Sports: The secret to 'local' travel

One of my sweetest travel memories: Mother’s Day in Guatemala several years ago. Two shirtless guys, sweating and well under the influence, were hanging on a chain-link fence with one fist and shaking their other at me: the lone foreigner in the tiny stadium.

The local soccer team had just scored, and I was celebrating with them. Soon they taught me what to chant. "Xe-la-ju! Xe-la-ju!"

"Getting local" is more than a recent buzzword in travel, it’s become the new mantra. Travelers looking to get under the skin of a place are booking short-stay apartments in neighborhoods, shopping at farmer’s markets or eating at local street carts, taking public transit or using public-use bike systems.

But one of the most under-appreciated ways to tap into the places we visit is simply buying a ticket for any type of sporting event. The less you know about it, the better. Fans reward outsiders with earnest interest in rules, lore and uniform choices.

You’ll leave not just with some sports facts, but insight in how a place lives.

We often connect Canada with hockey, and I’ve had a few great experiences seeing it there. Once in Ottawa, I walked into Quebec and caught a feisty ‘major-junior league’ game, where an even mix of males and females roared in French and pounded the low ceiling with their fists.

I recently got to see the NHL Winnipeg Jets’ first win, something that sent a city without pro hockey for 15 seasons into hysterics.

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