Tag: athletes

Fans excited at WWE Survivor Series in San Diego!

Super excited WWE wrestling fans gathered in downtown San Diego this morning before the start of 2025 Survivor Series: WarGames!

It seemed everyone I saw was either holding a sign, sporting a championship belt, or wearing a shirt that roots for their favorite WWE superstar! Most of the shirts commemorated John Cena’s farewell tour. He’ll be facing Dominik Mysterio in a highly anticipated match.

Savvy fans waited at the entrance to the Omni Hotel to see wrestlers jumping into cars or vans, to be transported to Petco Park.

I lingered for a while and briefly glimpsed CM Punk, and Jimmy and Jey Uso. Drew McIntyre was the one wrestler who didn’t dash into a vehicle. He greeted all the fans, took selfies with everyone, and was one very cool dude!

I then walked around Petco Park and through the Gaslamp Quarter again to take in the all the excitement.

Enjoy some photos!

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Rey Mysterio performs 619 in Logan Heights!

Legendary wrestler and San Diego hometown hero Rey Mysterio is performing his finishing move, the 619, in Logan Heights! I saw him in action today!

Yes, that’s him in a newly completed mural at the corner of Commercial Street and 30th Street, a short distance east of Petco Park where WWE Survivor Series: WarGames (2025) will be held tomorrow!

The mural which pays tribute to lucha libre debuted two days ago and Rey Mysterio himself showed up with his daughter Aalyah to admire it. And sign it! You can read an article about that cool event here.

If you come by to check out the mural, make sure to look at the west side of the same SA Recycling building. There’s a second mural depicting the Rey Mysterio family! I posted photos of that mural here (along with photographs of this newest mural’s early outlines).

Both murals were painted by local graffiti phenom Daniel “Dentlok” Angeles and a team of helping artists.

Will Chula Vista native Rey Mysterio show up at tomorrow’s Survivor Series in San Diego? I’d say that’s highly probable! I see his son Dominik will be wrestling against John Cena, who is retiring after his own legendary career!

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If you’d like to see San Diego through my lens, find the “Follow” box in the sidebar to receive new posts in your email, or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

(If you’re viewing Cool San Diego Sights on a phone, you can open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)

Junior Seau mural in his home town Oceanside.

A beautiful mural in Oceanside’s Balderrama Park remembers and celebrates home town football hero Junior Seau.

The legendary NFL linebacker attended Oceanside High School and spent most of his life a resident in San Diego’s North County.

He played with the San Diego Chargers for 13 seasons, helping to lead them to Super Bowl XXIX. His play seemed superhuman. He would become one of the most popular Chargers players of all time.

Junior was active in the community, plus a surfer and restaurateur. He was loved by everybody.

His untimely death was so tragic, believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma while playing the game.

The Oceanside mural, painted by Ground Floor Murals, captures the beautiful soul of Junior Seau.

Another fantastic mural depicting Junior Seau can be viewed in San Diego on El Cajon Boulevard. It was painted by the same artists.

You can see those photographs by clicking here.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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San Diego’s pro ultimate team: Growlers!

Please excuse my ignorance, but until today I had no idea San Diego had a professional ultimate team. They’re named San Diego Growlers!

The Growlers compete against 23 other teams around the United States in the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA). They are in the South Division.

I vaguely knew ultimate is a game similar to football, but using a Frisbee. I’ve seen videos, and it looks pretty cool.

After speaking to friendly representatives of the Growlers at the Adams Avenue Street Fair, I think I’ll go check out a game when their new season begins in 2026!

The Growlers have been around for ten years. In 2025 they had a winning record and made the playoffs. The team plays home games at Mission Bay High School.

Here’s their website.

Have you ever been to a game? Leave a comment if you have.

Sounds like fun!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Oceanside hosts U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships!

The 8th Annual U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships officially opens tomorrow in Oceanside. The public can watch and cheer on the participants!

During the next four days, September 4th to 7th, 2025, physically challenged athletes will take to the surf north of the Oceanside Pier and vie for thousands of dollars in prizes in different surfing competition categories. The event is brought to the city of Oceanside by the Stoke for Life Foundation and the U.S. Open ASC Competition Committee.

Last year 96 adaptive athletes from 18 countries from around the world competed, and this year it should be bigger than ever!

You can find more info, plus the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships daily schedule, by clicking here.

Today during a walk I spotted tents set up on the beach. I missed a special opening parade because I didn’t know about it. Near the pier I noticed workers getting everything ready at the announcer stand.

After walking out on the pier, I observed one of the athletes catching a wave while prone on a surfboard. He was practicing for the competition.

Good luck to everyone!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

2025 California Firefighter Summer Games in San Diego!

Fourteen basketball teams from around California are competing in San Diego. It’s the 2025 Firefighter Summer Games, and the hoops action is taking place in Balboa Park at the Municipal Gymnasium!

There are teams from San Diego, Oakland, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Redding, Fresno, Orange County and elsewhere in California.

I’m pleased to report that today San Diego in their first game beat Orange County Fire Authority 45-41. That was the situation when I peeked into the gymnasium during my Balboa Park walk.

The Firefighter Summer Games are being held in venues around San Diego. See the event website here.

Thank you to all firefighting heroes. You are very much appreciated by everyone.

May you also be heroes on the basketball court!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

U. S. Police & Fire Championships in San Diego!

The 2025 United States Police & Fire Championships are now underway in and around San Diego!

As their website explains: The USPFC is an Olympic-style competition for athletes representing Law Enforcement, Firefighters, and officers from Corrections, Probation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection from across the country.

There are 38 different sports in which participants can compete. There’s everything from tennis to soccer to bowling to cornhole, and, as I discovered this afternoon, basketball!

Walking through Balboa Park, I noticed spirited basketball play inside the Municipal Gymnasium. The athletes I observed are skilled and very serious about winning!

To learn more about the United States Police & Fire Championships and the various sports being played in venues around San Diego, check out this webpage.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson in Logan Heights!

The other day I took photos of a cool mural in Logan Heights that shows legendary boxers Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. It’s painted at the corner of Imperial Avenue and 27th Street.

Ali’s famous quote “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” is written above the boxers. Tyson’s quote “I’m a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars…” appears, too, along with an image of one of his tigers.

I didn’t realize it until I did some searching on the internet, but San Diego’s own Archie Moore boxed Muhammad Ali (when he was known as Cassius Clay) back in 1962. You can read a Wikipedia article about the event here.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Negro Leagues baseball exhibit opens in San Diego!

An extraordinary exhibit concerning the history of baseball’s Negro Leagues officially opens tomorrow, April 15, 2025, in San Diego!

Extensive displays celebrating African-American baseball players who helped lead the way to a more integrated and tolerant society can now be enjoyed on the 8th Floor Reading Room of the Central Library. The exhibit is titled Barrier Breakers.

Visitors to the Central Library are in for a treat. The epic exhibition is brought to our city by the San Diego Padres and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

There are biographies of athletes who competed in the Negro Leagues–complete with stats, accomplishments, photographs and memories. There are stories of how trailblazing players were eventually accepted by Major League Baseball. Different eras are represented, and key moments are remembered.

As one might expect, Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball, has a special place in the exhibit. It’s no coincidence that tomorrow, the day Breaking Barriers opens, is Jackie Robinson Day. Jackie made history by starting at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

Another display celebrates the San Diego Padres’ own trailblazer, hometown hero catcher Johnny Ritchey. He made Pacific Coast League history when he joined the team in 1948. (He had seven hits in his first eleven plate appearances!)

Anyone who is a baseball, sports or history buff needs to check out Barrier Breakers. I just happened to swing by the Central Library today, and was super fortunate to observe a special preview presentation.

If you can’t make it to San Diego’s downtown Central Library, you can view an online virtual exhibit by clicking here.

Just a few photos…

During today’s special presentation, Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, presented The Home Run for Humanity Award to worthy recipients in San Diego. Congrats to all!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

2025 San Diego Padres appear on Embarcadero!

The 2025 Major League Baseball season is about to begin. And look who has appeared on San Diego’s Embarcadero along Harbor Drive. Players representing the San Diego Padres!

Before the start of every season, new Padres player banners appear on downtown lamp posts. You can find the banners around Petco Park and elsewhere. Some of the banners inevitably feature new faces.

I took these photographs today.

Last year the Padres were arguably the second best team in baseball. They were a game away from beating mighty Los Angeles and going to the National League Championship Series. How will the team do in 2025?

Jackson Merrill 3
Nick Pivetta 27
Xander Bogaerts 2
Manny Machado 13
Yu Darvish 11
Fernando Tatis Jr. 23

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!