Basketball makes me more nervous than football.

[Dave Gray]

As it's the playoffs, of course I'm watching basketball.  With the HEAT (also also FAU before them), basketball is a more nerve-wracking experience for me.

In football, there is a lot of time where you're in control.  If you have the lead and the ball, you can kinda slow things down.  If you're up 10 with the ball and there's 5 minutes left, the game is kind of over, since you can run the ball.  Of course there are outliers, but the other team can't score without the ball, so you just have to do your thing.

In basketball, leads are much less safe.  Even if you're up big, the other team starts to press so turnovers happen....you can just jack up 3s that go in.  A 10 point lead in basketball is pretty safe, but it can be erased in 30 seconds.

Don't get me wrong, I get very nervous watching the Dolphins, but with basketball, it's just unrelenting as it's pretty much not over until there's 0:00.

[Spider-Dan]

That's what makes basketball so exciting!  Because there is a lot of scoring, even big leads can be quickly erased.

Contrast with hockey or soccer.

[Dave Gray]

Soccer (and to a lesser extent, hockey) a 2 goal lead with any real amount of time left is pretty insurmountable.  I guess you can pull the goalie in hockey, at least.

But in soccer, you can play 40 minutes of keep-away.

Basketball is all about runs and momentum.

[Brian Fein]

The Panthers have, multiple times in the last 2 seasons, come back to win games they were down 2 or even 3 goals in the 3rd period.  I want to say they came back from down 4 to beat the Bruins last season.

Hockey can change in a second, a 2 goal lead isn't safe toward the end of a game.  A power play, an extra attacker, a game can go from "comfortable lead" to tie game in 20 seconds.

[EDGECRUSHER]

Soccer (and to a lesser extent, hockey) a 2 goal lead with any real amount of time left is pretty insurmountable.  I guess you can pull the goalie in hockey, at least.

But in soccer, you can play 40 minutes of keep-away.

Basketball is all about runs and momentum.

Soccer is exciting up until a 2 goal lead because of how momentous a single goal is. The action is non-stop, no timeouts, etc.. However, go up 2-0 with 20 minutes left and 99 times out of 100, it's over.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

For me the level of excitement is based on two factors:

1. How important is this particular game?

2. How much is the outcome of this particular game in doubt?

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1.  Scoring at the top of this category:  All games in March madness.  All games in NFL post season.  All game 7s of a 7 game play off series. Scoring the lowest would be opening day of baseball.  In this category most of the NBA post season games are less interesting than all NFL post season game.  Some NBA games are just as interesting as an NFL game, but none are more interesting and some are considerably less interesting.  Each NFL regular season game matters because they are so few of them and because most teams don't make the playoffs.  An individual baseball game is almost irrelevant because of how many there are.  (How do you feel if your favorite baseball team is 5 games out of first at midseason? - pretty good.  How about your favorite NFL team being 5 games out of first at midseason?  -- almost mathematically eliminated.)  With basketball and hockey there are also a lot of games (not quite as many as baseball) and half the teams make the post season.

2. While basketball can see more points scored in short period of time than most other scores, that is just because the scores are so high.  The real measure is how long is the game still in doubt.  Yes, a two goal lead in soccer with 10 minutes to go is more safe than a 20 point lead in basketball with 10 minutes to go.  But many soccer games are either tied or only one goal separated all the way to the final whistle.  Compare the three following games each in which one team has twice the score as the opponent.  A hockey game that is 2-1 at the start of the third period. A football game that is 14-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. A basketball game with as score of 80-40 at the start of the fourth quarter.  The hockey game and football game are still very interesting, the basketball game is over. 

Football is more interesting  But the explanation to 17 games and more playoff teams did dilute it. 

[Spider-Dan]

Compare the three following games each in which one team has twice the score as the opponent.  A hockey game that is 2-1 at the start of the third period. A football game that is 14-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. A basketball game with as score of 80-40 at the start of the fourth quarter.  The hockey game and football game are still very interesting, the basketball game is over.

This isn't really a fair comparison.  Comparing a "double the score" game of teams that have (essentially) scored once to a team that has scored ~twenty times is not a similar comparison.  You're talking about two close games that are a score away from being tied, and a blowout that probably hasn't been competitive for an entire quarter.

The inverse of this unfair comparison would be if I said "Imagine a basketball game with one team leading by 4 in the final minute, and then imagine a hockey or soccer game with one team leading by 4 in the final minute."  Using a "double the score" metric in games where a team has scored once just isn't a fair scenario.

[Brian Fein]

What about a football game that is 42-21 in the 4th quarter?   

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

What about a football game that is 42-21 in the 4th quarter?   

It too is over.  Football and Basketball are approximately equal when it comes likelihood that the game is still exciting in the 4th quarter.  Actually all the sports are about equal in category two.  But in category one football blows away basketball and baseball making it overall the more exciting sport.