Sports and Sports Clubs in Los Angeles
Introduction
Little wonder that the civic sports facilities and sports clubs in Los Angeles are so popular when, to fit in with the California lifestyle, especially that in LA, you really do need to be fit yourself. Keeping slim and fit by playing sports or exercising in a Los Angeles sports club is almost de rigueur in this health conscious city. As a student at USC you’ll have some great sports clubs and facilities open to you. So there’s no need to join a private gym or sports club in Los Angeles. If you’re living off campus and away from USC there’s still little excuse for not taking advantage of the Los Angeles civic sports facilities or at least taking regular exercise by jogging, cycling or skating etc along the beach front or tree lined avenues. Having said that there are also some great opportunities to get out and watch sport in Los Angeles, as well as either playing for or supporting the USC Trojans.
Watching football sports in Los Angeles
As befits a city of over 3.5 million people - there are plenty of top sports action and teams to choose from. However, having said that it’s quite baffling that there’s been no NFL football team in LA since 1994. Almost sadly, the best football sports team in Los Angeles is the LA Avengers playing in the indoor AFL - Arena Football League. The team plays at the Staples Center, Downtown and next to the LA Convention Center and the LA Live commercial, entertainment and residency development. Soccer, known across the rest of the world as football, probably has a higher profile in Los Angeles sports than the American football team. In a quite shrewd piece of business LA Galaxy signed one of the top international soccer stars - David Beckham, who with his equally well known wife, Victoria - Spice Girl Posh Spice - drew worldwide media attention to the club. On the field the LA Galaxy has done quite well too, winning several league and cup titles including the prestigious CONACAF. LA Galaxy play at the Home Depot Center in the CSU campus, which they also share with Chivas USA. Like LA Galaxy they play in the MSL (Major League Soccer). There’s also a professional women’s soccer team - the Los Angeles Sol, using the Home Depot Center for their matches.
Basketball and Baseball sports teams in Los Angeles
In the WNBA is the Los Angeles Sparks and in the NBA-D league are the Los Angeles D-fenders. Of course it’s the two teams in the NBA that sparks the most interest and rivalry in Los Angeles sports. Both teams play at the Staples Center but with a history going back to the 1940s and being the 2008 champions, the LA Lakers are always seen as the senior of these two sports clubs in Los Angeles. The LA Clippers were founded in 1970 and have yet to win any major titles. Whether you know it or not, the Los Angeles Angles - of Anaheim - are a major sporting club in Los Angeles playing Major League Baseball. I only mention that to get it out of the way as Los Angeles is home to another MLB team - the LA Dodgers. Probably one of the most iconic names in world sports, the Dodgers only came to Los Angeles in 1958, having been originally a New York, Brooklyn, team founded in 1883. The LA Dodgers play at Dodger Park, north of China Town.
Other sporting in LA activities
The following are just a quick taste of some other sporting activities in LA that you could consider going to. Off Interstate 605 at Irwindale is the Toyota Speedway. As well as watching car racing here you can experience the thrill of driving the circuit with one of their ‘adventure packages’. If you literally fancy ‘a day at the races’ - with the future of one of the sporting clubs in LA, Hollywood Park, still rather uncertain - you’ll be better off planning a day at the Santa Anita Park. The Santa Anita Park horse racing track is at Arcadia, 14 miles north east of Downtown LA. If you like to play golf there are plenty of civic and small courses to play around LA. The premier golf sporting club in Los Angeles has to be the Riviera Country Club, which hosts the Northern Trust Open on the PGA of America tour. For anyone that’s not, or not yet, a member of USC - you might be interested to know that the LA Coliseum is now the home ground for USC Trojan football games. The LA Coliseum is forever etched into sporting life in LA as having been the home of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics.