It's ability to create a range of emotions, the drama provided and the sheer excellence often on show all combine together to produce what I consider to be the greatest thing on this earth, and in 2010, we had some great moments, and some belief-defyingly bad moments in the World of sport. And here I will countdown the top 15 sporting stories from the year.
15. "The Decision"
In the NBA the summer of 2010 was billed as the summer of Lebron. Lebron James is arguably the greatest player in the league, and his contract was set to run out with his home-state team the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James's potential was widely known before he even played a game of professional basketball, with Nike signing him to a shoe contract whilst James was still in College.
The season before joining James entered the NBA draft, the Cavaliers tied for last place in the league, which gave them a great chance of winning the lottery and being able to select James in what was widely regarded as a strong Draft class. Cleveland won the lottery, and selected the local hero who transformed them into title challengers, who could never quite get that illusive championship winning ring.
Cleveland tried everything they could in order to improve their roster, yet it seemed inevitable that, at the end of his contract, James would be moving on.
Several associations cleared the necessary cap space in order to to be able to offer James the maximum contract his talents deserved, and when the Free Agency period opened, Lebron had meetings with six teams - Cleveland, New York, New Jersey, Miami, Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers.
After these meetings it was announced that James would be taking the unprecedented decision to announce his decision live on an hour-long TV special, which would see all money raised go to Charity. The television program drew high ratings but also a high level criticism for the prolonged wait until James' actual decision and the spectacle of the show itself.
During the show fans of all 6 teams were interviewed, all with high-hopes that James would be joining them and inspiring them to glory, Sports stores were already selling jerseys with James name on the back of them, in the local colours, before the decision was finally announced that James would be joining fellow TEAM USA free agents Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and signing for the Miami Heat.
Cleveland fans took the news the hardest, they saw Lebron as one of them, a local hero, who would carry his home team to glory, footage was shown of fans attacking the giant billboards on which James's image was held, his jerseys were being burned, and some fans were shown in tears.
As a spectacle, "the decision" showed up the sorts of emotions that sport can stir up, and will never be forgotten by NBA fans, whether they fondly remember it or not, well I guess that depends on who you support.
14. Lee Westwood ends Tiger Woods reign as Number 1 golfer in the world
On November 1st, Lee Westwood finally ended Tiger Woods's 281 week reign as the Number 1 Ranked golfer in the world, despite not playing.
The world went into the weekend knowing that Tiger's time was up, Westwood was set to leapfrog Woods into top spot, despite recovering from injury, in an attempt to be fit for the Ryder Cup, but it wasn't certain that even though he would over take Woods, he would top the rankings.
That honour could have gone to the big-hitting German Martin Kaymer if he were to win or finish a clear second in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama.
Kaymer could only finish in a tie for 21st position, 10 shots behind Graeme McDowell, leaving the 37-year old Englishman to complete a remarkable turn-around, after falling as low as 266th position in the rankings back in March 2003.
Westwood heads into 2011 hoping to continue his recent scintillating form, with the first major win surely just a matter of time.
13. Pakistan Cricket Spot-fixing Scandal
As England were playing Pakistan in the fourth test of the summer series, allegations were made on the Saturday evening, by the News of The World regarding a betting scam in which members of the Pakistani team were involved in.
The paper alleged that Pakistani players were secretly paid to deliberately bowl no-balls during the match.
The allegations relate to three no-balls delivered by Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif on Thursday and Friday.
The News of the World said members of its reporting team posed as businessmen and paid a middleman who told them exactly what would happen in the three separate incidents during play, in order for the reporters to be able to bet on them.
These allegations led to a tarnished series, in which it was visible that the England side wanted to be over as soon as possible, as well as an altercation between Johnathan Trott and Wahab Riaz, which ended with England Batting coach Graham Gooch having to separate the pair.
Relationships between the two cricket boards sank to new depths this past year, with these allegations sparking the downfall.
12. Phil Mickelson wins the Masters
In April, everybody's favourite lefty, Phil Mickelson, won his 3rd US Masters title of his career, only this time it was more poignant due to who was there in attendance to see him claim the Green Jacket once again.
Standing behind the green, with his three children, was his Wife, Amy Mickelson, who was at a tournament for the first time since being diagnosed with Breast Cancer 11 months beforehand.
As Mickelson sank into his wife's arms, and the tears flowed in celebration, it was a true story book ending, fitting to one of the sporting highlight of the year.
The Masters started with Tiger Woods returning from a sex scandal, which shattered his image but left his game intact. He captivated crowds by flirting with contention until the putts stopped falling and he tied for fourth, and if effectively ended with this shot, no doubt the best shot of the tournament.
In the previous 12 months, Mickelson had been alternating between time on the Tour, and taking time off to be with his wife Amy, as well as his mother, who was also diagnosed with the same disease, and during this time his form dipped, but returned dramatically at Augusta, in a victory he dedicated to his wife.
11. Mark Webber's Crash - Valencia
Words can't describe this, so just watch the video. (I'm not sure about the dramatic music though)
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