Tokyo Series a dream come true for two globe-trotting sports fanatics

Just imagine what the scene will be like inside the Tokyo Dome when the Dodgers and Cubs meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to open the 2025 MLB regular season:

More than 45,000 passionate fans in one of the world¡¯s most baseball-obsessed countries cheering on two of the most storied franchises in the sport, both of which feature rosters with multiple Japanese superstars who will receive a hero¡¯s welcome back home throughout the two-day extravaganza.

The 2025 Tokyo Series should be quite the spectacle. David Carter can¡¯t wait to soak it all in.

¡°Having gone to baseball games all my life,¡± he said, ¡°I would not have thought about, as a child, ever traveling to a game like this.¡±

Carter, 60, and George Ross, 59, will be in attendance for both games. But for these best friends who have known each other since middle school while growing up in Southern California, this trip to Japan is about more than watching some baseball. The Tokyo Series represents the next segment of their extremely ambitious goal to experience the world like few sports fans ever have.

It has a name: ¡°25 to 75.¡± In other words, 25 sporting events before turning 75 years old. Beginning in 2016, Carter and Ross have spent the past nine years traveling to some of the most iconic sporting events around the globe.

The FIFA World Cup? David and George went to Russia for the 2018 final between France and Croatia. The Kentucky Derby? They crossed that off their list in '21 followed by a weekend in Georgia for The Masters golf tournament in '22. They witnessed the five-set thriller between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic for the '23 Wimbledon title. Last summer, they were in Paris for the Summer Olympics.

Next on their itinerary: The Tokyo Series. It will be Carter and Ross¡¯ 13th event together, taking them past the halfway point of their grand plan.

¡°When we look back, it's amazing how fast it's gone,¡± Carter said. ¡°... Now we're getting to the point where it's like, ¡®Wow. We¡¯ve got to not slow this down, but let's make sure we're enjoying this, because it's going really fast.¡¯¡±

This will be the one baseball trip during ¡°25 to 75.¡± Why only one? Because it¡¯s a rule. These are the handful of rules that Carter and Ross agreed upon as they were developing their global sports bucket list:

• They can see only one event per sport.
• Each country can be visited only once.
• Half of the events must be in the United States, but they can¡¯t visit the same state twice.
• Perhaps most important: Beyond just being spectators, they must immerse themselves in the event as much as possible.

To accomplish that last point, Carter and Ross mushed a practice sled of dogs in negative-30-degree temperatures during the 2017 Iditarod in Alaska. They ventured 70 miles away from civilization to go deep-sea fishing in Panama. They woke up at 3:30 a.m. to put tattoos on the athletes competing in the '19 Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

¡°Remember why you're going: It¡¯s to be part of the experience,¡± Carter said.

And baseball was the inspiration for all of these experiences.

In 2010, Carter and his daughter, Paige, started a trek that would make any MLB fan envious. Over the next five years, father and daughter saw a game together at each of the 30 big league stadiums. They completed their ballpark tour on Aug. 16, 2015, with a Diamondbacks-Braves game at Turner Field.

The following year, Carter and Ross met for drinks at a restaurant in Redondo Beach, California. Carter reminisced about all of the wonderful times he and Paige had during their travels around the country. But he got the sense that his best friend wasn¡¯t too happy with him.

¡°He was -- I think there¡¯s no better way to say it than disgruntled,¡± Carter recalls from his house not too far away from that restaurant. Behind him hangs a large picture frame displaying ticket stubs from each of the 30 stadiums he and Paige visited.

Carter and Ross had traveled together to sporting events before, especially to root on the University of Southern California, their alma mater. (Carter is a sports business professor at USC, while Ross is a real estate developer in Las Vegas.) But they had never done anything so unique, so expansive.

Carter remembers Ross saying that night, ¡°So what the hell are we going to do?¡±

Thus, ¡°25 to 75¡± was created. Soon, the men were off and running -- literally. Their first event had them fleeing through the streets of Pamplona, Spain, for the running of the bulls.

Carter and Ross have seen at least one preeminent sporting event every year since 2016, halting only in '20 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even Carter¡¯s battle with cancer didn¡¯t stop the pair from going to historic and frigid Lambeau Field for a Lions-Packers NFL game in November '17. Carter would eventually win that battle.

Game 7 of a World Series was always a possibility for the bucket list, and Carter and Ross twice came close to turning that into their baseball adventure. They considered going to the 2020 World Series between the Rays and Dodgers at Globe Life Field in Texas, but that Fall Classic lasted only six games.

Two years earlier, Carter and Ross bought their plane flight, hotel and tickets for a potential World Series Game 7 at Fenway Park between the Red Sox and Dodgers. But Boston ended up celebrating in Los Angeles after its Game 5 win.

On its surface, the 2024 World Series seemingly would have been the perfect fit for Carter and Ross¡¯ list. Yankees vs. Dodgers. New York and Los Angeles. Big teams in big markets with big stars. But it was never an option. The two decided that if they were going to take in a Fall Classic, it wouldn¡¯t be at Dodger Stadium.

¡°Driving up the 110 [freeway in Los Angeles] is not on anyone¡¯s bucket list,¡± Carter said. ¡°... It would probably be easier to get to Tokyo.¡±

So to Tokyo they will go. Ross will be rooting for his beloved Dodgers while Carter, who also grew up a Dodgers fan, will be wearing Cubs gear because he likes ribbing his friend whenever possible.

¡°My allegiance now is entirely to whatever will make him upset,¡± Carter joked.

They identified the 2025 Tokyo Series as something they wanted to be a part of as soon as it was announced last July. The timing is beyond perfect, too, because the Grand Sumo Wrestling Tournament -- which was already in their plans -- is taking place from March 9-23 in Osaka. Carter and Ross left for Japan on March 12 and will spend four days in Osaka before heading to the country¡¯s capital city for the baseball leg of the excursion. It will be their first trip that features multiple events on their list.

At their current pace, Carter and Ross will achieve their ¡°25 to 75¡± goal well before they reach their mid-70s. It¡¯s an undertaking rooted in friendship, curiosity and sports yet requires a tremendous amount of discipline, planning and money to pull off. (Their sponsorship deal with Texas-based company Bucket List Events helps with the funding.)

They already have event No. 14 set in stone: the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. A Formula One race, the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race and a stage of the Tour de France (outside of France, obviously) will follow in some order.

As Carter said, this remarkable journey is progressing quickly. Come Tuesday, he is looking forward to enjoying the moment and immersing himself in whatever the Tokyo Series has to offer.

¡°It starts with just the rich tradition, and then you sprinkle on top of that these numerous global stars that are going to be participating,¡± he said. ¡°¡­ The cheering and the chanting, the reaction to the players, how the fans treat one another, including the foreigners that are there to enjoy both teams -- and just see the spectacle.¡±