After over 100 matches were played across three countries in June and July, the 2026 FIFA World Cup wrapped up last month with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The soccer tournament, which is held every four years, was a smashing success. Not only were there plenty of thrilling matches, but 6.8 million people attended the games, and countless more across the world watched broadcasts of the matches on television or streaming.
After seeing how successful and entertaining the FIFA World Cup was, today feels like a great time to see how it stacks up to other sports tournaments and playoffs. Annual events like college basketball’s NCAA Tournament, the NFL Playoffs, and the College Football Playoff are favorites among sports fans. While the NBA Playoffs usually have some entertaining series each year, the NHL Playoffs often feature more unpredictability. If you don’t agree with that statement, just look back to when the eighth-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
What we want to know today is what your favorite sports tournament or playoff. Ohio State fans probably love the College Football Playoff after winning it twice since its inception. Maybe there are fans out there who appreciate the FIFA Women’s World Cup more since the USWNT is more of a threat to win than the USMNT is in the men’s version. For some, the Olympics take the top spot because the athletes are putting it all on the line for their country. We look forward to seeing how much variety there is with the answers.
Today’s question: Which sports tournament or playoff is your favorite?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: The FIFA Men’s World Cup
Maybe there is some recency bias since the World Cup just ended, but I have loved the tournament for a long time. I watched it religiously in 2018 when the USMNT wasn’t even playing, and even though it was switched to the fall in 2022 when it was held in Qatar, I was excited since we could pair it with college football. I remember how much I was looking forward to England and the USMNT playing on the Friday before The Game, as well as having a World Cup match to watch the next morning instead of College GameDay or Big Noon Kickoff.
Some of my love for the World Cup is also because I played soccer growing up. I can admit I wasn’t all that good, but I probably love soccer a little more than other sports since I did play in high school. Had I played football, then my answer might be the College Football Playoff. Even to this day I watch the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, La Liga, and keep up on the English Championship. Pretty much if I can find a soccer match on television, then I’m watching at least some of it.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – JULY 19: A general view during the Topps Final Halftime Show in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) Getty Images
While we are dreading the expansion of the NCAA Tournament, as well as the inevitable expansion of the College Football Playoff, the expansion of the FIFA World Cup actually turned out to be a good thing. The action didn’t feel watered down with more teams. First-time qualifiers Cape Verde and DR Congo provided some amazing moments during the tournament. Cape Verde held Spain scoreless in the Group Stage and pushed Argentina to the brink in the Knockout Stage, while DR Congo had England on the ropes.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m watching pretty much all the major sports playoffs and tournaments since I’m a sports junkie. Maybe it’s because players are playing for their country and not their club team, which is why the World Cup hits harder for me. Even when the groups are announced months before, I’m already locked in, salivating over some of the best group stage matchups. The passion we see from the fans throughout the tournament is also amazing to see. In a way, it’s like they are college football fans on steroids.
Now if only the USMNT’s play in the World Cup could match the rabidness of my soccer fandom, we might not ever lose another World Cup again!
Matt’s answer: NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
There are bigger sporting events than the men’s NCAA Tournament. The Super Bowl attracts more attention, the Olympics bring together the entire world, and — as we have recently seen — the World Cup carries a level of international passion that is nearly impossible to replicate. But no event delivers the same combination of excitement, chaos, nostalgia, and communal investment as March Madness. That’s why, hands down, it is the single best tournament in all of sports. To me, it is the combination of the upsets (or even just the threat of upsets) in nearly every game; multiple matchups happening at once, ramping up the already obscene levels of pandemonium; and the roller coaster of living and dying with your bracket that makes the opening Thursday and Friday of March Madness can’t-miss high holidays on the sporting calendar.
Those first two days are nearly perfect. Games begin at 12 noon ET and continue until close to midnight, with something meaningful happening almost constantly. There is always a higher-seeded team unexpectedly struggling, an under-the-radar player catching fire, or a small school threatening to ruin millions of brackets. The TV coverage (or more accurately, which game gets the audio on my multiview) bounces from one dramatic finish to another, and even games that seemed unimportant when the bracket was released suddenly become the center of the sports world.
Obviously, the bracket is a major part of what makes the tournament special. March Madness does something that no other sporting event — despite the onslaught of sports gambling — has the ability to do. It invites participation from everyone, including (and especially) people who might not have watched a single college basketball game during the regular season.
Friends, families, coworkers, and complete strangers can immediately compare picks, argue about potential upsets, and complain when a team they barely knew existed destroys their Final Four. The bracket transforms the tournament from something we merely watch into something we collectively experience. Sure, we can all jump on the Team USA bandwagon for the Olympics or pretend we know the difference between a striker and a sweeper during the World Cup, but neither has the ability to inspire a rooting interest in every game like the Big Dance does.
Of course, the brackets are so exciting because the tournament’s greatest strength is its unpredictability. Every year, a lower-seeded team becomes a Cinderella, knocking off established programs and turning previously anonymous players into indelible tournament heroes. Most sports are structured to ensure that the best teams eventually rise to the top. March Madness gives them only 40 minutes to prove it. One bad shooting night, one remarkable individual performance, or one perfectly timed bounce can rewrite an entire season. Admittedly, the Final Four is often uniformly made up of Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, but unless the top seeds win every region, that just means there were some pretty big upsets along the way.
While this might date me a bit, back when I was in high school and college, there was no such thing as streaming or multiview. You watched whatever games were on in your market, and just hoped that the broadcast kept you abreast of the other teams in action. That is, unless you were able to watch the tournament somewhere with a satellite dish. So, for multiple years in a row, my friends and I went to a Damon’s restaurant in Pickerington that I believe is a fitness center now. We would get there before the first games on Thursday, and we would not leave until the final games were done. Then on Friday, we would be back to do the same thing.
We consumed far more garlic rolls, ribs, hamburgers, fries, and Oreo cheesecake than any group of people should in a single sitting, but man, was that an awesome experience. Friends would come and go as their schedules allowed, but the true degenerates amongst us would skip class and camp out all day. Of course, I couldn’t tell you a single game we watched, or who won, but I will never forget those times of sharing a ridiculous, youthful experience with my closest friends.
Those memories are a major reason that the tournament still feels so important to me more than 25 years later. March Madness does not simply create new stories each year; it reconnects fans with the games, players, and moments that helped shape their sports fandom in the first place.
It also helps that, unlike the World Cup or Olympics, nearly every game takes place during normal waking hours. There is no need to set an alarm for 4 a.m. or avoid spoilers until the following afternoon. For three weeks — and especially during those first four glorious days — the tournament takes over everything in the best possible way. March Madness is unpredictable, communal, nostalgic, and relentlessly entertaining; no other sporting event promises as much and delivers so reliably.