14 Things in Sports That Will Never Get Old

Some things in sports will never get old. No matter how many basketball players achieve a slam dunk, fans are still amazed by the feat. No matter how many times you stand up for the seventh-inning stretch, you keep doing it with a smile, every time.

Sports are not immune to the perils of boredom or restlessness. Rule changes happen all the time to make games more exciting. Look at what Major League Baseball did with the Home Run Derby. However, some things don't need changing.

For one reason or another, these 14 things have stood the test of time, and it would be pretty shocking to see them fade away. Here they are, along with what makes them so durable in the ever-changing landscape of sports.

Classic Uniforms

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Variety is the spice of life, right? When it comes to sports uniforms, some teams have embraced that mantra.

Then again, some of the classics really are evergreen. In 2013, Esquire compiled a list of "The 17 Most Stylish Sports Uniforms of All Time," and classics from the following teams all made the cut: New York Yankees, Michigan Wolverines, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Blackhawks and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Ticker-Tape Parades

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According to history.com, the first athletes were honored with a ticker-tape parade in 1924. Nowadays, it's commonplace for the home cities of sports champions to host parades in their honor.

Oakland and Chicago just threw huge parades for their respective sporting champions, the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively. The U.S. women's national soccer team just became the first female team to be honored with their own parade.

Parades won't get old because, most often, a different team gets one each year. Really, which professional sports franchise is going to be the first to say, "It's cool, our fans don't need a parade this year."

Bloopers

Why do people love watching other people screw up? It's one of life's great mysteries, but it's definitely a thing. This "Sports Bloopers" YouTube video has over two million views. ESPN has been showing the “Not Top 10" plays of the week on SportsCenter for years.

As long as athletes continue to be actual humans and therefore make mistakes, there will be fans who enjoy watching it happen.

Marching Bands

How cool are the marching bands at college football games and pep bands at basketball games?

Halftime shows at football games date back to the early 20th century, according to bandhead.org, and it's hard to imagine college sports without them, even now.

7th-Inning Stretch

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The seventh-inning stretch is a baseball tradition dating back many years. Songs like "God Bless America" and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" are played as fans rise to their feet, singing along with the tunes.

Traditions are a big deal, especially in baseball. But this one in particular has staying power for a few reasons. One, have you ever sat on a metal bench or plastic bucket seat for two hours? By the middle of the seventh inning, you relish the idea of getting up simply to stretch.

Second, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a fun song. It's catchy and easy to remember. Kids enjoy signing with their parents, and adults like the throwback to their childhood it provides.

Rivalry Games

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For some reason, rivalries never get old. According to Ian Rapoport of AL.com, Alabama head coach Nick Saban once talked about Auburn in a press conference, saying, "We have an opponent in this state that we work every day, 365 days a year, to dominate."

With rivalry games often comes more intensity. There is more pride at stake. Even though the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox play each other 18 times a year, the games always get "heated up," according to Jacoby Ellsbury.

The outfielder has played for both teams, and according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN, he told reporters, "It never matters where we are in the standings, I feel like any time we play each other it feels more like a playoff game."

Rare Feats

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This one is a little obvious, but rare feats in sports will never get old, and that's because we don't see them very often. There have only been 23 perfect games in MLB history. You can count the recorded NBA quadruple doubles on one hand.

When these rare accomplishments in sports do happen, they put athletes on an even-higher pedestal than they already stood upon in the eyes of fans. They make humans seem superhuman.  

Dunks

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Slam dunks are awesome—no doubt about it. Then again, it's not like they are a new trick.

Jed Mildon just landed the first quadruple backflip in BMX history. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant just dunked a basketball for the millionth (estimate) time in basketball history during NBA summer league.

Part of the staying power of dunks has to do with their capacity for variety. There are one-handed jams, windmills, alley-oops and many more. Most of the attraction, however, is probably that a slam dunk is something not many people can do, and it never looks easy. It always looks like a phenomenal feat of athletic prowess.

Home Runs

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Home runs never get old either. Not to bring up a touchy subject, but the steroid era in baseball resulted in a boom in popularity because it also resulted in a boom of home runs. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire, anyone?

The home run is exciting because it's showy, right? It's a run with one swing of the bat. It's power most people couldn't dream of possessing. And for some reason, it's still one of the most exciting things that can happen in a baseball game.

Chatter

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Sports will always be a topic of discussion, mainly because there will always be an infinite number of things to have an opinion about. Player transactions, injuries, lineups, strategy, historical debate—the list goes on and on.

And of course, the rumor mill is always open. In today's culture of 24/7 sports coverage, there will always be something to talk about. 

Controversy

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Just like there will always be chatter, there will also always be controversy. Sports stars are celebrities. So much like there are tabloids and gossip columns that revolve around the Hollywood elite, so too do sports have their own drama.

Late-Game Heroics

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Part of the allure of sports is the drama. Late-game heroics like walk-off home runs, buzzer-beaters and penalty shootouts provide some of the highest-quality drama there is.

That nail-biting anticipation and excitement is part of why people seek out sports as a form of entertainment. Even for fans of the losing team, at least it wasn't boring.

National Anthem

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The national anthem is played before pretty much every sporting event in America. When "The Star-Spangled Banner" comes on, people don't generally seem annoyed at having to stand up or eager for it to be over.

Instead, the song stirs up national pride in most everyone. NFL running back Knowshon Moreno has shed tears during those moments and told Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports, "The emotion always gets to me."

Have you ever seen the national anthem before Chicago Blackhawks games? The crowd cheers wildly throughout the entire thing—it's the kind of thing that gives you chills, and it never gets old.

National Pride

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People get so hyped up for international sporting competitions—the World Cup, the Olympics. Part of the reason is because those events don't come around every year, but part of it is because a lot of people love repping their countries.

Did you see footage from the World Cup watch parties around America? And what about the Miracle on Ice? It's 35 years later, and we still can't stop talking about it (nor should we—that was epic).