With March Madness reaching its climax this weekend, one of the most exciting sports months of the year has come to a close. However, is it the best sports month of the year? This debate has raged among enthusiasts for many years. With the excitement of college basketball beginning to wane, and the doldrums of early spring sports setting in, I decided to arrive at an answer-what is the best sports month of the year?
In the spirit of the Final Four, the top four months will face off to determine the ultimate sports month of the year. Criteria include the number of professional/collegiate sports played in each month, the importance of the games played and the overall passion and exuberance of sport fans across America during the particular month.
With this all in mind, the Final Four months competing for the ultimate sport month of the year are January, March, May and October.
First semifinal: January vs. October
In January, sports fans can enjoy hockey and basketball at both the collegiate and professional level. These seasons have reached their midpoints and teams are in their best form. The jewel of January, however, is football. Jan. 1, fans are glued to their TVs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with constant quality college football on the air. As exciting as college football is, the NFL playoffs may be even more exciting. The entire month of January features the drama and excitement of the NFL playoffs, which all leads to the sports fan's biggest national holiday of the year: Super Bowl Sunday.
As exciting as college football and NFL postseason may be, they often feature blowouts and fail to live up to their pregame expectations. That is why the nod goes to October in the first semifinal. In October, college football has reached conference play and each Saturday features great rivalries and potential upsets. Plus, it is more fun to follow 13 games on a Sunday as opposed to two. Plus, baseball also has its playoffs in October. All of these elements combine to place October in the final.
Second semifinal: March vs. May
March Madness truly lives up to its name, as sport fans across America fill out their brackets and skip work to watch all 32 opening round games Thursday and Friday. The NCAA tournament is full of the passion and flair that make college sports so special. Although May features the NBA and NHL playoffs, a certain amount of fan passion is missed. Furthermore, upsets are far less likely to occur in the pro playoffs as postseason play is a best-out-of-seven series.
The final: March vs. October
This leads to the final of the ultimate sport month of the year. Which month will triumph-March or October? Each month contains various sports in season; October has NFL and college football, while March includes college/professional hockey and basketball. The difference between the two lies in postseason play. March Madness displays its great basketball and upsets, but most often these upsets are found in the early rounds of the tournament; the big boys often compete in the anticlimactic Final Four. In addition, most people do not follow NCAA basketball except for March Madness.
The Major League Baseball playoffs in October epitomize sport drama. Magnified under a microscope, each play in the playoffs can spell doom for a team. Fans across the nation cheer for their team, or if their team is not in postseason play, against the Yankees. The playoffs lead to the centerpiece of American sports: the World Series. The two surviving teams face off in the climax of a brutal, roller coaster ride of a six-month season for baseball's top prize. For my money, there is nothing more dramatic or exciting than game seven of the World Series.
So there you have it, October is the ultimate sports month of the year.
