Now that professional and college football is over, what’s next? How will we fill the void on Saturday and Sunday afternoons? It’s funny because we wait so long to see how far our favorite football teams will go and when it’s all over we don’t know what to do with ourselves.

Not a lot of sporting events in the U.S. can boast its premier event (such as the Super Bowl) became the most watched event in U.S. television history.

What about basketball? Does this sporting event have what it takes to fill in the large empty shoes left behind by football?

Basketball is a great sport that anyone can get into easily and fall in love with at the professional or college basketball level. March Madness is probably the most exciting and competitive event that’s crammed into such a small time frame. The NBA playoffs look very promising this year with powerhouse teams like the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat, and everyone in the league’s got their eyes on San Antonio where the Spurs have shown little weakness in their games. You can never count out the Los Angeles Lakers or the up and coming Chicago Bulls. Basketball is reaching its prime at many levels but still… is it enough?

My issue with basketball is that there are so many games in a regular season. It’s not a sport where you can say every game counts. There are many nights I want to watch my favorite college team or NBA team on TV but their games aren’t shown on any channel. When your team loses a game the fans drop their heads and say well let’s beat the next guys in a few days. Basketball is a great sport, but its feet just aren’t big enough.

And then there’s baseball. Baseball is America’s favorite pastime, but it’s not America’s favorite sport. I’ve even heard a few times from baseball analyst on TV how baseball viewership isn’t what it used to be. When it comes to Major League Baseball (MLB) I love to watch any game the New York Yankees get beat in. As soon as they are out of the playoffs though I really don’t care what happens next. Maybe if the Kansas City Royals were actually good I would care more about baseball but that beside the point. Baseball can’t fill the shoes because it’s not as exciting as football and there are a lot of games. It’s a good sport, my dad played baseball in college even, but baseball lacks the pizzazz that holds every sports enthusiast’s interest.

Last but not least, the forgotten sports: golf, hockey, and NASCAR. Without Tiger Woods in his stride – golf isn’t an option. If it’s not a World Cup year than soccer is out of the question. Hockey and NASCAR are both in the lightweight division and could be centuries away from being in the same arena as football.

There is no sport celebrated quite as much as football.

High schools dedicate events to football, small towns thrive off the games, our entire nation rallies around it.