Category Archives: Sports

Biggest Sporting Events in the US

college football, Entertainment, MLB, NFL, Sports

The Biggest Sporting Events in the United States

We love sports in the United States. The Super Bowl breaks TV records every year because sports are our favorite form of entertainment. Few other things come close, especially when looking at consistent viewership numbers over time. To get an idea of what we really like the most, here are the top sporting events in the U.S.

1. Super Bowl

It’s not a surprise that the Super Bowl tops this list. It’s the culmination of the most popular sports season in the country. People watch even if they don’t care about either team that made it to the big game — and even if they hate those teams. They throw massive Super Bowl parties and basically treat this as a holiday. Want proof? In 2012, people ate 100 million pounds of chicken wings while watching the game.

2. Masters

Golf is, in many ways, the opposite of football. It’s quiet, reserved, yet still loved by sports fans. It’s been around for decades, starting in 1934 — that’s still seven years before the United States got involved in World War II, for some perspective — and it’s still golf’s biggest event. The green jacket that the golfers battle for has become the most iconic image in the sport.

3. Kentucky Derby

This is the headliner of all horse racing events, a race that is as famous as the sport itself. People who haven’t watched a single horse race all year will tune in for this one event. The race is all of two minutes long, but it spawns weeks of festivities leading up to those 120 furious seconds.

4. World Series

Baseball may not be America’s pastime anymore, the way it used to be, but the World Series is still a well-loved event. There’s something nostalgic about it that people really connect with, no matter who makes it to the final seven games. Of course, the fever pitch reached an all-time high this year, as the Chicago Cubs were finally able to win after more than 100 years since their last victory.

5. College Football Playoffs

College football isn’t as popular as the NFL, but it’s a close second and still rounds out the top five. It used to be a single game, which ranked highly, but people complained about simply voting on the teams who would face off. In recent years, college football has switched to a four-team playoff system. This has raised interest, and it means that fans of powerhouse teams like Alabama and Ohio State have a chance to watch extra games as their teams advance.

Here at Headline Tickets, we have premium tickets for all of the major and minor sporting events that Americans love!

Is the NCAA Playoff Big Enough?

Entertainment, Sports

concert crowd

Is the NCAA Playoff Big Enough?

College football got ripped apart for years for not having a playoff system. How was it fair, critics asked, to just vote two teams into the title game? What if a third team was better than both but never got a chance to show it? With the NFL, NBA, NHL and most other major sports all using playoff models — not to mention lower divisions of college football — this made a lot of sense. Finally, the NCAA changed to a four-team playoff system. But is that really enough?

You’re Still Voting

Part of the problem is that the NCAA is still voting on the teams that get in. In the NFL, there’s a clear set of rules. Win your division, and you’re in. To get a Wildcard spot, be one of the best teams to come in second — or, in rare cases, third. The tiebreakers include things like head-to-head play and divisional records. That doesn’t mean there’s never controversy, but it’s typically pretty clear who earned it.

It’s not as clear in the NCAA. Take this season, for instance. Ohio State rose to No. 2 in the country despite losing to Penn State. However, that means they don’t get to play for the Big Ten title. Penn State does. Even if Penn State wins, it’s likely that the committee is going to vote Ohio State into the playoff. Depending how everything falls, the Big Ten winner could get left out entirely.

You Don’t Need 20 Teams

People who are against expanding the playoff system seem to think it would get too large and make it so that the season didn’t matter. What they like now is that many seasonal games are huge because there’s little room for error to get into the postseason. If more teams got in, teams could afford some losses.

That’s technically true, but you don’t need to have 20 teams in the playoffs. Even moving it up to eight teams would include a lot of those fringe teams that complain every year when the top four make it. This doesn’t have to turn into the basketball tournament. It can still be small and exclusive.

The Money

There is often talk that the playoffs shouldn’t happen because the bowl games make a lot of money. That’s true, but the playoffs make a lot of money, too. While many fans watch their favorite teams during the season, many of them tune into playoff games for teams they’ve never watched to see how the drama plays out. That’s true in every sport, and it’d hold true for college football. That increased interest generates more revenue.

Watching the Playoffs

The college football playoff may only have four teams and three games, but it’s already proven to be a huge hit. Once you know if your team made it, come to us at Headline Tickets to get excellent deals on your seats!

A Patriots/Cowboys Super Bowl?

Entertainment, NFL, Sports
Photo Credit: iStock Photo
Photo Credit: iStock Photo

A Patriots/Cowboys Super Bowl Would be the Most-Watched Ever

Things change in a heartbeat in the NFL. A few bad breaks, and a team can go from looking like a Super Bowl favorite to out of contention.

That being said, two of the hottest teams in the NFL this season are the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. Some have already predicted that they’ll meet up in the Super Bowl.

That same prediction from Fortune had one curious twist, though: It also predicted that the amount of people who watch the Super Bowl would be slightly lower than it was for Super Bowl 50. That game, between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, had about 110 million people tuning in. The drop won’t be far, but Fortune thinks it will fall this time around.

It could be true. Certainly, the NFL has seen declining viewership all year.

However, what Fortune is somehow ignoring is that these are the two teams with the best fan bases in the NFL. The Cowboys are the biggest and have been for years. Texas is a huge state, the Cowboys are an iconic team — there is a reason they’re called “America’s Team” — and they have a huge fan base even when they’re going 8-8. Fan support always swells when a team is good. With a rookie QB, they’re now one of the best in the NFL, and the fans are loud and proud. If that rookie — Dak Prescott — leads them all the way to the Super Bowl, it will be incredible.

Tied for second, according to CBS Sports, are the Patriots. Most of it just has to do with winning. The Patriots have won four Super Bowls with QB Tom Brady in the last decade and a half. They almost always win the AFC East. When you’re that good for that long, you create a ton of stalwart fans.

Of course, both teams are also hated, as is so often the case in the NFL. People despise the Cowboys for remaining so popular when they haven’t won in years. They hate the Patriots because they win and because many fans feel they cheat to do it.

However, that’s still going to create an epic matchup. People are going to want to watch every second — from here on out, really, not just in the playoffs and the Super Bowl — just to see if the teams lose.

Again, things can change in two seconds. Injuries happen, teams lose games they should win, and a new challenger could rise up. But, if the trajectory holds steady and those two teams do meet in the Super Bowl, as has been predicted, it’s going to be insane.

To watch everything come together as the end of the regular season plays out, get your Cowboys tickets and Patriots tickets today!

The Lakers Are Relevant Again

Entertainment, NBA, Sports

BasketBall in mid flight

The Lakers Are Relevant Again Now That Kobe Bryant Is Gone

This feels nearly blasphemous to say, but the Los Angeles Lakers were an afterthought last season because of Kobe Bryant. Now that he’s retired, this is a young team that has clawed its way back to relevance with just a little over a dozen games in the books.

Bryant was one of the best to ever do it. No one will ever be Michael Jordan again, but Kobe had his own era. He dominated the NBA, won ring after ring, and he’ll go down as one of the greatest in NBA history. He’s a legend and he earned every bit of it. Few players had his combination of physical skills and a cutthroat attitude.

So this isn’t to knock on Kobe, but the fact remains that he was not the same guy last season. Yes, he exploded in his final game ever, and did you really expect anything less? But he wasn’t the same player who could get wins on his own. He was doing a farewell tour and people were turning out just to see him play — which is great for ticket sales — but he wasn’t bringing home the wins or setting the Lakers up to chase one final title.

If you wanted that, all eyes were on Cleveland and Golden State. That’s where the title talk resided and where it ultimately ended up.

Some have even said that the Lakers only hired head coach Byron Scott because they knew he’d play Kobe as much as Kobe wanted to play. It wouldn’t matter if the team lost or if they should really be focusing on the future. He’d give Kobe the end to his career that he wanted and deserved.

Now, though, the team is changed. Bryant is gone. Scott was fired. The focus is not only on the future, but actively on the present. This team is not worried about getting shots for an aging superstar. It’s worried about winning games.

The young guys, led by D’Angelo Russell, are stepping up. New coach Luke Walton has been called one of the top young coaches in the NBA, with some saying he’s one of the best coaches regardless of age.

Are the Lakers a powerhouse? Certainly not. Even in California, all eyes are still on Golden State. But you don’t rebuild from a player like Kobe overnight. After seeing one of the worst marks in franchise history last season, they’re clearly ternding in the right direction and battling toward playoff relevancy. The NBA is better when the Lakers are good, and that’s finally the path they’re on again.

To see the transformation in one of the NBA’s most storied franchises, check out the great ticket deals we have here at Headline Tickets.

Dallas Cowboys Have an Epic QB Dilemma

Entertainment, NFL, Sports

With Dak Prescott and Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys Have an Epic QB Dilemma

Not since the 49ers were trying to decide between Joe Montana and Steve Young has there been such a QB dilemma in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys, with the best record they have had in years, must choose between veteran starter Tony Romo and rookie Dak Prescott.

Prescott was a mid-round pick this year, seen as a project QB. He was often compared to Tim Tebow and ran a very college-style offense at Mississippi State. He wasn’t meant to start. The Cowboys had just learned last season, when Romo broke his collarbone twice, that they needed to work on depth at the position.

Then Romo hurt his back in the preseason. He was scrambling against the Seahawks and got hit from behind. Suddenly, the Cowboys had to start Prescott, the rookie no one thought was ready.

Not only was he ready, but he has led the Cowboys to their best start ever. They look like a potential Super Bowl contender. He’s setting high marks for rookies in NFL history; he’s beating almost everyone he plays. As of the win over the Browns on Nov. 6, he had thrown 12 touchdowns and just two picks. His QB rating was 104.2 and he had just over 2,000 yards on the season.

Those aren’t Peyton Manning type numbers, but his ability to protect the ball has been terrific and he’s only getting better. He threw three touchdowns, a career high, against Cleveland. He did the same two weeks before, against the Packers.

While all this was going on, though, Romo was healing. He was going to rehab. He was going to practice. Now, he’s finally been cleared to play.

The Cowboys didn’t expect to be at the top of the NFC East when he came back. If they were 2-5, this would be an easy decision. But Prescott has wildly outperformed what they expected from him, and he’s one of the most exciting rookie QBs in recent memory. It’s not so easy to decide if they should go back to Romo.

Romo is more experienced and the better passer. He’s a guy who has thrown three touchdowns in a game many times. He knows this offense.

On the other hand, it’s not possible for the Cowboys to do anything but stay the same — or get worse. Even if they win with Romo, that’s the same thing they’re doing with Prescott. Do they look to the future with the young QB or switch back to the vet and perhaps stunt this incredible run?

If history is any guide, they’ll go with Prescott. The 49ers, after all, got rid of Montana, went with Young, and won a Super Bowl. If you’d like to see how the drama plays out in Dallas, get your Cowboys tickets today!