Arena Events You Love - As a Neutral

By and Large, I think, we mostly watch sports/sporting events to see the teams/athletes we like and have something of a vested interest in. It makes it easier to get involved in the game, care about the outcome, etc.

But, there are also some games, some events, some coming togethers in sports that I get invested in because I love the event itself. And, not having a favorite or a personal interest actually helps me enjoy it more.

I'm sure I'm not alone. I'll share some of mine, and hope to hear yours.

For me, the biggest one is ...

UEFA European Championships

AKA the Euro.

It has a lot of the pageantry of the World Cup. It has a lot of the prestige of the World Cup. It has a lot of the high quality matches and big time players of the World cup.

But, it has no chance of the United States disappointing me. Which is actually a good thing for my overall enjoyment.

That affords me the opportunity to just enjoy the match in front of me. To get behind an underdog story like Iceland in the last Euro. To enjoy a thrilling string of results, like Turkey in 2008. To enjoy visual and on-field dominance, like Spain in 2012. And to marvel at pictures of butterflies landing on the nose of a superstar in 2016.

I attended a Group Stage game of Euro 2016 in person - one of the best in-stadium experiences of my life. And unlike a trip to Ohio Stadium or Columbus Crew Stadium or Jacobs Field ... I just got to enjoy the fans around me (nothing I've ever experienced compares to standing there listening to the Irish fans sing Fields of Athenry) and the players on the pitch (Zlatan!). It's an experience I want to repeat at some point in the future, and share with my children if at all possible.

 

The one I really enjoyed recently was the snowboarding in the half-pipe , it's just so amazing to watch , I can't fathom how they do it .

 

Downhill skiing. It’s just amazing seeing all those people going do fast. It’s just stunning. ​

 

summer olympics and world cup for me. i mean i do root for usa sometimes in the olympics, if i like the people or something, but i'm just as likely to root for any other country. and i'm not enough of a masochist to root for usa in the world cup.

 

That won't be an issue this year.

 

Every F1 race ever since we lost my beautiful Venezuelan crash son.

 

The Purge.

 

Track & field. Go fast, do amazing things, could give a damn what school* or country you're from.

I also tend to get obsessed with the Women's College World Series. The 17-inning Oklahoma-Florida game was unbelievable last year and if I don't have a daughter who plays softball someday then I've FAILED

(*Okay maybe except fichigan and Allegheny and definitely Wabash if they're conference meets)

 

MLB, especially around playoff time. Having no dog in the fight makes it easy to be happy when friends teams win.

 

Yeah, for me it's hard to remain absolutely neutral when it comes to sporting events because I need to have a rooting interest in a competition. I usually root for the underdog. Not have a rooting interesting pretty much means for me, not investment in the outcome and therefore I probably won't watch the event and just catch the results online when it's over.

I mean, even when I watch a dog show, I'm rooting for a particular dog.

I was rooting for "Surprised Dog" over "Snowcat."

 

Pretty Much Any Playoff Hockey Game That Goes into Overtime

There's nothing quite like playoff hockey, and especially so when it goes to Overtime. Gary Bettman may have made some collosal blunders that lost me as a serious NHL fan, but I can't deny that the Stanley Cup is special. And the fact that any one moment can end a game - and potentially, a season - or win the Cup? That's incredible. I have fond memories of staying up until ungodly hours to watch the Philadelphia/Toronto 2OT/3OT games in 2003. Even though they were going for the Sweep in 96, the Panthers-Avalanche game was incredible throughout the multiple Overtimes as the Avs won the Cup. And in 2010, another Cup winner in sudden death. Very few other sports have the opportunity to manufacture a moment like that.

And, yes, sometimes I'm not a true neutral. I'll cheer for Colorado or Columbus, and against Detroit or any Florida-based team.

But with any other combination of teams involved? I'm just along for the ride.

 

Women's beach volleyball.

 

Golf is the only sport I could watch and enjoy without any rooting interest. And I don't watch it too often, maybe once every 1-2 months.

In general it's hard for me to observe a competition and not end up hoping for one side to prevail over the other.

 

I was going to say the Super Bowl, but I haven't really loved the Super Bowl in years. I hate the commercialism, the media, the extra week of waiting they added, and all the general non-football hoopla surrounding it.

Ditto NFL Draft. I used to looooooove the draft, but they've ruined it with all the red carpet celebrity crap.

But I used to love these things.

 

Any Boston Celtics game. I haven't truly gave a **** since post Bird, McHale, Ainge and Parrish but I will stop and watch a game if its on.

 

World Cup was a good example.
I might watch some final round Masters coverage with no interest or care who wins.