Road (sports) is a term used in team sports to refer to a game or contest in which a team must travel to the opposing team's home venue, meaning they play outside of their own home facility. It is synonymous with the terms "away game" and "visiting game."
Overview
In organized sports, most professional teams represent cities or towns, while amateur teams often represent academic institutions. Each team maintains a home venue where it practices and hosts games. When a team is not the host, it is described as the road team, the visiting team, or the away team, and the contest is described as a road game or away game for that team. The venue itself is sometimes referred to as "the road" from the perspective of the visiting team. The hosting team is called the home team.
Home Advantage
The home team is generally considered to have a home advantage over the visiting team. This advantage is attributed to several factors, including:
- Familiarity with the local environment and facilities
- Shorter travel times and reduced fatigue
- The potential influence of a parochial home crowd on officials' decisions
In baseball specifically, home advantage includes familiarity with the home ballpark's outfield dimensions, the height of the outfield wall, the size of foul territory, and the location of in-play obstacles.
Travel and Logistics
When a team is not the host, it must travel to games, typically by bus or car—hence the term "road." For longer journeys, teams may travel by plane and often stay overnight in hotels when same-day return trips are not feasible. Professional teams commonly use charter flights or privately owned aircraft, particularly when scheduling involves back-to-back games. Extended sequences of consecutive away contests are referred to as road trips, which can last nearly two weeks in some leagues.
Historical Example
One of the most notable road trips in sports history was undertaken by the Dawson City Nuggets, who traveled approximately 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to Ottawa over several weeks using dog sleds, bicycles, trains, and ships to compete in the Stanley Cup challenge. The exhausted team was defeated by the Ottawa Hockey Club.
True Road Game
In U.S. college sports, particularly basketball, the term true road game has gained usage in the 21st century. This term distinguishes games played at an opponent's actual home venue from contests held at neutral sites, such as early-season tournaments (e.g., the Maui Invitational, Battle 4 Atlantis) or special events held on aircraft carriers or military bases.
Association Football
In European association football, away fans are often seated in designated sections of the stadium, sometimes separated from home supporters by police or stadium officials to prevent conflicts. At neutral-site matches—such as the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium or FIFA World Cup matches—tickets are typically allocated evenly between the two teams' supporters. This contrasts with North American sports, where relatively few fans typically travel to away games, with exceptions for teams with large national fan bases.
Related Terms
- Home (sports) — the counterpart concept referring to games played at a team's own venue
- Away colours — the alternate uniform kits worn by visiting teams in some sports
