Top 5: America's Most Intriguing Sporting Events

#1: NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
Every March, photocopiers in offices around the country are busy printing brackets for the annual office pool. Workers from entry-level employees to high-level executives call in sick to catch the first day of the tournament. As a nation, we watch from the edge of our seats as Hoosiers plays out again and again before our eyes. From underdog upsets to bracket wagers and buzzer beaters, there is no greater sporting event than the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

#2: The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the one professional sports championship that garners interest from fans whose teams are not among the participants. In addition to the football fans, some viewers tune in just for the commercials, while others see Super Bowl Sunday as an occasion to get outside and party. No matter what teams are playing, you can be sure that most television sets in your neighborhood and across the country will be tuned in to see the big game.

#3: Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is an anomaly of popular U.S. sporting events. For most viewers, horse racing season consists of three events: The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. Most fans never watch another horse race all year, and if the Derby winner doesn't have a chance at the triple crown, then most fans will tune out come Belmont Stakes race day. Yet, for as little as Americans care about the sport of horse racing, there is something about the first Saturday in May that makes us gravitate to our televisions. For hours, we watch pre-race coverage, hear inspirational horse stories and get to know the jockeys and trainers. We determine a favorite in our minds, whether it be the name, the color or the long odds, and we cheer that horse to victory. For most Americans, not a dollar will be lost or won on the event, but for two minutes, we watch with awe pristine thoroughbreds weave through traffic and one emerges victorious.

#4: The Masters
The intrigue surrounding the Masters each year can be summed up in one word: Augusta. While the other three major championships rotate among golf courses on an annual basis, the Masters has been held at Augusta National Golf Club since 1934. As its name suggests, true masters of the sports have walked its fairways, been frustrated by its bunkers and felt the joy of donning the famous green jacket. The Masters is unlike any other golf tournament. There is something unique about it that announces to viewers that it is special. It is elite. It is better than everyone else. And quite frankly, it is.

#5: Indianapolis 500
America's racing culture is largely a NASCAR fan base. Throughout the spring, summer and fall, we can tune in to a NASCAR race just about every weekend. Yet, in terms of pure speed, power and elegance of racing machines, nothing compares to formula-1 racing. Formula-1 has failed to produce a regular following in the United States, except for one event each year: the Indianapolis 500. Each Memorial Day weekend in America's heartland, far from any major media outlets, the world's best drivers converge to put on a display of daring speeds and precision turns. For a sport that primarily thrives in Europe, Americans get one weekend a year to experience the thrills formula-1 racing.

The Masters History, Past Winners, Masters.com