Sporting Events + Anime/Comic Conventions Combos

One of my other hobbies besides covering anime and comic conventions is that I love sports. I'm a huge Oakland Raiders and Sacramento Kings fan, and in addition I used to play football back in high school until halfway through my Senior year.

As I type this, I'm watching the Rose Bowl on TV and and thinking how nice it would be to attend both the Rose Bowl and Anime Los Angeles in the near future. In fact, there are a few anime/comic convention and sports events combinations that I would like to attend:

• Rose Bowl/Anime Los Angeles
• BCS National Title Game at the Rose Bowl/Anime Los Angeles
• Orioles home game/Otakon
• Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center/Anime Expo
• Padres home game/San Diego Comic Con
• Sharks playoff home game/FanimeCon
• Red Sox home game/Anime Boston
• Giants or Jets home game/New York Comic Con

In fact, there are a number of moments when anime/comic conventions and sports will mesh together. I often times have to check scores on NFL playoff weekends at SacAnime Winter and Anime Los Angeles, whether it's on television or on my phone. At FanimeCon, I usually photograph a television with a sports event: a couple years ago, it was the Indianapolis 500, and last year it was the firing of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel. I remember asking to watch a Sacramento Kings game at ALA 2010 when I completely forgot that I was in Lakers/Clippers country, and the year after I remember watching this epic run by Seattle Seahawk Marshawn Lynch against the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs in the hotel room right before I went to go cover the Masquerade:




Not to mention the theme for FanimeCon 2012 is sports-related, which makes me excited for this year's theme gathering. I know some cosplayers that do custom jerseys for anime characters, and I'm thinking of doing the same. The question is: what team will it be, and what anime character will it be?