Thursday, March 27, 2008

Top 10 Most Underrated Things In Sports

Here is your third installment of a new column called 'Top 10 Things In Sports', a new weekly thing that I will do.  Here is your list of the Top 10 things in sports that we think are way underrated and want more people to pay attention to.

#10 Arena Football
I am definitely not arguing that Arena Football should become as mainstream as the No Fun League and college football, but it's still a good substitute in the spring and a fun sport to watch.  There is tons of scoring and it's very easy to understand, other than a few strange rules.

#9 Minor League Baseball
If you are a Red Sox or Yankee fan than you have permission to skip this one, but not all you fans of the twenty MLB teams that alway suck.  Sometimes it is good to get away from your lousy Kansas City Royals and go watch some good baseball.  Minor League baseball games are cheap and usually pretty entertaining; maybe you'll even see a future MLB superstar, or you know, Roger Clemens.

#8 The Winter Olympics
From what I have looked at, the difference in television ratings between the winter and summer olympics is kind of staggering.  The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece reached over 3.9 billion people while the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy reached a measly 200,000.  Even if that first number is a little high and the second, a little low, that is still quite a big hole in between them.  During the 2010 Winter Games at least check out curling in the middle of the day; it's kind of like icy shuffleboard without the old people smell.
 
#7 ESPN's Feel Good Stories
I know it may seem cheesy, but sometimes it's good to read something outside of the world of competitive sports.  E-Ticket, an ESPN weekly feature, features stories about different people around the sports world and most of the stories are very creative and fresh.  One of my favorite's features the journey of a North Alaskan high school football team.
 
#6 Outside of America - Every Sport Other Than Soccer
I only know a few people outside of the United States, but from what I have talked to them about soccer, it really is the phenomenon that everyone thinks it is.  If you are a big sports fan in the U.S. than just take a second to think about how much time you spend either playing sports or watching sports in a week; chances are that time is divided between more than one sport.  The rest of the world loves sports too, but the difference is that they spend all of that same time on one sport, soccer.  It's encouraging to see the NFL, MLB, and NBA go international and hopefully that will continue.
 
#5 Falling Asleep To Golf
Don't get me wrong, golf is great game, but if you are ever looking for a Sunday nap just turn some golf on TV.  Golf is a great bonding thing for father and sons to do, but you also have to admit that it's not the most exciting thing to watch either.  If you are feeling a little pekid next Sunday take a nap with some golf.  It'll do the body good.

#4 Fantasy Sports
To outsiders fantasy sports seem nerdy and pointless, but I really think that case can be made for just about anything in life.  If you are a big sports buff, and never been in a fantasy sports league, the least you can do is try it out.  Pick your favorite sport and if you really put some work into your team it will open up an entirely different side of sports to you.

#3 Crowd Brawls
When I think of crowd brawls the first thing that comes to mind is the infamous 'Malice in the Palace' involving Ron Artest, the Indiana Pacers, and the Detroit Pistons.  Personally, I think as long as no one dies or gets seriously injured, they are pretty funny.  The fact that athletes like Artest, who are getting paid millions of dollars, can't keep their cool when fans are talking shit about their momma is a pretty curious thing.  And the face of the fan who is about to get pummeled by a completely-built athlete, that's pretty funny too.

#2 X Games
I would hardly consider myself a skater or a punk, but many people associate the X Games with those two terms.  Let me just tell you, if you fall into that category than you are definitely missing out.  Some of the stuff those guys like Shaun White throw down is just amazing and seems to defy gravity.  When I go through my mid-life crisis I am going to make sure to try out for the X Games; or at least ride a dirt-bike or something.

#1 Rushing The Court/Field
People don't realize it, but when they are watching a college basketball game like Kansas State play #1 Kansas at Kansas State, they just want to see the crowd rush the court at the end of the game.  A college team can completely suck, but if they pull off an amazing upset at home and the crowd gets to rush the basketball court or football field than the season is suddenly a success.  Or at least should be cause of the awesomeness of it.  Which is why I think rushing the court and rushing the field should be introduced in pro sports.  How awesome would that be?  I'll tell you,  it'd be like being in college for life.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rushing the field would be a big deal to you, since you're always the underdog.

...and where are you getting your numbers about the Olympics?

Your writing style shows obvious signs of immaturity; if you want to write with the big boys, try to grow up a bit.

Hook 'em

Oh, and as for your Lambeau Leap, likening it to a precise art is like calling Cheez Whiz and crackers fine dining.

Thank you.

And pekid isn't a word.

Anonymous said...

This is an interesting post. You should submit it at yearblook.com/submit.php. Yearblook is a competition to find each day’s best blog posts. At the end of the year, the 365 best posts (1 from each day) will be published in a book (a real, printed book, you will find it on Amazon).

If you’re not ready to post your articles yet, browse around and see if there is anything you find interesting.

Also, since we’re just starting out, we would love any feedback you are willing to share.

bookie software said...

I think that it is great when you see a lot of people rushing to the court/field. It shows appreciations for the players.