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The Most Important Sporting Event

Diane

Diane

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What sporting event do you consider to be the most prestigious? The Masters, the Super Bowl, the World Series, The Westminster Dog Show or something else?
 
Thats a tough one but I would have to say the Nathans Hot Dog eating contest.
 
Although I think the Kentucky Derby is a close 2nd - I still vote for Westminster as being number 1.
 
Ummm. I think it would depend on the people involved and what they are a fan of. But in my mind, it would have to be the Olympics.
 
World Cup or perhaps FA Cup since it is annual like the others. World Cup is once every 4 years, like the Olympics.
 
UEFA Champions League Final for me.
 
Although I like the Super Bowl, and the Masters/Open golf tournaments, my personal favorite is the Little League World Series. :D
 
March Madness!
 
Tour de France. An absolutely epic event.
 
The Olympic Games for me. I think of Wimbledon as very prestigious also.

I am not sure about the dog show, because I didn't think of it as a sporting event! Isn't that more like a beauty pageant?
 
For me its the Stanley Cup finals. IMO, hockey is the greatest sport in the world and it doesnt get any better than the Stanley Cup finals.
 
I think that from a strictly American point of view it would have to be the Super Bowl. But from a world wide point of view it would be the World Cup.

The Olympics rank up near the top but the fact that it's held every four years doesn't really make it a "regular" sporting event. Even when it is an Olympic year, the fact that the Olympics are not about a single sport tends to put it in a category all by itself.

As far as the dog show is concerned, I wouldn't put it in the "sport" category at all unless you consider some fat lady running and jiggling all over the place while tethered to some overly coiffed Lhasa Apso - "sport".

Comedy, maybe.



-JP
 
I don't know if I would say the Super Bowl is the most important or prestigious but it is definitely my favorite sporting event.
 
JPsuff said:
I think that from a strictly American point of view it would have to be the Super Bowl. But from a world wide point of view it would be the World Cup.

The Olympics rank up near the top but the fact that it's held every four years doesn't really make it a "regular" sporting event. Even when it is an Olympic year, the fact that the Olympics are not about a single sport tends to put it in a category all by itself.

As far as the dog show is concerned, I wouldn't put it in the "sport" category at all unless you consider some fat lady running and jiggling all over the place while tethered to some overly coiffed Lhasa Apso - "sport".

Comedy, maybe.



-JP
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Isnt the World Cup also held every four years?
 
JB said:
Isnt the World Cup also held every four years?
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True, but Soccer (Football) is played all the time throughout the world, so the "regularity" of it is constant even if the "Championship" isn't.



-JP
 
JPsuff said:
True, but Soccer (Football) is played all the time throughout the world, so the "regularity" of it is constant even if the "Championship" isn't.



-JP
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SO is track and field, and many of the Olympic events. While the world cup is one of the biggest out there, you cannot use the argument that because the Olympics are played every four years (its 2, if you count Winter and Summer) so they cannot be included when the World Cup is done the same way.
 
GolferGal22 said:
I don't know if I would say the Super Bowl is the most important or prestigious but it is definitely my favorite sporting event.
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I don't know if I'd call it the most prestigious, but it is by far the most hyped sporting event in American sports. People who don't care a whit about football will often attend the game, given the opportunity, or attend "Super Bowl Parties" just to take part in the revelry.

Then there's "The Commercials". Honestly, does anyone ever talk about or anticipate the "World Series Commercials" or the "U.S.Open Commercials"?

It's often been said that for the true football fan, the season "ends" with the AFC/NFC Championship game and that the Super Bowl is more of an afterthought. The reason of course is that the Super Bowl is so overly-hyped that it becomes an extravaganza rather than just a game to decide the best team in football.


-JP
 
JB said:
SO is track and field, and many of the Olympic events. While the world cup is one of the biggest out there, you cannot use the argument that because the Olympics are played every four years (its 2, if you count Winter and Summer) so they cannot be included when the World Cup is done the same way.
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OK, name five friends who are devout "Track and Field" fans. Or "Curling" fans, or "Luge" fans.

Nobody (that I've ever met) has ever struck up a conversation with, "So what do you think of the 400 meter relay runners out there?"

Soccer is world wide, American football is always being discussed.

Track and Field?



Not so much.



-JP
 
JPsuff said:
OK, name five friends who are devout "Track and Field" fans. Or "Curling" fans, or "Luge" fans.

Nobody (that I've ever met) has ever struck up a conversation with, "So what do you think of the 400 meter relay runners out there?"

Soccer is world wide, American football is always being discussed.

Track and Field?



Not so much.



-JP
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I actually agree and disagree. I dont know 5 people that care about soccer either for that matter. But go to Bolt's hometown and ask them what the most important sport is? It is regional and that is why there is no correct answer. But the argument that because the Olympics is every four years when the World Cup is too, does not work. The Super Bowl is only once a year, but they play NFL games for months. Do the regular games become as important or prestigious? Of course not.

You could argue that guys like Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, etc... are far bigger stars than many athletes.
 
JB said:
I actually agree and disagree. I dont know 5 people that care about soccer either for that matter. But go to Bolt's hometown and ask them what the most important sport is? It is regional and that is why there is no correct answer. But the argument that because the Olympics is every four years when the World Cup is too, does not work. The Super Bowl is only once a year, but they play NFL games for months. Do the regular games become as important or prestigious? Of course not.

You could argue that guys like Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, etc... are far bigger stars than many athletes.
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Well, that depends on who you're talking to. I know many people who hang on every down of every game played in the NFL and they consider every game important because at the end of the season all that went before "mattered" in the final outcome. That's sort of like the "regional" argument.


BTW, did I actually see the word "agree" in your post? I mean, I know it wasn't "free standing", but hey... it was there. :D



-JP
 
To think that a regular season game matters as much as the Championship to fans just is crazy. Do you think Chiefs fans or Bucs fans care as much losing every week as they do when the playoffs roll around and the fans in those cities are missing.

But that is not really the question here. Your point was that the Olympics come every four years so it is hard to consider it. Yet the World Cup you considered at or near the top and it is also played only four years. You could argue that the sports played in the Olympics are less relevent (not sure that is the case) to that of soccer, but to rule them out because of how often they play it would also rule out the World Cup.
 
JB said:
To think that a regular season game matters as much as the Championship to fans just is crazy. Do you think Chiefs fans or Bucs fans care as much losing every week as they do when the playoffs roll around and the fans in those cities are missing.

But that is not really the question here. Your point was that the Olympics come every four years so it is hard to consider it. Yet the World Cup you considered at or near the top and it is also played only four years. You could argue that the sports played in the Olympics are less relevent (not sure that is the case) to that of soccer, but to rule them out because of how often they play it would also rule out the World Cup.
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I see the "Four Years" point that you're making, but to answer the original question: "What sporting event do you consider to be the most prestigious?", I'd still have to go with the World Cup over the Olympics (when comparing just those two).

The reason is that while both events represent many countries, the World Cup represents only one sport - and a sport that is truly a world wide sport as opposed to the Olympics, which represent many sports - most of which are rather parochial and truly "followed" by comparatively few people.

So while it may be "prestigious" in a Nationalistic sense for a country to be in the Olympics, most are regardless of whether or not they field a truly competitive athlete or team (like the Jamaican bobsled team), while the World Cup represents the "Best of the Best" in a single sport, so the "bragging rights" factor is far greater and thus more prestigious.



-JP
 
The one I never miss is the Super Bowl, but that is mainly for the commercials. However, I think the Olympics is the biggest, most prestigious "event."
 
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