Here’s the third installment of a new column called ‘Top 10 Things In Sports,’ a new weekly thing I’ll be doing. Here’s his list of the top 10 things in sports that we think are underrated and want more people to pay attention.
#10 sand soccer
I’m definitely not arguing that Arena Football should become as popular as No Fun League and college football, but it’s still a good substitute in the spring and a fun sport to watch. There’s tons of scoring and it’s very easy to understand apart from some weird rules.
#9 Minor League Baseball
If you’re a fan of the Red Sox or Yankees, you’re allowed to skip this one, but not every fan of the top twenty MLB teams always sucks. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the lousy Kansas City Royals and go see some good baseball. Minor league baseball games are cheap and usually quite entertaining; maybe you’ll even see a future MLB superstar, or you know, Roger Clemens.
#8 The Winter Olympics
From what I’ve seen, the difference in television ratings between the Winter and Summer Olympics is staggering. The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, reached more than 3.9 billion people, while the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, reached a measly 200,000. Even if that first number is a bit high and the second number is a bit low, there is still a big gap between them. During the 2010 Winter Games, at least check out curling in the middle of the day; it’s a kind of frozen yew without the old smell.
#7 ESPN Feel-Good Stories
I know it may sound corny, but sometimes it’s good to read something outside of the world of competitive sports. E-Ticket, a weekly feature on ESPN, features stories about different people in the world of sports and most of the stories are very creative and fresh. One of my favorite features is the journey of a high school football team from northern Alaska.
#6 Outside America: All Sports Other Than Soccer
I only know a few people outside of the United States, but from what I’ve told them about soccer, it really is the phenomenon that everyone thinks it is. If you’re a huge sports fan in the US, take a second to think about how much time you spend practicing or watching sports in a week; time will most likely be split between more than one sport. The rest of the world loves sports too, but the difference is that they spend all that time on just one sport, football. It’s encouraging to see the NFL, MLB and NBA going international and hopefully that will continue.
#5 Fall asleep playing golf
Don’t get me wrong, golf is a great game, but if you’re ever looking for a Sunday nap, just watch some golf on TV. Golf is a great bond between father and sons, but it must also be admitted that it is also not the most exciting thing to watch. If you’re feeling a little pekid next Sunday take a nap with some golf. It will do the body good.
#4 Fantasy Sports
To outsiders, fantasy sports seems nerdy and pointless, but I really think that case can be made for just about anything in life. If you’re a big sports fan and you’ve never been to a fantasy sports league, the least you can do is give it a try. Pick your favorite sport and if you really put some work into your team it will open up a whole different side of sports for you.
#3 crowd fights
When I think of crowd fights, 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 gets killed or seriously injured, they’re pretty fun. The fact that athletes like Artest, who are paid millions of dollars, can’t keep their cool when fans talk shit about his mom is pretty funny. And the face of the fan who is about to get hit by a fully built athlete, that’s pretty funny too.
#2 Games X
I would hardly consider myself a skater or a punk, but a lot of people associate the X Games with those two terms. Let me tell you, if you fall into that category, you are definitely missing out. Some of the stuff that guys like Shaun White throw out is just amazing and seems to defy gravity. When I get through my midlife crisis, I’ll make sure to try out for the X Games; or at least ride a dirt bike or something.
#1 Running the court/field
People don’t realize it, but when they’re watching a college basketball game like Kansas State vs. #1 Kansas at Kansas State, they just want to see the crowd running down the court at the end of the game. A varsity team can absolutely suck, but if they pull off an amazing upset at home and the crowd rushes to the basketball court or football field, then the season is suddenly a success. Or at least it should be because of how cool it is. That’s why I think court running and field running should be introduced in professional sports. How amazing would that be? I’ll tell you, it would be like being in college for life.