Whats the best 'feeling' in sport?

This is going to be very subjective, but was wondering about this over the weekend. I’ve not done much sport outside of cycling but within it I love any most aspects of mountain biking – all day epics in the lakes, quick blasts at trail centres, days at the DH track and days just out looking for a new drop or jump. They all have there merits but without a doubt the best feeling for me comes from riding a set of proper BMX style jump trails. There is a magical combination of adrenaline (am I going to bin it this time?) , inner calmness (I find I almost ‘zen out’ on a good run), having to get each lip and landing almost spot on to carry the speed for the next jump and of course the great feeling of flying through the air, dipping down for the landing and the rush of speed from nosing it in and pumping ready for the next.
Its extremely addictive (and I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like), and for me I can’t imagine getting a better ‘high’ from sport than this.

Triangle-choking someone out 😀

Boxing.. when you smash the hell out of each other then shake hands and hug at the end.

Cold beer afterwards.

The sprint finish that comes from nowhere at the end of an ultra endurance event
The warm bath after a hard days skiing
The slow motion feeling when concentration is at it’s height – skiing a couloir, whitewater rapids, solo rock climbing
The first tee at St Andrews
Watching the sun come out in the mountains after climbing/running/walking through the night
Watching GPS bunnies going in the wrong direction while map and compass boys get it right!!!

Winning.

^ This!

The taking part

When I was a hockey goalie in a reasonably high league, it was the feeling when you pulled off a blinder of a save: The applause, the roaring 40,000 crowd, the man of the match award, spraying champagne bubbles over adoring fans etc etc. Cant beat it.

Winning unexpectedly (in something that you actually care about). Winning when it’s expected is often just a relief rather than a great feeling in itself.

The unexpected win, ideally though your own performance (ie rather than someone’s equipment breaking) is brilliant 🙂

Snowboarding on powder.

I’m with Wilco1999.
On the (extremely) rare occasion I’ve actually fluked winning something I’ve always felt guilty that I’ve possibly ruined someone else’s day and who’d probably appreciate it a bit more than me.

Ohhh and powder turns and air drops(surfing).

Those first few seconds ,when you have made your move and realize that you have timed it just right.
Nobody is coming back after that one 🙂

Yeah I can see some would find winning satisfying, but I’m not competitive at all, almost anti-competitive as in when I see someone trying to outdo me I’ll walk away, but love it when a group of riders are encouraging each other on, and giving encouragement to those starting out as well.

Realising that sport is shite, especially football which has been ruined by money, and turning ones back on all of it.

Ah, you old beam of sunshine 😉

The expectation, the getting ready, setting out in the hazy sunlight of a Sunday morning. Pushing yourself as hard as you dare for as long as you can. Coming home spent. Standing in the shower thinking over the last few hours. Eating lunch as though it’s the last meal you will ever taste and then contentedly feeling that ache in the muscles as you while away the rest of the day.

The cheering when you get to the finish line at an ultra marathon, and the incredible high you get after. 5 minutes later it starts to hurt, but we’ll ignore that bit 🙂

Unfortunately I’m a terrible loser, and also not that good at mountain biking so I actually force myself into believing its the taking part 😀

flow.

DezB has it right.

I’d also add nailing something like a trick, when you are bricking yourself or you have struggled with it for ages.

Destroying people in road races is quite fun, nothing like starting a climb with a bunch of 60+ and ending it with only ~15 or less. But really any sport whether it be football, road racing etc. where you are in control and dictating the moves of the opposition.

Pinning a descent or jump or whatever is also great fun, but a different feeling from above.

Oh and ‘float’ days 🙂

The feeling of a little checked drive. Front foot, almost a defensive but just a little push, and the ball goes straight back past the stumps at the other end and all the way for 4.

Or the same off the back foot, no big flourish but splitting cover and mid off and not needing to run.

Delivering the perfect man and ball tackle.

Getting proper flow on a descent

Smashing stevestunts on a climb

Skiing on fresh snow on days when it feels effortless, the turns just happen, the skis stay high on the snow, your thighs burn but you don’t care.

Also, I play in goal (football) and whilst I like a flying save as much as the next man, the thing I love most is when you come through a crowd of players to take a cross, catch it and then almost in the same motion throw the ball out to start a break forward.

But, the thing I love the most is the wonderful dull ache in the legs you have after a long or hard bike road. It doesn’t hurt, it just reminds you of the work you have done.

Snowboarding on powder.

This.

When riding Motox it was getting a good result, I was never going to win races but getting into top ten was a great feeling.

Finishing a Enduro (motorbike) then waiting at the finishing check for your mates to turn up, laughing about the course etc etc

Just the camaraderie really.

Destroying people in road races is quite fun, nothing like starting a climb with a bunch of 60+ and ending it with only ~15 or less

FTFY!

In my old table tennis days, the perfect counter-loop, the one where they think they’ve put it away but you just get the timing perfect and cream it past them with virtually no effort. Particularly on the backhand.

There are bigger highs in rock-climbing or biking, but I’m not sure they can be categorised in the same way.

(rock) climbing when it’s all just flowing, you don’t have to stop and think about it, you know what the next move is going to be, it’s hard enough to be interesting but not so hard you’re pumped stupid or thinking you might die, just moving over rock… It’s almost like a form of meditation when you get in the zone and lose yourself in what you’re doing.

Thinking about it reminds me of a Bruce Lee quote used in a climbing gear advert a very long time ago: The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.

I wish I still climbed but I don’t have the hours in the day to climb and ride at a decent level (not while I have to earn a living) 🙁

EDIT: “decent level” means “good for me”, I was never any good in the grand scheme of things.

Spend a sunny afternoon cutting gorse back to clear an overgrown trail.
Go out in the middle of the night and ****ing nail it.

Climbing when you’re going well – as MrNice so eloquently put it.

Climbing when it goes to shit but you survive and look back at what just happened and laugh/cry/collapse in relief*.

Taking off ski boots.

*I’ve done all three of these at the same time.

40,000 for a hockey match? I think your sepia tinted spectacles don’t give a clear view.

Scoring a try from your own half and leaving the intercept for dead when you up into a gear he didn’t possess just when you need it.

Or even better coming off the opposite wing to run width and length of the pitch to put their wing into touch before he hits the try line.

Memories now. But good ‘uns.

40,000 for a hockey match? I think your sepia tinted spectacles don’t give a clear view.

who said that? 😉

I don’t surf but there must be something in it that is different to other sports.

The surfers I know will do anything to get their fix, any conditions, any discomfort, once you’re hooked it seems to get you completely.

I know a few ski & bike bums but they seem to come back to ‘normal’ life eventually. It’s only surfing that I’ve seen completely grip people to drop out of the rat race completely and forever.

The surfers I know will do anything to get their fix, any conditions, any discomfort, once you’re hooked it seems to get you completely.

surfing’s the source man, change your life, swear to god.

cresting a hill having turned yourself inside out, then flying down the other side to do it all again 🙂 this can be achieved on any kind of bike or surface, on your own or in a group

mine have changes over the years and sports
so
a side step, shimy and off you go
scragging a scrum half

running a race and ‘floating’ total calm zen moment

climbing making that move, usually for me some gorilla type inelegant lunge grasp yeah not falling feeling

skiing down the side of the mountain sunshine, cold and bright blue skies

riding to the top of the mountain, lungs burning, heart pounding, then
that piece of dappled single-track

that ‘oh this is going wrong’ crash burn bounce check all still there laugh hop ride off……thanking the lord/deity/karma/chaos theory for the good fotune

With out sounding like a total arse the buzz off surfing is totaly different to a “sport” much more personal and dare I say it spiritual.