NationStates Jolt Archive

What is the most exciting thing in Sports Entertainment (I'm not talking WWE pro wrestling I mean real sports). I got a few suggestions (and I'll pole them) but I want other people's opinions too of course. So what is it? (Yes I did post this in BOTH forums)

The One Handed Catch: Always an exciting moment in any sport. You think that there is no way in hell that he/she is going to pull off the play and suddenly without warning they reach up just one hand and come down with it for a heart stopping second!

Grand Slam: Baseball centric really I guess, but its always exciting to see it. The bases are loaded, 2 men out, the pitcher throws one right into the strike zone and BAM its gone!

Hole in One: How often have you ever seen it happen? Exactly!

GOAL!: Somehow someone through either luck or skill manages to get one past that damnable goalie. Bells ring, sirens sound, and people start chanting and singing in the stands!

Come From Behind Victory: Always awesome to see; you think your team can never make it and yet in the final minutes/seconds/innings they come through and pull victory (just barely) from the jaws of defeat!

The Break Away: Suddenly out of the blue someone pulls ahead of the field unexpectedly. Whether a race, a ball game, or something else. Double points if it leads to a score or a come from behind victory!

Caution: Whether it be the yellow flag in NASCAR or the injured player on the field. Everything falls silent, EMTs and rescue people rush to the playing area to make sure its all ok, after a few tense moments the person in question stands up, and leaves play on his own power to be checked out by the medical team.

Those are just some of my fav's. What are yours?

The last minute Touchdown or field goal that wins the game.

A bit more specific than the question in the poll, but I think the end of the 1980 Georgia-Florida football game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhWVvsrq5k&feature=related) just might qualify.

... but then I'm a UGA student, so I might be biased. :tongue:

Buzzer-beater to seal a comeback (hockey or basketball). Tied with an extra-innings walk-off homer. Ooh, goosebumps!

I thought this was going to be about one particular most exciting moment. Which would have been the miracle on ice for me. Hands down, best moment in American sports history.

Anything the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team did in the mid 90s.

Go Big Red!

Grand Slam: Baseball centric really I guess, but its always exciting to see it. The bases are loaded, 2 men out, the pitcher throws one right into the strike zone and BAM its gone!

When the bases are not loaded but there is at least one runner in scoring position, this is colloquially referred to as the Marco Scutaro special. :P

Buzzer-beater to seal a comeback (hockey or basketball). Tied with an extra-innings walk-off homer. Ooh, goosebumps!

I thought this was going to be about one particular most exciting moment. Which would have been the miracle on ice for me. Hands down, best moment in American sports history.

I was trying to be general, but people can use specific events if they want.

"The Immaculate Reception". 23 December, 1972. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders. Fourth Quarter, during the last minute. Terry Bradshaw pass bounces off intended Steeler receiver and Oakland defender, caught at shoestring level by Steeler Franco Harris and run in for the game winning touchdown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnfbKKvUG9Q

1:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79EsZgZFZqA

Nascar's best finishes! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LoLNJc-oGw)

I thought of some other catagories:

1. The Perfect Game (300 in Bowling, No-Hitter in Baseball, "10.0" Score in a Gymnastics Event).

2. Long Awaited Record Breaking (Lifetime Home runs, Number of Swimming Gold Medals, Most Championships).

3. Athlete takes field after serious injury and shines.

I'm a big fan of kickoff/punt returns that break open for big yardage or a TD...always exciting!

I thought of some other catagories:

1. The Perfect Game (300 in Bowling, No-Hitter in Baseball, "10.0" Score in a Gymnastics Event).

2. Long Awaited Record Breaking (Lifetime Home runs, Number of Swimming Gold Medals, Most Championships).

3. Athlete takes field after serious injury and shines.

1. Agreed
2. This always works out badly for my team
3. 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. I don't even like Paul Kariya, but it was awe-inspiring.

Nascar's best finishes! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LoLNJc-oGw)

Not a sport.

1:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79EsZgZFZqA

A sport. Requires skill AND athleticism. Also passes the "could John Daly do this while drinking a scotch?" test (a positive response is a fail).

A sport. Requires skill AND athleticism. Also passes the "could John Daly do this while drinking a scotch?" test (a positive response is a fail).

What the fuck are you talking about? I am in fine physical condition and I have worn myself out fencing. Each bout goes to fifteen points, and many, many bouts happen in one competition.

What the fuck are you talking about? I am in fine physical condition and I have worn myself out fencing. Each bout goes to fifteen points, and many, many bouts happen in one competition.

Whoa, put back the claws!

It was a poor arrangement because I am somewhat stoned. I meant to use "not a sport" as a label under Wil's quote, and "sport" as a label under yours. NASCAR is not a sport, fencing it. It fulfills my three requirements for sport--athleticism, skill, and an independent scoring system (slightly fuzzy on the last one, but since umps get to call perfectly good pitches balls, I'll allow it). And John Daly could not fence while drinking a scotch. Or even probably laying in bed.

Not a sport.



A sport. Requires skill AND athleticism. Also passes the "could John Daly do this while drinking a scotch?" test (a positive response is a fail).

and why is it not a sport?

Whoa, put back the claws!

It was a poor arrangement because I am somewhat stoned. I meant to use "not a sport" as a label under Wil's quote, and "sport" as a label under yours. NASCAR is not a sport, fencing it. It fulfills my three requirements for sport--athleticism, skill, and an independent scoring system (slightly fuzzy on the last one, but since umps get to call perfectly good pitches balls, I'll allow it). And John Daly could not fence while drinking a scotch. Or even probably laying in bed.

I apologize. I have just run into a lot of persons who refuse to consider fencing a sport.

I probably should have paid more attention to your first use of punctuation concerning fencing.

In recent memory, this finish (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbl_Yjm7VBk) is my favorite, even if it didn't turn out the way I wanted. Twelve hours, the other catagories have already finished, fireworks are going off, and it comes down to the last turn. Awesome.

This David vs. Goliath (or rather Goliath vs. other Goliath, really) moment stands out for me, though not as dramatic. As related at wiki-
The Ford Mark IV was introduced with a low drag body. The surprise winners were Americans A. J. Foyt and Dan Gurney, who led all but the first 90 minutes of the race and defeated the factory Ferrari 330P4 of Italian Lodovico Scarfiotti and Briton Michael Parkes by nearly four laps. The team had to fabricate a roof "bubble" to accommodate the helmet of Dan Gurney, who stood more than 190cm (6 feet, 3 inches) tall. In one famous incident which took place in the middle of the night, Gurney had been running quite easily to preserve his car, and Parkes came up behind in the second-place Ferrari (which was trailing by four laps, or 25 miles). For several miles Parkes hounded the Ford driver by flashing his passing lights in Gurney's mirrors until an exasperated Gurney simply pulled off the course at Arnage corner and stopped on a grassy verge. Parkes stopped behind him, and the two leading cars at Le Mans 1967 sat there in the dark, motionless, until Parkes finally realized this attempt at provocation was not going to work. After a few moments, he pulled around Gurney and resumed the race, with Gurney following shortly. With the cat-and-mouse game abandoned, each car then simply maintained their positions to the finish.

When the winners mounted the victory stand, Gurney was handed the traditional magnum of champagne. Looking down, he saw Ford CEO Henry Ford II, team owner Carroll Shelby and their wives, as well as several journalists who had predicted disaster for the high-profile duo. Many of the journalists had predicted the two drivers, who were heated competitors in the United States, would break their car in intramural rivalry. Instead, both drivers took special care to drive the car with discipline, and won easily. On the victory stand, Gurney shook the bottle and sprayed everyone nearby, establishing a tradition reenacted in victory celebrations the world over ever since. Gurney, incidentally, autographed and gave the bottle of champagne to a Life Magazine photographer, Flip Schulke, who used it as a lamp for many years. He recently returned the bottle to Gurney, who keeps it at his home in California.

In 1969, Jackie Ickx protested the traditional Le Mans start (where the drivers run across the track and start their cars) because he felt it was unsafe as drivers would not strap in properly in order to get better track position. His point was underlined when John Wolfe died in the first lap after his 917 crashed while he was not properly strapped in. Ickx eventually won the race (after 24 hours) by 120 meters. The 1970 Le Mans started with the drivers already in the car. Not really a 'great' moment in sports in light of Wolfe's death, but dramatic all the same.

Whoa, put back the claws!

It was a poor arrangement because I am somewhat stoned. I meant to use "not a sport" as a label under Wil's quote, and "sport" as a label under yours. NASCAR is not a sport, fencing it. It fulfills my three requirements for sport--athleticism, skill, and an independent scoring system (slightly fuzzy on the last one, but since umps get to call perfectly good pitches balls, I'll allow it). And John Daly could not fence while drinking a scotch. Or even probably laying in bed.

My god, I finally get to disagree with you. I'm afraid that while NASCAR is my second least liked form of racing (drag racing is my least, I don't like that even a little), it does in fact meet your requirements whether you want to recognize them or not.

Starting from the back and going forward, it is not advisable or wise for Daly to drink scotch and do 180mph in a field full of 40 close competitors doing the same. Spilling his drink would be the least of his troubles, rather keeping the car off the wall (a feat the sober drivers do not always succeed at) would be the toughest challenge.

On to athleticism. You know that little tug you get when you take a turn a little vigoursly in your grocery getter? That gets exponentially more severe when you do it at 180 miles an hour. For 250 laps or more. And that's not the only thing that goes into it. Just because there is a machine involved does not mean that it does all the work or that it doesn't take athletic ability to control it.

And skill. Mistaking the fact that any dillwad can get a drivers license to mean that any one can race is the same conceit that makes people think that anyone who can string what resembles a sentence together can be a writer.

It's alright to not like racing. It really is. You can not be into it, it can not be your thing. I don't mind that. I don't like most team sports, I'm just not in to them. However, I don't make up a bunch of bullshit about them because of that. Because I don't know the nuances of baseball I don't go around and try and claim that it's simply 'team catch' and an excuse to watch grown men scratch their crotch in front of a crowd. I wish other sports fans could extend the same courtesy.

Well, I don't know if this is you are looking for, but this is it for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM-c8GeI1Vc

I remember watching it, it still has me on the edge of my seat.

Any curling match

Any curling match

Is that a sweeping excitement you get? :p

anytime NSW beats QLD in the State of Origin.

For me it's gota be the 5-1 drubbing of Germany a while back.

Is that a sweeping excitement you get? :p

It is certainly on the button in my house

For me it's gota be the 5-1 drubbing of Germany a while back.

Last test of the Ashes a few years ago, last wicket, and Ashley Giles and the other I can't remember plugging away at the last 40 or so runs.... that was tense.

Edit: that was actually the 4th test, last one had that odd stopping for light and then we won rather anti-climactically.

Last test of the Ashes a few years ago, last wicket, and Ashley Giles and the other I can't remember plugging away at the last 40 or so runs.... that was tense.

Ahhh yes cricket.....*snore* uhhuh wot? Say you're not a Northerner are you?:D

Ahhh yes cricket.....*snore* uhhuh wot? Say you're not a Northerner are you?:D

I'm half-Yorkshire by blood, but born and lived in the South. Never used to like cricket, that match kind of drew my interest. I still find a lot of it a bit dull, I'd only watch the deciding tests/innings.

I'm half-Yorkshire by blood, but born and lived in the South. Never used to like cricket, that match kind of drew my interest. I still find a lot of it a bit dull, I'd only watch the deciding tests/innings.

*nods* That'll be the Yorkshire blood then, yep.

The penalty shoot out. Even if you're a neutral, the tension is hard to shake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8sLfFlGWpM England vs Portugal Penalty Shoot out.

Hat-trick, especially when pulled off by a master of spin bowling. Insert Warnie here. But please, only here, nowhere else :(

With baseball I think it is the play at home plate. Someone is going away pissed.

most exciting moment in sports?

the one that makes you hold your breath.

like this moment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFn47a_Ny0Y).

so yeah, even in wrestling, when Triple H tore his leg muscle, you know the moment it happened it was not 'planned out' yet he kept on going and he paid the price. so yeah, even something that is 'faked' like WWE, you can still have a great moment.

Nascar's best finishes! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LoLNJc-oGw)
Nascar? Jeez.
1:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79EsZgZFZqA

You fence? I used to. Ya any good? Foil? Épée? Sabre?

Full count, two outs, man on first.

That, folks, is a battle of wits and high tension.

You fence? I used to. Ya any good? Foil? Épée? Sabre?

All three. Fencing just one weapon is stupid.

All three. Fencing just one weapon is stupid.

What's your favourite? I like sabre, but my favourite was épée.

Stealing Home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkdApF_RQvQ&feature=related

The 2-3 hours before a really important match (Champions league final, FA cup final, etc) in which you team is involved.

The combination of anticipation, excitement and fear is brilliant.

Bill Buckner in '86 (right? that was the year, I think). At least for Mets and Yankee fans.

Well, I don't know if this is you are looking for, but this is it for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM-c8GeI1Vc

I remember watching it, it still has me on the edge of my seat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVnRGnfLlNw

Unbeilvable finish to an excellent game. A bunch of us irish fans were watching it in a St Andrews pub (so lots of english and scottish fans). Went absolutely mental after the final wish.

I have to say the most exciting moments in my sport (rowing) tend to be tight races when there is a seat or two in it coming up to the finish line. Been involved in a couple of those in my time. Absolutely fantastic when you are the crew on the right side of the line, heartbreaking when you are on the other side.
Or else whenever one crew is behind with 500m to go and pushes through to win the race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzSd2cjy46Y&feature=PlayList&p=8CDAF64A6F211C3D&index=11
Good example of the first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekbW5rkMrpQ&feature=PlayList&p=B292A19426C41735&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5
Good example of the 2nd. Although I do appologies for the slightly annoying patrotic packaging.

Also the starts of a race, especially 8s racing, is pretty incredible. Sitting in scilence, then Attention, Go and suddenly you have 8 coxes screaming, the clash of oars, the sound of 6 eights beings brought up to racing speed.

What's your favourite? I like sabre, but my favourite was épée.

Épée, because the directors in the other weapons tend to suck. If I lost a drop of blood for every time I have seen a sabreur or foilist be given right of way for footwork over blade work, I would be dry as a bone.

I hate the company of most épéeists, though. So many have burnsides and think they are God's Gift to fencing. I once thought of starting the "Hot Shit Fencing Club", just to mock those egomaniacs.

The most tense and exciting sports moment is seeing what scores the judges have given Cristiano Ronaldo's latest dive.

My god, I finally get to disagree with you.

Exciting!

Starting from the back and going forward, it is not advisable or wise for Daly to drink scotch and do 180mph in a field full of 40 close competitors doing the same. Spilling his drink would be the least of his troubles, rather keeping the car off the wall (a feat the sober drivers do not always succeed at) would be the toughest challenge.

To be fair, John Daly is usually only invoked to protest golf as a sport.

On to athleticism. You know that little tug you get when you take a turn a little vigoursly in your grocery getter? That gets exponentially more severe when you do it at 180 miles an hour. For 250 laps or more. And that's not the only thing that goes into it. Just because there is a machine involved does not mean that it does all the work or that it doesn't take athletic ability to control it.

I disagree. It takes physical ability, but I do not believe it takes athleticism. This is my main contention. Please note that it is not applied unfairly to single out NASCAR, as many pitchers also do not qualify as "athletes". :P

Because I don't know the nuances of baseball I don't go around and try and claim that it's simply 'team catch' and an excuse to watch grown men scratch their crotch in front of a crowd. I wish other sports fans could extend the same courtesy.

But baseball is an excuse to watch grown men scratch their crotches. And an excuse to display culturally-approved manlove.

The most tense and exciting sports moment is seeing what scores the judges have given Cristiano Ronaldo's latest dive.

Oh god, I'm glad I wasn't taking a sip just then.

I hate him so much, but he's so pretty... then I end up hating myself. :mad:

For me it's gota be the 5-1 drubbing of Germany a while back.

GO TO HELL AND DIE.

:mad::mad::mad:

Bill Buckner in '86 (right? that was the year, I think). At least for Mets and Yankee fans.

A few years ago I would have told you to go to hell and die, too, but ever since they started me on medication for that I'm much calmer.

May Buckner die from a thousand shin splints.

\

I disagree. It takes physical ability, but I do not believe it takes athleticism. This is my main contention. Please note that it is not applied unfairly to single out NASCAR, as many pitchers also do not qualify as "athletes". :P

You're using that physical ability to negotiate an object moving at, again, 180mph among other people doing the same thing. Making those turns are not simply a matter of turning the wheel. They are fighting the car to hit a specific line that changes from track to track and over the course of the race and through a pack of other cars with changing wind dynamics where a matter of inches one way or another means the difference between first and fifth. It's not a matter of spending enough time on a treadmill, the kind of reaction times and endurance that goes into it can be said to be athletic. I had a nice little quip here, but I'm too burnt out to remember it.

You're using that physical ability to negotiate an object moving at, again, 180mph among other people doing the same thing. Making those turns are not simply a matter of turning the wheel. They are fighting the car to hit a specific line that changes from track to track and over the course of the race and through a pack of other cars with changing wind dynamics where a matter of inches one way or another means the difference between first and fifth. It's not a matter of spending enough time on a treadmill, the kind of reaction times and endurance that goes into it can be said to be athletic. I had a nice little quip here, but I'm too burnt out to remember it.

Are you saying, though, that there are necessary training sessions or workouts for it, aside, obviously, from running on a treadmill? Because if not, then I think we are dealing with a difference in ideas about what separates "athleticism" and "skill". Reaction time is, to me, a skill, or at least the skillful development of an inborn trait. The strength to pull the ball into left, the endurance to pound the court for 48 minutes--these are examples of athleticism to me.

Motorsports (all of it, not just NASCAR) is a sport. I'd dare anyone to get behind a machine that can go 180mph+, go out on a track like Bristol, and drive the car for about 200 or so laps while fighting for position against 40 or so other cars on the same track, at the same time. Remember, you can't intentionally wreck someone, and you gotta go in every so often for new tires, and fuel.

Just because you don't like the sport, doesn't mean it's not a sport.

Are you saying, though, that there are necessary training sessions or workouts for it, aside, obviously, from running on a treadmill? Because if not, then I think we are dealing with a difference in ideas about what separates "athleticism" and "skill". Reaction time is, to me, a skill, or at least the skillful development of an inborn trait. The strength to pull the ball into left, the endurance to pound the court for 48 minutes--these are examples of athleticism to me.

And not the endurance to hold it together for the up to six hours doesn't rate next to 48 minutes on the court, taking into account there are no substitutions in racing? The strength to withstand multiple times the pull of gravity against your body for hours while placing the car in those precise lines? Yes, I am saying that it takes necessary and specific training, not just running on a treadmill. Again, do not confuse an ability to drive with an ability to race.

If soccer and cricket are sports, then so is wrestling, it's easily as physically demanding as soccer, and definitely more so than cricket.

Greatest moments?

-The Miracle on Ice. USA vs. the Evil Empire at the Olympics. It was like the end of Rocky IV, but in real life.

-The end of Ric Flair v. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV, when Michaels wound up for that last kick and laid Flair out to end his career.

-Or Shawn Michaels v. The Undertaker at WM XXV. That match is solid gold from beginning to end.

If soccer and cricket are sports, then so is wrestling, it's easily as physically demanding as soccer, and definitely more so than cricket.

Professional wrestling is faked and come with a pre-written script. It is not a real sport.

Motorsports (all of it, not just NASCAR) is a sport. I'd dare anyone to get behind a machine that can go 180mph+, go out on a track like Bristol, and drive the car for about 200 or so laps while fighting for position against 40 or so other cars on the same track, at the same time. Remember, you can't intentionally wreck someone, and you gotta go in every so often for new tires, and fuel.

Just because you don't like the sport, doesn't mean it's not a sport.

Given there's no universally accepted definition of sport means that someone is perfectly able to say Motorsport is not a sport.

To me for example, sport involves the primary decider being the ability of the participants. So I shift motorsport (especially drag racing, which is essentially a guess the start crapshoot) out of 'sport'.

Professional wrestling is faked and come with a pre-written script. It is not a real sport.

Yeah, the endings of the matches are pre-determined(but no more so than the ending of the 1919 World Series was)but it's not 'fake.' Those guys are real athletes who put themselves in real danger. How are you going to 'fake' falling twenty feet off of a steel cage onto a announcing table in front of a live audience?

Given there's no universally accepted definition of sport means that someone is perfectly able to say Motorsport is not a sport.

To me for example, sport involves the primary decider being the ability of the participants. So I shift motorsport (especially drag racing, which is essentially a guess the start crapshoot) out of 'sport'.

Where would you place motorsports then? Because if you think it doesn't take skills and athletic ability to drive a car, then you should have no problem setting up your car, and racing it at Darlington Speedway this weekend for the Southern 500.

Yeah, the endings of the matches are pre-determined(but no more so than the ending of the 1919 World Series was)but it's not 'fake.' Those guys are real athletes who put themselves in real danger. How are you going to 'fake' falling twenty feet off of a steel cage onto a announcing table in front of a live audience?

That falls under the same category as being a stuntman; even if its fun to watch its not a real contest, and hence not a sport.

That falls under the same category as being a stuntman; even if its fun to watch its not a real contest, and hence not a sport.

That's pretty much my thought on Wrestling that isn't done in High School or The Olympics.

Where would you place motorsports then? Because if you think it doesn't take skills and athletic ability to drive a car, then you should have no problem setting up your car, and racing it at Darlington Speedway this weekend for the Southern 500.

I stick it in a handy half-way house category I like to call 'motorsport' not quite 'pure' sport due to the extent that the cars are involved.

In my completely subjective view, if the power is coming from somewhere else then it's not a pure sport (even moreso if the equipment plays a major role in who wins).

I stick it in a handy half-way house category I like to call 'motorsport' not quite 'pure' sport due to the extent that the cars are involved.

In my completely subjective view, if the power is coming from somewhere else then it's not a pure sport (even moreso if the equipment plays a major role in who wins).

The winner of a race depends on several factor, not just the car itself. You can have a great set up on a car, but if your driver can't race well, or he wears out too quickly, then you're not going to win.

The winner of a race depends on several factor, not just the car itself. You can have a great set up on a car, but if your driver can't race well, or he wears out too quickly, then you're not going to win.

Sure, but the car has too much of a factor imho for it to be a pure sport.

That falls under the same category as being a stuntman; even if its fun to watch its not a real contest, and hence not a sport.

Yeah, except there are no pads, or foam rubber mats, or air cushions, or special effects, so it's actually not like being a stunt-man.

That's pretty much my thought on Wrestling that isn't done in High School or The Olympics.

It's interesting that you're defending motorsports to Forsakia while taking their tack with regards to wrestling. I think someone said earlier 'just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it's not a sport.'

Yeah, except there are no pads, or foam rubber mats, or air cushions, or special effects, so it's actually not like being a stunt-man.

Its still not a sport, it is not a contest (unless the whole point is to see who is the bigger sadist/masochist) its a spectacle for sure, but its all a show.

breakaway runs in Rugby are always awesome. a couple of good ones here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtun_vmlr_M&feature=related

some tackles, too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmd5PkHzXQA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIIm8vdcq2s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8v-qZFVYnc

Given there's no universally accepted definition of sport means that someone is perfectly able to say Motorsport is not a sport.

To me for example, sport involves the primary decider being the ability of the participants. So I shift motorsport (especially drag racing, which is essentially a guess the start crapshoot) out of 'sport'.

Since top drivers and top teams end up at the front even after switching cars, then ability is the primary decider. And even though I loath drag racing, John Force doesn't go undefeated for a year on a coin flip's chance.

2004 American League Championship (baseball)

Red Sox defeat the Yankees, then go on to curbstomp the Cardinals in the World Series.

The release of the post-Olympic drug test results.

It's interesting that you're defending motorsports to Forsakia while taking their tack with regards to wrestling. I think someone said earlier 'just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it's not a sport.'

That because Motorsports isn't planned out, it isn't scripted, it does take athletic ability and skills. Wrestling is just a scripted soap opera with actors on steroids.

Since top drivers and top teams end up at the front even after switching cars, then ability is the primary decider. And even though I loath drag racing, John Force doesn't go undefeated for a year on a coin flip's chance.

The top drivers go to the top teams where they get the top cars. Take Formula One, the rules get shuffled and the best engineers move around, suddenly you've drivers who were apparently average last year dominating.

Épée, because the directors in the other weapons tend to suck. If I lost a drop of blood for every time I have seen a sabreur or foilist be given right of way for footwork over blade work, I would be dry as a bone.

I hate the company of most épéeists, though. So many have burnsides and think they are God's Gift to fencing. I once thought of starting the "Hot Shit Fencing Club", just to mock those egomaniacs.

Yeah, épéeists are pricks.

You entered any competitions?

A bit more specific than the question in the poll, but I think the end of the 1980 Georgia-Florida football game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhWVvsrq5k&feature=related) just might qualify.Being British, I'd never seen that before. The commentary is amazing: "Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! LINDSAY SCOTT!"

And then later "Man, is there gonna be some property destroyed tonight."

For me, I think this is probably one of those areas in which I am most Anglocentric, so sorry if this is incomprehensible to some:

In terms of generic situations, those I find most exciting are:
- the finish of a close rugby game that comes down to drop goals (e.g. those quoted in this thread already)
- a first-class cricket match with a team batting for a draw with 8 or 9 wickets down
- a limited-overs cricket match where the scores are tight at the end
- a close relay race
- a good boxing match
- and, I know this is a bit meh but whatever, the finals of ice skating where, halfway through the routine, you begin to realize you're watching something seriously good, and hope they can hold for a really high points score

A few specific ones:
- 2003 RWC final; final match of this year's Six Nations
- Bangladesh beating Australia in the NatWest Trophy - we were in the car listening to it on the radio and had to pull over so we could run around shrieking and waving our arms when Ashraful got his 100
- the really tight rowing race that gave Steve Redgrave his 5th gold (and the commentary: "one...last...push!")
- Torville & Dean's gold medal routine: this was before my time, but watching it now, with Bolero playing, and thinking about all that has happened to Sarajevo since the Olympics, there is something, if not exciting, at least terribly moving about it
- any Shahid Afridi innings

Despite all of the above, my winner would be a distinctly American event that happened decades before I was born: The Shot Heard Around The World, as described in the mesmering opening pages of Underworld by Don DeLillo. Don't read it if you have a heart condition.

Oh, and I can't believe I left this out! The finish of a Tour de France stage that comes to two riders battling it out. There have been so many great Tour moments, actually: Lance Armstrong falling off and going on to win the stage, the time he swerved round a fallen rider and ploughed across a farm field to get back onto the course, Greg Lemond's 8 second victory, Pereiro and Landis duelling in 2006 (forget the unfortunate coda to that story), Contador and Sastre both holding out over unlucky Cadel Evans, Cedric Vasseur's breakaway win...

The top drivers go to the top teams where they get the top cars. Take Formula One, the rules get shuffled and the best engineers move around, suddenly you've drivers who were apparently average last year dominating.

Nah.

During a scrum in Rugby, when the ball gets thrown out, unnoticed by the other team, and the player with the ball belts it up the pitch, with the opposing team hot on his heels. Love it.

During a scrum in Rugby, when the ball gets thrown out, unnoticed by the other team, and the player with the ball belts it up the pitch, with the opposing team hot on his heels. Love it.

You play? Or are you to much of a pussy?

You play? Or are you to much of a pussy?

You amuse me. I played at school, and I've played makeshift games since, but I wouldn't call myself a Rugby player.

You amuse me.
Really?
I played at school, and I've played makeshift games since, but I wouldn't call myself a Rugby player.
No would I.