Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley traveled out to the 137th Preakness Stakes this weekend, toured the facilities and even got to be a part of the trophy participation. Trouble is, O'Malley must have eaten a few too many crab cakes before giving this speech to the owner of winner and now Triple Crown contender "I'll Have Another." Because the claim below is a stretch, to say the least.
Never mind that the majority of the world had just watched Chelsea win the Champions League championship, which is the Super Bowl of club soccer. Oh, and it's called the Super Bowl of club soccer because that's how big the Super Bowl is, so maybe the Vince Lombardi Trophy would be a more coveted trophy than the uber-compelling Woodlawn Vase. And while the NBA's Larry O'Brien trophy and MLB's Commissioner's Trophy are handed out to the winners of more popular sports, there really is no comparison to the Stanley Cup. It's the Stanley Cup, the coolest trophy on the planet. And cool things are coveted, way more coveted, in fact, than vases.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich reportedly has spent in the ballpark of $2 billion over nearly a decade in an effort to win the Champions League. Anyone ever spent that much trying to get the Woodlawn Vase?
And we haven't even gotten to the FIFA World Cup trophy, which millions of people around the world adore. A trophy rewarded at the end of a tournament in which teams' and players' failures have sometimes wound up destroying lives. And hey, how about an Olympic gold medal? Michael Phelps has only spent most of his life underwater to win as many as possible.
Anyway, you get the point. We understand getting swept up in the moment and wanting to make it bigger than it is -- and no question, it's a tremendous achievement -- but the most coveted in all sports? It's not even the most popular vase in America, ranking far behind whatever Bed, Bath and Beyond's bestseller was this year.
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