The Definitive List Of Best Anticipation Pauses In Sports
So the entire Barstool Chicago team went to the Bulls-Timberwolves game the other night. Great time, good win, can’t beat live sports and yet…that was the first Bulls game I have been to in a long time. Forgot how sweet it was. Specifically the feeling of the entire crowd hanging on the same breath waiting to celebrate a three in the air or a ball hanging on the rim. That quite followed by the big cheer is so sweet. Love that. I love everything about hockey, but if there is one thing hockey doesn’t have it’s that. The anticipation of a potentially big play. Everything happens too fast in hockey for the anticipation pause. Almost all the other sports have them though. Here are the best pauses
7) Draft Lottery Results
Your team has sucked for a least one year, but more than likely a decade+. You go through the same thing every year. Hoping to suck at the right time and get enough ping pong so you can get the guy who changes the direction of your franchise forever. It’s the only pause with future hope instead of immediate hope. Butt clenched tight as the commissioner inevitably opens the envelop to reveal the Edmonton Oilers or the Pelicans
6) The Golf Ball On The Lip Of The Cup
This is the one shot of Tiger’s career that sticks out in my brain more than any other. The 2005 Masters. Impossible chip that rolled down the green and paused followed by what felt like a minute of absolute silence before a HUGE roar. Big moment for Tiger, but even the casual golfer has been in this spot. It’s right on the edge and you’re praying for a gust of wind, a raindrop, or a fucking earthquake, anything to get one more quarter turn of the ball have it drop it. The waiting, the pleading, the finger pointing, and then…it trickles in
5) That Last Wobbling Bowling Pin
You might not have noticed, but the Barstool-Chicago crew has been on a bit of a bowling kick lately. Carl joined a league. I’ve been a sub. Dave and Eddie are just going in the middle of the day. Great time. Love bowling. Love a good turkey. The best feeling though…waiting for that last pin. It’s teetering, it’s wobbling, it looks like a punch drunk boxer in the 12th. It’s going down. If you can time a fist bump or a little karate kick just as it goes down and you turn around…man, tough to beat that feeling. Who do you think you are!? I am!
4) Deep Fly Ball
I will fully admit that someone who is extremely passionate and articulate could convince me that the deep fly ball should be higher on the list. It has the best sounds. The crack of the bat. The grow noise with every second until it explodes if it gets over the fence or ends in an “awwww” when caught. The sound off the bat gets everyone’s attention. You stop talking, stop sipping your beer, you stand up slowly, and get to go nuts. You might get a beer spilled on you, but you don’t care because that ball just landed in the basket. It’s spectacular. The only problem is that when you’re at the game you’re surrounded by people who think every can of corn is a homer and it gets annoying.
3) The Flea Flicker
It’s a dive play…oh shit no wait, it’s something else PAAAASSSSSSSSSSS!!! Ball in the air, waiting to see if that WR got behind the defense, waiting to see if it’s a TD or the QB just threw it up for grabs because it’s a fucking flea flicker and he’s been waiting all year to have the coach call that play. I love when they just chuck it up for grabs and hope for the best. If the QB is smart and checks it down(looking at you Tom Brady) just because it’s not “there” then he should be penalized. Any flea flicker should by law have to also be a hail mary.
2) Buzzer Beater Three To Win
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The most all-or-nothing moment. Everything on the line and if it’s a quarter of an inch off then you lose. Hit it and it’s an instant celebration and eruption in the crowd. That Villanova moment should be burned into everyone’s brain forever. That’s how sweet buzzer beaters are. It’s the only way Bryce Drew can be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. When it was all on the line, those guys came through and we love them for it. Nearly impossible to top a buzzer beater
1) “It Went Really Far But Someone Caught It……Commercial”