It's as if the whole world slowed down. You're in all alone, standing between you and the goalie is road and you shoot the tennis ball up high. You just won a road hockey game, but in your mind it was Triple Overtime in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. A dream by so many Canadians, replayed over and over and over again. Around the world, you can apply the above to virtually any sport as we all dream of winning our favorite sports trophy.

Whether it's the Stanley Cup, the World Cup, the World Series or even an Olympic Gold Medal, bottom line is that it won't come easy. It takes years of practice, hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck.

But just what is the Toughest Championship to Win?

I'll post my thoughts later...but I'm interested to see what you all think.

To me it's a no brainer...The Tour de France is the Toughest Championship to Win in all of sports.

The distance involved in such a short period of time is just mind boggling when you think of it. You're cycling about 4,000km in about a month. Every day you're cycling nearly 200km. You're up against 250+ competitors...cycling side by side at some points...travelling at incredibly high rates of speeds, winding through narrow hillside roads, climbing mountains, braving the elements, and facing the unknown in terms of crowds. There is no crowd control and you have no idea what a fan may do to you or the road in front. You can not afford to take a day or shift off. Every race, every day, every second counts. You also can not win the Tour without a dedicated group of teammates. Guys who will risk everything to ensure you win the yellow jersey and bring home the Championship. Guys who are usually never recognized yet are the main reasons why you're standing on the podium.

A very close second would be the Stanley Cup...third would be the World Cup.

I don't think the World Cup is the hardest to win physically. The players are fit, but the type of fitness and recovery the players need is not the same as what's needed by Tour de France cyclists.

But from a psychological standpoint, it is absolutely the most difficult to win. Every member of the team must be willing to accept his role; for some, that can be the devastating reality that they are not a starter. For others, it's that their role is to score the team's goals, a role which basically heaps the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders. The pressure is INCREDIBLE...the stakes are so high that players and coaches who don't perform often lose their jobs. The eyes of the world are on these players, and it shows. Players who fail cry (see Zinedine Zidane in 2002 and Paul Gascoigne in 1990); some break down, like Ronaldo did prior to the 1998 World Cup Final. The pressure is so intense that occasionally players lose their lives over the game, like the Colombian player who was murdered after scoring an own goal to give the US a win in the 1994 World Cup.

The media and fans heap even more pressure on teams, to the point where WINNING isn't even enough. Brazil, for example, received harsh criticism from fans and the media earlier in this World Cup for not playing the "beautiful soccer" that they are known for, even though they won all three of their group stage games.

To me the toughest competition to win is Death Race.

--You finish first or not at all!

And points have become harder and harder to get.

--As the cars roar into Pennsylvania, the cradle of liberty, it seems apparent that our citizens are staying off the streets, which may make scoring particularly difficult, even with this year's rule changes. To recap those revisions: women are still worth 10 points more than men in all age brackets, but teenagers now rack up 40 points, and toddlers under 12 now rate a big 70 points. The big score: anyone, any sex, over 75 years old has been upped to 100 points.

Screw Lance.

Back in 2000 Frankenstein was able to 3-peat but just barely. He had some major competition in Matilda the Hun and Machine Gun Joe VeTurbo. I wasn't sure he was gonna be able to do it but he did. It was just amazing.

I'm not going to argue that Death Race isn't a sport. I'm going to argue that it isn't a "World Championship", because it's an individual endeavor. Winning the Boston Marathon is probably more difficult than winning any team sport, just from a purely mathematical standpoint. In team sports, you might have, what, fifty teams you have to beat out? In the marathon, it's thousands.

LXN

Individually and in Tandem, the competition to beat has got to be The Best Ranger Competition. 2006 is the 23rd anniversary of this grueling athletic competition, starring the best athletes of the world: United States Army, RANGERS! The Best Ranger Competition was started in 1982 after Dick Leandri found a way to honor his personal friend, Lieutenant General David E. Grange, Jr.

The competition has evolved over the past twenty years from one that was originally created to salute the best two-man “buddy” team in the Ranger Department at Fort Benning. Every year the competition is reviewed and tweaked, to what is currently in place for 2006, to determine the best two-man team from the entire United States Armed Forces. The Best Ranger Competition is held on Fort Benning and is open to the public.

The competition is usually held at the end of April. Best Ranger Competition events are not published until the day before the competition starts. However, traditionally the following have been standard events.

Friday
Competition begins at RTB HQ (0600)
Traditional Events
PT Test
Spot Jump
Marksmanship
Begin Footmarch

Saturday
Traditional Events
End Footmarch
Night Ranger Stakes (skill events)
Day Ranger Stakes - Todd Field (skill events)
Prusik Climb - Todd Field
Begin Land Navigation

Sunday
Traditional Events
End Land Navigation
Water Confidence Test
Helo Cast
Darby Queen Obstacle Course

3 days - grueling, backbreaking physical skills tests - a negative calorie allowance and no sleep. Some participants have lost more than 20 pounds in the 3 day competition. Not suprising since it includes everything an Ironman Triathalon would have and then some...

And remember it is not just you alone: many of the events can only be accomplished by the two of you working as a team.

20 years ago the course was a brutal test of endurance and determination, today it is a world class physical and mental challenge that few can complete and fewer still can master.

I understand it is even televised these days.

R