Top 10 Best Sports to Watch on TV

Let's face it: a good majority of us are sports nuts. Not the kind you sprinkle on sundaes, the kind who cancel plans because there's a playoff game on. You've yelled at refs through the screen, worn the same lucky shirt for three straight Sundays, and absolutely believed that your screaming somehow helped your team make that game-winning shot.

Some sports are a cinematic rollercoaster. Others are a masterclass in strategy. Some are just there for the pure chaos of it all. There's nothing like watching two rivals go at it with millions watching, your heart pounding like you're the one getting tackled or launching that three-pointer. And even when the game's bad? The memes, the commentary, the commercials, the drama, the absurd coach interviews... it still pays off.

So what are the best sports to watch on TV? That's up to you. Vote for the ones that keep you glued to the screen, screaming at coaches you'll never meet and celebrating goals like you scored them yourself.

The Top Ten

Football

American football is a sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The game involves advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone to score points. It is most popular in the United States, with the NFL being the top professional league.

I could watch football just about anywhere. This sport actually seems loving in a strange way. They really do have nice positions to make it more interesting: the quarterback, the linebacker, the left backs, the right backs, and of course, the receiver.
A great deal to see in motion or passing as well. Good!

NFL all the way! It is America's favorite sport. Anything could happen in one second. The Dallas Cowboys are America's favorite team.

There is just so much violence. Overtime is always fun, and this team relies on teamwork more than any other.
Soccer

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players each. It is played with a spherical ball. The objective is to score goals by getting the ball into the opposing team's net. Soccer is the most popular sport globally, governed by FIFA... read more

Soccer is a great sport to watch. It is just that no one appreciates passing, running, moving into space, etc. Now all anyone wants to see is scoring.

The game never stops. It is fun to play and watch. It requires tactics, skill, and know-how.

Go around the world and ask other people. I bet that 99.5% of them will say football, the real name.
Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points.
The sport is known for its speed, physicality, and strategic play. It is most popular in countries like... read more

Hockey is such a nail-biting sport. One minute one team is on the attack, then the next, it's the other team. It is such a fun sport to watch on TV and in person.
Don't get me wrong, football is definitely fun to watch, but hockey keeps you on the edge of your seat. Especially playoff hockey. The players are playing at their best at all times, and as the game goes on, if it's a close game, then you're definitely at the edge of your seat.
GO BRUINS!

Hockey, by far. If you know the rules, and I mean really know the rules, it is one of the most exhilarating sports there is. Plus, the fans of hockey teams tend to be really tight-knit and practically family, so it's like you're watching your team with your brothers, sisters, and cousins, all cheering for the same thing.
People high-five each other, and everyone's your friend. It's beautiful.
Basketball

Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high mounted to a backboard at each end. It is one of the most popular sports worldwide, especially in the United States, where the NBA is... read more

Basketball is fun to watch. It is hard to hit a shot, and it is very interesting when it all comes down to the wire at the end between two teams.
Basketball brings players from all over America. It has all the best players and athletes like MJ, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Paul George, Larry Bird, Shaquille O'Neal, and many more. Basketball is a team sport packed with determination.

Action-packed, fast-paced basketball is amazing. By far the best. You don't get to see clutch situations where more than 10 points are scored in any other sport than basketball. No dunks or amazing athletes such as LeBron James and Michael Jordan in any other sport.
Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The game is widely considered the national pastime of the United States. Major League Baseball (MLB) is the sport's highest level of professional play in North America.

Anyone who thinks baseball is worse than soccer doesn't understand baseball. Pitch counts, runners on base, and the lineup make up more strategy than the pass and go of soccer. With each pitch, something can happen, and each batter is a small battle.

Nothing beats the greatest sport ever invented!

Good old-fashioned American pastime.
Tennis

Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent or between two teams of two players each.
Matches are played on various surfaces such as grass, clay, or hard court, each affecting gameplay differently. It is a globally popular sport with major tournaments including... read more

Heated rivalries and less action than other sports, which can be both good and bad.

More exciting than any other sport.
Rugby

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, league, rugby, or football, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field.
It originated in Northern England in the late 19th century and is distinct from rugby union in rules and gameplay. Rugby league... read more

This is so much tougher than American football. You want violence? All you use in rugby is a mouthguard. What do you have to use in American football? American football is for people who want to look tough but don't want to get tackled before they put on all their gear. Watching it, though, is pretty cool!

Rugby puts some other sports to shame. Rugby union is one of the best sports to watch live, especially the internationals. You require strength, speed, excellent cardiovascular endurance, agility, power, and courage.
It should be up there with MMA, boxing, football (the correct name for soccer), table tennis, and Aussie rules football.
Boxing

Boxing is a martial art and combat sport in which two people wearing protective gloves throw punches at each other for a predetermined set of time in a boxing ring.
It is governed by rules that include weight classes, scoring systems, and protective regulations. Boxing is an Olympic sport and... read more

How isn't boxing number one? If you want violence, go for boxing (I don't know why that's the first point for football being number one). Boxing has been around since the days of the Egyptians.
Australian Football

No breaks, big hits, and rules so complicated that not even God understands what motivates the umpires. Highly recommended if you can get over the learning curve to appreciate what's going on.
eSports

eSports is more important than football.

The Newcomers

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
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Judo

Judo is a modern martial art and Olympic sport that originated in Japan. Created by Jigoro Kano in 1882, it focuses on throws, joint locks, and pins, emphasizing the efficient use of balance and leverage. Practitioners, known as judokas, wear special garments called "judogi," and they compete on a mat... read more

The Contenders

Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed martial arts is a full-contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, from a variety of other combat sports and martial arts.
It gained mainstream popularity through organizations such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship... read more

Punching, kicking, throws, takedowns, submissions, knockouts. Boxing, Muay Thai, judo, wrestling, jiu-jitsu. Beautiful. Much more interesting than throwing a ball through a hoop or hitting a ball with a stick.
More interesting fighters with different backgrounds from different countries with different styles. Different races: white, black, Latino, Asian. Some tall, some short, some fat, some skinny, and sometimes even female.
Basketball is mostly black and 7 feet tall.

How can you not think MMA is the most exciting sport?!? I do MMA, and it is the best thing I have ever done besides playing football in high school. MMA takes immense amounts of training, focus, toughness, determination, guts, willpower, agility, speed, strength, heart, stamina, and endurance. Shall I go on?
All in all, MMA should be at the top for many reasons, most of all because it's badass.
Swimming

Swimming is an individual or team sport and activity. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with events in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.
It requires strong cardiovascular fitness and technique, and is also widely practiced as a low-impact form of... read more

Swimming is entertaining from start to finish. We see swimmers such as Jason Lezak make astonishing comebacks in the 2008 Olympics and other swimmers such as Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian dominate in the pool.
Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket, a set of three wooden stumps sited at each end. It is one of the most popular sports in countries like India, England, Australia, and... read more

If a match is played between two quality teams, it is the most entertaining sport to watch. But if it is between two dull sides or even one dull team, it is painful to watch for more than five minutes.

Being an Indian, I love cricket!
Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a contact team sport played between two teams using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick.
The objective is to score by shooting the ball into the opponent's goal. Lacrosse has several variations, including field lacrosse, box lacrosse, and... read more
Pool
Cycling

Cycling is great, one of the toughest sports out there! People think they just sit back and enjoy the ride when most of them are enduring grueling effort and going through tremendous pain to achieve the speeds you see in professional cycling.
Cycling also requires intense concentration as it's easy for a pack to crash, and crashing is very painful. All 50-100 or more cyclists need to watch each other's wheels over the course. Very skilled and incredibly fit athletes.
Wrestling

Wrestling is a combat sport involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other grappling holds... read more
Bowling
Snooker
Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. It is also considered a recreational activity, an art form, a profession, and a method of transportation. Skateboarding originated in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s and has grown into a global culture... read more
Beach Volleyball

Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net. It became an official Olympic discipline at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. The sport originated in Southern California and has since become popular worldwide.
Darts
Kickboxing

K-1 is a great and underrated fighting organization, no doubt about it. Better than boxing anytime.
Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.
It is played both indoors and on sand, with beach volleyball being an Olympic event since 1996.
Triathlon