Just what all sports fan need, a sports holiday calender
By Jared Bell
IV Leader Sports Editor
I spent most of last weekend captivated by the NFL Draft,
wondering why the thought of drafting North Carolina State defensive end Mario
Williams over USC running back Reggie Bush could ever cross the mind of the
Houston Texans, let alone actually selecting Williams over Bush.
I watched as USC quarterback Matt Leinart fell, and fell
hard. Leinart would have been the No. 1 overall selection last year but after
returning to college for his senior season he slipped all the way down to the
No. 10 spot, where he was mercifully taken by the Arizona Cardinals over an hour
into the marathon.
I was bewildered watching all of the first-round trades that
saw the Denver Broncos draft Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler and then, in the
second round, trade for wide receiver Javon Walker.
I sat and observed, perplexed about how Mel Kiper Jr. has so
much knowledge about so many people that 99 percent of us have never heard of.
I absorbed all of this, thinking the entire time, “I know I
have not one, but two papers I have to write, a story to pump out and other
homework to do this weekend, but man, this is way more fascinating and
definitely more entertaining.” I thought to myself, “The NFL Draft should be
declared a national sports holiday.”
And that’s when it hit me; there should be many official
sports holidays, not one. There’s Christmas, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July
but on my schedule there is Opening Day, Selection Sunday and the Super Bowl.
All of these events already exist, but they are not labeled as a holiday. So, I
decided, for the benefit of all sports fans nationwide, to create the official
sports holiday calendar. Now I know there are a ton of days I missed (and some
of them maybe because I don’t like NASCAR), but here is what I came up with:
January 1 — As fun as Christmas is and the celebration
of a new year, none of those reasons is why this day is a sports holiday. But
this day might be the Christmas of my sports holidays. Can you think of a better
way to take in New Year’s Day than spending it from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. watching
non-stop college football? Is there a better way to prepare for the national
title game than watching six games in one day? I think not. It’s the one day
where being a couch potato is okay.
The First Sunday in February — As a whole, the month
of February is pretty lame, but there is one gigantic, colossal event that makes
up for it all: the Super Bowl. After watching football for six months, including
the preseason, the big game is finally here; the culmination of five weeks of
the playoffs. And if the game is a terrible, there are always the commercials!
Who doesn’t like Cedric the Entertainer or the Budweiser Frogs?
Selection Sunday — This might be the holiest holiday
of them all. At no point during any other sports holidays are more people
captivated by two things: 1. What seed their team will receive in the NCAA
Tournament?, and 2. How much longer will it be before Billy Packer finally
retires?
Third Saturday in March — As much fun as the week of
conference tournaments are the week before culminating in Selection Sunday, the
first Saturday of the NCAA Tournament contains games from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. You
can lie on the couch for 10 hours and never be bored! And I haven’t even
mentioned all the great games you’ll take in! I’m starting to get teary eyed
just thinking about it.
Opening Day — This is my personal favorite. After four
months of the offseason and a month and a half of Spring Training, you finally
get to see games that count, and on Opening Day you have a buffet of games to
choose from. And let me tell you, there is nothing more captivating than
watching Barry Zito get rocked by the New York Yankees. After five months of
nothing, a blow out like that is riveting! Just riveting!
The NFL Draft — There is no better five to six hours
of entertainment than a good first round of the NFL Draft. Finally seeing months
of speculation of who would be the No. 1 choice. Is it Reggie Bush or Vince
Young or Mario Williams or Matt Leinart. Those six hours are well worth the
wait. And the major hype that starts around two weeks before the draft and all
the mock drafts is great. Ten words sum up this holiday: Damn, Mel Kiper Jr. has
a great head of hair!
The NBA Draft — This is like a mini-version of the NFL
Draft, with it only being two rounds. But seriously, is there a more engaging
holiday than this? Really, isn’t finding out which high schooler will be the
next player to throw his life away because he was a “sure fire first rounder”
interesting? Right? Well, I’m there.
The Home Run Derby — Now this event has become way too
long lately, but, if it is held in the right ballpark, you can’t honestly tell
me watching home runs leave Minute Maid Park completely was not must-see TV. I
am already looking forward to seeing how many home runs in this year’s Home Run
Derby leave PNC Park in Pittsburgh and end up floating down the Alleghany River.
These are just a few of my sports holidays. There are way
more days that I could’ve picked but these are the cream of the crop. I haven’t
even mentioned the Kentucky Derby, Thanksgiving Football and the Hotstove. I
don’t know about you, but I’m thinking about submitting this to Congress so
that, starting immediately, all of these sports holidays be recognized as
national U.S. holidays. I mean really, what day would you rather have off
Memorial Day or Opening Day? That’s what I thought.