Rank the excitement/watchability of the four major pro sports' playoffs (yes, including hockey)

1. MLB

2. NFL

3. NBA

Distant 4th NHL.

I used to have NFL as #1 by far but I really don't like the direction the league is heading, no pun intended.

Also, I understand people's aversion to baseball, it is an acquired taste imo.

NBA can be exciting but imo only the last 5 or so minutes of some games and then to often it turns into a free throw contest...yawn.

NHL used to be a more close 4th but that was when it was new to me, after a while it got boring, that and the strike several years ago really hurt it with me.

thesthseth wrote:

1. MLB

2. NFL

3. NBA

Distant 4th NHL.

NHL used to be a more close 4th but that was when it was new to me, after a while it got boring, that and the strike several years ago really hurt it with me.

Yeah, MLB would never go on strike.

ronner wrote:

thesthseth wrote:

1. MLB

2. NFL

3. NBA

Distant 4th NHL.

NHL used to be a more close 4th but that was when it was new to me, after a while it got boring, that and the strike several years ago really hurt it with me.

Yeah, MLB would never go on strike.

Neither would the NBA, haha.

1) UEFA Champions League/World Cup

2) NHL

3) NFL

4) NBA

5) MLB

If two no-name teams in each sport were playing a regular season game on 4 separate channels on a tv that only got those 4 channels, I'd be most likely to watch:

1. NFL

2. NBA

3. MLB

4. NHL

Since you're asking specifically about the playoffs:

NFL

The other 3 dont matter in this argument. You can't compare the finality of a single-game, win-or-go-home structure (NFL) with the drawn out series-based approaches of MLB, NBA and NHL. And in the case of the latter two, they drag the playoff season across 2 months among like a million teams. It's ridiculous and it waters down the whole post-season. Admittedly, it does add some drama to the regular season since more teams can vie for playoff slots... but still, on the margin it sucks ass.

If you're asking to rank the watchability of the four sports irrespective of the playoffs (which is how most people here answered this question), then my vote is:

NFL

NHL

MLB

NBA (has totally sucked balls since MJ retired the second time in 98)

For the playoffs:

NHL

MLB

NBA

NFL

For full disclosure, I am not a football fan so that sinks right to the bottom. NBA is only fun if your team is in it and since mine is done, I have lost interest.

In person, nothing matches the intensity and excitement of an NHL playoff game. Went to a couple of Rangers/Ottawa games and a couple of Rangers/Capitals games at the Garden and it was a wild scene. The amped up level of play makes it riveting to watch. Hockey players are the best conditioned athletes out there.