A friend of mine recently proclaimed that January is the best month of the year in terms of sporting events and annual storylines. It’s an interesting concept to rank to months of the year on how captivating, entertaining, and consistently historic they are.
Below are my 1-12 rankings for what months I look forward to as a sports fan.
1) October
Baseball usually provides a couple of good series’ in the playoffs while college and NFL football are hitting full stride. Hockey opens up early in the month and the NBA usually tips off with a handful of games at the end of the month. A little bit of everything including golf and Nascar.
2) January
The college bowl games that matter and the NFL playoffs. College basketball conference play gets going while the NBA and NHL are nearing the halfway points of their season.
3) September
September can seem like an eternity when your baseball team is in the mix for a playoff berth. You can argue that September is also the most anticipated month of the year as football fans cannot await the commencement of a new season. Some hockey and the tale end of the PGA and Nascar seasons too.
4) November
Probably the most pivotal month of the NFL season. College rivalry week and annual BCS insanity. NCAA basketball tips off while the NBA and NHL seasons fly under the radar.
5) March
Aww the madness. The weather is getting nice, baseball is around the corner, brackets are the topics of conversation, and the NHL and NBA closing in on the playoffs.
6) June
While the NHL and NBA have not had any memorable finals of late, June is the month when they occur. Baseball moves into the limelight as Nascar and the PGA have some marquee events.
7) April
March madness spills over into April with the tourney championship games leading off the month. Baseball’s opening month in addition to the beginning of the NBA and NHL playoffs. Lets not forget the draft either.
8 ) December
Some mediocre to crappy bowls and the home stretch to the NFL playoffs. NHL and NBA seasons hit their full stride although the usually not as prominent. College basketball usually provides handful of good non conference gamesand in some years NCAA football’s conference championship games are in the first week of December.
9) February
I am a big fan of the winter Olympics (their better then summer) and if you have a rooting interest, February is a pivotal month for pro and collegiate hockey and basketball. National Signing day for college football as well.
10 ) May
The bulk of the NHL and NBA playoffs usually provides some memorable series’ and upsets. Memorial day weekend is peppered with events (horse racing, tennis, golf). This is usually the month that Devil Rays, Royals, Orioles, Nationals, and Pirates are eliminated from the playoffs.
11) August
This gets the nod over July due to the foreplay of pre season football. With college football on the horizon its hard to look past a critical month of the baseball season too. The Little League world series is an underrated event. I can distinctly a dozen or so great games and memorable teams. It’s like a most glorious Sandlot but only narrated by Brent Mustberger.
12) July
A world cup year bumps this higher on the list but July is pretty boring. The All star game for baseball is entertaining but the lack of events the day after makes it the worst day of the sports year. If you don’t like baseball your left with Nascar, Tennis, and the PGA tour. The hot dog eating contest is actually worth the watch during this painfully dull sports month.
