Get sporty

by Kelsey Hipkin

As you may have read in the features section, Alberta as a province holds a vast and sometimes quirky collection of sights to see. If you’re a sports fan and you feel like stretching those proverbial travel legs (as well as your travel wallet), why not check out some of sports most coveted spots? We count down The Reflector’s top five sports spots and/or venues to visit.

5. Spanish Super Cup

Soccer in Spain isn’t just a sport with a bunch of rather fit fellows running around kicking a ball and sometimes each other; it’s a culture. The Spanish Super Cup occurs every summer around the end of August. The Cup is played “just before the start of the regular season between the league champions and the cup winners,” according to soccer-spain.com. Soccer fans are very serious about their sport, so be prepared for some rowdy and passionate games. On your way to Spain why not make a quick trip to the U.K where you can check out The National Football Museum in Preston; it includes the ball from the 1966 World Cup final as well as the oldest FAC Cup trophy.

4. Pro Football Hall of Fame

Like to throw around the old pigskin every once in awhile? If you’re a fan of football, what better place to check out than the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio? For $20 you can tour around checking out memorabilia of football’s many greats, or take part in interactive

football activities. For a little extra treat, The Hall’s class of 2010 includes legends Jerry Rice and Emmett Smith. If you want to find out more, check out profootballhof.com or become a fan on Facebook.

3. Wimbledon

Wimbledon is to tennis as peanut butter is to jelly; one would just not be the same without the other. Every June people flock by the thousands to the hallowed ground, where tennis greats duke it out for a chance to hoist that big plate above their heads. The tournament is so popular there is a ballot to get your hands on some tickets and the website,

wimbledon.org, even has a countdown. If you’re a super tennis buff, you can check out the Wimbledon Museum while staying in jolly old London for the tournament. The museum has a 200-degree movie screen to check out some tennis video and even has a John McEnroe exhibit. Who would want to miss out on that?

2. Hockey Hall of Fame

So the Flames missed the playoffs this season, no big deal right? Okay, well it is a very big deal, but while the big boys on skates are battling to hoist the Cup, why not check out the hallowed halls of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto? The greatest of the greats from Howe to Gretzky have their names and memorabilia there, and visitors can check out different exhibits from the NHLPA Be a Player Zone to the Upper Deck Collectors Corner. And if you’re from Calgary, it’s the closest you’re going to get to the Stanley Cup until at least next season.

1. Baseball Hall of Fame

Depending on your sport of choice, there’s really no determining what sports venue sits above the rest, but there really is no place like Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Since 1939 the hall has been showcasing baseball’s best and brightest. Highlights to check out would be an entire room dedicated to the “Great Bambino” Babe Ruth as well as the Diamond Dreams: Women in Baseball exhibit. Maybe do a little research and check out A League of Their Own before you go.