Today is both opening day in baseball and the national championship in college basketball. Oh and by the way, Tiger Woods is fielding questions from the media at The Masters. Can a single day in sports be greater than today? Seriously, as a sports enthusiast, I have a full blown hard on (and thankfully I don't have to work until tonight). Now obviously opening day and the national championship don't always coincide (right?), but it got me thinking nonetheless. What is the best day of the year to be a sports fan? Of course, a lot of this has to do with personal preference, but I'll run through some of the top options. If I forget a big one feel free to call me out on it. We'll start with what I consider to be the best....
Opening Day in baseball- Football has definitely taken over as America's number one sport, but I still think that opening day is the best day to be a sports fan. Baseball fans all across the country are optimistic about their team's chances for success in the upcoming season and let me tell you that you don't find that kind of optimism that often. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the season sort of sneaks up on us. We know that Spring Training is going on, but we don't really pay attention to it. In football, on the other hand, there is so much attention paid to the pre-season that we sort of know which teams are going to do well and which teams don't have a chance at making the playoffs. In baseball, every team thinks they have a shot (except the Bluejays this year). The perfect example is the Tampa Bay Rays of 2007. Everyone picked them to finish 5th in the AL East, but they won the division and went to the World Series.
The Superbowl- The Superbowl has almost become more of an event than a football game. It's still a great day, don't get me wrong, but most fans don't have a dog in the fight and a large portion are more interested in the commercials than the actual game.
The BCS National Championship- I watch it every year, but I usually don't care who wins because my teams (Notre Dame/Syracuse) aren't in it. I actually think that New Year's Day is a better day for college football even though the games don't mean anything, whereas the BCS National Championship game does.
The Kentucky Derby- The most exciting two minutes in sports is very cool and I watch it every year to see which South American jockey Max's dad has gambled on and because it's easily accessible. What I mean by that is that you get all the information you need to know in the pre-race show and then you get the immediate pay off with the race. This makes for exciting television, but it's not really an event that consumes a sports fan's day. I mean, I usually don't even realize that it's the day of the Kentucky Derby until an hour or two before the race.
Selection Sunday- Hopefully this day doesn't get ruined by expanding the field to 96 teams, but Selection Sunday is awesome. There's drama (who gets in, who gets left out), intrigue (which other team's are in your team's bracket), analysis (who do the experts like), and participation by the fan (filling out your bracket). Also you have the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 championship games earlier in the day.
When it comes to college basketball, I think this is the best single day of the year. Of course the first weekend of the NCAA tournament is better, but that's a four day stretch. The national championship is great too, but I rarely care about the outcome. That being said, let's go Butler (If you can't beat them, join them).
The (first day of the) NFL Draft- In case you weren't aware, this is now a Thursday night primetime event, so it's hard for me to evaluate. In the past, the first day of the draft was a Saturday and it lasted for a solid 7 hours. I used to write down the team name, the draft pick, the draft pick's position, and where the draft pick went to college for all of the first round picks. I would literally watch the entire first round non stop for 4 hours. Now this is without a doubt a great sports day and it has received more and more attention as the NFL has ascended to the top of the list in terms of popularity among sports, but it is too long to be considered as the best day of the year as a sports fan.
The NBA Draft- Better than the NFL Draft in the sense that it's always been a Thursday night primetime event and that it moves much quicker. The problem with the NBA Draft is that (well first of all not enough people like/follow the NBA) outside of the top 5 picks, it's all freshmen and Europeans that no casual fan has ever heard of.
Sunday at The Masters- We are less than a week away, but even if we weren't this would definitely still be on the list. I don't care who's in contention, I'll be watching. Golf is definitely more of an old timer's sport, but if there's one day of the year to watch it's the Sunday of the Masters. CBS and Jim Nantz aren't joking when they say that it's a tradition unlike any other.
The Daytona 500- Maybe I pull this card too much, but I work in sports and I can't tell you who won this race and it happened about a month and a half ago. All I know is that there was a pothole that they had to replace about 37383 times. Also, the only reason that I know that the race takes place in mid-February is because I was in Florida with my family during Winter Break in highschool when Dale Earnhardt died.
The HR Derby- Who won it last year? It's entertaining to watch, but it probably doesn't even deserve to be considered. Speaking of which.....
All-Star Saturday Night in the NBA- You have the 3-point contest and the dunk contest (as well as the Shooting Stars and the Skills Challenge) which are consistenly a let down year after year. Let me know when LeBron decides to participate and then I'll care.
Week 1 of the NFL- A hugely underrated day in sports. This might be a top 3 day for me. Baseball's opening day still takes the cake for the reasons I mentioned above, but I find myself watching pre-season NFL games which means that I'm anxiously waiting for the games to actually count and this is the first day that they do. Also, fantasy football is an enormous industry nowadays and this is the first time that you get to see your team in action. The first day of the college football season is great too, but the fantasy factor gives the NFL the edge.
The presentation of the Heisman trophy- Although I can rattle off the past 20-25 winners, it's usually pretty clear who the winner will be. Also, I prefer the one on one interviews from the NBA/NFL drafts as opposed to the ones Kirk Herbstreit and Chirs Fowler do during the ceremony. And by the way, the winners of the award usually don't pan out in the NFL. See Wuerffel, Danny.
The Men's Lacrosse National Championship Game- This has no business being on this list, but Syracuse basketball lost to Butler and the Bluejays are destined to finish in 5th in the AL East, so the Syracuse lacrosse team is really all I'm hanging on to right now. This event takes place every year on Memorial Day, but it starts at 11 a.m., which is an absolute joke.
The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition- I can't get enough of this event. Not only do the competitors enter like they're WWE wrestlers, but they compete for what is called The Mustard Belt. Also, national pride is on the line as the top dogs (no pun intended) are American (hero) Joey Chestnut and Japan's finest Takeru Kobayashi.
If I had to rank my top 5, I'd go:
1.) Opening Day in Baseball
2.) Selection Sunday
3.) Week 1 of the NFL
4.) Sunday at the Masters
5.) The NBA Draft
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1 comment:
i completely agree with the lax national champ being on the list. whether it is syracuse or not, the game is always a dogfight and there is usually nothing else on after the memorial day parade. it is a great american tradition to hear Quint Kessenich talk about man down opportunities and to see his demonstrations of the most average moves at halftime of the game. well, hey, he IS the expert right? don't be ashamed of the lord of the rings aka syracuse lacrosse. its an end of may tradition of excellance.
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