As a sports fan, I’ve been to hundreds of sporting events in my lifetime, from t-ball games to the World Series and everything in between. But there are always those special few that stand out and will live in my memory forever. Numbers 5 through 2 might not be shockers, but number 1 is something a little more personal. Read on for the list …

5. Manchester City vs. Chelsea at Busch Stadium

To set the record straight, I am a huge soccer fan. Yes, I have heard many of the jokes and am used to them by now. In May 2013, two of the top soccer teams in England landed in the Gateway to the West to battle it out in a friendly at Busch Stadium. It was electric; I can’t describe the atmosphere because it was all a blur. The teams featured some of the top players in the world. Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and Juan Mata each played on the same field as Matt Holiday and Adam Wainwright.

4. 2009 Home Run Derby

The Home Run Derby in 2009 was held at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. I had watched the event many times but had never been able to see it in person. It was even more bittersweet because I won my ticket. My family and I went to St. Louis for all of the All-Star Game festivities and my dad told me to sign this sheet of paper. At the time, I had no idea what I was signing; I could have been signing my life away  but it didn’t matter. I got the call the next day I had won a ticket and at first I thought it was a joke. My seats were above home plate near the top of the stadium and everything just popped. The sun hit the grass perfectly and the arch’s shadow over the outfield wall was the icing on the cake, or, since we were in the home of Anheuser Busch, maybe it was the perfect head on a beer.

3. 2009 All-Star Game

Some fans like the All-Star Game more than the Home Run Derby but to each his own. The streets surrounding Busch Stadium were filled with people. You couldn’t even breath there were so many people. I do feel spoiled that my No. 3 sporting event is an All-Star Game but I have been pretty lucky.

2. 2011 World Series Game 6

For most people this would claim the top spot in their ranking but I’m a simple guy so you’ll find out in a few why I chose my No.1 moment. The World Series, the Fall Classic, was an experience. It was the game many thought would never end. I witnessed this game with my mom, brother and a close friend of our family. My dad was supposed to go the night before but it was rained out and he could not take off work again. The entire game was … awesome. St. Louis is an amazing sports city but the focus is almost always on the Cardinals. When David Freese hit his home run into the grass in center field, the place went ballistic. When we were leaving, it was a parking lot in the street. People were walking on cars and the constant blaring of horns filled the air.

1. 2007 High School Basketball District Championship Game

Yes, four of my top five occurred at Busch Stadium but only because I’m a poor college student with huge Cardinal fan parents. It may hurt some to read this but the best sporting event I have ever been to was a high school basketball game. My school, Notre Dame Regional High School, was playing in the district championship against Sikeston High School. We were the underdogs. Sikeston was bigger, stronger and faster than us. We kept it close the entire game and had the ball with 2.9 seconds left trailing 65-64. The lone senior Abe Dirnberger inbounded the ball to junior Ryan Willen, who couldn’t get a shot. Willen passed back to Dirnberger who threw up a shot far beyond the 3-point line and it went in. It was an upset. We went on to the state championship game where we lost by three but we returned the next year and won it all.

As one chapter of my life closes and graduation nears, I hope the next part of my journey is filled with many more additions to this list. But I find it hard to believe anything could take the top spot.

 Tyler Dixon can be reached at [email protected] or @tdixon_de on Twitter.