Has the final four replaced the SB as your most enjoyable sporting event!?

[SydneyBillsFan]

My top 5 sporting events:

 

1. European Championship Final

2. World Cup Final

3. Superbowl

4. Australian Football League Grand Final

5. Bathurst 1000 (V8 Supercars)

 

Edited April 9 by SydneyBillsFan

[SectionC3]

No.  I didn't watch it.  Once I realized how much better then NBA is than college basketball, the college game was ruined for me.  

[BritBill]

8 minutes ago, SydneyBillsFan said:

My top 5 sporting events:

 

1. European Championship Final

2. World Cup Final

3. Superbowl

4. Australian Football League Grand Final

5. Bathurst 1000 (V8 Supercars)

 

 

The soccer finals, as a general rule, tend to disappoint. The 2022 World Cup final being a brilliant exception. However, the tournaments themselves are brilliant and will be in my top 5. 

 

As much as I love football and the Bills the Superbowl isn't an event I've ever been to or will likely get to so I struggle with it. Especially as it's usually preceded by disappointment with the Bills being knocked out a week or two earlier. When the Bills play in it and it's in London I might change my mind 😜 I think it's a cultural difference between the US and the UK. 

 

I'll throw The Ashes in there as an event which has the history, build up and in the last 20 years or so, produced some of the most memorable matches ever. The last series was immense. 

 

 

 

 

[BillsPride12]

The Super Bowl was always the biggest sporting event of the year for me.  Probably still is...but I dunno over the more recent years it's starting to lose some of it's luster in my opinion. It feels like the entertainment aspect is becoming bigger and bigger and it's starting to feel over the top. There's something that feels more pure about the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Master's weekend for me.  Obviously if the Bills ever made it back to the Super Bowl that would be the Number 1 sporting event hands down.

[eball]

9 hours ago, uticaclub said:

I thought this was one of the worst tournaments as far as close games and upsets. Snoozefest

What? NC State, multiple double digit seed wins, three teams in the Final Four who hadn’t been there in 40 years (Purdue, NCSU) and ever (Bama)?

 

So what that UConn is a great team and proved it. It was a great tournament. 
 

[Gregg]

3 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

The Super Bowl was always the biggest sporting event of the year for me.  Probably still is...but I dunno over the more recent years it's starting to lose some of it's luster in my opinion. It feels like the entertainment aspect is becoming bigger and bigger and it's starting to feel over the top. There's something that feels more pure about the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Master's weekend for me.  Obviously if the Bills ever made it back to the Super Bowl that would be the Number 1 sporting event hands down.

 

Agree with you but the league goes over the top with the entertainment to draw in the non-football fans. The football fan is watching because they want to see the game. The non-football fans tune in for the other stuff like the halftime show, commercials.

[ddaryl]

I do not watch either, unless a team from Buffalo is competing

[MiltonWaddams]

3 hours ago, Freak-O said:

Basketball? Tall men jogging and constant scoring? No thanks. 

Similar to the title for my autobiography. “Tall Man Biking and Constantly Scoring ”

[GottaRun]

I watched zero seconds of it, dullest sport on the planet, I'd watch lawn bowling before I watched basketball.

[jwhit34]

The Bills are my #1 sports team by far but I love basketball, it's my favorite sport. Played it, coached it for a long time, our kids both played. I was in high school when the Braves left town. Super sad day for me. I actually went to high school with Paul Snyder's (Braves original owner) kids and played basketball with George Daddario's (who was the Braves VP of Marketing) son. 

 

Alas, Buffalo is not a basketball town as shown by many of the responses. 

 

I love March Madness. Every year me and 7-10 of my college buddies go to the first two rounds of the tournament somewhere. We target a destination site when the first couple rounds are not in the area that one of us live (love it when it's in Buffalo). The first day is awesome watching 4 games in person, then the off day we hang out and watch games on TV all day. Then the 2 round of 32 games are usually really good. 

 

The women's game has made March Madness even better. This year's women's tournament I think was better than the men's, it definitely had more star power between Caitlin Clark (the biggest star men or women's game), Camilla Cardoso, Paige Bueckers, and all the great coaches like Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley and the controversial Kim Mulkey. 

 

For the basketball junkie, the first weekend when it's non-stop games from Thursday on is tough to beat. Sprinkle in the women's games and it's even better. But as much as I love the tournament, and can't get enough of the games, the Super Bowl is tough to beat. You're watching the whole thing. I think the NCAA does itself a disservice playing the men's championship starting at 9:20 PM on a Monday night. For east coasters, that's too late. 

 

 

[JohnnyBuffalo]

Resounding NO!

 

The most frustrating thing about basketball is how slow it gets at the end of the game.    These are some of the most elite athletes on the planet and between fouls and timeouts the game screeches to a halt.  To me it’s boring and frustrating to watch.   “Oh the other man tapped my arm”. Game stop.  Boring.  
 

Playoff hockey on the other hand is some of the most exciting action in the critical times of the game. The refs take a step back and the whistle is put away the speed hits another level and the action is non-stop.   Unfortunately TV doesn’t showcase the speed and the Sabres have stunk for 12 seasons and counting…
 

So between March Madness and Super Bowl….Super Bowl is better.  
 

[wppete]

Absolutely not. Not even close. 

[corta765]

lol I am not sure if the final four is even in my top 10. In general I have found CBB increasingly boring, could just be me or less time having kids now. Also even though I am a NOVA fan for CBB who have been good for a long time, locally Cuse has fallen, UB stinks, Bona is up and down, etc... just haven't had much to root for locally to give me a vested interest

 

But for fun this is my top 5 of sporting events (not including bills):

 

1. NHL playoffs (hockey is my favorite sport)

2. NFL playoffs

3. NFL opening night/NFL opening weekend in general - tied here

4. CFB thanksgiving weekend

5. Masters 

 

Edited April 9 by corta765

[uticaclub]

48 minutes ago, eball said:

What? NC State, multiple double digit seed wins, three teams in the Final Four who hadn’t been there in 40 years (Purdue, NCSU) and ever (Bama)?

 

So what that UConn is a great team and proved it. It was a great tournament. 
 

NC State is not a Cinderella team. They have won the ACC championship and made over 30 tournament appearances. Although Purdue and Bama are not traditional basketball powerhouses, they still belong to the Big 10 and SEC respectively, and have been building their programs in recent years. However, none of the games were close or entertaining.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

35 minutes ago, JohnnyBuffalo said:

Resounding NO!

 

The most frustrating thing about basketball is how slow it gets at the end of the game.    These are some of the most elite athletes on the planet and between fouls and timeouts the game screeches to a halt.  To me it’s boring and frustrating to watch.   “Oh the other man tapped my arm”. Game stop.  Boring.  
 

Playoff hockey on the other hand is some of the most exciting action in the critical times of the game. The refs take a step back and the whistle is put away the speed hits another level and the action is non-stop.   Unfortunately TV doesn’t showcase the speed and the Sabres have stunk for 12 seasons and counting…
 

So between March Madness and Super Bowl….Super Bowl is better.  
 

 

Love that Elam ending that they use in the basketball tournament.  No more stalling in the zone, no more intentional fouling, and it'd cut down on all the timeouts.  The only thing you lose is the potential "buzzer beater".  

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elam_Ending

[H2o]

I haven't watched basketball in general, except a Duke game here or there (favorite team since the mid 80's), since 2019. I haven't watched the Final Four since 2022, and I haven't watched a National Championship game in 9 years. The interest just isn't there anymore. 

[TheFunPolice]

Football is far and away my favorite sport, so for me the Super Bowl is a holiday.

 

Heck, we have a draft party the Thursday night of the 1st round every year. It's a show about teams picking players and I would rather watch that than the Final Four. 

 

But that's me. Football is a passion of mine, hockey I watch when the Sabres are good (so not for the past decade or so) and beyond that I might watch basketball if I'm bored and it's late at night but I don't follow it like I used to. 

[hondo in seattle]

I'm a Purdue alum so I watched a bunch of March Madness games this year and enjoyed Purdue's run.  And for me the answer is still an emphatic no.  Even if the Boilermakers had won the championship last night, it wouldn't have moved me nearly as much as a SB win.

 

My rooting energy is divided something like this:  Purdue football: 1%; Purdue basketball: 1%; Buffalo Sabres: 1%; Buffalo Bills: 97%.  

 

After the game last night, I've accepted that I'm just not destined to ever experience a championship.  The Bills lost in four championship game attempts. The Sabres had two tries and came up short both times.  This will probably be Purdue's only national championship game in either football or basketball in my lifetime and they failed.  I'm 0-7 in championship games/series.  

[eball]

58 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

NC State is not a Cinderella team. They have won the ACC championship and made over 30 tournament appearances. Although Purdue and Bama are not traditional basketball powerhouses, they still belong to the Big 10 and SEC respectively, and have been building their programs in recent years. However, none of the games were close or entertaining.

 

Sorry you feel that way.  I happen to disagree but to each his own.

 

[ArdmoreRyno]

Most enjoyable sporting even I've ever had in my life was when Oklahoma State beat St. Joe's in East Rutherford... back in 2004 to reach the Final Four. Was at the game with my late mother and late grandfather about 10 rows from the floor where the game winning shot was made (Met Tim Robbins that game). We had traveled to every Oklahoma State tournament game and the ups and downs were nearly emotional... then John Lucas III hit the 3 with a few seconds left for the win. 

 

Pure joy. Hard to beat. 

 

But no. Final Four hasn't taken over the Super Bowl. Not by a longshot. 

[RyanC883]

not a chance.  Bills games are #1.  SU Mens lax is #2.  

[Xerx]

absolutely not

 

along with world cup, two most dreaded time of the sports calendar

 

absolutely no interest

[May Day 10]

I very rarely watch the NCAA Championship game.  Never if I do not have a bracket-money-winning situation on the line.

 

IMO conference tournaments and the first few rounds are awesome.  Action going on everywhere.  By the time the get to about 8 teams, I lose steam.

 

 

 

Super Bowl is tough to beat.  First day of the NCAA tournament is good.  MLB opening day always is nice.  

[Gregg]

The Super Bowl will always be #1. The NFL is king by a lot. Even CFB is huge. I love hockey and baseball but both along with the NBA are not even close to the NFL in popularity in this country.

[Albany,n.y.]

The only March Madness for me is that I can't watch the TV programs that it preempts on CBS.  I don't do brackets because I know nothing about college basketball.  I have no rooting interest since I have no affiliation with any of the teams that are playing.  The only time a team from Albany or a city I've lived in in the past is in the tournament, it's one of the bottom seeds & exits quickly.  

[uticaclub]

46 minutes ago, eball said:

 

Sorry you feel that way.  I happen to disagree but to each his own.

 

I’m glad you enjoyed it, we are all here because we like sports and talking about it. For whatever reason I didn’t get into it this year. Maybe I was pissed the Bonnies AD denied us a trip to NIT?

[eball]

I've celebrated three UNC national championships right on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill...it's pretty amazing.  I think March Madness and the Super Bowl are completely different events/experiences and not really comparable.

 

The Super Bowl is still the ultimate.

 

[Sundo91]

College (sports) basketball is turning into a joke with the constant transferring and NIL. In the 90's- early 2000's, college basketball was the *****. It is simply ***** now. 

 

Spoiled, entitled kids, thinking they are owed the world. It's going to bleed into professional sports very soon. The quality will suffer tremendously. 

[uticaclub]

3 minutes ago, Sundo91 said:

College (sports) basketball is turning into a joke with the constant transferring and NIL. In the 90's- early 2000's, college basketball was the *****. It is simply ***** now. 

 

Spoiled, entitled kids, thinking they are owed the world. It's going to bleed into professional sports very soon. The quality will suffer tremendously. 

Late 90s/Early 2000s Big East was the best

Edited April 9 by uticaclub

[BADOLBILZ]

12 hours ago, DrPJax said:

Will always love the BILLS , esp the 90’s teams and their greatness, but imho the final 4 is more pure athletic joy to watch over the much hyped , but often predictable, often less competitive Sb! 

 

     For one thing tonight’s national anthem was performed beautifully , flawlessly , with no improvised runs or interpretation.  Done by a Native American who moved the crowd to chant USA, USA with no ongoing war , just moved by her performance which was fabulous and has replaced Whitney’s rendition imo ,{albeit it was still supporting the USA at a time of war}. Just my opinion , but thats how you show pride in your country with no political agenda. If that didn’t move you , maybe you are either very jaded or over medicated. 

 

      The quality of competition in march madness has been really good, and the meaning to each player , some of whom will never become pros , leads to the exhibition of passion pro sports fails to reach at this point. Now foes are just buddies, who share commercials, may even be teammates the next season, plus they are all highly paid and they know there is always  next year because there is no eligibility limit other than your teams needs / cap limits. However, there are 31 other chances to catch on.   The NFL  is a mans sport , and nothing can match the youthful  exuberance that we all Lose with time and experience. I loved the nfl/bills so much in my 20’s that iwent  to two superbowls.  Great experiences i was so happy to attend; yet now it is such a corporate , highly over priced event that there is no longer any amount of money you could pay me to be treated as nothing more than a commodity by a multibillion dollar business who still begs for taxpayors monies while holding communities hostage threatening to move  their franchises despite years of faithful support. 

 

      That leads to the actual players we are supposed to be fans of, enjoy their unique talents. Some live up to that lofty expectation and i salute those who somehow retain their humility. But then we are exposed to many criminals, many with children by several “baby-mommas” as if some badge of honor, and of course , the narcissists who speak about teamwork but whose actions prove they are only about their personal gains and are really not about anything but their “ bag”. It’s just not as prevalent in college and they still play for each other. enjoying possibly their only chance to win a championship. It’s a business still, but not as in your face as ‘THE SHIELD”  is. 

    Also , basketball is played much the same as it was in the 70’s , other than held balls and the 3 point line. Try and keep up with pro football , and the myriad of changes makes it hard to grasp each year   It’s  still way too often decided by too many part time refs and waiting literally on minutes for replay to still come back with not enough evidence or even frankly still wrong. Basketball doesn’t suffer from all the delays between plays , reviews, innumerable commercials .  Rare doe it have  Overhyped ,overextended halftimes.  It’s still a faster paced game. 

 

And never tell me about so called football experts, its plethora of podcasters that talk like they know more than regular fans, or all the draftniks who spend hours evaluation tons of mock drafts..  they are rarely even close and do all that wasted “film time” , as only 4-5 0f drafted players from each time will even see plating time. Yeah tell me experts have validity when almost 0 0f them predicted Diggs being traded. Actually criticizing any other opinion  sarcastically “because there was no way with that cap hit”!  It’s just proof , experts are no more than guessing amateurs and spending money on their “opinions” is just akin to scams. If you can’t predict a major trade like Diggs , how far off must your other advice be ?   

 

   But my main point still comes down to which event do you enjoy more?  The SB , with its multimillion dollar athletes who will do the same all over again next year , with little on the line for them personally as most have already made their fortunes , or the excitement of march madness who didn’t have 2 anthems sung to please its corporate crowd., and is still the same sport we basically all have played. I love the BILLS , but i really don’t care about the offseason that much. Because time after time , the season isn’t won until it actually counts.   The SB is good, most time anti climatic, but march madness and the final 4 is still ascending.  Give me a BILLS win and i might feel different,,,,but 55 years is a lot to ask!  Still, a great anthem tonight!  Great game tonight!  

 

 

 

 

 

Saying basketball is played much like it was in the 1970's except for the 3 point line is like saying football is the same except it's not nearly as violent.    It's a different, more skilled game.

 

I only really pay attention to the tournament now if my team is in contention for the final 4.    The broad interest in the NCAA tournament is even more about gambling than the NFL is.   By a lot, IMO.    The SB is the SB whether you have a bet on it or not.      

 

 

[BillsShredder83]

12 hours ago, DrPJax said:

Will always love the BILLS , esp the 90’s teams and their greatness, but imho the final 4 is more pure athletic joy to watch over the much hyped , but often predictable, often less competitive Sb! 

 

     For one thing tonight’s national anthem was performed beautifully , flawlessly , with no improvised runs or interpretation.  Done by a Native American who moved the crowd to chant USA, USA with no ongoing war , just moved by her performance which was fabulous and has replaced Whitney’s rendition imo ,{albeit it was still supporting the USA at a time of war}. Just my opinion , but thats how you show pride in your country with no political agenda. If that didn’t move you , maybe you are either very jaded or over medicated. 

 

      The quality of competition in march madness has been really good, and the meaning to each player , some of whom will never become pros , leads to the exhibition of passion pro sports fails to reach at this point. Now foes are just buddies, who share commercials, may even be teammates the next season, plus they are all highly paid and they know there is always  next year because there is no eligibility limit other than your teams needs / cap limits. However, there are 31 other chances to catch on.   The NFL  is a mans sport , and nothing can match the youthful  exuberance that we all Lose with time and experience. I loved the nfl/bills so much in my 20’s that iwent  to two superbowls.  Great experiences i was so happy to attend; yet now it is such a corporate , highly over priced event that there is no longer any amount of money you could pay me to be treated as nothing more than a commodity by a multibillion dollar business who still begs for taxpayors monies while holding communities hostage threatening to move  their franchises despite years of faithful support. 

 

      That leads to the actual players we are supposed to be fans of, enjoy their unique talents. Some live up to that lofty expectation and i salute those who somehow retain their humility. But then we are exposed to many criminals, many with children by several “baby-mommas” as if some badge of honor, and of course , the narcissists who speak about teamwork but whose actions prove they are only about their personal gains and are really not about anything but their “ bag”. It’s just not as prevalent in college and they still play for each other. enjoying possibly their only chance to win a championship. It’s a business still, but not as in your face as ‘THE SHIELD”  is. 

    Also , basketball is played much the same as it was in the 70’s , other than held balls and the 3 point line. Try and keep up with pro football , and the myriad of changes makes it hard to grasp each year   It’s  still way too often decided by too many part time refs and waiting literally on minutes for replay to still come back with not enough evidence or even frankly still wrong. Basketball doesn’t suffer from all the delays between plays , reviews, innumerable commercials .  Rare doe it have  Overhyped ,overextended halftimes.  It’s still a faster paced game. 

 

And never tell me about so called football experts, its plethora of podcasters that talk like they know more than regular fans, or all the draftniks who spend hours evaluation tons of mock drafts..  they are rarely even close and do all that wasted “film time” , as only 4-5 0f drafted players from each time will even see plating time. Yeah tell me experts have validity when almost 0 0f them predicted Diggs being traded. Actually criticizing any other opinion  sarcastically “because there was no way with that cap hit”!  It’s just proof , experts are no more than guessing amateurs and spending money on their “opinions” is just akin to scams. If you can’t predict a major trade like Diggs , how far off must your other advice be ?   

 

   But my main point still comes down to which event do you enjoy more?  The SB , with its multimillion dollar athletes who will do the same all over again next year , with little on the line for them personally as most have already made their fortunes , or the excitement of march madness who didn’t have 2 anthems sung to please its corporate crowd., and is still the same sport we basically all have played. I love the BILLS , but i really don’t care about the offseason that much. Because time after time , the season isn’t won until it actually counts.   The SB is good, most time anti climatic, but march madness and the final 4 is still ascending.  Give me a BILLS win and i might feel different,,,,but 55 years is a lot to ask!  Still, a great anthem tonight!  Great game tonight!  

 

 

 

I see you're getting rained down on, but this is a football forum, and one centered around buffalo which has no pro team and no competitive college teams for basketball.

 

That said the SB as a whole, has been mostly trash (as a 35year Olds perspective). There's been some decent games sprinkled, last 2 years have been fun, generally I think afccg/nfccg is the best round.

 

The tournament was a freaking blast. I don't think your opinion is as out of line as the comments here would make it appear 

[nedboy7]

The SB is the worst part of the NFL.  Almost unbearable between the half time show, the quality of the game, the two week break, the parties where bunch of people come together to watch commercials,  the day the event takes place as in on a Sunday.  Overall a lame experience. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

No comparison imho; but to each their own! 

[T master]

If the NFL along with the SB continues to become more focused on being a political platform eventually i won't watch any of it . College sports does seem to be a better get away from the every day BS so i would think yes unless of course that too starts to go down the same path then i'll have to become a gardener on my week ends when it's not deer season ...

[julian]

4 hours ago, Gregg said:

 

Good point. After football season with the playoffs and Super Bowl then the most exciting sporting event is the NHL playoffs. Nothing better than a game 7 that goes in OT.

100% agreed…The physicality and intensity is crazy, a game 7 OT is must see TV… having to win 16 playoff games in such a physical sport after an 82 game regular season is nuts.

 

[SF Bills Fan]

I've been getting into the tournaments and brackets and knockouts more and more. It's a great event. I'll take NCAA hoops over the NBA any day. The NBA is lower than MLS for me. Football will always be king, though. If an 0-8 Browns team is playing a 2-6 Carolina on Monday night, I'm watching. I'm addicted. 

[BigDingus]

Both men's and women's college basketball is great, but I'd watch ANY regular season Bills game over a NCAA Championship Basketball game.

 

Same goes for any other sport though. I'd take Bills football over everything else. 

 

[Rico]

40 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Saying basketball is played much like it was in the 1970's except for the 3 point line is like saying football is the same except it's not nearly as violent.    It's a different, more skilled game.

 

I only really pay attention to the tournament now if my team is in contention for the final 4.    The broad interest in the NCAA tournament is even more about gambling than the NFL is.   By a lot, IMO.    The SB is the SB whether you have a bet on it or not.      

 

 

Would’ve liked to see Purdue win, but this was a great year for gambling in the tournament, especially on UConn.

[Royale with Cheese]

When your bracket is busted in the 2nd round every year for the last 10 years....you don't find March Madness enjoyable.  

[Goin Breakdown]

I have way more fun even watching a regular season Bills game than a Super Bowl without the Bills. Where does that leave basketball? Idk after all that I guess