Tonight's
Top 10 List: By George Stahl NEW YORK (AQB)--Sunday is the best sports day of the year. That's it. No need to continue in 2000 - it doesn’t get any better than that. On no other day this year will as many people talk, watch or read about sports. That is what makes Super Bowl Sunday great - it’s a celebration of sports and life in the good ol’ U.S. of A. It’s as American as apple pie and politicians lying. But it got me thinking, if Sunday is the best sports day of the year, then what is the second, third, fourth, etc.? Before I could put my list together, I had to establish my criteria. What makes Super Bowl Sunday so special? The commercials? The gambling? The 24 hours of pregame shows? Well they are all part of it, but I wanted more general reasons why Sunday is the No. 1 sports day, such as:
So with this criteria of what makes a sports day great, I put together my list of the 10 best days of the sports calendar. I only picked those events that definitely occur every year, leaving out stuff like Game 7 of the World Series or the Olympics, because they only happen every few years. All 10 events on the list, though, have transcended their sport and their fan base to become a part of American society, at one level or another. Without further delay, here’s the list (with the day it occurs this year in parentheses next to it). Please e-mail me with your thoughts... 1. Super Bowl. (Jan. 30) You know you’re big when a movie like Black Sunday is made about you. 2. Baseball’s Opening Day. (April 4) No other day in American sports is as romanticized as the first day of baseball when spring is in the air and all is right with the world. That is, until your small-market team loses its first game to team with a payroll ten times as high. 3. First two days of the NCAA tournament. (March 16-17) Somehow the NCAA tournament had to get on this list - and be fairly high - because of all the people who don’t know a Blue Devil from a Bearcat but yet win thousands of dollars in the office pool. However, which day of the tournament is the biggest? Selection Sunday? The first round games? Sweet Sixteen? Final Four? Championship? I choose the first two days because everybody’s pool or pools are still eligible; more colleges are involved, so more people are interested; and some people specifically take off those days to watch the games for a certain sports media web site. Plus, it seems like there is always a little less work being done in offices around the country as people keep track of the afternoon games. Having said all that, though, a strong argument certainly could be made for Final Four Saturday. (see No. 7) 4. Kentucky Derby. (May 6) Another rite of spring. And another gambling event. People make pilgrimages annually to Churchill Downs or their local racetrack to pluck some money on the greatest two minutes in sports. 5. Thanksgiving. (Nov. 23) There is nothing like talking football with your septuagenarian uncle who hasn’t watched a football game since last November but insists for the umpteenth year in a row that the reason why Detroit has never been to the Super Bowl is because quarterback Bobby Layne drinks too much. 6. Game 1 of the World Series. (Oct. 21) In the fine wisdom of baseball, league officials insist on starting the World Series on a Saturday, the worst television night of the week. 7. Final Four Saturday. (April 1) The goal for this day is simple - try to have correctly predicted in your office pool at least three of the four teams playing. 8. New Year’s Day. (Jan. 1 - duh) Yes, you’ve already missed another one of the top ten sports days in the year. I’m sorry - I should have given you the heads up. How cruel is it that two of the best days occur so early in the year? New Year’s, though, has dropped down on the list because, despite all the bowl games, the one for the college football national championship is no longer played on this day. 9. Sunday at Masters. (April 9) A tradition unlike any other - mainly because it is a sporting event that set back race relations for many years. 10. Indianapolis 500. (May 28) This event certainly has dropped in significance because of all the chaos with the different racing leagues; however, it is probably the only auto racing event that has been able to enter into popular lexicon. As in, “Where do you think you’re driving? The Indianapolis 500?” I’m sure you disagree with many things, such as the fact that no NBA events are listed. However, I couldn't justify including any one day from the basketball year in the top 10. The first day of the season? Most people don’t even realize when the NBA starts. The first day of the playoffs? Get real. Game 1 of the Finals? It's not the same without Jordan. Some of the days, though, that just missed include the Army-Navy game, the first Sunday of the NFL season, Saturday/Sunday morning at Wimbledon, the final Saturday at the U.S. Tennis Open and the baseball All-Star game. And, oh yeah, the CFL Grey Cup on Nov. 5.
Back
to top
|
Today's Lineup | Sports
Pages | Newsstand | Sports
Links
Speak Out | Mailing
List | Spotters | About
Us | Home
Contact us at Info@ArmchairQB.com
