The college football bowl season started today. You've got college basketball going in earnest. All in all a pretty good day to watch sports. By no means is it the best day of the year to watch, but not bad not bad at all. So what are the best days of the year to watch sports? Here's how'd I'd rank the top 3 along with 3 that used to be can't misses. .
Top 3
1) Opening Two Rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament
Outside of the Olympics there isn't a purer couple of days in sports. I get that the NCAA basketball tournament makes millions of dollars and that there are college players out there more concerned with auditioning for the NBA. There are also 30 teams that might have just a handful of pro players among them, and they get to play right along the basketball royalty like North Carolina and Kentucky.
It's their chance to pull off an upset that can make a sport's fan believe anything is possible. Who can forget #15 seed over #2 seed games like Santa Clara over Arizona in Steve Nash's coming out party?
#16 seed Princeton nearly knocking off an Alonzo Mourning led #1 seed Georgetown team in 1989 was unbelievable. Sports don’t get much better than the early rounds of the NCAA tournament.
2) Super Bowl Sunday
You know what's fun about the Super Bowl? Just about everyone watches it. There are Super Bowl parties at homes, sports bars, restaurants etc etc. A few years ago when all the games were blowouts, it was 2 weeks worth of hype then letdown. In recent years the games have been exciting and close. I think the NY Giants New England Patriots game was one of the best football games I've ever seen.
3) Sunday at the Masters
My Mom and my Aunt never watch sports, not even the Super Bowl. They could tell you barely tell you the difference between a basketball and football. Sunday at the Master's though got them to watch sports at least for a little while on two occasions, Jack Nicklaus's 1986 Master's win and Tiger Wood's 1997 Master's win. Things happen at Augusta National that don't happen at any other major. The forgiving fairways and lightening quick greens give the older guys a chance, and on the back nine you can make 3 birdies in a row or 3 bogeys. You can shoot 31 or 41. Even if you're not a golf fan you can enjoy the drama this event usually has.
Top 3 that used to be can't miss days
1) The NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
In the 80s this used to be nearly as big the All-Star game itself. Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Dr. J were some the NBA's biggest stars and they participated and did mind blowing stuff. It really was can't miss TV.
Who won it last year? I think Dwight Howard won it recently maybe Nate Robinson? I can't remember. It ain't what it used to be when guys like Lebron and Kobe are watching from the sidelines.
2) New Year's Day College Football
January 1st was college football. The Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl were among a bunch of games that day. If you played on New Year's Day you had a great season. I'll never forget January 1, 1991. Georgia Tech beats Nebraska in the afternoon in the Citrus bowl, then stay up and watch Colorado and Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Both games had direct impact on the national championship race. That will never happen again. These days we get 7-5 Northwestern and 7-5 Texas Tech in the Ticket City Bowl as part of the fun.
There are still BCS games on New Year's Day, and it's a good day, but not what it used to be.
3) Major League Baseball's Opening Day
It's still a big day, but years ago this was stop the presses take the day off from work kind of stuff. I'm not sure if it's because the NCAA basketball tournament is going on, or if it's because baseball now trails football as America's favorite sport. Maybe it because there are still 161 more games to go and baseball will be played until the end of October or early November. In any case call me up after the All-Star break when the playoff races get interesting.
