We really are lucky to live in the age we live in. Funny sports accidents have no doubt occurred since the dawn of human kind, with our fellow homo erectus making whatever sound passed for laughter back then as Unk tried to catch the rock with his teeth again (oh that Unk). But in this marvelous electronic age, the funniest sports moments can be recorded, preserved, and watched constantly at parties between rounds of Apples To Apples. But categories are fun, so here are the three main categories of funny sports videos.%3Cbr%3E
- Professionals Making It Look Like That Was What They Meant to Do. Picture it. The wide receiver leaps up in the air, arms outstretched, and somehow manages to pull the ball into his gloves, only to have his legs simultaneously knocked sideways by a defender. Our intrepid receiver spins twice in the air, lands on his feet, and runs twenty more yards to the end zone. We are breathless, laughing with disbelief. What an athlete, we think. The funniest part, though, is the receiver was more surprised than anyone that he landed on his feet, and only kept running as a means of not falling down.
- Professionals and What Happens the Other 95% of the Time. The above case gets replayed quite a bit when it happens, but it really is a rarity. Delightfully, the vast majority of funny sports videos involving professional athletes are made up of whatever the polar opposite of grace is. Hitters catching a baseball right in the anatomy, gymnasts and their flail to no avail, and of course, all those wide receivers who find it a tad more difficult to run twenty yards after landing on their helmet.
- The Supremely Optimistic Amateurs. While the pros have the unfortunate luck of having cameras pointed at them most of the time, the funny sports video amateurs have no one to blame but themselves. And maybe their drunk friends who put them up to it. “Reggie, you can TOTALLY make that jump!” Or “Frank, we have like six fire extinguishers right here, it should be fine.” And of course, our personal favorite, “Seriously, Tony, what are the odds of that going wrong AGAIN?”
%3Cbr%3E
%3Cbr%3E
We will reach a tipping point soon, that blessed day when the number of funny sports accidents that get recorded will surpass the number of ones we never get to see. Until that day, keep searching for those cringe worthy gems, those jaw dropping stunts, and those wrecks of humanity we simply cannot tear our eyes away from.