I went to three sporting events in two days

The ultimate New York City sports trip.

Day One: The U.S. Open

Admittedly, I do not know a lot about the world of professional tennis. I have some idea as to who is good, who is popular, and that traditionally it is a sport of class, grace, sophistication and wealth.

Emphasis on the latter part, especially when it comes to the big Grand Slam events.

But on Tuesday night at the U.S. Open in New York City — one of Tennis’ grandest events — there was a giant turd dropped into the punch bowl.

It was me.

I was that turd.

Despite my lack of general knowledge on tennis, I have always been fascinated by the idea of seeing a center court match at the U.S. Open. Preferably one involving one of the giants of the sport, or at least one of its biggest current stars. It just always seemed like a fun experience from what I have seen on TV, and every person that has ever been has emphatically stated that it is worth checking out.

Plus, it is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and who does not love a big sporting event?

Given that I was already planning on being in New York City for the annual New York Mets - New York Yankees two-stadium doubleheader on Wednesday, it was the perfect opportunity to add another sporting event onto the agenda.

So I bought a ticket for the Tuesday night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium and went all on it.

In the beginning, I had zero idea of what to expect. Even though it was a first-round match, I had some idea that I was going to get at least one big name given that it was prime time at the main stadium. Beyond that, I was going in blind. But as I quickly learned what I was in for, and everything that was at my disposal, I knew it was going to be well worth the $70 ticket I bought.

The first scheduled match at Arthur Ashe featured Coco Gauff, the No. 3 women’s player in the world, taking on Alja Tomljanovic. This was a huge score, because while I don’t know a lot of the names in Tennis, I do know that Gauff is one of the biggest draws going right now, so it was exactly what I wanted.

Some quick initial thoughts on the experience:

• My tickets for Arthur Ashe Stadium not only got me access to both matches at the main stadium on Tuesday night, but also any other match that was taking place on the grounds on Tuesday night. That included the upper-level general admission seats at Louis Armstrong stadium (the No. 2 stadium), and all of the side courts on the outside that still had matches from the afternoon session finishing up (and some that were just starting). When you consider how long tennis matches can last, you could be there for six or seven hours. Easily. As long as you can get a face-value ticket, or even a reasonable ticket on the re-sale market, that’s about as good of a bargain as you can get in pro sports in terms of minute per dollar. (That’s easier said than done, however, on the price. This event can get EXPENSIVE. The cheapest seat for the second-round matches on Wednesday night were well over $300 on the re-sale market.)

• Immediately walking into the complex was a little overwhelming at first, and nothing like I expected. There were bars and restaurants set up all over. There were tennis courts everywhere with matches happening. Giant TVs. It felt like a park, mixed with a stadium, mixed with the biggest cocktail party you have ever seen. You could just buy a drink at any of the stands and just walk into a match with it. Wild scene. Sophisticated. Classy. But wild. I didn’t know where to turn my attention.

• I also realized that I was, without a doubt, the poorest and least stylish person in attendance. I was most definitely not in my element and I know I was standing out like a sore thumb. But hey, that’s okay.

• I got in early enough that I was able to pop into one of the side matches on the outside courts just to get an up-close look at a professional tennis match. I had a feeling I might not be prepared for just how fast of a sport it is, not just in terms of pace, but also athleticism and power. The power behind those serves is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in sports. Whenever somebody tells a hockey fan they’re not a hockey fan, the first thing the hockey fan says back is, “well you have to see a game in person to appreciate it and understand it.” I had that moment here. I had no idea who I was watching at this point, but I knew this was fun. I knew it was something I was going to enjoy and appreciate.

• I eventually made it over to Arthur Ashe stadium to find my seat for the first main match and the first thing that blew me away was just how big this place was. It seats over over 23,000 people, and when you remember how small the court is that means they are stacking you up pretty high to get that many people in. I was maybe 10 rows from the top, but still somewhat on the side with a great view of the court.

It also produced what might be one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken at a sporting event.

• As for the match itself, I was told two things: 1) Prime time at Arthur Ashe is a different vibe than any other match, and 2) Coco Gauff was going to bring an energetic crowd. And she did. It was clear from the opening introductions that the crowd was 1,000 percent behind her. Passionately. I was fine with that, because this is exactly what I wanted. Prime time. Main stadium. Huge star. Let’s ride.

• The only thing I knew about her opponent was that she had previously upset Serena Williams at the U.S. Open and had a knack for playing her best when the lights were brightest. That proved to be true, because even though Tomljanovic didn’t actually win, she pushed Gauff — who was not at her best — to her absolute limits in a three-hour marathon match. There was a nervous energy in the crowd the longer the match went on. Ultimately Gauff ended up advancing, and it was everything I could have asked for in my first major tennis event.

With that match over, I had a few options for what to do next. One of the things that always fascinated me has been the late-night, early-round matches that do not start until like 10:30 or 11 at night and go into all hours of the morning. The next Arthur Ashe Stadium match was a men’s match featuring No. 3 Alexander Zverev vs. Alejandro Tabilo. I wanted to be a psycho and stay into the early morning hours. That was my goal. I had every intention of doing so. But after a day of travel, other adventures around the city, having already watched a three-hour match and knowing what was ahead for me on Wednesday I knew I was going to have to tap out.

What I did instead was hop over to Louis Armstrong Stadium to catch the end of the No. 14 Tommy Paul vs. Elmer Moller match.

The Arthur Ashe Stadium ticket grants you access to the upper level general admission section of Louis Armstrong stadium, and there were still seats available for me to see the final set of the Paul-Moller match.

The one thing that stood out here was the fact that Paul absolutely hits the shit out of the ball on his serve. It just explodes off of his racket and was hitting 124 MPH. I’ve seen some baseball’s get hit close to that velocity, but there is something even wilder about seeing a similar velocity being hit in another person’s general direction, and that person that hitting it back at them. Truly insane, diabolical stuff.

Overall, I give the entire experience as high of a rating as I possibly can.

The venues? Amazing. Easy to access. Easy to move around. First-class amenities. Incredible views and sight lines. World-class sports. Truly one of the most fun events I have ever attended. I would absolutely do it again in the future.

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Day Two: One city. Two Stadiums. Two Baseball Games

Major League Baseball does not make it easy for you to do this, but it is possible. Sometimes. Very rarely.

The league goes out of its way to make sure the areas and cities with multiple teams are rarely, if ever, home on the same day, and they make it even rarer for those teams to play at different times.

They avoid it in New York with the Mets and Yankees. They avoid it in Chicago with the Cubs and White Sox. They avoid it in Los Angeles with the Dodgers and Angels. They avoid it in the D.C.-Baltimore area with the Nationals and Orioles. You typically get one option per day, and that is it. On the rare occasion both teams are home on the same day, they typically play at the same time as well.

But every once in a while the schedules align where it is possible for a baseball fan in one of those areas to attend two games, in two different stadiums, on the same day.

When the season schedules come out one of the first things I do is try to find the ones in New York or Chicago to see if I can get to them.

Chicago typically gets a couple (they had none this year).

New York usually gets one day like that. I went to it a year ago, loved it, and was determined to do it again if the schedules aligned for a day.

They did.

For one day.

It was Wednesday.

The Yankees hosted the Washington Nationals at 1:05 p.m. ET, with the Mets hosting the Philadelphia Phillies in a massive National League East game at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Let’s talk about it.