Top Fall Sporting Events In Philadelphia
Green, red, orange, blue and silver are the colors of fall — fall sports in Philadelphia, that is! Fall in Philly marks a season of hope. It's a fresh page in a new chapter in the book of Philadelphia sports; a time when anything is possible. In September, with the Phillies' baseball season still in full swing, the Eagles and college football teams return to the gridiron to kick off the football season. Runners, after a season of training, flock to the City of Brotherly Love in October for the Philadelphia Marathon. Then, as the days grow cooler, basketball and hockey seasons set in, with the 76ers back on the court and the Flyers on the ice once more. We think it's a good bet that if you're a true Philadelphia sports fan, you probably can't wait for fall and scoring a ticket to one of these top Philadelphia-area sporting events.
Eagles-Jaguars Football Game
Lincoln Financial Field
1 Lincoln Financial Field Way
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 463-5500
www.lincolnfinancialfield.com
Date: Sept. 7, 2014
Going to an Eagles home game tops the list of memorable events for most Philly sports fans, but scoring a ticket to that first game of the season is really special. The first home game in the Philadelphia Eagles regular season schedule for 2014 is Sunday, September 7 at Lincoln Financial Field when the Eagles take on Jaguars. Game time is 1 p.m. at 'The Linc,' the official home of the Eagles, located between 11th and 10th streets on Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia, but the game-day fun begins much earlier, with fans arriving at daybreak to set up for tailgating – a tradition of Eagles-centric fellowship, food and festivities.
Flyers-Devils Hockey Game
Wells Fargo Center
3601 Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19148
(215) 336-3600
www.flyers.nhl.com/index.html
Date: Oct. 9, 2014
The 2014-2015 hockey season will shift into full gear when the Philadelphia Flyers take to the ice to battle the New Jersey Devils on the first official match-up of the regular season at the Wells Fargo Center. The "Turnpike Rivalry," as locals will surely tell you, runs deep among hockey fans along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor. With Devils fans to the north and Flyers fans to the south of the Garden State – which is just a stone's throw from Philly – the heated rivalry is sparked anew each year when the teams meet on center ice. The competition is sure to heat up on October 9 when the two teams hit the ice in Philly on the night of the Flyers' first home game of the season.
Penn-Harvard Football Game
Franklin Field
University of Pennsylvania
235 S. 33rd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-6151
www.upenn.edu
Date: Nov. 15, 2014
Philadelphia has its fair share of college football rivalries, but few would argue with the fact that the Penn-Princeton rivalry is at the top of the list, with one of the two teams representing the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament from 1989 through 2007. That said, Harvard has edged them both out in recent years, and the chance to see the Quakers take on the Harvard Crimson on November 15 is one of the hottest tickets in town. The game will take place at University of Pennsylvania's iconic Franklin Field, which holds bragging rights to the first radio broadcast of a football game in 1922 as well as the first televised football game in 1939.
Philadelphia Marathon
22nd St. & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, near the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia, PA
www.philadelphiamarathon.com
Dates: Nov. 21-23, 2014
November 21-23, 2014 is this year's annual Philadelphia Marathon Race Weekend. One of the nation's top marathon events, the Philadelphia Marathon attracts more than 27,000 runners and 60,000 fans every year. The marathon weekend festivities include an Expo with seminars, vendor booths and lots of free samples and discounts for local venues, shops, restaurants and museums. The race itself is well known for its flat and scenic course which kicks off near the iconic stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and meanders through historic neighborhoods, along the Schuylkill River and past numerous historic monuments and museums.
Phillies-Braves Baseball Game
Citizens Bank Park
1 Citizens Bank Way
Philadelphia, PA 19148
(215) 463-1000
www.philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com
Date: Sept. 28, 2014
The boys of summer play well into fall, much to the joy of their many fans. While it's always best to be at the top of your game, fans will put stats aside (well, maybe not, but they'll still come to the game!) on Sunday, September 28 – the last Phillies home game on the regular season schedule – for Fan Appreciation Day. The Phillies will be taking on the Atlanta Braves, which is always a fun matchup. From the time the gates open until the first pitch, there will be $10 Family Packs available pregame at all South Philadelphia Market stands. Face painting will be free for kids of all ages on the concourse, and Harry the K's will be offering up $5 ice cream sundaes and root beer floats beginning with the 4th inning.
Christy Ayala covers sports, recreation, the outdoors, and leisure activities in the Philadelphia area. She earned a masters degree in recreation administration from George Williams College and managed programs in the Midwest, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.
