If you could win one sports trophy......

The Stanley Cup because of all the blood, sweat and tears that goes into winning it.

And like Alley said, you're part of it foreever, or at least 50 years or so until they replace the band that your etched on.

 

Yet another vote for Lord Stanley's Cup. The Claret Jug is a distant second in my book.

 

I'm not considering health or anything...I just like the look of it and think it's one of the most, if not the most, iconic trophy in sports.

 

I have visited the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto (with thanks to JR and others) and have looked at the older bands of the Stanley Cup. I have watched as many Stanley Cup celebrations as possible after the last game of the finals each season just to see the players cry and skate around the ice with the trophy in the air. I have even purchased a Wayne Gretzky action figure ...



... because how cool is an action figure that features a Stanley Cup? But ...

... I am a distance runner. And because I am a distance runner, my Holy Grail is not the Stanley Cup but the Boston Marathon Champions Trophy.







Now there is nothing all that historic about the trophy -- race officials first commissioned the design in December 1999 and unveiled the physical trophy the next year, which means the metal and wood has been around for less than a decade -- but the allure of winning the trophy, of having your name etched on a plaque on the wood base for the next century, is about more than the trophy. The Boston Marathon is the Mecca for distance runners from across the Unites States and around the world. Many of the better marathoners fly from wherever they might live and train to Boston, then drive to tiny Hopkinton for the start of the race. The Boston Marathon is also perhaps the only marathon many casual race fans even hear about, much less read about, during the course of the year. You might not remember who won two months ago (Deriba Merga of Ethiopia won the Men's Open and Salina Kosgei of Kenya won the Women's Open), but you do hear about the race, if only for a couple of minutes one afternoon each year. More than can be said for most marathons.

There is also the matter that no American man has won the Boston Marathon since 1983 -- more than seven months before I was born -- and no American woman has won the Boston Marathon since 1985. Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher each finished third in their Open races in April and, afterward, Goucher openly cried. She wanted to be the one to snap that skid, she said. She wanted to be the one who won. This race does matter. And though I will likely never hoist the Champions Trophy over my head, if I can lower my own marathon time a couple more minutes, I will at least be in the race. I doubt I will ever play in the NBA Finals, the Super Bowl, the World Series, even the Stanley Cup Finals for that wonderful trophy. And maybe that's the reason I would want to raise this trophy so much: Because I will at least be in the race. In theory, I will have a shot.

(Of course, the laurel wreath worn as a crown by the champion isn't bad, either.

)

 

1) Lombardi Trophy - Only because I have been basically a lifelong football fan
2) Stanley Cup - Haven't been a fan as long, but it's gaining a LOT of steam. Plus I have a photo with it ... with a sweater of the reigning champs when it was taken.
3) World Cup
4) Claret Jug

 

I'm pretty sure the Stanley Cup is the only one that will allow you to be designated an "ASS MAN" as I know of no other trophies with such designations printed directly on them.

 

Winner.

 

You know, a World Series of Poker bracelet is a damn fine addition to this discussion. Love the rationale with the Boston Marathon trophy as well.

I think if I could also change my nationality, I'd love to be British and win Wimbledon. Talk about having free reign in an entire country. I'm pretty sure the first Brit who breaks that streak could kill a classroom of first graders and the authorities would be like "Well, he must have had good reason. He did win Wimbledon."

 

I'll echo the broken record and pick up the Stanley Cup.

I'm not even that much of a hockey fan, but I know enough to know that the trophy has a history, reverence and aura all its own. How many playoffs are officially named for the trophy? The NHL playoffs are.

The gold medal would be up there too, but, you know, I've always liked the idea of winning a trophy with a team of guys that you've worked hard and competed with all season.

The Lombardi Trophy is also one I liked to lift.

I'm a huge baseball fan above anything else, but that Commissioner's Trophy is horrid. And fragile too: You can't really hoist it or parade it around without breaking off a couple of flags.

 

Or to be a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup.

 

I think you earn $1.3 million for the Masters.

No love for being the toughest man on the planet and winning the Heavyweight belt?