You’re reading this because you like sports, so we don’t have to tell you there’s nothing better than watching a jaw-dropping highlight. What we want you to tell us is this: which sport has THE best highlights? Are slick defensive plays in baseball more entertaining than a Mario Lemieux rush, or a Blake Griffin dunk? Is a Barry Sanders touchdown run more electrifying than a Cristiano Ronaldo strike?
Between now and Jan. 2 we’ve enlisted sportsnet.ca writers to make a written and visual case for their sport and we want you to vote using our poll below.
Dec. 29: Hockey
Dec. 30: Football
Dec. 31: Soccer
Jan. 1: Basketball
Jan. 2: Baseball
Of course, with a competition like this, there is no loser and the real winners are our eyes.
Soccer has the best highlights. You know why? Because soccer is the best sport on the planet!
Look, hockey, basketball, football—these are all fine sports. And it’s not as though these sports don’t matter. They do. But soccer matters more. Much more.
It is the global game, and the sport most accessible to the average person. It is the great economic and social equalizer. It doesn’t matter where you come from, whether you’re rich or poor or what your background is—anybody can become a soccer star. And because of that, soccer fans tend to be more emotionally invested than fans of other sports.
I remember watching the Euro ’88 final between the Netherlands and Soviet Union in the basement with my dad. It was a bit of a dull game, but then Marco van Basten hit THAT stunning volley from an impossible angle. It was so incredible that I leapt off the couch in disbelief. Truly a moment of pure genius conjured out of nothing.
As a lifelong Juventus fan I loved Zinedine Zidane. So I was heartbroken when the Bianconeri sold him. I came to hate Real Madrid, but I couldn’t cheer against them in the 2002 Champions League final vs Bayer Leverkusen because of Zidane. And the Frenchman didn’t disappoint, scoring on an incredible strike from just inside the penalty box that—again—had me leaping off the couch in disbelief.
Germany vs Italy, 2006 World Cup semifinals. A tight, drama-filled contest goes to extra time. A penalty shootout looms. Italy looks a spent force. But then Fabio Grosso collects a sublime pass from Andrea Pirlo and scores in the 119th minute. Alessandro Del Piero adds a second minutes later. Both great goals, but what made it so exciting was the over-the-top homerism from the Sky Italia commentators. Objectivity be damned! This time, I leapt out of my office chair.