With "March Madness", baseball season just around the corner, the football season winding down and the NBA and NHL playoffs lurking, March, April and May may well be the 3 best months of sporton the calendar. With that in mind, I set my mind to listing my 5 favourite events on the sporting calendar.
5) At the foot of my list, I was debating whether the NBA playoffs or NHL were more etched in my mind. After much deliberation, the NBA Playoffs are certainly more often at the forefront of my mind come late June/July. With football season over, Baseball season still waking up, the Celtics have annually kept me tuned into basketball deep into the postseason, with fascinating 7 game series. Although their are more upsets, 7 game series and drama in the NHL playoffs, the Bruins are on the receiving end of it more than dishing it out. |
| "Come on Tim" |
4) For 2 weeks in the summer, the sun is shining, birds are chirping and for a fortnight, Britons give Tennis more than a passing interest. That's right at four, it's Wimbledon. The summer of my childhood consisted of staying out alot later, because it was lighter, Big Brother was on the T.V (guilty pleasure, don't judge me) and for 2 weeks, i rabidly cheered for Tim Henman to win Wimbledon. Every year we were disappointed, but every year, whether playing well, or struggling Henman without fail managed to make it into the second week, and without fail managed to inexplicably fail just when the country is in Tennis euphoria. Henman made a habit of always being the bridesmaid, never the bride, but for how he captivated the British public for a small period of time every summer, he should be held in higher esteem than he is.
3) For 3 weeks every year, the NCAA Tournament takes centre stage. The unique set-up of the tournamnet (a 68 team knock-out) is gripping and creates tension, suspense and drama all in one. With games thick and fast and cinderella stories, big teams losing to the underdog and 3 weeks of Dick Vitale on commentary. It's sporting bliss. No doubt over the next 3 weeks, we will see buzzer-beaters, tears of joy/despair. The drama, upsets and crowd make the Tournament a daily F.A Cup. However, the best part of the whole of "March Madness" is predicting and following your bracket (you'll see my dismal attempt in the near future), with prizes, money etc to be won, over a million people will submit brackets on ESPN alone over the next 3 days.
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| "The Vince Lombardi Trophy" |
2) The greatest event on the North American sporting calendar, the Superbowl. The Superbowl as an event is usually the most wached sporting event of the year (flip-flopping with the Champions League final the last few years). The difference between the Superbowl and the World Series to me, is that since 2007, I have watched 2 World Series ('07 &10), as I had minimal interest in watching the Phillies, and even less interest in the Yankees. The two of them are like the two bullies at school fighting each other, you want both of them to get beaten up and lose, but can't resign yourself to the fact that one will win and their ego (in this case, fans ego's) skrocket to biblical heights.
Every year, the superbowl is on in my house, and every year there's an increasing number of people i know who watch and enjoy the "greatest show on earth" . Despite my 49ers being nowhere near the superbowl, every year, it seems to be 2 different teams, a different winner. The NFL's parity and salary cap make it the most balanced and arguably most entertaining league in any sport.
1) The perfect sporting event requires a monumental helping of tension, pressure and a reward at the end worth winning. The perfect sporting event needs to have you feeling like you're in the middle of two people having a huge row in a public place, where you fell all the tension in the room, where you are glued to the situation, and can't turn away. The perfect sporting event, is the Football League/Conference Playoffs. The drama of the two-legged semi finals is unrivalled in sport, the rewards so high, losing meaning the end of the season. Whether observing as a neutral or if your team is a part of it, the playoffs are something to be apart of every year. 4 years ago i witnessed my team, Oxford United lose to Exeter City on penalties after a two-legged semi-final. A feeling of bitterness to the opponent, anger towards...well everything, and a feeling of emptiness.
After that description, whats to love. Well last summer, I was on the other side of the playoff coin, witnessing Oxford defeat Rushden 2-0 after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, to secure a trip to the (new) home of English football, Wembley. At Wembley, nerves unrivalled, unmatched and unbeleivable, I saw my team beat York City and return to the Football League. A feeling every football fan should feel is the pain of relegation, the despair of missing out on promotion, but every fan like me, Blackpool, Millwall and Dagenham fans all did last year.
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