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Inside Swingers, a recently opened mini-golf-for-grown-ups concept in New York City. By c Paul Winch-Furness - Photograp
It is a moment that many baseball fans dream about. And I don’t mean dream in that squishy, nonliteral way, akin to hoping something good will happen. I mean full-on, REM sleep, midnight synapses firing, with everything cast in that strangely rich technicolour.
But this is real. It’s the home opener up in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium. I’m outfitted in my Blue Jays apparel, seated deep down the third-base line, in foul-ball heaven. The anthems have been sung, the ceremonial first pitch slung — and the roll call taken. This is a Yankee Stadium tradition where fans in the bleachers chant the names of each outfielder, until the players wave or nod or otherwise acknowledge the presence of this loose and rowdy club of Bleacher Creatures.
The game settles into a low-scoring affair, with the Jays taking a one-run lead on a solo home run — it happens when I’m out getting a hot dog, just my luck. When I’m back in my seat, beer in hand, the Yankees’ young shortstop, Anthony Volpe, takes a big swing and sends the ball a mile into the air.
It travels up the third base side and out of play. It’s just a speck at first but getting bigger and bigger, like a comet coming down to Earth. The baseball’s arc seems determined to land right in my lap. I hop up from my seat. Will I catch it with my bare hands? In my hat? Will I be on TV?
Yankee Stadium, the iconic home ballpark for the New York Yankees, at sunset.
By NEW YORK YANKEES Yankee Stadium
These are all questions you must face when you attend a game in one of the best sports cities on Earth. New York is set to host some huge events over the next couple of years, including the ICC T20 World Cup this year and, of course, the FIFA World Cup final in 2026 (technically, in New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium). Plus, multiple teams here compete in all the major sports leagues — meaning you’ll always have someone to cheer for (or against), no matter what night of the week it is.
I’m in town to experience just what the city offers sports fans. My itinerary spans two baseball games (with a return to Yankee Stadium for the Sunday rubber match), plus a Saturday-night soccer game featuring the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), the MLS champs in 2021.
New York City FC playing against Atlanta United at Citi Field.
By newyorkcityfc.com
The latter game is a bit of a revelation. I follow North American soccer only in the vaguest way, perhaps glancing at the standings every couple of months. NYCFC plays many of their matches at Citi Field, a lovely stadium, and also the home of baseball’s Mets.
But it is located in the far reaches of Queens, near LaGuardia Airport, and the game I attend is on the kind of dark and frigid April night that reminds you it’s not fully spring yet. I’d expected a muted, tepid environment — but that isn’t the case at all, not here in New York City.
Fans bundle up and fill the stands. In one electric moment, the home side is awarded a penalty kick, and the kicker scores. The whole stadium lights up, families cheering from beneath their blankets, the supporters’ section (known as the Third Rail) waving their banners, their roar ripping through the cold air, across the pitch.
But New York isn’t just a place to watch — the city invites you to play, too. During my visit, more than one local tells me that everyone who was getting cabin fever in their little bachelor apartments during the pandemic is now extra-eager to be social, in any way possible. In Manhattan, for example, several indoor, fully licensed minigolf courses have opened, including Swingers, in NoMad, a few blocks south of the Empire State Building.
Inside Swingers, a recently opened mini-golf-for-grown-ups concept in New York City.
By c Paul Winch-Furness - Photograp
While the name “Swingers club” may suggest otherwise, this place is all about the golf. And the cocktails. The competition seems secondary to the main goal of having a good time. That’s how it goes in my little group, anyway, until the final few holes. It’s all fun and games and negronis as we swing through windmills and loop-de-loops. Then two of us realize we’re tied for the lead. That’s the beauty of sport. It’s all “Ha, ha, I shot my ball right into the flowers over there!” — until you realize, Hey, I can win this thing. Then the passion comes to the surface.
The prize? Nothing at all, except bragging rights for triumphing at something as silly as day-drinking minigolf. But still. The win. I can almost feel it. Until I make three lousy shots in a row, and end up taking a six — the maximum number of strokes allowed on one hole — on the eighth. Game over for me.
And in the end, back at Yankee Stadium, I don’t catch that ball, either. But it’s really, really close. Plummeting back to Earth, the baseball ricochets off the hands of a fan just three seats to my right. He quickly snaps it up from the ground and, classy move, tosses the ball to a little kid in a Yankees cap in front of us.
No ball. No glory. Although, as it turns out, I do appear on the Blue Jays broadcast for a few fleeting seconds. I sit back down, my beer still cold, the sun still shining, with three more innings to play, and my team in the lead. It all happens in a New York minute. And I still have the rest of a rather dreamy afternoon to enjoy, here at a legendary ballpark, way up in the Bronx.
If you goHow to get there: Multiple airlines fly non-stop between Toronto and New York, including Porter Airlines (about 90 minutes from YTZ-EWR).
Where to stay: In Midtown, the Thompson Central Park is a higher-end boutique hotel just south of Manhattan’s famous square of green. Near the Hudson River, the Conrad New York Downtown has huge, comfortable suites, close to the Chelsea Piers driving ranges and the High Line rail trail. For those who want to stay in the heart of the Times Square action, the New York Marriott Marquisis a 15-minute stroll from Madison Square Garden, home of the Knicks and Rangers.
The Jackie Robinson Museum, opened in 2022, honours the baseball icon’s life and legacy.
By Garrett Rowland Jackie Robinson
What else to do: If you’re a baseball fan, the Jackie Robinson Museum should probably be your first stop in Manhattan. Opened in 2022, it was the dream of widow Rachel Robinson, who contributed much of the one-of-a-kind memorabilia on display, from private letters to the first-ever MLB Rookie of the Year trophy.
Even if the Yankees aren’t playing when you’re in town, it’s still worth a visit to their stadium; public tours include a visit to the famed Monument Park, where some of the greatest players are enshrined. Other city stadiums offer guided tours, too, including Madison Square Garden, where you can check out locker rooms and other cool backstage areas while learning the nearly 150-history of the arena.
Tim Johnson travelled as a guest of New York City Tourism + Conventions, which did not review or approve this article.
来源链接：
https://www.toronto.com/things-to-do/travel/new-york-city-is-one-of-the-best-sports-cities-on-earth-heres-where-you/article_1d7eea06-6e41-5df0-970a-1c4d29a798ae.html
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