Royalty visits the New Magic Kingdom and sees history made in Tampa!‏

When the NBA schedule came out in August, I knew that I needed to get to Orlando, Florida to see a Magic game since their new arena, the Amway Center was opening in October.

With that being said, Royalty went to work. I pulled up the Magic schedule to see what games fit my busy schedule.

I wasn't too happy when I got done looking because the Magic play a lot of home games on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. I needed to see a game preferably on a Saturday. In addition, I was hoping to add a football game to the mix.

After further review, the only option was Saturday, December 18th. I already knew the Buccaneers were home that Sunday at 1PM against the Detroit Lions. I said to myself that's perfect well almost. Back in June, I bought a few tickets for the Jets in Pittsburgh.

As a result, I had to sell off the Steeler tickets so I could make the getaway to warmer climate.

Now for the recap of how it played out.

Saturday morning the King and I flew to Tampa via Atlanta on Air Tran Airways. We arrived in Tampa just before 2PM. I proceeded to rent a car from Alamo for the weekend.

We drove 90 miles to Orlando and we got there around 4PM which gave us plenty of time for the 7PM game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

We wound up parking by a meter in downtown Orlando for $2.00. The surrounding parking lots were charging $5, $7 & $10 to park for the event. Free parking wasn't a realistic option.

The new Magic Kingdom, aka the Amway Center, is conveniently located in downtown by the Church Street Station District.

Once we parked the car we got out and walked around the area. There were a number of restaurants and bars which makes for a festive pre game experience.

Royalty took full advantage of the opportunity. We looked around and we decided to go to Hamburger Mary's Bar & Grille where you Eat, Drink and be "Mary".

I was very hungry so I decided to indulge in getting a full pound of angus beef that was covered with cheddar cheese and bacon and lettuce. Needless to say, it was huge. All their other burgers are a half pound.

I did finish the burger which filled me up and then some.

While we were eating we found out that the Magic made a few big trades to shake up the team. As a result, they were only able to dress 8 players.

After we ate, we made our way over to the arena so we could check it out.

It was NBA arena number 57 for me. More importantly, the King and I now have every current NBA court once again.

As for the arena, it was massive compared to the old "O-Arena" as it was referred to TV commentators.

In my opinion, it was a nice place to see a game especially if you have a corporate connection.

Royalty is always happy to be in the building that's all that matters to us.

I did like the spacious concourses on both levels of the building. On the lower level, they had a timeline of the Orlando Magic since their existence in 1989.

As for the game, the shorthanded Magic came up short and they lost to the 76ers 97-89.

Lou Williams led the way for the Sixers as he scored 24 points. Andre Iguodala added 21 while Elton Brand had 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

For the depleted Magic, Superman Dwight Howard finished with 26 points and he pulled down 20 boards but he's lousy free throw shooting hurt him and his team. As a result, they lost.

Jameer Nelson, who played at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia added 17 points and dished out 9 assists in the losing effort.

After the game, we drove 140 miles to Port Charlotte where the King's brother Henry lives.

I want to personally thank Henry for rolling out the carpet to accomodate us for the night.

In the morning we went to have breakfast together. Afterwards, the King and I drove another 100 miles to Tampa to see the Buccaneers take on the Detroit Lions at 1PM. Thankfully the Lions are so bad that this game didn't get flexed.

The Buccaneers are making a push for a playoff spot and their games lately have been changed. Lucky for this wasn't one of them.

We arrived in the area around 11:30AM. I proceeded to go to a nearby shopping mall to park for free.

The last time we were at Raymond James Stadium we saw the Giants beat the Buccaneers which was their first step in winning the Super Bowl. That's where we parked then so I knew exactly where to go.

As for the game, we wound up seeing history. The Detroit Lions came in losing 26 straight road games but on this day that streak finally ended.

The Lions needed overtime but they finally won, 23-20.

Dave Raymer kicked a 34 yard field goal on the first possession of the extra session with 9:51 left to get the Lions the victory.

Wide receiver Calvin Johnson was a beast as he caught 10 balls for 152 yards. More importantly, he made many of them on third down and long to sustain drives for the Lions including one on the winning drive in overtime.

Running back Maurice Morris, a former Oregon Duck ran for 109 yards on 15 carries.

For the Buccaneers, their rookie running back, LeGarrette Blount also a former Oregon Duck had 110 yards on the ground which included a 39 yard touchdown run.

After the game, the King and I caught our 6:40PM flight at the Tampa Airport which is located a few miles from the Stadium.

Another great weekend getaway is in the books.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Official Review of Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon

Here's my official review of Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.


http://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/autzen-stadium-s384/

I've been helping out my buddy Paul Swaney by doing reviews for him when time allows me to which these days is very rare.

His website, Stadium Journey is on my blog list. Here's the link: www.stadiumjourney.com/

Please feel free to check out his amazing site which will educate you greatly if and when you decide to take a road trip to see a new venue or if you're just curious how life is in other parts of the country.

When it comes to sports travel knowledge I have plenty but I don't have the time to go in depth like his site does. Regardless you can always feel free to e-mail me and pick my brain.

I'm a team player so whenever I can help somebody else, I indirectly help myself too. I think if you follow my blog, you should do the same.

Life is short. Play hard. I do, I believe you should too.

I hope you enjoy my evaluation.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty attracts a crowd at Autzen Stadium-Home of the Oregon Ducks!

Me, Caleb Feist, Casey Heinz, Kieran Colahan & Conor Colahan 

Upon leaving my hotel in Wilsonville, Oregon Saturday morning which was around 95 miles from Eugene, I didn't expect to have nearly as much traffic as I did.

Being an a very experienced driver, I found a way to minimize the delays along the way.

The traffic moved from time to time but there were pockets of traffic.

I needed to make time so I creatively saw opportunities to get off certain exits where I could just go across to the other side and get back on the highway.

I did that on a few occasions and I passed hundreds of cars in the process.

Royalty knows all the tricks of the trade.

I saw ways to get ahead and I made sure I took full advantage.

Finally I got close to the Autzen Stadium area.

Thankfully I was told by my new found friend and big Oregon Duck fan, Kevin Feist, where to park and pick up a shuttle bus to the game.

I wound up paying $5.00 to ride a school bus to and from the game.

That was the best $5.00 I spent on this trip.

By doing so, I avoided the hassle of dealing with the rest of the traffic that was going to the game.

It worked out perfectly for me.

Once I got to the stadium, I still needed to found a ticket. I wasn't alone others were holding fingers up too.
After looking for a short time, a gentleman approached me and he said he had an extra ticket. I asked him where it was. I looked at my seating chart and I saw it was towards the corner of the end zone right by the gate I was outside of. So I asked him what he wanted for it, he said $20 so I immediately decided not to haggle with him and I gave him a twenty dollar bill.

I proceeded to go inside the stadium.

I got a text from Kevin Feist's son Caleb who was attending the game with his friends.

Ironically, the ticket I bought outside was located in the same section. I was in section 36 row 56 seat 12 and Caleb and his friends were in section 36 row 68 seat 27.

I told him I'll look for him at halftime.

I said I like to keep the play by play of the game.

I proceeded to my seat and I watched and scored the game.

The Ducks got the ball first after the New Mexico Lobos won the toss and deferred the kickoff to the second half.

The Ducks were driving and the Lobos intercepted a pass. That turned out to be the highlight of the day for the Lobos who couldn't do anything else right all day.

The Ducks demolished them, 72-0!

Kenjon Barner who replaced LaMichael James who was suspended for this game, had a career high 147 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns then he caught a 60 yard pass for another touchdown. He did all that in the first half of the game. The Ducks lead at the half, 59-0!

In addition, Cliff Harris ran back two punts for touchdowns of 61 and 64 yards respectively. It was the first time ever a Duck has done that.

The Ducks set a team record for yards in a game with 720.

They also tied the Autzen Stadium record for points with the 72.

It was quite an assault.

The game was over long before the half but for me personally the fun was just about to begin.

I got to meet up with Caleb and his friends as you can see in the picture.

Caleb is wearing a hat and he's to my right. Next to him is Casey, then Kieran is also wearing a hat and Conor who's Kieran's brother is in the front of us.

It was a privilege and an honor to meet these young men who all are from Burns, Oregon which is comprised of 4,000 people.

Being able to meet them made my visit extra special and memorable.

They all seem like very nice kids. I look forward to staying in contact with them.

Royalty attracts people of all ages.

Please stay tuned as I plan to do a Stadium review for my buddy Paul Swaney of Stadium Journey.

In addition, stay tuned to see how the rest of the trip unfolded.

Thank you for reading.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royal treatment for visitors from Burns, Oregon

Me & Kevin Feist

On Friday, August 6th, I was at Yankee Stadium watching the Red Sox play the Yankees.

During the game, I noticed a guy coming up in our section wearing an Oregon Ducks shirt.

I decided to ask him if he knew what time the Ducks were playing on September 4th against New Mexico.
He said he didn't know. I told him that the New Mexico website had the game starting at 12:30PM Pacific Time. The Ducks website said it was TBA.

He said 12:30 sounded like it should be right.

We continued to talk during the game. I told him I'm planning to go to that game when I'm out in the Northwest that weekend. He said his son Caleb will be going too. I plan to meet him there.

He wound sitting right in the row behind me. We exchanged contact information.

He said and I quote "it's a small world".

He told me that he and his family were visiting New York for the very first time.

He said they were from Burns, Oregon which is a small town of around 4,000 people in the Southeast corner.

His name was Kevin Feist. He was with his wife Toni, and their 3 children, 2 boys Caleb and Austin and a girl, Carli. In addition, they were accompanied by his brother-in-law Bob and his wife Linda who were from Carson City, Nevada.

Kevin told me that his son Caleb is going to be a freshman this fall. He's going to school at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.

Ironically, his son plays baseball and his college coach is going to be former Yankee Scott Brosius.

Kevin said that his sister is good friends with Scott Brosius.

Kevin also mentioned he's a baseball coach too. In addition, he said he knew Kellen Clemens since he coached him in high school in Burns who also went to school at the University of Oregon and is the backup quarterback for the Jets.

When I saw the Jets play the other night, Kellen Clemens came in and I instantly thought of Kevin.

We spoke until the end of the game. I said to myself I'll going to take these people back to their hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

It was a rare night where I actually had time on my hands.

So after the game, I took pictures of the whole family. Then I escorted them to the subway.

Normally I take the 4 train to go home but since they needed the D train, I decided I'll go that way instead.

Fortunately I did for their sake, we walked towards the entrance of the stairway to the D train and it was wall to wall people.

I told them to follow me, we went upstairs towards the 4 train. I know there's a way to get back downstairs to get the D train.

It seemed like a longer way around until we got back downstairs inside the subway station and we saw the mob of people still trying to get to the turnstiles.

If we stayed where we were who knows how long we would have had to wait just to get into the subway station.

These people were amazed how I knew exactly how to out maneuver the crowd.

We proceeded to get right on the D train and off to Midtown we went.

We got off the train by Rockefeller Center. I decided to walk with them to their hotel so they wouldn't get lost.

I took them all right to the lobby of the Hilton Garden hotel where they were staying.

That's how royalty gives perfect strangers the royal treatment.

As a result, they were all very grateful for my kindness.

I had some rare spare time so I wanted to make good use of it and I did.

I did a good deed and I'm very proud of it.

These people contacted me before they left to go back home and they told me what a great time they had here and they look forward to coming back someday.

I hope they do, it will be an absolute pleasure to accomodate these people again.

I want to thank them for giving me that opportunity to do so.