What's your state's sporting event of the year?

Well, in the lack of a singular event like the Derby, I would fall back on which sports are the most popular. I would think the NFL is still King.

 

Probably, but I think what we've searched for on this thread are not just the biggest events, but ones that are culturally unique to a state as well. People here care whether the Pats and don't care at all who wins the Marathon, but the Marathon still gets hundreds of thousands of people out to watch and is an annual rite of spring more than a sports event. It's more important in our civic life than the NFL.

 

Agreed. Similar analogy to MLB and Opening Days for each team. Like the groundhog (a cousin of mine), Opening Day is a sure sign of Spring.

(Meh to a lot of the other 80 games, except maybe in September.)

 

As a proud son of NJ, I say NJ has no such signature or flagship event.
NJ has a lot of sporting events. There are a lot of people participating in sports and a pretty rabid fan base for sports.
However, there is no single sporting event that captivates the state or that people outside of the state view as emblematic of NJ.

 

Two emblematic NJ things that stand out in my mind: Atlantic City (quasi-sports related I guess) and watching attendants pump gas for you (which I don't understand. Is NJ filled with (or by) morons?)

 

Creates more jobs.

 

Dear God, no. Forty miles in any direction from downtown Cincy, nobody gives a shit about Reds opening day. OSU-Michigan by far.

 

The gas attendant thing started as a safety issue and has been maintained, at least in theory, as a job issue:
Timeline: A brief history of why you can't pump your own gas in New Jersey

 

I think there are things that are emblematic of NJ; I just don't think there is a sporting event that meets that criteria.
I don't think there is such a sporting event for Pennsylvania or Delaware or NY or Maryland.

For the record, I love AC. It is one of my favorite places, but if I am conjuring an image that represents the Jersey Shore it is Ocean City or Wildwood.
Of course, I grew up in South Jersey, so when we went to the shore we rarely ventured north of Brigantine. Long Beach Island if we were going blue fishing.

 

NJ had Zeppelin landings going for it there for awhile.

 

I hear that was a real hot ticket at one point.

 

It was weird. One minute, no one gave a damn. The next, it was blowing up.