What is your favorite sport(s) and why?

[CH David]

So in this world, there are tons of sporting events that people flock to by the thousands. Whether it is any of the four major sports in America, Baseball, American Football, Basketball, and Hockey, or Football (Soccer), Rugby, Austrailian Rules Football, Cricket, among others that I either don't know or can't think of at the moment. But what of all the sports in the world, what are your favorites, what draws you to have to either watch them on television, listen to them on the radio, or actually go to the game or match. This isn't a countdown of your favorite sports, it is just any sports that you always keep up with, and why. For me, it is quite simple, and three of the four major sports in America.

Baseball- Now those of you that know me, I am one of the WZ residential baseball buffs. I have been around baseball for about 18 of the 19 years I have been alive. Growing up I used to live and breathe baseball. To quote James Earl Jones "Baseball was life." I would play catch with my dad everyday, go hit some baseballs with friends, play house leagues. I have been around it basically my whole life, and it is one of the main reasons I now want to go into sports broadcasting. I love watching games, whether it is my White Sox, or even the cross-towners, or hell even an out of town team, maybe Tampa vs. Boston if they are on or something. The numbers that go into a season, or even a career, are actually eye opening for me, when you realize how they progressed throughout careers. I also love the defense, so a 2-1 or 3-2 game is always interesting. That diving stop in the infield to keep a runner from going to third or scoring. An outfielder diving for a ball dropping fast to keep the runner from advancing to third, or if it is close enough, to keep them from tagging up and scoring. The outfielder on a dead sprint to the wall, leaping up and robbing a home run. And lastly, a pitcher making quality pitches on the corner, or coming in tight, up and in with a fastball, followed by changeup or curveball down and away. I live for those moments.

American Football- Well, growing up, my dad was never truly into football, at least not like he was into baseball, then when my parents got divorced, football went out the window completely for me. How is football one of my favorite sports you ask? I got back into football with my brother, about five years ago. We started watching the Bears every week, to see how they were going to fare. Well the first year they went 5-11. So my brother and I laughed and just enjoyed the football we were seeing, whether the Bears won or lost. The next season, the Bears turned it around and finished 11-5, and boy I tell you, I was so damn emotional during every game, didn't matter if they were down by 3 or 30, I was rooting as hard as I could. Plus it doesn't hurt that the Super Bowl is one of the biggest events of the year. The hits can be crazy, calls can be blown and not be reviewed on replay, the long touchdowns, the long field goals. Those tough extra yards for the 1st down. It is America's favorite current time (yes I made that up). But where I said mostly offensive related things, touchdowns, field goals, tough extra yards, as with all sports, I love defense. The sack in the waining seconds of the half or the end of the game. That timely interception or stop at the line of scrimmage. The broken up pass. Hot damn I want regular season now for both college and NFL.

Hockey- Why hockey and not basketball? Simple really. A) I live in Chicago, and next to the Bears, Blackhawks tickets are one of the toughest tickets in town to get. For about 30-40 years, they were the toughest ticket to get, even more so than the Bears. B) Hockey is one of the fastest, and arguably the most enduring sport to play. It is so fast paced, especially in the playoffs, that if you "take a shift off" and not play your hardest, your lapse will affect you and your team somehow. The hits always come, and how teams come back from them shows a lot of toughness. Plus there is a danger factor with skates, as unfortunately evidenced a few times. Player's throats have been cut with skates that accidentally come flying up, I would post videos, but it is fairly graphic, and I just don't feel like looking them up. Not to change any way I look at hockey. It is about defense. Cristobal Huet stood on his head in the last game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks in the playoffs. He took the loss, but he was stellar. Goalies have to stop pucks usually traveling a good 70-80 mph, and sometimes, if you have to stop Zdeno Chara, who can hit a puck 105.4 mph. That in itself earns my respect, but to stand on your head, facing possibly 40 shots, maybe letting in one, . Defense is the key to hockey, even though in the NHL they are trying to be more offensive-oriented.

So those are my favorite sports and why. What are yours?

 

[Ferbian]

I know this thread is pretty old (well at least 8 months or so) but I'm not risking a duplicated thread, so I'm writing in this, thanks for stealing my thread idea.. almost a year before me CH heh.

My favorite sport is gonna have to be Boxing, a sport I've grown up watching, watching danish boxers boxing on a regular basic (like once every 1 or 2 month) of course there were a lot more mainstream danish boxers back then, guys like Mads Larsen, Mikkel Kessler wasn't on the rise back then just yet, but he was out there, and Brian Nielsen (one of the few Danish heavyweight boxers that I know of).. and the only danish guy to actually face Tyson too, shame he acted disrespectful towards him although.

I've always had a love for boxing, the whole fighting part has always fascinated me, this sport has always gotten me pumped up so heavily, and I've always said that if I was to work 1 sport, it would be boxer.
The whole small ring also does a thing for me, the constant action, constant clashing ,there's not really any boring moment where you have to concentrate on 10000 different players on a huge field of 10000 yards size (exageration I know, but I'm getting a point across)

The nature of Boxing is what got me to grow into loving Wrestling so quickly, the whole ring basic, and the whole concept of fighting also interests me, I find it odd although that I don't find any interest in MMA, it must be the increased chance of a quick ended match, as opposed to boxing matches which can easily go for quite a few rounds, and wrestling which puts on a massive show no matter what (seeing as Boxing matches usually focus on 1 match as opposed to wrestling)

So boxing is my favorite sport.

 

[The People's Peep]

My favorite sport is baseball. when i was a kid, my whole family watched baseball, so i grew up watching it. I picked up on all the rules and soon enough i just became addicted to it. I am a die-hard Yankee fan. My obsession with baseball and the yankees is almost sick. i love baseball. its just an amazing thing. the most memorable moments happen in baseball. the most unbelievable things happen. if anyone has watched baseball tonight on ESPN, you probably know Tim Kurkjian. If you ever listened to him talk about the game, then you know why the game is amazing. i mean, after the world series i basically go into depression.

recently hockey has been sprinting up my ladder of favorite sports, even passing american football. but i dont think anything can surpass baseball for me.

 

[Da Prophet]

My favourite sport would be Australian Rugby League.The game is just so fun to play and you really see the passion that the players put into the game's.The game can be played for guys who are fast,slow,skinny,fat.It is really just an everybody's game, and the players seem to really love playing.

The only problem is the head officers of our game.Thaey mess the game up with there little stupid rules.

But this is my favourite sport, even if the guys up stairs mess up half the time.

 

[Josefien]

Tennis.

When I grew up, tennis was pretty much unavoidable here in Germany. You had Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Michael Stich etc. They were all over the media and tennis was very popular (shame it isn't anymore). My Dad always watched tennis with me, so it's just something that connected us, too. Now as a kid, I didn't get all of the rules right away, but I grew accustomed to them and eventually understood them.

What I like about tennis is the athleticism of the players.
I know many people who underestimate tennis and think it's easy, but those players sometimes have to go for 3 or more hours and they can't rest and rely on another teammate to do the work.
Another thing I like are the movements in general. Call me crazy, but some players just look so graceful and elegant. Poetry in motion I guess.
In comparison to another popular sport in Germany like football (or soccer), you know something has to happen in tennis. The football games I went to as a kid often ended 0-0 and it was just so damn boring to me.
And there's the fact that you can pretty much watch tennis every day (except during the off-season which isn't that long) or at least look at livescores or whatever. It's always present.

 

[Dave]

Personally, I have no other sport in my life that I care as much about as Football (Soccer). For the remainder of this thread though, I will be calling it football.

For the better part of two decades, I have been watching football and it is all my family talk about. My dad, my mum, my grandfather, my uncles, all of them are absolutely dedicated to football and will talk about it until there is nothing left to say. I think it is probably the reason why my brother has completely turned away from sport. It is as though he has been over-saturated and it has caused him to just give up on it. However, I went in the opposite direction and have immersed myself in it since I was very young.

I was taught, at a very young age, that you could either support Celtic or Rangers and that was the end of it. I had a fondness for my Grandfather and followed him into Celtic following. I have never regretted the decision I made to get involved in football and have played it at a youth level. It has brought me some of the best and most exciting moments of my life and no other sport is able to give me the same thrill as football does. I watch it religiously and although my team has mixed fortunes, the support base we have is just phenomenal. I love being a part of the Celtic Football Club and I love football.