Sporting events to covet
About 100 million people are expected to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. I guess I’ll be one of them.
I like the Super Bowl commercials. My wife and I love watching “The Puppy Bowl” on the Animal Planet cable television network. Each Super Bowl Sunday, the channel shows puppies from shelters playing on a football field. Kittens are brought out for the halftime show. It’s great television.
But the Super Bowl feels flat. The crowd is full of VIPs instead of rowdy fans. Conference championship Sunday is much more exciting.
Here is a list of my favorite sporting events, ranked from highest to lowest. The Super Bowl is not at the top. The Lingerie Bowl is not shown at my house, so I’m not able to give an accurate assessment of that.
The World Cup — I have a soft spot for soccer (or football to the rest of the world) because it’s the only organized sport I ever played in a league.
I don’t watch college soccer or the American professional league. Only the best, every four years.
The BCS National Championship game — I don’t like how the two teams are selected, and more often than not it’s not a good game, but it’s college football and college football is the best.
The Masters — When it comes to golf, I only watch the four major tournaments and, really, I only WATCH The Masters.
It’s a harbinger of spring and I got in the habit of watching because it’s always held the weekend closest to my birthday.
The World Series — The only sport that I think Fox does a good job with and, though baseball will never again have the mystique it had for my father’s generation, it’s still special. Watching four or more games is a big-time commitment, though.
The Kentucky Derby — About two minutes of excitement, then you can get on with your life. It’s not something that takes up your entire Saturday.
The Super Bowl — I prefer the college variety, but football of any kind is still one of God’s true gifts.
The Final Four — Of course, the fact that my team likely won’t return to this event until I’m a grandfather plays a big role in this, but the best games are always played the two previous weekends and putting this event in a covered football stadium takes the air out of it.
The Women’s College World Series — Co-eds playing a version of a sport I love. What’s not to like?
The Daytona 500 — I’ve been to a race at Martinsville and liked it. I sort of keep up with who’s in the points lead so I won’t seem ill-informed. That’s about it.
The Olympics — I try. Lord knows I love my country, but I just can’t get interested.
The NHL Finals — My wife watched when the Carolina Hurricanes were in the finals and I guess I caught a little of it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go next door to see it, as one of my favorite phrases goes.
The NBA Finals — I’ve tried to think of a scenario in which I would watch the NBA Finals. I guess it would take a relative being on one of the teams.
And he would have to start.
The World Series of Poker, UFC, any kind of “X Games” — Only for the geekiest of the sports geeks. If my son ever watches any of these, I will know I have failed.
City editor Brent Lancaster can be reached at blancaster@thetimesnews.com or 506-3040. Read his blog at brentsblog.freedomblogging.com.