Sometimes you come back from your days off and somehow still feel tired. Not exactly how days off are supposed to work.
I started noticing that feeling week after week. No matter how much I tried to recharge over the weekend, Monday would roll around and I still felt like my battery was hovering somewhere around 20 percent. Eventually, I took a look at how much time I had actually taken off and discovered the problem: I had used exactly one vacation day in the previous eight months.
Apparently, weekends alone weren’t cutting it.
So, I decided it was time to remedy the situation with a four-day weekend. Nothing ambitious. No flights. No complicated itinerary. No running through an airport wondering why my gate is somehow another 20-minute walk away. Just four glorious days to stay home, sleep in, relax, and do absolutely nothing.
There was just one problem.
Sitting at home for four days sounded incredibly boring.
Naturally, instead of resting like a sensible person, I started looking around to see what was happening that weekend. That’s when I noticed something interesting: the Arizona State Sun Devils were playing in Tempe on Saturday, the Arizona Cardinals were playing in Glendale on Sunday, and the Phoenix Suns were playing in Phoenix on Monday.
Three days. Three teams. Three different sports venues across the Valley.
Suddenly, my relaxing four-day weekend had developed an itinerary.
Normally, when I go to a sporting event, I like to spend a little extra money and get a decent seat. But this wasn’t about having the perfect view. This was about seeing whether I could pull off all three games without spending a ridiculous amount of money.
So I made myself a deal: cheap tickets only.
Upper level? Fine.
A little farther from the action than usual? Fine.
Basically watching professional athletes from somewhere near the flight path? Also fine.
If buying the cheap seats meant I could attend all three games in one long weekend, I was willing to sacrifice my usual seating standards.
And just like that, my four-day weekend dedicated to getting some much-needed rest turned into a three-day Arizona sports marathon.
Because apparently my solution to being tired from not taking enough time off was to take time off…and immediately fill it with activities.
Saturday September 29, 2018
I had never been to Sun Devil Stadium before, but once I realized it was relatively close to where I lived, getting there seemed easy enough. Rather than deal with the headache—and expense—of parking, I opted to take an Uber to the game. As an added bonus, leaving the driving to someone else meant I could indulge in a couple of those wonderfully overpriced stadium drinks once I arrived.
Sun Devil Stadium had exactly the kind of atmosphere you’d expect from a college football stadium: energetic, loud, and full of school spirit. Of course, this was Arizona in late September, so even though it was a night game, it was still plenty warm. Apparently, the desert doesn’t care that the sun has gone down.
Overall, it was a great first visit to the stadium and a good way to kick off my sports-filled weekend. Even better, Arizona State came away with the win over the Oregon State Beavers, so I could officially mark Game One as a success.
Sunday September 30, 2018
After the fun of the previous night, it was time to get ready for round two of my sports weekend: the Arizona Cardinals game. I had been to State Farm Stadium several times before, so I knew the routine. Unfortunately, Glendale was a little too far away to justify an Uber, which meant coughing up the cash for parking and saving the adult beverages for when I got back home.
It was a beautiful day for football, and there was plenty of tailgating going on as I made my way toward the stadium. After navigating the crowds and getting through security, something immediately grabbed my attention—and naturally, it was food.
A Cousins Maine Lobster food truck was calling my name.
After waiting in line and handing over an amount of money that reminded me lobster is definitely not considered budget stadium food, I became the proud owner of a Connecticut roll. It was loaded with Maine lobster served warm with butter and lemon on a New England-style roll. It was absolutely delicious. If lobster didn’t come with lobster prices, I probably would have immediately gotten back in line for another one. Instead, I enjoyed every expensive bite and continued toward my seat.
Speaking of the seat, I had gone cheap for this weekend’s sports marathon, so I was pretty high up. But I have to admit, even from up there, the view was surprisingly good. State Farm Stadium is one of those places where being in the upper level doesn’t necessarily mean you feel completely removed from the action.
Since it was still late September in Arizona, the stadium roof was thankfully closed. Outside might have been perfect tailgating weather, but inside the stadium the temperature was comfortable—which is always appreciated when Arizona hasn’t quite received the memo that summer is supposed to be ending.
The game itself stayed close and competitive throughout, giving the crowd plenty to get excited about. Unfortunately, the Cardinals couldn’t quite pull it off and ended up losing to the Seattle Seahawks.
Not the ending I was hoping for, but between the beautiful weather, the tailgating atmosphere, a surprisingly good cheap seat, and one very expensive but very delicious lobster roll, it was still a pretty solid Sunday.
Two games down.
One more to go.
Monday October 1, 2018
I had never been to Talking Stick Resort Arena before, but I knew it was right in the heart of Downtown Phoenix, not far from Chase Field. More importantly, it was close enough to home that I could leave the car behind, grab an Uber, and enjoy a couple of overpriced stadium drinks without worrying about the drive home.
Once inside, I made my way up to my seat in the upper level. Just like the previous games that weekend, I had gone with a cheaper ticket, but I was pleasantly surprised by the view. Even from high above the court, I had a great view of all the action below. It turned out to be another reminder that you don’t always need the expensive seats to have a great time at a game.
Final Thoughts
When I originally decided to take a four-day weekend, the goal was supposedly to rest. Apparently, my version of resting involved attending three professional and college sporting events in three different parts of the Valley over three consecutive days. So much for sitting on the couch and doing absolutely nothing.
But strangely enough, it worked.
Saturday started at Sun Devil Stadium, where I watched Arizona State beat Oregon State while enjoying the atmosphere of college football—and a couple overpriced stadium drinks thanks to the decision to Uber. Sunday took me across the Valley to State Farm Stadium, where the Cardinals couldn’t quite pull off the win against the Seahawks, but at least I walked away having discovered a very expensive and very delicious Connecticut lobster roll. Then Monday wrapped everything up downtown with the Phoenix Suns, where even the cheap upper-level seats gave me a great view of the court.
Three days. Three stadiums. Three completely different experiences.
And somehow, instead of feeling more exhausted when it was over, I actually felt recharged.
I think that was the bigger lesson from the weekend. Sometimes being tired doesn’t necessarily mean you need to spend several days doing absolutely nothing. Sometimes you just need to stop doing the same thing you’ve been doing every day. I had spent months focusing heavily on work without taking much time off, and what I really needed was a change of scenery.
Apparently, that change of scenery involved stadium food, expensive drinks, Uber rides, parking fees, thousands of screaming sports fans, one Cardinals loss, one Sun Devils win, and a Suns game.
Was it the peaceful four-day weekend I originally imagined?
Absolutely not.
Was it probably more expensive than staying home and watching all three games from my couch?
Definitely.
But it reminded me that taking time off isn’t always about doing nothing. Sometimes it’s about doing something you actually enjoy and remembering that there’s a whole world outside of work.
And if I can squeeze three sporting events into one long weekend without completely exhausting myself or destroying my bank account, I’d say the experiment was a success.
Maybe next time I’ll actually use the vacation days to rest.
Probably not.
