One great thing about travelling is seeing the different sports that each country plays. I recommend seeing a professional game in each country to get a feel for the place. - here are some examples from my experiences and hopefully you will come round to see why watching sport in different places definately gives you a feel any place!

In Tanzania I went to see a soccer game - the Dar es Salam (the Simbas) team play the Arusha Football Club at the Arusha Stadium. This was in my first couple of weeks of moving to the country and one of our friends got us so we could stand next to the players bench. In typical African style the game started late and after about half an hour not much had happened - so the fans started getting a bit rambunctious. It was not long before we realised we were in trouble when we had about 100 angry fans running towards us from across the pitch and a similar number of riot police running to meet them from behind us -leaving us bang in the middle. It was a great experience - especially because we emerged unhurt!!

The United States has an interesting mix of professional and non-professional sports. I had the priviledge of going to a High School football (American Football) game in Virginia - and it was obvious that these students had been well drilled in their craft - to an extent where one wonders if they study, or how pushed by parents / teachers they must be, especially as high school and college sports represent so much income for these institutions, and are doorways to bigger things for the players!
I also would really suggest trying to go to a baseball game in the US - while it is not an adreneline packed sport - the atmosphere in the stadiums is worth going to experience even if you dont have a clue about the rules (the same can be said for cricket!). It is the only professional sport in the world where everyone in the crowd sings a song before the game (take me out to the ball game)…it is quite fascinating! Remember to bring a glove cause if you catch a ball that has been hit into the crowd you can keep it!

The Australians are quite incredable at Sport - they dominate internationally in 3 sports (rugby union and league and cricket) play soccer and basketball to a good standard and then they have Aussie Rules Football (AFL) which no one else plays but is a vastly entertaining sport. All this achievement in a country of 20 million! During my stays in Australia I really got into rugby league and would try and go to see the Queensland Cowboys as often as possible. The atmosphere at these games is great it is so laid back that two ends of the statium have grass banks that you can bring a picnic blanket and have a beer while the game is on. The atmosphere directly reflects the Australian culture of being laid back - I like to call it the “No Worries Culture” and it makes Australia a great place to visit or live!

I still have a few sports I want to watch in various nations - these include an AFL game in Australia, a gaelic hockey game in Ireland, Ice Hockey in North America and a football (soccer) game in South America. It is amazing how sports really can reflect the ambience of a nation!