually completely forgot to write about one of the venues! However, with me starting this blog combined with the fact that returns to many of these places being MASSIVE question marks for the future, I felt it was finally time to "finish" the posts and publish them here. They're going to be going up on days when I don't have a "game" post going up (because - surprise surprise - I have a few things I plan on doing this month). Also, don't be surprised if they're a bit more "vague" than normal - many of them are going to be based solely off of what I remember from THREE YEARS AGO.

I'm going to be posting these in the order I visited them that summer (i.e. 2023, as I visited MANY of the teams the year before in a different order) with a few exceptions, as there are - of course - several teams in this list that I've visited since starting this blog, so they're already here in the list (no point talking about them a second time, right?):

1. [Brockton Rox (Futures League)](2025-08-22_brorox)[^2]
2. [Westfield Starfires (Futures League)](2026-08-17_wesstarfires) 
3. [Nashua Silver Knights (Futures League)](2025-08-19_nassilverknights)
4. [Worcester Bravehearts (Futures League)](2026-08-18_worbravehearts) **\*\*NEWEST\*\***
5. [New Britain Bees (Futures League)](2026-07-27_nbbees)
6. COMING SOON
7. COMING SOON
8. COMING SOON
9. COMING SOON
10. COMING SOON
11. COMING SOON
12. COMING SOON
13. COMING SOON
14. COMING SOON
15. COMING SOON
16. _COMING LATER (I'll explain in due time)_
17. COMING SOON
18. COMING SOON
19. COMING SOON
20. [Wareham Gatemen (Cape League)](2025-08-20_wargatemen)
21. COMING SOON
22. [Chatham Anglers (Cape League)](2025-08-17_chaanglers)
23. COMING SOON
24. COMING SOON
25. COMING SOON
26. COMING SOON
27. COMING SOON
28. [Danbury Westerners (New England League)](2026-07-24_dbywesterners)
29. [Bristol Blues (New England League)](2026-06-30_briblues)
30. COMING SOON
31. COMING SOON

A few final notes:

1. The Futures League added a new team in 2026: a revival of the Lowell Spinners of New York-Penn League fame. I DID have thoughts about visiting during July 4th weekend, but traffic concerns (plus the fact that it was HOT) ended up scuttling the trip - though I did briefly visit their stadium back in 2025 (before it was announced they would be the Spinners again) and [wrote a few thoughts on the place](lelacheurpark).

2. This list does not include the [Winnipesaukee Muskrats](2026-04-11_wpsmuskrats), who had folded before 2023.

3. I am aware of the existence of a fourth league (the Greater Northeast Collegiate Baseball League, which is a member of [The Players League](2026-06-22_shashallywags)). However, as it's currently based out of a single stadium in Maine[^3] (and the league's lack of status seems to be leading to stability issues), I'm not sure if or when I'll be able to get to it.

4. I actually wrote about the Cape League stadiums as far back as 2021 after a family vacation on the Cape, but sadly those notes appear to be lost to time...

---

[^1]: "Fun" fact: the Futures League playoffs started the day after game 1 of BOTH the Cape League and NECBL championship series.

[^2]: Yes, this post is technically NOT about the summer league side, but it goes into them in pretty decent depth, so it's what I'm using for this series. Also, as mentioned in that post, the Rox no longer compete in the Futures League.

[^3]: I did TRY to visit this stadium once as I drove past it, but an event was going on that I didn't want to deal with (it's in Old Orchard Beach, which is one of Maine's bigger tourist destinations).


The last few things I've never published are going up soon!

The Summer of Baseball 2023: an Introduction


### _[2026: New Venue #27](2026newvenuelist)_

MetLife Stadium: a modern stadium saddled with not just one miserable team, but TWO of them!

On one side, you have the Giants. Sure, they’re responsible for two of the worst days of my life growing up as a kid from Boston, but outside of those two Super Bowls, what else have they done since 2000? Well...I guess you could say they’ve done a lot of things, but winning isn’t super common among those things (especially since Tom Coughlin left). Of course, landing John Harbaugh might help them this year, but we'll see what happens with that (as part of the reason he was available was because it was believed he may be well past his prime).

On the other side, you've got the team THIS post is about: the New York Jets (nee [Titans of New York](2026-07-12_mlquadball)). I can think of exactly five things I know them for:

1. One random as hell Super Bowl win almost 60 years ago (and they haven't been back to the Super Bowl since)
2. A slew of draft "errors" (mainly the almighty Sanchize)
3. That whole thing with hiring Bill Belichick only to replace him shortly afterwards (TWICE)[^1]
4. Them creating their greatest demon by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuA0NKBRmIA" target="blank">almost killing Drew Bledsoe</a>
5. <a id="#bf-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82RIfy-gRa4" target="blank">The worst thing to happen on American Thanksgiving since the Pilgrims gave the Native Americans smallpox</a> (okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch...)

For the better part of the 21st century, American football hasn’t exactly been a major source of joy for folks in the New York City Metropolitan Area (and I didn't even mention the Giants getting CRUSHED by the murder that is the Baltimore Ravens in 2000[^2]). However, thanks to the abject misery, tickets to both teams have a chance to be dirt cheap!

Case in point: I started looking into doing this trip in July of 2025, and tickets to a preseason Giants-Patriots game were listed as low as $7! Sure, it was a preseason game full of dudes who would otherwise never sniff the NFL (plus expectations for the Pats weren't very high going into last season), but still...you can't beat that price (I ended up having something else during that game however). I figured that if I wanted to get to a game this year (especially to tick MetLife off for my original [_26 in 26_](2026newvenuelist) goal plus the fact that the NFL was the only Big Four league I’d never seen live), I’d be better off trying to go earlier in the season - or go in the preseason (i.e. THIS game).

As for the stadium itself, MetLife is the NFL’s largest stadium by seating capacity with 82,500 seats, and given the state of both the Giants and Jets plus the NFL’s old blackout policy[^3], it feels like a miracle that they’re able to sell tickets to football games. On some level, it was built as a "compromise": it was opened in 2010 as a replacement to the old Giants Stadium (which was basically right next to what is now MetLife), but was designed to be more "neutral" as the Jets were actually involved in its design/construction unlike the old stadium (as opposed to their highly controversial plan to move to the west side of Manhattan). Of course, there's a LOT more than American gridiron football that goes on here: it's one of the New York City metro's biggest concert venues, and ~~it~~ New York/New Jersey Stadium hosted the (kinda sorta crap) finale of that big soccer tournament a month or so before this game (which I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say what it is).

While this is my first visit for a sporting event, I’ve actually been inside MetLife once before: I did a tour on a random weekend back in 2019, which ended with us getting to stand on the same field where names such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJPf4h9GZvg" target="blank">Desean Jackson</a> and [Steve Gregory](#bf-link) have etched themselves into the annals of NFL history. Sure, neither player ever played a game for either New York team, but they’re still responsible for some of the most memorable moments in MetLife Stadium history (okay, fine, there’s also the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxbz3DDQzHU" target="blank">OBJ catch</a>...).

In terms of amenities here...I'm really not sure what to say. There are three levels of concourse here plus a ground level plaza, but seemingly, only the "third" level concourse is "complete": there's a section of the first level concourse which goes down to the ground level plaza (which, it should be noted, does not encircle the entire stadium - kinda like [Sports Illustrated Stadium's ground level](2025-09-08_gothamfc)), and the second level concourse is broken up by premium areas which you need a ticket or stamp to get into (and keep reading to find out how I learned about this). Said concourses are fairly similar to just about every other stadiums of this ilk (i.e. just about EVERY Big Four/Five stadium I've talked about on this blog), so there's really not much to say about them - though the intense grayness of the stadium due to it being designed to be "neutral" doesn't help (for what it's worth, Giants Stadium had red seats).

Despite being a major stadium in a major media market, MetLife is widely regarded as one of the WORST stadiums in North America. I won't get into ALL of why that is, but a BIG reason outside the "neutrality" of the stadium dampening any potential vibes: traffic and parking. Traffic in and around the stadium is usually AWFUL for games - partially as driving in is the way most fans get here with few public transit options normally (though NJ Transit does have train service for games including this one - though I didn't see anything about it in the days leading up to the game). With the Jets usually charging WILDLY EXPENSIVE rates for parking (even in the preseason seemingly), I ended getting a parking pass on the same secondary site I got my ticket at - and for a shockingly low price, I managed to snag a spot in one of the lots closest to the stadium.

Having mentioned that, I should also mention that inasmuch as I've been using the secondary ticket market quite a bit this year (namely for things such as [MLB All-Star Sunday](2026-07-13_mlballstar2026)), somehow, someway...for this game, I got access to THIS:

![a photo of a club area at MetLife Stadium](/images/2026/0814-coronaclub.jpeg)

This is one of the club areas on the second level concourse that you need special tickets to access. It's completely indoors and climate controlled, and given how warm it was outside, having a cool place to "escape" to was very nice (and conversely, having somewhere to warm up when it's 20ºF outside sounds helpful too). If you're thinking about ignoring your seats and watching the game in here, it's a bit difficult due to the back row of seats partially blocking your view (especially if those seats have fans in them). Also, the food here is WAY different than what's available in the rest of the stadium; for example, I ordered a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce here - something I don't think I've seen at a "non food-truck" concession stand at a sporting event before. Also, the seats here are padded seats, and this is the view you get for the game:

![A photo of the field at MetLife Stadium](/images/2026/0814-metlife.jpeg)

As this is a preseason game, the final result (a 24-16 Jets loss largely caused by the Bailey Zappe experience[^4]) REALLY doesn't mean all that much given that half the guys who played the second half are probably not going to be playing in the NFL come week one (also, again, Bailey Zappe). The visiting team was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but inasmuch as I'd like to say this was their first visit since that one <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBmK2mS5_TY" target="blank">Antonio Brown crashout</a>...it's not[^5].

### MERCH

The tour I mentioned earlier did NOT include a visit to the stadium’s team store, as it was closed for whatever reason; I guess it’s only open during events. However, from what I could tell, said store covers BOTH teams with “reversible racks” (as opposed to the Giants and Jets each having their own space). I should also mention that there were many, MANY merch stands throughout the three concourses of the stadium - but none of the "satellite" merch areas had selections remotely close to what the main store was offering, so if you're looking for certain items, you really are just best off dealing with crowds in the main store.

That said, my interest in American football merchandise is rather limited - especially for teams I don't find myself caring that much about. Usually, if I am to buy anything Giants or Jets related, it's because I found it cheap somewhere (namely some hats I got at Marshalls, a Brandon Jacobs jersey I found at a thrift store, and a Zach Wilson jersey at one of those Dick’s Sporting Goods clearance outlets). At this game, that trend more or less continued: there was one rack of jerseys available at clearance prices, and while most of them were iron-on replicas (as were most of the rest of the jerseys save for a Joe Namath throwback that cost over $300), the rack somehow had a few authentic jerseys from a few years ago (the only ones in the store). This rack was clearly not meant for Indianapolis Colts fans, as pretty much all but like five of the jerseys were Sauce Gardner[^6].

On the note of authentic jerseys...I was going to get into another "unstitched/iron-on replica vs. stitched authentic" diatribe, but I think I'll spare you that nonsense (especially as I don't know that much about NFL retail jersey tiers unlike other sports). I will note, however, that if you're thinking of getting any authentic NFL jerseys, you should know that the sleeves on them are a VERY short and have elastic garters at the ends (similar to sweatpants) due to how they're typically worn (i.e. with football shoulder pads underneath). This means that, at least in my opinion, they're not exactly good to wear as a short sleeve t-shirt (or even over one as the "undersleeves" will almost certainly be longer than the jersey sleeves), but it might work over a long sleeve shirt or a hoodie (though the hoodie is probably a WAY better idea, as I felt the jersey was pretty loose in the chest - again, likely due to the expected presence of shoulder pads[^7]). 

As a small but funny side note (at least for me and other JavaScript developing folks), a few days before this game, I was at a Dicks Sporting Goods and found a helmet that had a rather strange font:

![An image of a mini helmet with the word "Jets" on it in a font that looks more like "Lets"](/images/2026/nylets.jpeg)

<figcaption>Good to know the New York Jets are up to date with ECMAScript 2015...</figcaption>

### COUNTING UP THE COST

In total, my ticket, parking, and in-stadium purchases (food and merchandise, as I got a few of the aforementioned clearance jerseys) ended up costing over $100 less than what just the ticket was going for at face value (I checked it a few days before the game). However, when you consider that the only thing I bought at "its intended price" was food (and I even got a free souvenir cup for some reason), then I honestly feel a bit DIRTY having gotten some of the things I got at the prices I got them for (the jerseys ended up being about 75% off together - and one had an MSRP of $350).

Having said THAT...I'm honestly not sure if I'd recommend going to an NFL game. Unlike other sports, the TV view pretty much captures what you'd need to see during the game, and while people complain that baseball is hard to watch as "nothing" happens between pitches/plays, American Football kinda sorta secretly has the same problem IMO. Throw in just how much things cost at a game plus the inconveniences of many NFL stadiums (more on this soon PROBABLY), and it's difficult to justify - both in terms of time and money.

\---

_As a final note, I had some thoughts about also going to Jets training camp as it’s a mere three towns away from me and free, but renovations to the facility this year meant that they had a much more limited capacity for fans[^8]. Also, I'm not going to get into the "Jersey" semantics here - yes, both the Giants and Jets play and practice in New Jersey, but they represent the New York CIty Metropolitan Area, so it makes more sense for them to be "New York" teams - even if the city probably doesn't really want them right now..._

_This post also means that I've seen three of the "Big Four" sports in 2026 (plus [Major League Soccer](2026-03-01_rbny)), with the "odd one out" being quite possibly my favorite of the bunch - the National Hockey League. I am looking at visiting a couple of its teams in the fall, however, so be on the lookout for that!_

---

[^1]: I won't get into the ENTIRE story here, but long story short: the Jets wanted to hire then disgruntled Patriots coach Bill Parcells (due to a breakdown in his relationship with Patriots owner Robert Kraft), but were not allowed to, so they hired Belichick while working on a deal to land Parcells as their head coach. When Parcells stepped down as coach a few years later out of SHEER PETTINESS (as Belichick had been linked with a vacant Patriots head coaching position), it triggered a clause wherein Belichick was to become the new head coach of the Jets - but he promptly resigned at his FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE.

[^2]: Yes, there are SEVERAL layers to this comment - if you don't know, however, you may be better off not looking into the history of their star player at the time. I did find his jersey at a thrift store once, but I have suspicions that it may not be genuine...<br>
Also, something something Trent Dilfer

[^3]: The policy was that games that were not sold out were to be blacked out (i.e. not broadcast) in a team's local market. A number of teams very much ran into issues with this policy back in the day, but from what I’ve heard it’s gone.

[^4]: Bailey Zappe was one of the guys the Patriots tried to trot out at quarterback between Tom Brady and Drake Maye, and while he did have a few random good weeks, he...wasn't great overall. This game didn't help him repair his rep either, as he was handed a 10-0 lead and promptly threw two interceptions which allowed the Bucs to score...ten points.

[^5]: It's not even the first time the Bucs have visited the Jets since the incident, as the two met at MetLife in the 2023 preseason.

[^6]: Sauce Gardner started last season with the Jets, but was traded to the Colts a few months into the season. The Colts won their first game with Gardner to move to 8-2, but then lost EVERY other game to fall to 8-9 on the season and firmly OUT of the playoff picture (yes, the NFL has a 17 game regular season; no, I don't believe it's super popular amongst almost fans AND players - and the league wants to go to 18 games).

[^7]: It is also possible that this was due to sizing, as the smallest size they had was a 2XL, which is a bit bigger than what I typically go for nowadays. If, for some reason, you're interested in getting an authentic Sauce Gardner jersey at a Jets game (complete with elastic garter sleeves), be forewarned that I THINK they only have 3XL and 4XL now because I only saw ONE 2XL (or smaller) jersey at the game, and, well...let's just say I have a new candidate for "the most ridiculous thing I could possibly wear to a pickleball session".

[^8]: A lot of current and former Jets players live in my area, and I have SEVERAL stories about how I've crossed paths with folks from the team over the years - at my high school, the local convenience store, and even a story I probably shouldn't tell on the internet (as it involves a funeral)...


The National Football League: up close, in person, and in style

New York Jets (National Football League) @ MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)


One year ago TODAY, I uploaded my first post to this blog: a [Jersey Shore BlueClaws](2025-08-08_jsblueclaws) double header I saw in April of 2025[^1]. Since then, I've made over 100 posts on this blog covering a lot of things - from the minor leagues to the professional ranks to college-level competitions and even things like [Quadball](2026-07-12_mlquadball).

So what's next?

Well...here's the thing: I've recently realized that I'm not sure how much I can keep up with all the traveling I've been doing (insert socioeconomic comment here). Case in point: I had thoughts about going somewhere today that would require an overnight hotel stay, but there are MULTIPLE reasons that will not be happening - one of them being that I ended up committing to something that would make said stay implausible.

However, I don't think I'm ready to "stop" just yet - partially as I already have some games lined up for the next few months. I also have one "long" trip left this year (and another which is starting to look like it may not happen sadly) plus some BIG ambitions that are yet to be fulfilled (and it will LIKELY be at least another year or two before they can happen).

Where things are going to get interesting (at least short term) is how do I continue to make "interesting" content. I'm "running out" of local venues I've never been to, and I'm still trying to figure out how to talk about events without simply summarizing what happened (as I'd rather not do that here). I DO have some interesting ideas for next year, though [there is one VERY important factor to consider unfortunately](2026-05-02_1994ws)...

In that regard, however, I do have a plan for some upcoming posts - though I'm not exactly "ready" to start that yet. Soon, though...

---

[^1]: Okay, so TECHNICALLY it wasn't the first post, but the ACTUAL first post was me saying I was starting this blog the day before (which I've hidden as I don't feel it's super necessary to keep up for any longer than a month...).

Looking back at the first year of this blog's existence

Measuring A Year of Sportventures


_As a quick aside, I've added the "related posts" thing on the side there (or at the bottom if you're on a narrower screen). It's something I've been meaning to do for a while, as it adds some interconnectivity between posts, but I'm currently undecided on how "deep" I want to go with this connectivity (as it's A LOT OF WORK)._

I'm not going to go into the history of the Premier League (as it's a bit convoluted since it involves television rights), but for those who don't know, it's easily one of the most watched association football (or "soccer") leagues in the world (if not the singular most watched league). I'm also not going to get into the histories of either team here (as BOTH are over 100 years old), but I do want to talk about last season as it provides SOME context.

For those who aren't familiar with European soccer leagues, most of them operate on a promotion/relegation system. In this system, just about every soccer club in the country is part of a MASSIVE organization with many levels, and teams move up or down those levels based on how well/poorly they do. The Premier League, as one might expect, is the top of this system in England, but in recent years has seemingly become "too good": in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, the teams that were promoted to the division were all immediately relegated back to the second division. This sparked fears of the league becoming "stale", with even the league's lower tier members (such as Tottenham Hotspur for whatever reason) being too good for the rest of the country, and promoted teams simply there to fill out the numbers for a season before being replaced.

Both Sunderland and Leeds United were newly promoted to this division in 2025, and going into 2025-26, both were expected to be relegated (Sunderland moreso than Leeds, as they were viewed as WAY BEHIND the other promoted teams in terms of quality). However, both teams exceeded expectations - not only surviving to see another season in the Premier League, but THRIVING: Leeds finished eight points clear of being relegated, while Sunderland earned a spot in international competition with a seventh place finish (again, not super important for this post sadly).

This contest is part of a preseason tour organized by a third party company[^1], which does mean that this isn't exactly a "competitive match", but hey...how often do we get to see the "non-big" European clubs in the States? In addition, Leeds has the United States Men's National (Soccer) Team's Brenden Aaronson (AND he's from New Jersey), so that SHOULD be another incentive any for newly minted soccer fans to come and check it out![^2]

Tickets for this game were on the "maybe this isn't the best of uses of money" side a few weeks before this game; I recall seeing it being $49 for upper deck endzone seats (not the WORST price in the world, but maybe not so great for a friendly involving "lower tier" English clubs). However, a week and a half prior to the game, I saw that they had stopped selling upper deck seats entire and were selling the lower decks only (with endzone seats somehow still being $49), but I ended up getting THESE tickets for me and three friends for a somewhat shocking price (which I can safely say is NOT $49):

![An image of players jockeying for position as a corner kick falls into the box](/images/2026/0730-leesun.jpeg)

<figcaption>Close enough to be on camera when a shot goes sailing wide</figcaption>

As a "friendly", this game is a bit hard to "judge", as both teams are really just trying to see which youngsters might be good pieces for their squads while also trying to avoid getting their main guys injured (as losing key players can hurt BAD when your rank in the standings matters). In the end, Leeds won 1-0 on a SUPER flukey goal - but they didn't have Aaronson on their roster, so...

Also, I realize that this is MODERATELY unimportant overall, but it felt like there were more Leeds fans than Sunderland fans (though neither club had enough fans to create a real "English" feel - but the fans did try though). I have NO CLUE which team was the "designated" home team, but given that MOST stuff I saw for this game had Leeds listed first, I'd assume THEY were technically the home team (plus they attacked the stadium's traditional supporters' section in the second half - which teams typically do at home).

### MERCH

Both teams took the opportunity of being close to New York to host events for their 2026 home shirts in the city - both of which were unveiled in the days before this game. Sunderland gave fans a special opportunity to purchase their new home shirt around the corner from [Classic Football Shirts](2026-05-10_shirts_and_the_city) (where, coincidentally, I bought an old Sunderland shirt last year), but I couldn't make it partially due to the amount of work it takes to go to New York City along with a prior commitment (plus they sold out, so...). Leeds, on the other hand, had their reveal event at a retail store in Times Square, but I cannot figure out if their home shirt was available for sale at their event (as I only found out about it about 20 hours before this game).

At THIS match, both of the newly revealed home shirts (which both teams wore for the first time during the match) were available, along with away shirts for both teams that were revealed a while ago[^3] and a few other items. Leeds had stuff related to their U.S. tour, but Sunderland had more "general" items: training wear, hats, and scarves. I DID have some thoughts about getting a Sunderland scarf, but it was SUPER basic and had SEVERAL design "faux pas(es?)", so I ended up skipping it.

---

[^1]: In case you were wondering: some of the other teams in this tour include Liverpool and Wrexham, who had a game at [Yankee Stadium](2025-08-13_nycfc) the day before this game.

[^2]: I wasn't sure how to fit this into the "main" post, but there was a plaza outside the stadium where both clubs had little booths outside the stadium where fans could take photos prior to the game as well as photo opportunities with mascots plus a stand that had both teams' home and away shirts available. Also, there's been ONE notable change to the stadium from my first visit: an "outdoor" bar area on ground level has since been enclosed.

[^3]: One small note about Sunderland's shirts: they're made by [Hummel](2026-03-08_westchestersc), so they have the "EU/US/ASIA" size differences as they're meant for the European market (and made in Turkiye/Turkey - it's a bit confusing). Also, for whatever reason, the size information is now near the bottom of the shirt rather than behind the neck...


Sportventures

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Summer of Baseball 2023

Enter the (Pre)Season

525,600 Minutes

Preseason across the Pond