One thing my family loves to do is attend sporting events. Over the last decade or so, that's been a bit more difficult for a myriad of reasons. Kids have sports schedules of their own, too expensive to attend a game for a family of 4 (now 5), etc.

If we're talking about pro sports, forget about it. SO expensive to bring the whole family. We haven't had to deal with that though as in the last 10 years, we haven't lived within three hours of a professional sports team.

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That was when we started turning to Minor League baseball and college sports. There were some great options in Austin. We could hit up any University of Texas event, Texas State University, and the Round Rock Express. We did a lot of sports games between the three of these.

Amarillo is a bit different though. We've got the Sod Poodles, and believe me, we've attended quite a few of those games. Amarillo College has events, but we haven't made it out to any of those yet. WTAMU is the obvious one missing here, and in nearly two years here, we hadn't attended any event for the school.

Well, we changed that this past week. With money tight for everyone, attending sporting events can become an afterthought for a lot of people. I understand that. You want to make sure that you are entertained and get your money's worth if you're going to spend it in these times.

We attended a men's basketball game on Tuesday evening as a family, then my youngest son and I took in the baseball game on Sunday afternoon. So, were they worth the price of admission?

Let's start with the basketball game. WTAMU was into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division II basketball tournament. It was the final home game win or lose for the Buffs.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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I've been to the NCAA Division I tournament a few times, and the atmosphere was electric. I can say the same for the Division II tournament now but in a much smaller arena. People showed up for this one and boy was it loud.

It was very much a back-and-forth affair between the Buffs and Black Hills State, and you could feel the tension in the arena as the game started to wind down. Ultimately, the Buffs lost a heartbreaker as they made the final shot to win the game, only to find that after review, the ball wasn't completely out of his hands as the final buzzer went off.

Breaking down the game, the excitement I was looking for was there. A good product on AND off the court was there. Value of the ticket price compared to the event we went to? MORE than good. We paid a total of $24 for four general admission tickets to the game. I know, you hear the words general admission and think, well the seats must not have been the greatest.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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That would be wildly incorrect as you can see. We sat center court in the second row. Truthfully, the first row was open, but we had the baby with us and all she wants to do is walk around these days, so sitting on the floor would've been bad for us.

The basketball game was money well spent.

So what about the baseball game? I decided to try out the reserved seats for this one since it was only two of us. $10 per ticket for reserved seating, so pretty much the same cost as it was for the basketball game for the full family.

The seating area at Wilder Park is small, but it's all behind home plate. The reserved seating is lined up directly behind home plate, with the general admission seating being right down the 1st and 3rd baseline in essence, but still pretty much behind home plate.

I don't know if we got lucky or not, but we ended up dead center behind home plate in the second row. What kind of view is that? One of the best I've ever had for a baseball game.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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I'd say that view is with $10 per ticket.

The game was entertaining, we were treated to a ton of hits, home runs, and excitement. The crowd was MUCH smaller for this game than the basketball game, but that didn't mean they didn't get loud when something good happened for WT.

Some of the gameplay was a bit rough for both teams, but let's not forget they're still college students with a lot of learning going on. So, don't go into it expecting it to be as clean as a Major League game.

Concession prices were solid and affordable, plus you can bring your own food and drink to the stadium if you wish. That is a huge win in its own right. For the price of admission, it's 100% worth going to a baseball game, and you'll enjoy the 3-4 hours you're outside.

The only downside is any foul balls hit, you have to return to the team, so that was a bit of a bummer, but I get it.

All-in-all, I can say I'll be attending many more WTAMU sporting events thanks to how affordable and entertaining they are. I can't wait to check out my first football game this upcoming season.

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