Sports
The Diamondbacks allow food into the stadium, provided it's in a clear bag. So one local fan is making his stadium meals gourmet.
By Cody Fitzpatrick
July 15, 2024
Dedicated Arizona sports fan Nathan Kropp brings his own food to Chase Field.Nathan Kropp
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Forget peanuts and Cracker Jacks. When you run into Nathan Kropp at an Arizona Diamondbacks game, you might find him chowing down on some swordfish, elk meatballs, cow-tongue tacos or even a whole Costco rotisserie chicken.
“Saturday,” he says, “we’re doing a 13-pound brisket my buddy’s gonna make, and I’m gonna take the full brisket to the game.”
On Thursday, he showed up at Chase Field with a 35-ounce Tomahawk steak.
The Diamondbacks, it turns out, allow outside food into the stadium, provided it’s in a clear plastic bag. This gave Kropp, a 34-year-old insurance adjuster and aspiring sports influencer, the idea to bring in the wackiest foods he can find, all on his year-long Arizona sports mission. Starting in June, he embarked on a quest to attend every Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns and Diamondbacks home game for a full year.
Kropp, known on social media as @MrAzSports, had long been making Arizona sports content, but it was the recent videos of his game day meals that really got people’s attention. The items, which on more pedestrian days might be shrimp co*cktail or a specialty stadium hot dog, are plated on his signature little wooden table, a cutting board that he hopes might someday include ad space for local restaurants or grocery stores.
Is Kropp a sports personality? A food critic? It’s tough to tell, but it makes sense that one of his inspirations is Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports.
“He has a lot of controversy around him, but he’s so creative,” Kropp says. “And his ‘One Bite’ (review series) with pizza is just such a fantastic way to market food.”
Kropp would like to someday have his own food-review empire — it’s just a matter of coming up with the right viral format.
click to enlarge
Kropp shares his customized stadium snacks on social media @MrAzSports. He recently took his adventures on the road.
Nathan Kropp
Another path he’s pursuing, though, is more traditional sports radio and broadcasting. On Saturday mornings, he’s been co-hosting sports show "The Weekend Warriors" on 1580-AM The Fanatic, an endeavor he took on two weeks ago when friends Ralph Romano and Neil Lynch invited him to join their team.
And, on Sunday mornings, he collects cases of water bottles at his church to hand out to those experiencing homelessness. He’s had a passion for doing this kind of work since his early twenties, and recently, he’s been tying it in with his love of fun food. Every month or two, he says, he’ll deliver food — donated from a local restaurant such as Burrito Express, or that he bought from Costco or prepared himself — to those in need.
For Kropp, this is part of his project of showing off stadium eats, and he’s looking for more restaurants and nonprofits to partner with as he feeds himself and others.
“These are really great people that sometimes are just down on their luck,” he says. “I just like making sure they’re fed.”
When he’s not at a sporting event, Kropp, who lives in north Phoenix with his roommate, can likely be found at a Valley restaurant.
“Anything that’s not really a big chain, that’s a local spot, that I can support local, that’s where I go,” he says. “Burrito Express, Chuckbox, Paradise Valley Burger Co., Aioli Gourmet Burgers… I’m a big burger guy, if you can’t tell.”
Kropp is a fan of burgers and of meat in general. One of his forthcoming Chase Field meals will be roasted alligator meat.
One can’t help but wonder why exactly Kropp does all these eccentric things. For fame? Maybe. To help others and spread joy? Probably that too. But no one could be this committed without also doing it for the love of the game.
“I just want to grow content and become a food guy,” he says.
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