The best trophy in sports?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

So in honour of The 2009 Ashes starting soon, I thought we could discuss which sporting trophy/ies are the best in the world of sport.

For me the best trophy IS The Ashes urn.

It's not officially an actual trophy as it was a gift in 1882 to the touring England captain...However it has become an icon of the biannual series between Australia and England. The meanings behind the urn are massive:

(from wiki)

"The series is named after a satirical obituary published in an English newspaper, The Sporting Times, in 1882 after the match at The Oval in which Australia beat England on an English ground for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media then dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes.

During that tour in Australia, a small terracotta urn was presented as a gift to the England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump."

The Ashes urn basically symbolizes English cricket. If we win the series, cricket belongs to us. If we lose it, it belongs to Australia. So really, it's massive and why it means so much to so many people.

So yeah, yours?

[SeanDMan]

I've always been partial to the Stanley Cup myself.

[Liam]

I think that as far as the competitive nature of a trophy goes, it has to go to the Championship.

As for my own personal preference......if this counts as a trophy, the 100m Olympic gold. Ever since I was young, I was always enamoured with the 100m final, being the only Olympics event I'd make sure I watched. There was something about someone being 'the fastest man in the world' that captured me as a kid, and its still something I'll watch at most of the major events, but the Olympics is the pinnacle. In a similar vein, if it count, The World's Strongest Man title was always something that I've thought was awesome since I was a kid, and continue to this day.

Legacy-wise, the World Heavyweight Title in Boxing was awesome back in the day, but with all the splintering of federations, it isn't as a big a deal to me as it used to be.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Jushin 'Thunder' Liam

[NobBe Nobbs]

I've always been partial to the Stanley Cup myself.

Ditto. I had the Cup in mind when I saw the thread title.

[Slogger]

I've always been partial to the Stanley Cup myself.

Ditto. I had the Cup in mind when I saw the thread title.

Ditto to that.

The size of the cup, The history, The number of legendary players who have had their name on the trophy.

[Plubby]

Disgraceful, Slogger.

As great as the cup is, it's obviously The Ashes.

[TCO]

The Vince Lombardi Trophy for me. The design just wins it hands down, it looks realy classy and of course, it's also contested for, in the biggest global sporting event of the year too, which adds to it's mystique.

[alldaws1]

My favourite looking trophy. As TCO said the Vince Lombardi is a classy trophy, I'd put that in second place followed by the English Premier League. I also like the NBA Championship design but the Ashes trophy is comical

[METALMAN]

The Vince Lombardi Trophy for me. The design just wins it hands down, it looks realy classy and of course, it's also contested for, in the biggest global sporting event of the year too, which adds to it's mystique.

Hardly.

I'm really unsure about my favourite trophy. My least favourite is probably the UEFA Cup though.

[JStarr]

I've gotta agree with the Stanley Cup, as well. The fact that it kept expanding from its original size just so they could keep putting player names on it, and the fact that every winning player gets his name on it, anyway. It's even more tangible proof of winning than a big blinged-out ring.

After seeing the story of the Ashes, it's obviously got immense significance, but seriously, that thing looks like it came out of a gumball machine.

EDIT: And pray tell us, metalman, what IS the biggest global sporting event of the year, if not the Super Bowl? Bear in mind, we're talking about one that happens EVERY YEAR, before you go World Cup or Olympics on us.

Edited June 26, 2009 by GangStarr

[alldaws1]

The Vince Lombardi Trophy for me. The design just wins it hands down, it looks realy classy and of course, it's also contested for, in the biggest global sporting event of the year too, which adds to it's mystique.

Hardly.

It is, though.

[Liam]

The Vince Lombardi Trophy for me. The design just wins it hands down, it looks realy classy and of course, it's also contested for, in the biggest global sporting event of the year too, which adds to it's mystique.

Hardly.

It is the most watched, I believe.

[SeanDMan]

I've gotta agree with the Stanley Cup, as well. The fact that it kept expanding from its original size just so they could keep putting player names on it, and the fact that every winning player gets his name on it, anyway. It's even more tangible proof of winning than a big blinged-out ring.

You get a ring too. And a hat!

[TCO]

The Vince Lombardi Trophy for me. The design just wins it hands down, it looks realy classy and of course, it's also contested for, in the biggest global sporting event of the year too, which adds to it's mystique.

Hardly.

I'm really unsure about my favourite trophy. My least favourite is probably the UEFA Cup though.

Well none of the the rest of the American sports' 'finals' are cared about over here, even slightly, most they get is a spot in the ticker on Sky Sports and is generally considered the most popular sport in America, I assumed this to be the case. The only thing I thought would come close on a global stage would be the World Cup Final, but that's not a yearly event.

[METALMAN]

Olympics, World Cup and European Championship always have far more viewers.

So, while the Superbowl is the most watched sporting event every two years, and I myself watch it and enjoy it, I just have difficulty accepting it as being global as the viewers are predominantly from one country, unlike the ones I mentioned which truly are global.

But yeah...on the subject of the trophy - it is very nice.

edit - actually the subject of TV viewings is very interesting. I remember seeing an article saying that the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony drew in excess of 1 billion viewers. Which is just incredible really.

Edited June 26, 2009 by metalman

[alldaws1]

Sporting event of the year. All these other things you've mentioned come around less often than once a year.

[Liam]

The closest anyone has come to gauging global Super Bowl ratings is a tracking system devised by the New York-based media research firm Initiative, which collects data from 54 of the major TV markets from around the world. According to Initiative's most recent measurement, Super Bowl XL posted an average audience of 98 million, with 151 million tuning in at some point.

If you're number-crunching, that's 849 million short of a billion.

One 2006 sporting event did come close to the 1 billion mark: The World Cup final between Italy and France drew an average audience of 260 million, and 603 million people saw at least part of the game.

So yeah, metalman has a point, though looking from a year in, year out perspective, no other domestic final competes with the Superbowl.

EDIT: AD, though there is the annual suggestion in what is being said, it does mean that the Superbowl isn't the sporting event of the year every second year or so, which I guess makes sense.

Actually, even the UEFA Euro Cup final draws a larger audience than the superbowl. In 2004 the worldwide audience was 279 million according to UEFA (source: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/orga...id=332293.html), although they don't specify wether this is ppl just tuning in or seeing the entire game. The same page gives the average number of viewers over all the games in the finals as 150 million.

These are both from WikiAnswers, so they could be right or wrong really. Interesting, more than anything.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Jushin 'Thunder' Liam

[Cactus Drags]

I think the thing with the Superbowl is that it draws in viewers who don't watch American Football on a regular basis. UEFA Cup etc. is likely normal football fans.

I digress, that's not what's being discussed. There's no argument really, the Stanley Cup wins hands down. It's unique in appearance, it's rich in tradition and history (seriously, what other trophy spends a day with every player on the winning team, rather than being shoved in a museum case?), it's never been renamed or tarnished with a sponsor name. I don't see how anything else comes close.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I've gotta agree with the Stanley Cup, as well. The fact that it kept expanding from its original size just so they could keep putting player names on it, and the fact that every winning player gets his name on it, anyway. It's even more tangible proof of winning than a big blinged-out ring.

After seeing the story of the Ashes, it's obviously got immense significance, but seriously, that thing looks like it came out of a gumball machine.

EDIT: And pray tell us, metalman, what IS the biggest global sporting event of the year, if not the Super Bowl? Bear in mind, we're talking about one that happens EVERY YEAR, before you go World Cup or Olympics on us.

It's not the size that counts.

You should know that

[Hobo]

Personally I like the UEFA Cup and the Football League Championship trophy. And the older Premiership trophy with the removable crown. It was pointlessly wonderful.