23 Best Sports Days of the Year

Not every day can be the Super Bowl or Kentucky Derby, but there are plenty of days throughout the year sports fans can anticipate eagerly. From opening days to championship nights, legends are made when the spotlight is brightest. Check out our top picks for the 24 best sports days of the year.

Author’s note: these are typically days that happen every year, so sporting events like the World Cup and Olympics that don’t occur annually have been excluded.

First Day of March Madness

Spring is in the air, and so is hope. You’ve done all that research and preparation to create the perfect bracket (or 12). There’s nothing quite like the excitement (and disappointment) of the first days of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Whether it’s a Cinderella team knocking out a top-ranked opponent or a buzzer-beater to barely scrape into the next round, day one every year is a day not to miss.

Masters Sunday

Mark down the second Sunday in April. Since 1934, the Masters Tournament has been home to some of the best moments in golf history. The coveted Green Jacket, given out at Augusta National Golf Club, is an honor every golfer dreams of achieving. Sports fans tune in to see epic drives, heart-wrenching shanks, and breath-holding putts.

Christmas NBA

Need a break from family time? The good news is the NBA has hosted the NBA on Christmas Day tradition since 1947. Ten teams are selected to play on December 25th every year, and there are no fixed opponents. Often a rematch of the previous year’s finals or an MVP highlight reel, these games are selected to provide true entertainment.

Kentucky Derby

Dust off those fancy hats and nice bourbon bottles for the first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, which crowns the winning horse in a blanket of roses. While the main race itself only lasts about two minutes, the build-up and excitement of the Run for the Roses is a tradition that fans look forward to every year.

Super Bowl

Every tackle, play, catch, and field goal leads up to the second Sunday in February. The Super Bowl is the final game and championship in the NFL each year, crowning that year’s league winner. Millions of fans tune in to see who will take home the trophy and who is going to Walt Disney World.

Honorable mention to the Puppy Bowl, which takes place before the football game. Some may argue it’s more entertaining, but we’ll leave that opinion to the fans.

Wimbledon Weekend

Over the course of two weeks in late June and early July, the oldest tennis tournament in the world takes place, with the last Saturday and Sunday — the women’s and men’s finals — being the highlights of the event. Before 2022, this weekend would’ve been replaced by Manic Monday – the day in which the last 16 matches for both men’s and women’s singles were played. Alas, they stopped this tradition 2 years ago.

UEFA Champions League Final

Although it’s not the same day every year, soccer fans know to block their calendars for this event. For all the non-soccer fans out there: Imagine there were multiple NFL leagues, and the top teams from each individual league battled for the ultimate title each year. That’s the Champions League for teams in Europe. Often regarded as the most prestigious title in soccer (football, for you European fans), it makes for an incredible 90 minutes of entertainment every year.

Memorial Day Weekend – Racing

Also known as the Memorial Day Motorsports Triple Crown, motorsport fans get back-to-back-to-back action over Memorial Day Weekend. It used to be called Double Duty when the main focus was the Indianapolis 500 and Coke 600, but with the rise of F1 Racing, the F1 Monaco has been added to the lineup. The races typically fall on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, making it a perfect time to enjoy, knowing that there’s probably no work the next day.

Saturday after Thanksgiving – College Football Rivalries

While Thanksgiving Day is saved for the NFL (yes, this is included later in the list), it’s the days after turkey day that have college football fans turn into blood-thirsty, diehard maniacs … in the best way possible. There is nothing quite like a good old-fashioned rivalry in college football, and the best rivalry games take place the weekend after Thanksgiving. Auburn/Alabama, Florida/Florida State, Ole Miss/Mississippi State, Indiana/Purdue, Iowa/Nebraska … the list goes on and on. Enjoy family time around the table while it lasts because a divided house can get ugly at this time of year.

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals

Around June every year, hockey fans can tune into many nights of action on the ice. Some of the most dramatic wins are the titles won in Game 7 of the series — which obviously doesn’t always happen, but when it does! With the cheapest tickets coming in at around $1,500 for Game 7 between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers this past year, it’s a night hockey fans can only dream for their team to partake in.

NFL Wild Card Weekend

Kicking off the new year can be either depressing or exhilarating, depending on how your NFL team does. In mid-to-late January each year, NFL Wild Card Weekend takes place. Wild Cards feature three games per conference (six total) and are arranged according to seed (highest plays lowest, second plays seventh, and so on). Winners move on to the Divisional round, where the same seeding applies. It gives football fans just enough hope to think their team has a chance.

First Night of NBA Free Agency

Upon the conclusion of the NBA Draft every year, free agency typically begins within a few days. This year, the draft concluded on June 27th, and free agency began on June 30th at 6:00 p.m. EST. It’s exactly as it sounds: it is when teams can officially open negotiations with all free agents. The signing of these agents happens a couple of days later (this year was July 6th at 12:01 p.m.). With a newer rule that teams could begin negotiating with their own free agents before their opponents could, maybe free agency isn’t as dramatic as it once was. But drama always finds a way to unfold. And fans lock in to find out where their favorite players are going.

MLB Opening Day

For baseball fans, the first week of April or the last week in March can’t come quickly enough every year. A chance to start fresh and forget any of the pain from the previous season. A chance to eat ice cream out of a plastic baseball helmet or drink beer out of a bat-shaped glass. Some argue it should be a national holiday since it typically falls on a weekday or school night. Even though it’s just one game out of a 162-game season, it’s an emotional reset for most baseball fans.

NFL on Thanksgiving

Similar to NBA on Christmas, some tensions may arise during quality holiday time if there’s a house divided. Since the inception of the NFL, there have been games played on Thanksgiving Day. The tradition began originally in college football because it was a day most people had off of work. Teams and the league have capitalized on this tradition over the years, such as whipping out some throwback uniforms or the MVP eating a turkey leg on live television. Either way, anyone who is not busy cooking up a delicious Thanksgiving meal is usually glued in front of a TV, screaming over football.

Home Run Derby

Sure, you could argue that the MLB All-Star Game is a bigger competition in terms of stakes. But, if we’re talking entertainment and wanting to tune in, then let’s talk about the Home Run Derby. Every year, on the day before the all-star game — usually on a Monday in July — there is a home run competition amongst the league’s best batters. Each hitter gets three minutes for 40 pitches in the first round, depending on which one falls first. The final round consists of two minutes or 27 pitches, with bonus pitches until they hit three outs.

Sports Equinox

While this is the one exception to this list of a day that may not occur every year, we have to give it the nod it deserves. Every so often, sports fans are lucky enough to experience a Sports Equinox — a day where all major U.S. sports leagues have games. This includes the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. October 30th of last year was the 30th equinox in history, with a World Series game, Monday Night Football, an NBA game, and an NHL game all falling on the same day. Best to cancel all plans on an equinox day!

College World Series in Omaha

Every year in late May or early June, when all the other college students go home for the summer or celebrate graduation, some college students are fighting for a championship. The Men’s College World Series starts with eight baseball teams from around the country who have won their super regionals and made their way to Omaha, Nebraska, to compete. After some double-elimination brackets, two teams come out victorious and battle it out for the title.

NFL Draft Night #1

Each spring, the NFL draft takes place over three days (Thursday-Sunday). The first round is held on Thursday night, and fans who have lost so much hope for their NFL team tune in with anticipation. The order of picks is determined by the reverse order of finish from the previous season. So, fans at the bottom of the barrel tune in with hopes of a star college player to come in and turn things around. It’s a night where no one can quite predict every move but can only hope and have faith in their team’s management.

U.S. Men’s Soccer vs Mexico

We’ve tried to keep any sporting events that aren’t annually off of this list (i.e. Olympics, World Cup, etc.), but because of CONCACAF, World Cup qualifiers, and international friendlies, it’s become somewhat of an annual tradition for the U.S. men’s national team to play Mexico’s national team. This is one of the largest rivalries in CONCACAF and often results in not-so-nice banter/interactions between fans. The U.S. has dominated this rivalry in the last few meetings, but it hasn’t been easy. One thing is for sure: it’s worth a tune-in.

NBA All-Star Game Weekend

Although there is an entire All-Star Weekend, we’re going to focus just on the All-Star game. Since 1951, the NBA has hosted an all-star game every year. Lineups are selected by fan, player, and media voting (head coaches get to choose the reserves). Teams play for a charity of their choice and are led by the head coach from the team with the best record in each conference. It’s a day basketball fans get to tune in and watch players who typically aren’t in the same uniform play on the same team and make some magic happen on the court.

NFL Championship Weekend

Yes, we’ve covered the Super Bowl. Yes, we’ve covered Wild Card weekend. But how about that Sunday when the NFC and AFC Championships are held? Four teams remain, and there are only two spots available for the Super Bowl. All of the Wild Cards and Divisional rounds have led to this. Some fans catch themselves already looking at Super Bowl ticket prices, but real ones know not to count their chickens before championship weekend.

The Ocho

Saving the best for last. Over the course of four days, there are 54 hours of coverage of unique sports on ESPN’s The Ocho, including (but not limited to) robot fighting, speedcubing, OmegaBall, kickball, air guitar competitions, and more. All inspired by Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story (which also airs these days), this is a time of year set to cheer on the underdogs in sports. If you’ve never seen an adult paddle boarding competition or dog surfing championships, these days are for you.