Countdown Friday: The Top 5 Sports Days Of The Year

5. Black Friday - Perhaps one of the more underrated sports days, the day after Thanksgiving is always full of great games to watch. Sleeping in and spending a day on the couch is an excellent alternative to 5 a.m. fist fights at Toys R Us. There are always plenty of college basketball games, some NHL contests, and a few great college football matchups.


4. Thanksgiving - The day after Thanksgiving is great, but it doesn't quite top Thanksgiving day itself. There's high school football from the time you wake up until the afternoon, at which point you can shift your attention towards the pro game. The three games match the holiday schedule perfectly: appetizers (12:30 game), Thanksgiving dinner (4:30 game), food coma (8:20 game).


3. March Madness Opening Day(s) - For these two days, we put aside all the schoolwork or desk work and turn our eyes to the television. Productivity is at an annual low and sick days hit their yearly highs. The opening of the NCAA tournament is a spectacle, a circus, and one of the happiest days of the year.


2. Super Bowl Sunday - Super Bowl Sunday is the closest thing to a national holiday that the sports world has. All day long, you can watch pregame shows, season lookback shows, or even crappy Super Bowl inspired programming like "MTV's Rocks vs. Jocks." And when the game itself finally arrives, it's always a treat. The football is fantastic, the commercials are (sometimes) hilarious, and there's always more food than anyone could possibly want.


1. New Year's Day - The greatest sports day of the year is, without a doubt, New Year's Day. From the time you wake up, you are bombarded with sports. In fact, there is almost too much to watch. The schedule of college bowl games goes as follows: Outback Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Gator Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl. Wow. Add in the NHL Winter Classic, and you have an unbelievable day of sports.