Super Bowl XLV: Power Ranking The World's 25 Greatest Sporting Events
Super Bowl XLV is just days from kicking off at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and the spectacle surrounding the biggest football game of the year is well underway.
The world is slowly turning it's attention to Dallas and by kickoff on Sunday hundreds of millions of televisions around the world will be tuned in to watch the
In honor of Sunday's big game, we're breaking down the 25 greatest sporting events the world has to offer. These are the biggest, best, most spectacular events in the world, and each is its own unique spectacle.
So grab your passport, charge your camera batteries and cram yourself into an airplane seat—let's get rolling, shall we?
25. The Monaco Grand Prix
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This one's the grandaddy of all Formula 1 races, and remains the most prestigious race on the circuit.
The Monaco Grand Prix takes place on the narrow, winding streets of Monte Carlo and is loaded with just about every road-course peril you can imagine. Despite its lower speeds, the Grand Prix is one of the most dangerous races on the circuit and—because it's a true road course, which winds along actual roads—the pavement conditions are a serious factor.
If you can only make it to one Formula 1 race in your life, make it this one.
Want proof? Ask Michael Schumacher or Aryton Senna what their most prized victories were.
Guess what they'll tell you?
24. BCS National Championship Game
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Sure, it may be unfair. And sure, it may be the product of a system that many college football fans can't stand.
But you can't deny that the BCS national championship game has become one of the most widely-anticipated events on the sports calendar.
After all, you're crowning the best team in a sport Americans obsess over: what's not to love?
23. Boston Marathon
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Yes, I realize that the New York Marathon is bigger, but when you talk to runners, almost all of them will tell you that the Boston is the one they aspire to run in.
It's the oldest annual marathon in the world and is one of the five World Marathon Majors, along with Chicago, New York, Berlin and London.
Moreover, Boston was the first and is by far the best-known, most prestigious road race in the world.
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22. 24 Hours Of LeMans
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It is one of the most well-known, brutally challenging and oldest road races in the world.
Set on the fabled track in LeMans, France, drivers whip around the course for 24 hours straight, pausing only for pit stops and driver changes (teams are allowed a pair of drivers who shift in and out throughout the race).
It remains to this day one of the most prestigious races in the world—featuring high-tech cars and plenty of Red Bull.
21. The Tour De France
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The Tour is easily the most prestigious cycling race in the world.
It turns men into heroes, it's rife with tradition (the jerseys, the champagne on the Champs-Élysées) and it allows fans to get closer to the athletes than most any other sporting event in the world.
I think that says everything you need to know about how the Tour made this list.
20. The Open Championship
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It is golf returning to its roots, back to the courses where it began: back to St. Andrews, back to Carnoustie, back to Muirfield.
It is the oldest of golf's majors, the only one held outside the U.S.—and feels different than the others.
Maybe it's the links-style golf courses.
Maybe it's the weather in England and Scotland during the tournament (always blustery).
Whatever it is, there's just something about The Open Championship that just draws you in.
19. The Daytona 500
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The Daytona 500 is one of the few non-title clinching events on this list; in fact, it's the first race of the NASCAR season.
And what a race it is. Hundreds of thousands of fans fill the massive grandstand, cheering as their favorite racers take to one of the nation's most recognizable tracks.
With its wide lanes and high-banked turns, Daytona was built for high speed and serious drama.
And most years, it definitely lives up to the hype.
18. The Cricket World Cup
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Surprised to see this one on the list? Don't be. Given the passion shown for this sport by the countries that love it, it should be little surprise to see the sport's world championship appear on the list.
Imagine it for a second: an entire country rooting for a team to pull out a victory.There aren't quite as many cricketing powerhouse nations as there are soccer nations, but you get a completely different set of countries in this one, making for one of the most unique sporting cultures out there.
You'll see the same sorts of international drama you get in soccer's World Cup. But when India and Pakistan meet, not even FIFA can match the intensity.
17. The Ryder Cup
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Take all the drama of the major tournaments in golf, inject teamwork, and add a heaping helping of intercontinental rivalry.
Bake it for about 83 years, and you've got one of sports' most exciting spectacles.
16. Wimbledon
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Yes. I realize that there are three other equally dramatic Grand Slams to choose from.
What makes Wimbledon so special, you ask?
In a word: tradition. You can feel the history and tradition here from the second you enter the grounds.
From the unique surface (one of the few grass court tournaments left in tennis), to the attire (white must by worn by all players, as must sleeves by the men), to the general atmosphere (it's almost like tennis was designed and created here), Wimbledon is a singularly unique experience unlike anything else in sports.
That's what separates it from the clay of Roland Garros and the asphalt courts of Melbourne and Queens.
15. The Masters
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If St. Andrews was where golf was invented, Augusta National is where it was meant to be played.
With the azaleas blooming and the vibrant green coating every inch of space from the grass to the trees to the jackets, The Masters is the pinnacle of golf.
While it's hard to say that The Masters is the most prestigious golf tournament, when you add the genteel southern atmosphere, the picturesque setting and the old-school feel of the event, it's hard to find a more appealing event in the world of golf.
14. The Rugby World Cup
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Anyone who's seen rugby played knows that it's one of the world's most intense sports.
One need look no further than New Zealand's All Blacks to know that.
But when you add a potential world title, crazed fans and throw plenty of historic rivalries in the mix, you've got one of the most thrilling sporting events in the world.
13. The Winter Olympics
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The Winter Olympics—while not nearly as big and grandiose as its summer sibling—is nonetheless an event well worth the price of admission.
You get all of the drama, national pride, thrill of victory, and agony of defeat that you get at the Summer Games, but with some lovely snow, spectacular ski crashes, hockey, bobsledding, curling and the luge thrown in.
What's not to love?
12. The Indianapolis 500
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To truly understand the greatness of the Indy 500, even today—you have to go to it.
The city of Indianapolis loves its auto racing, especially the open-wheel variety. And when the Indy 500 comes around, they make a week out of it.
The parades, the spectacle, the tradition (drinking milk, the wreath, kissing the bricks, and one of the sweetest trophies in sports), Carb Day, and some of the best open-wheel racing this side of Monaco.
It is what's lacking from the rest of the Indy Car circuit, and because the 500 has it all, it's definitely a can't-miss event.
11. NBA Finals
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The NBA Finals is easily one of the most exciting spectacles in sports.
Teams laden with the greatest basketball players around going head-to-head in a seven-game death-match to decide the world's best team.
It may not have the worldwide appeal of something like the Champions League, but even non-NBA fans stop and pay attention when the title's on the line.
10. The UEFA Champions League Final
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It may not have the national pride of the World Cup or European Championships, but the Champions League final is a spectacle all its own.
With fan bases that span continents, this European club championship match draws a worldwide audience, as fans around the world tune in.
I had the privilege of being in Italy during the 2009 final between Chelsea and Manchester United. Even though there were no Italian teams in the tournament, every bar, pub and restaurant with a television or radio was packed, watching and listening to the match.
A match that inspires that kind of passion even when no one you care about is playing is more-than-deserving of this spot.
9. The Kentucky Derby
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You want history? You want tradition? You want elegance? Come to the Kentucky Derby (but stay out of the infield if you're looking for elegance and class).
From the second you see Churchill Downs' iconic spires, you know you're somewhere special.
The pomp of the grandstand, the tastiness of the mint juleps (you have to drink at least one when you're here), the horses, it's all worth it.
The hats alone would be worth the price of admission, but you get the added bonus of watching the most prestigious horse race in the world as well.
8. The World Series
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Say what you will about football passing baseball in popularity. But bear in mind: when the World Series is going on, everything stops.
Even diehard football fans pay attention—especially if there's a team trying to make history and win their first or at least their first in a long time.
Don't believe me? Look at the series this year. Or, better yet, look at 2004's World Series.
You remember that one, don't you?
There's something magical about those chilly nights in October and November, when bats crack and crowds cheer. Something historic, something that can't be quantified.
It may only be a couple of weeks a year, but when the World Series rolls around, baseball is once again the national pastime.
7. The Stanley Cup Finals
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It's got to be the trophy. Right? It's the most iconic trophy in all of sports, instantly recognizable, universally coveted and adored.
So when it comes up for grabs, we tend to pay attention. The unadulterated joy seen when players finally get to lift Lord Stanley's Cup is something unseen in any other sport.
There's a magic about the Cup and the finals that surround it. We might not pay any mind to hockey for 11 months of the year, but as soon as the Stanley Cup Finals roll around, you're watching again—rooting for someone to get to lift that giant silver trophy, which is the coolest in all of sports.
The Cup has a power over people.
You see grown, tough men who pummel people into bloody pulps for a living turn into little kids with it, or weep and just kiss it. Everyone wants to touch it, feel it, experience the electricity that surrounds it.
And it is that, more than anything else, that puts the Stanley Cup Finals this high on the list.
6. March Madness
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There are few things in sports that make the entire United States stop and pay attention. But for four weeks in March and April, the entire country stops and watches 64 college basketball teams (and no, it's not 68; those other four teams aren't even really a part of the tournament, contrary to what the NCAA wants you to believe) duke it out for the right to be called the best college team in the country.
You spend hours poring over a bracket with names like Hofstra and Gonzaga, picking your Cinderella teams.
You call in sick from work to watch the first two rounds of games, and root harder for teams you don't even know than you do for your favorite NBA team.
There is something about this tournament—something about watching amateurs give everything they have, about seeing a plucky upstart from a conference you've never heard of beating the juggernaut powerhouse from a major conference whose players may or may not have a shoe deal lined up under the table, (cough, Kentucky, cough), and about improbable runs, like Butler's last season.
This tournament just sucks you in like nothing else in sports. And yes, my bracket folder—with highlighters to track whether I got picks right or wrong—is all ready to go.
5. The Rose Bowl
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The granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl still brings more clout to the college football table than any corporate-sponsored bowl or initialed "national championship" game could hope to bring.
It has more history in one of its field's blades of grass than most bowls have in their entire stadium.
It's set in the most stunningly beautiful stadium you could ever dream up (I dare you to find a stadium anywhere in the world that looks that beautiful with the sun setting over it), and just feels special.
Maybe it's the parade which adds to the special atmosphere and the overall college feel (meanwhile, the BCS national championship game is typically as safe and sterile a game as you'll find).
From the bands to the stadium to the history, the Rose Bowl is college football.
4. The European Championships
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You would think that interest in the European continental championship would be fairly limited to, well, Europe.
After all, it's only European national teams that take part.
But you'd be wrong. While not as big as the World Cup, the European Championships, typically called Euro (insert year here), have a worldwide viewer-ship—as people are sucked into watching teams and rooting for countries they wouldn't normally have anything to do with.
For further proof of this tournament's greatness, look no further than Greece, which took home the title at Euro 2004. The entire country lost its collective mind.
If that doesn't do it for you, you might want to check for a pulse.
3. The Super Bowl
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One-part football and three-parts spectacle, the Super Bowl captures the American consciousness like no other singular sporting-event on Earth.
It's the biggest game of the year for the most popular sport in the United States, and it is surrounded by enough spectacle, glamour and ceremony to satiate even the most media-hungry citizen.
The show goes on for two weeks, and despite there only being one actual day of football in there (the last one, typically called Super Bowl Sunday), we pay attention through the entire thing.
Plus, anytime the day your sporting event is held on—like Super Bowl Sunday—makes it into the popular lexicon, you have to be in the top three.
2. The Summer Olympics
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You might be surprised to see the Summer games this high, because they don't have the kind of clout that the Super Bowl has here.
But in the rest of the world, it's all about the Summer Olympics.
National pride is at stake every time athletes step onto the court, field or track. Billions of people are watching intently, rooting for you (or, in many cases, against you).
Plus, there's the spectacle. And what a spectacle it is. The Opening and Closing ceremonies, with their processions of thousands of athletes, from hundreds of countries, is one of the most powerful scenes in sports.
When it all boils down to it, there's something about the global nature of the Games that push them past the Super Bowl, and into the runner-up position.
1. The World Cup
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The World Cup is the greatest sporting event in the world, by a fairly significant margin.
No other event evokes more passion from the entire world.
No other event is more widely followed, analyzed, obsessed-over and dreamed of.
There is nothing that can compare to the World Cup's prestige, clout or spectacle.
For one month every four years, the entire world literally stops. They turn on their televisions and radios, call in sick from work and cheer their hearts out.
Think March Madness, but with a heaping helping of nationalism thrown in and with much higher stakes.
It is, without a doubt, the single-greatest sporting spectacle on Earth, and it's well-deserving of the top spot on this list.
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