History SeriousBusiness / Sports

** In Spring of 2011 there was yet another election in Canada caused by the Liberals and other non-ruling parties triggering it. Said Election promptly took a back seat due to the fact that both Canucks and Canadiens were in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yes, our hockey is more important than our Polotics. And nastier too.

** In Spring of 2011 there was yet another election in Canada caused by the Liberals and other non-ruling parties triggering it. Said Election promptly took a back seat due to the fact that both Canucks and Canadiens were in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yes, our hockey is more important than our Polotics. And nastier too.

* ''Recreational'' soccer is a huge deal in affluent suburbs -- usually more to hyperactive parents than the actual kids playing. (This has been [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]] in media via "Soccer Moms" and [[KickingAndScreaming bad Will Ferrell movies]], but ''not by much''.)

They were not, in fact, attempting to "throw the match", but rather playing in such a way as to change the conditions of the "spread betting", with which cricket is surrounded. The nature of the game is such that it is possible to bet on each individual event within a match (see rules of cricket for a better understanding of this phenomenon). Which just goes to show how serious a business cricket is, if your country's elected representatives wish you charged with treason for bowling 3 no balls, while still trying to win.

* If you ever get the chance, go to a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game. You well be amazed at how much they love that team in South Bend, Indiana.

** What one show consistently gets the highest TV ratings in the United States, driving prices for commercial timeslots during its broadcast up to over a million dollars a minute? ''The Super Bowl''.

*** This one's a long one: on the subject of Kentucky, do NOT mention the name John Calipari to University of Memphis Tigers fans or Memphis citizens period. Why would an ENTIRE city, which is a hotbed of basketball activity and home to many top recruits, write off a man who gave the local college a nationwide name in college basketball [[BeyondTheImpossible despite being in a mediocre confreence and took them to the NCAA tournament six times out of his nine-year career at the school, not to mention going to the National Championship in 2008 after going to the Elite Eight back to back the two years before that?]] By mentioning that you wouldn't leave the school to a nationwide audience after being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament, only to pack up for Kentucky half a week later, and make matters worse by having what was described as the #1 recruiting class coming in for the 2009-2010 season instantly disappear, with the second best recruit in the nation who declared his intention to coming to the school and the top recruit overall going with [[FanNickname Coach X]] in the following weeks. Oh yeah, and that National Championship run mentioned earlier? [[ExecutiveMeddling The NCAA declared the star player on that 2007-2008 squad retroactively ineligible after the nationwide SAT/ACT testing sevice declared his test invalid and scratched out their 38-2 record (the winningest season ever by a school in the current format), told them to pay back over $500K in revenue from that entire year, and placed them on probation...]] '''''[[WallBanger FIVE MONTHS AFTER CALIPARI LEAVES AND OVER A YEAR AFTER THE PLAYER LEFT FOR THE NBA.]]''''' The school filed an appeal on the very legitimate excuse that the NCAA [[WallBanger cleared the player to play. Yet it was for naught and the NCAA upheld their own ruling, saying it was still the school's fault for letting him playing him after receiving notice that his test scores were iffy, but not invalid, during the middle of the season.]] The probation ruling was very light however, due to new coach Josh Pastner coming in, [[DownerEnding but it won't allow the University of Memphis basketball team to get a share of any money the entire conference earned until 2012.]] The school paper's headline the day after Calipari announced his intention to leave for Kentucky? "John Calipari, 1959-2009: '''NOW OFFICIALLY DEAD TO MEMPHIS.'''"

*** As well as when they say that pads are for sissies, since in their minds, pads=total protection from injury or harm. This one though is more because of the [[WallBanger wallbanging]] thought process, as even though pads do lessen the odds of serious injury, there are still people being '''killed''' to this day in American Football.

* Rugby tends to ascend to this level in New Zealand: when anti-apartheid protesters clashed with rugby fans over the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Springbok_Tour 1981 Springbok Tour]] it sparked off the bloodiest rioting in the country's history.

* Recently, several Pakistani cricketers were caught in a match-fixing scandal. News reports suggest the Pakistani government may charge them with ''treason'' for taking payment to throw matches.

* In Brazil, there's the phrase "o futebol é como uma religião", "soccer is like a religion", which perfectly describes how passionate are Brazilians (and Latin Americans overall) about soccer.

** And then there was the controversy when former University of Southern California Trojans and current New Orleans Saints runningback Reggie Bush, who had without a doubt the most electric season the year that he won the Heisman (had 2,600 all-purpose yards (rushing, receving, returning, and passing), and 18 touchdowns (two from acting as a wide reciever and one as a punt returner) and broke out runs of SportsCenter Top 10 Plays quality almost every game) was declared retroactively ineligible as a player for the year he won the award over accepting illegal benefits. Bush and USC airmailed both copies of the trophy they received back to the trust and the Heisman Trust, which gives away the award, decided not to declare a winner for 2005. But this didn't stop sports journalists from ''awarding'' former Texas Longhorns and current Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, who ironically tore Reggie's Trojans a new one in the 2006 Rose Bowl the next month to decide the national championship, the trophy. And to [[ItGotWorse make things worse]], [[UnPerson Reggie's name has been stricken from all record books that he is mentioned in, all awards he recieved that year were taken away, and any images or mentions of him in USC's athletic facilities have been removed.]]

** And then there was the controversy when former University of Southern California Trojans and current New Orleans Saints runningback Reggie Bush, who had without a doubt the most electric season the year that he won the Heisman (had 2,600 all-purpose yards (rushing ''and'' passing), and 18 touchdowns (two from acting as a wide reciever and one as a punt returner) and broke out runs of SportsCenter Top 10 Plays quality almost every game) was declared retroactively ineligible as a player for the year he won the award over accepting illegal benefits. Bush and USC airmailed both copies of the trophy they received back to the trust and the Heisman Trust, which gives away the award, decided not to declare a winner for 2005. But this didn't stop sports journalists from ''awarding'' former Texas Longhorns and current Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, who ironically tore Reggie's Trojans a new one in the 2006 Rose Bowl the next month to decide the national championship, the trophy. And to [[ItGotWorse make things worse]], [[UnPerson Reggie's name has been stricken from all record books that he is mentioned in, all awards he recieved that year were taken away, and any images or mentions of him in USC's athletic facilities have been removed.]]

** And then there was the controversy over one of the winners later being declared ineligible...

-->"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." - UCLA Bruins football coach Red Sanders

* High School Wrestling. Parents in some places have been known to shout things like, "Break his neck!" about teenage boys wrestling. In one case, a parent who said this, when called out on it afterward, repeated that yes, she ''really did'' want the kid on the opposing team to get his neck broken.

* If you ever get the chance, go to a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game. You well be amazed at how much they love that team in South Bend, Indiana.

* Ken Burns' first sweeping, epic, 9-part documentary dealt with TheAmericanCivilWar, a conflict that claimed the lives of over half a million Americans and forever altered the course of the nation. So what did he make his second sweeping, epic, 9-part documentary about? BASEBALL.

** Said Giants fan was eventally brought on {{Tosh.0}} to be told to lighten up.

* [[TheBeautifulGame Association Football/Soccer]] vs [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball American Football]] [[AmericansHateTingle debates]] are very serious at least on the internet. Both sides [[strike:are rather respectful in their debate and employ eloquent and well-researched arguments]] have {{Flame War}}s about each others favored "football" with complete FanDumb behavior and absolutely [[DidNotDoTheResearch pathetic and not researched arguments]] to why their sport is better. It would be easier if both sides just said "I just don't that other football" and be on with it, but that's why it's here in the first place. On that note, calling the former sport ''soccer'' is a BerserkButton to Association Football fans. Ironically, in an example of DidNotDoTheResearch by these two sides, [[AwfulTruth the word was actually coined by a Brit and not an American]].

* UNC and Duke have one of the greatest college rivalries in history; it extends to every sport (with the notable exception of football, because both teams are horrible - Duke hasn't had a winning season in over a decade, and two years ago UNC was boo-ed off the field by their own fans), as well as academics and facilities. Depending on who wins their big rivalry basketball games (they always meet twice in the regular season), there is likely to be some sort of spontaneous celebration in either Durham or Chapel Hill that involves burning things in the streets and occasionally flipping cars, but it's usually too tame to be considered a true "riot".

* American football, particularly college ball, is a religion in many, many parts of the United States. The greatest rivalry in all of sports, according to ESPN, is [[http://espn.go.com/endofcentury/s/other/bestrivalries.html that between the Ohio State University and the University of Michigan.]] Other college blood feuds include Alabama/Auburn, Florida/Florida State, North Carolina/Duke, Oklahoma/Texas, Georgia/Georgia Tech, and Army/Navy.

** Cardinal Nation, but not about baseball itself. They take fan behavior pretty seriously--fans acting like jackasses get yelled at and piss everyone off. Only one player has ever been boo-ed (Jason Isringhausen, a relief pitcher). Cardinal fans take pride in their classy attitude and good reputation.

** "Titletown, USA" is written into the official political seal of the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

** You should have seen some [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv2A4o47too&feature=related reactions]] when United States tied the men's hockey game. Then when [[UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} Canada]] won, this was our [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuJH2WXJGHI&feature=player_embedded reaction.]]

** I fear what will happen when the Leafs win another Stanley Cup. It's when not if.