While staring blankly at my computer screen the other day, a co-worker was going on about seeing an article about top moments (not necessarily good moments) in a particular writer's lifetime, such as 9/11 Berlin Wall coming down, etc.

So my co-worker then turned it into something of a discussion about top sports hobby moments. Some of his examples were meeting Henry Aaron, opening his first box of 1959 Topps Baseball and visiting Shea Stadium for the first time.

And then he turned the tables on me: "What is your top sports or sports hobby moment?" he asked. And I sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes before the answer became abundantly clear: making the 18-hour car trek to Cooperstown to see the hall of fame induction of Robin Yount (and Nolan Ryan and George Brett, too, though I was there for Yount).

To be on this hallowed ground and to see the induction of my childhood hero (making good on a promise I made to myself many years earlier) was a treat I will never forget.

And then there was the circus that is Cooperstown on Induction Weekend. Holy cow. Players signing autographs on every corner. Leon Spinks just wandering around among the crowds. The collectibles of every sort on every sidewalk. The whole atmosphere is fun, all about baseball and truly exhausting.    

And I can't wait to go back again some day.

My second memorable moment is probably a little more focused. It was attending the opening of Miller Park in 2001 in Milwaukee.

You see, that stadium represented a new start for the franchise - a chance to show the world they were staying in Milwaukee, could house teams in a state-of-the-art facility and move on after the opening was delayed a year after a tragic crane accident killed three construction workers during its construction.

It was like a rebirth for the team and the state of baseball in Wisconsin. It took seven years to match the Miller Park attendance success and building a winning team, but the opening of the park was THE start.

Anyone else have some memorable sports moments or hobby tales that will forever stay in your memory?