New Jersey Sports

On a crisp fall afternoon in November of 1869, on a field in New Brunswick, Rutgers University beat Princeton in the first collegiate football game ever played. It wasn’t exactly football as we know it. Probably more like a cross between Australian rules rugby and Bavarian log rolling. There were no helmets, just a brown doily-looking thing they wore on their heads (if they wore anything at all). They drank warm beer and all had mustaches. And so did the men. Since then, sporting events in New Jersey have been second to none. From the Toms River Little League World Champions to the three-time Giants Super Bowl winners, New Jersey has been the go-to destination for fantastic games, matches, races and contests.

You’ve got your Giants and Jets at one end and the Eagles on the other. You have the Phillies here and the Yankees and Mets there. Maybe that’s what Ben Franklin had in mind when he described New Jersey as a barrel tapped at both ends. Wherever your loyalties lie, you have to agree that New Jersey sports fans are passionate. And lucky. In addition to the professional football and baseball teams we support, you can eNJoy hometown Nets basketball and Red Bulls soccer (Yes, we have a team named after an energy drink. What’s next, the Mountain Dew Devils?) Oh, and those would be the Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils. We have eight minor league baseball teams and the Trenton Devils hockey team. Lacrosse, horse racing, auto racing, and golf.

Participation in New Jersey sports has never been higher. Triathlons, marathons, 5K races… surfing, bicycling, tennis and fishing. Our diverse terrain offers oceans, rivers, beaches, hills, mountains and flatlands.

And, of course, when the leaves are falling and the air turns cooler, you can still catch a Rutgers or Princeton football game. They no longer play each other but at least they don’t wear doilies on their heads.