One thing that’s clear about Americans is that we can’t stand too much of the same thing. We need trendy gadgets and internet networks to pop-up every year. We change the channel more than we watch a single television program. We make playlists to avoid listening to an artist’s entire album, and god forbid if that artist doesn’t come out with unique material ever year.
Ok, so this kind of makes our society look shallow and impatient, and this can be true at times. But when this need for variety affects American sports I’ve got nothing to complain about. Variety is our the American sports world’s best quality.
For those of you who have ever seen a sports highlights program in any other country, you know what I’m talking about. Every game showcased is the same sport. The top ten plays all go down in the same way. The stat sheets and matchups all have the same format. Soccer, soccer, soccer (and in Canada and Russia, Hockey, hockey, hockey).
You’ve got to love that we have four seasons of major professional sports here in the states. We get four exciting months of playoffs from each team, overlapping seasons, and if that’s not enough, we’ve got NCAA march madness and BCS bowl games to boot. We’re so spoiled that we tend get bored of ESPN in the summer when all we’ve got is late season baseball highlights and over-extensive coverage of NFL training camps. Come to think of it, there isn’t any better conflict for a sports fan than to have their favorite hockey team battling for first place in the east, their NFL team playing for the last wild-card spot in the playoffs, and their NBA squad starting its third home-stretch of the season-all in one day.
We have more than just a variety of sports and seasons, because each sport has their own unique and thrilling aspects. Nothing compares with Joe Montana’s fourth quarter comeback with two minutes left in the NFC championship game. I could say the same for Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homerun in game seven of the 1960 World Series, or maybe Jordan’s jumper against the jazz to win the Bull’s sixth NBA championship. Don’t forget Wayne Gretzky’s hat trick and game winner in the ’93 NHL conference finals.
To celebrate this incredible variety, I made an up-to-date guide detailing the best way to watch each major professional sport in the states. Side note: Every sport’s final playoff game would have to be a must watch, so I’m excluding the playoffs from this guide to keep the, you know, variety.
NFL- Monday Night Football at a Local Bar
When your team is playing on Monday Night Football, there are three things assumed: 1)Your team is in the national spotlight, and the players and fans want to flex their muscles on national television. 2) The game is a rivalry or great matchup, given that ESPN chooses their matchups carefully to get big games on Monday night. 3) You don’t give a hoot about whatever is going on Tuesday. It’s Monday night football! Work/school can wait.
You may ask, why at a bar and not at the game? Hate to break it to you, but the NFL on an HD television can very easily best a stadium experience for this particular sport. In the stadium, it’s easy to get distracted by loud drunk fans, long lines and peanut gallery seats. In a bar you can see replays in HD, argue with other fans, and get your high-fives in-all while keeping warm.
MLB- A Saturday Night Ballgame in August with Post-game fireworks at your local stadium.
Baseball’s ballparks are second to none when it comes to a live experience. Comparing a stadium experience to a TV viewing is un-called for. Nothing is better than watching the home-team, eating peanuts and a hot-dog, singing “root-root-root for (insert favorite team)” during the seventh inning stretch, and watching day turn into night at the open and friendly atmosphere that is an MLB ballpark. And who can say no to free fireworks in the August night sky?
NBA- Lakers vs. Celtics, Christmas Day at home.
What’s a better Christmas present than watching the Lakers and Celtics matchup on Christmas Day? Sure, the players can’t enjoy working on the 25th, but back and home on your new Flat screen HD TV that you opened that morning, you can’t beat watching this classic rivalry to keep your Christmas spirit lingering. NBA is better to watch at home, because arenas can be disappointing. All the fake crowd noise and music during games makes the live experience a distracted one, and besides, you don’t want to be away from your family on Christmas.
NHL-Caps vs. Pens, Winter Classic, New Years Day
The NHL is really lucky to have two young stars taking over the league and saving the sport’s popularity in the US. They’ve also got another popular trend in the annual new year’s winter classic. This year the league came up with the brilliant idea of combining the two, with Crosby and Ovechkin facing off in this year’s outdoor game. It promises to be a great game, and hockey is without a doubt the best sport to watch live. The back and forth action, the constant hustle, the big saves; I can’t imagine how great this would be outdoors. Heck, this rivalry is a must-see on any given night.
So there you have it. We’ve got four major professional sports, with their own unique qualities, and incomparable ways to watch them. Other countries can stick to their soccer highlights, because I’m basking in this US variety. If only I had four bank accounts to afford those winter classic tickets…
