Top Ten Reasons Why We LOVE Sports: Day Three

#8) The Uniforms – Who doesn’t love it when they get that jersey they’ve been wanting for Christmas or the helmet that’s used as a chip and dip bowl for their birthday.  How about when it was jersey day at school?  Let me tell you, those were my favorite days.  Whenever I got the chance to rock my Emmitt Smith or Chris Spielman jersey, I was ecstatic. 

My first jersey I received though, was a Francesco Totti, club Roma jersey.  That’s right, my first jersey was of an Italian Futboler who I had never heard of.  The story is that my Grandfather went to Italy and decided to get me something.  A Totti jersey seemed to fit the bill.  I don’t remember how old I was when I got, five maybe, but I still have the jersey.  I love that thing.  I’ve never seen Totti play and I don’t know of his stats, but that jersey is special to me.  The first one always is.

Now time to talk about the jersey changes.  It happens all too often, sometimes good, sometimes turrible.  For example, Oregon Football.  I don’t get it.  Something like hundreds or thousands of different combinations.  That’s just ridiculous.  I like it when a team stays old school.  Teams that haven’t changed their uniforms in decades, sometimes centuries.  Uniforms that stand the test of time.  Those uniforms are the best.  Most teams out there don’t have that though, so they decide to suit up in some throwbacks.  Often times, the throwbacks are a combination of brown and yellow, blue and puke orange, or even Creamsicle.  Sometimes though, those throwbacks are just what your team needed and just what you wanted to see.

Whatever type of jersey you like though, I think we can all agree there is a certain love for the uniforms. 

Check in tomorrow for #7.

Top Ten Reasons Why We LOVE Sports: Day Two

#9) The Underdogs – Let’s face it; we used to be the underdogs.  I’m talking as a country.  Way before we knew how great sports were, America was fighting off the Goliath known as Britain.  It’s only natural that we root for the underdogs.  Of course, there is more than just people in the United States reading this so let me explain why we all love the underdogs.

To be an underdog you have to be the favorite to lose going into a game.  As humans, we are often considered only underdogs to Mother Nature, but we have found a way to beat her time and again.  We are the underdogs every single time though.  For those of you who don’t agree, tell me how much you like being rained on, struck by lightning, or having a hurricane come through your home town/state.  It’s because of those very reasons why we love underdogs. 

Just think about it.  The underdog comes in and win the game with all odds against them.  It is the ultimate definition of teamwork.  Look at some of the most recent underdog victories.  Texas A&M over Alabama.  Seattle over Green Bay, albeit with replacement refs. Golden State advances over Denver. The one game Chicago won over Miami in round 2 of the NBA Playoffs.  The 7 seeds advancing in the NHL Playoffs.  And you can’t leave out the always fantastic wins by underdogs in the NCAA Tournament. 

Then there’s the historic underdog wins.  Broadway Joe and the Jets beat Unitas and the Colts in SB III.  The Miracle on Ice.  Whenever Michigan finds a way to lose to incoming underdogs.  For example, Appalachian State in 2007 and Toledo in 2008.  Giants beat the undefeated Patriots in SB XLII.  Y. E. Yang over Tiger Woods.  Let’s never forget when the James Madison Dukes beat Virginia Tech in 2010.  The 2007 Fiesta Bowl.  All of Rocky Marciano’s career.  Hoosiers.  Texas Western.  Jimmy V and the Wolfpack.  Oh yeah, and the most important one, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

They were all great moments.  Moments that will last for a very, very long time.  Thank you Chuck Norris and remember the 5 D’s of Dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge. 

Check in tomorrow for #8.

Top Ten Reasons Why We LOVE Sports: Day One

Ask everyone you know why they love sports.  Each person will tell you something different.  You may agree with them.  You may disagree with them.  Really though, it doesn’t matter if we all love sports for different reasons.  As long as our beloved sports still exist, here’s my top 10 reasons why we LOVE them.

#10) The Offseason – Most sports fans probably don’t like the offseason at all, but there really is a lot to love about it.  The biggest is definitely the controversies.  What are players doing in their spare time?  Where do they go on vacation?  Who are they marrying?  Who got arrested?  Who got injured?  Who’s just out there having fun?  Yes, the offseason has many questions.  You can’t tell me though that watching Kevin Durant play a little streetball isn’t the greatest thing ever.

Or maybe you just enjoy seeing how your favorite team is preparing for next season.  It could be anything from seeing those crazy college coaches entice those pesky recruits to play for them or hearing how your favorite NFL QB is organizing some team activities.   And of course there is the coveted draft.  If you’re into that sort of thing, the draft is probably the peak of the offseason, but not for me.  After the draft comes free agency.  A player basically chooses who he wants to play for and you’re hoping it’s your team.

You can’t talk about the offseason and not mention how stupid players can be though.  It’s why some of you hate the offseason.  You just want the players to play and coaches to coach and games to be won.  I couldn’t agree with you more; however, it is nice to see some justice to be served to some of those idiots.

Alas, this is only #10, so make sure to check in tomorrow for the #9 reason why we love sports. 

The Last of the 42's.

April 18, 1929: Larry French debuts for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the first of the 42’s.

April 15, 1947: Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers as the speediest of the 42’s.

May 23, 1995: Mariano Rivera debuts for the New York Yankees as the last of the 42’s.

April 15, 1997: Major League Baseball retires the number 42

From the first to the last, 42 has had some fun times.  The most memorable being its ride with Jackie Robinson.  The speedster from Cairo, Georgia who broke the color barrier.  He may be the most important player in the history of the game.

Since the Robinson days, 42 has been adorned by so many, but maybe the best to wear it is Mariano Rivera.  After all, this story is about him.  From Panama City, Panama and entering the game via Enter Sandman, Rivera is the undisputed king of the save.  He has over 630 of them and is adding to that in his final year.  Rivera is in his 19^th season in the league and he couldn’t be happier. 

With the All-Star game on and the 8^th inning about to begin, Buck and McCarver go silent and the cameras are on Rivera.  He throws one last warm-up as the music starts.  You can hear the crowd start to thunder over the music and the start of something incredible begins.  Rivera walks through the gate, and I just know the fans are standing by now.  He starts his jog to the mound and Citi Field is a madhouse.  When Rivera reaches the mound, the cameras finally leave him, long enough to show the whole stadium on their feet, players included.  It cuts back to Rivera who tips his cap and the place is at its loudest.  Then Buck comes back on.

The top of the eighth is won in 16 pitches.  The master is still the master.  Rivera walks off the mound to another thunderous applause and a second ovation.  He reaches the AL dugout and hugs Verlander as if they were the best of friends.  Rivera had just completed his final All-Star game and did so in fantastic fashion.  The AL went on the win the game 3-0 and Rivera won MVP honors, which included the game ball delivered by Joe Nathan.

Of all the moments in Rivera’s career, to me, that All-Star game has to be in his top 10.  Rivera represents class, he represents the Yankees, and he represents the number 42. 

Mariano Rivera is the last of the 42’s.

Why Dwight Howard went to Houston

Some of you are asking just why Dwight Howard is moving to Houston.  He’s somebody who is considered to be the best center in the game of basketball, when he’s healthy.  He’s had playoff experience.  He’s had Finals experience.  Then he moved to LA and it appeared that the Lakers were the team to beat in the West, yet again.  He got the chance to play with the likes of Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, and Kobe Bryant, all future hall of famers.  Of course, there’s playing for future hall of fame coach Mike D’Antoni too.  The Lakers have a much bigger budget than the Rockets.  So, why did Dwight Howard move to Houston?

Here’s reason number one.  Dwight Howard doesn’t like Kobe Bryant.  Kobe Bryant doesn’t like Dwight Howard.  Watching the two bickering back and forth during last season was hysterical.  Here’s two guys, who are great players, on a should be great team, arguing over how well Howard can play with a back injury.  I’m not a Lakers fan by any means, but something like that should never happen. 

Naturally though, that wasn't the whole story.  I don’t know what the entirety of it was, but here’s my take.  The Los Angeles Lakers is Kobe Bryant’s team.  I wouldn't be surprised if he sat in on owners’ meetings.  When Howard came to LA, he wanted the Lakers to be his team.  Therefore, we have a rift among players, and no one will be happy unless they’re winning games or someone cedes to the other.  Well, neither of those really happened. 

The Lakers made the playoffs by the leather of the basketball, and really only because Howard was finally healthy and Bryant realized they needed to win games.  So the two set aside their differences and lost in the first round.  As soon as that happened, I knew Howard wasn't staying in LA.  There’s no chemistry between Howard and Bryant and never will be.

Here’s reason number two.  The Houston rockets are an up and coming team.  They are young.  They got their first taste of the playoffs last season and are looking to take a bigger taste next season with Howard at center.  The Lakers, however, are a somewhat old team, and without new tricks.  Not including Howard, the Lakers’ stars were all 33 or older.  Dwight Howard is 27.  Meanwhile, over in Houston, only one player has been seen on this earth for 30+ years and the core of the team is 27 and under.  Dwight Howard is 27.  He also wants to win for a long time.  He’ll do that in Houston with those young players.

There’s also coach Kevin McHale, whose 4 year resume may be deceiving.  I believe the man knows how to coach and will also be in Houston for a while.  He may not be a Mike D’Antoni, but he’s getting there.  James Harden was a pretty good player before he came to Houston, but McHale is going to make him into a superstar. 

Dwight Howard is healthy.  Dwight Howard is playing with stars.  Dwight Howard has a team.  Dwight Howard has a coach.  Dwight Howard is in Houston.  Dwight Howard is happy.