Sports
World Series, Monday Night Football Featured During The Only Sports Equinox Of 2024
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. For sports, anyway. The end of the MLB season is upon us with the World Series in full swing after a long summer, and we have already reached Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season. And now that the NBA and NHL have begun their early-season schedule, we were treated to a rare sports equinox on Monday night.
Monday Night Is The Only Sports Equinox Of 2024
Today is the 31st sports equinox in history — and the sports schedule is PACKED:
• 8 NHL Games
• 11 NBA Games
• 2 MLS Playoff Games
• Monday Night Football
• Game 3 of the World SeriesIt’s easily one of the best sports days of the entire year. pic.twitter.com/aG7iPcKCgT
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 28, 2024
There are other big sports days on the calendar. Weekends in January will feature both NFL and NCAA Football playoffs, and both the NBA and NHL will be in full swing by then. But an official “sports equinox” is defined by all four major professional sports being played on the same day, and October 28th figures to be the only time that it will happen in 2024.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the first sports equinox took place in 1971. There were nine more that occurred between then and 1985, which was followed by a 22-year period that saw just one such event.
Now, they are an annual occurrence, with one happening each year since 2015. It has been made easier with the expansion of the NFL schedule, the World Series starting later, and the NBA and NHL starting earlier.
What Teams Are In Action On Monday?
This year’s sports equinox falls on a Monday, and here is a run-down of the evening’s action:
MLB
Perhaps the premiere event of the evening, Game 3 of the World Series will be taking place. It is arguably the most intriguing possible matchup of franchises, with plenty of eyes on the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. It will be the first game of the series played in Yankee Stadium, and the home team will be fighting for their lives. The Dodgers have a commanding 2-0 lead after winning the first two games in Los Angeles.
NFL
The part of the sports equinox that makes it all the more rare is the NFL game(s). The rare event used to happen most often on Sundays when football is most prevalent, but Monday Night Football will do the service this year. A matchup of two historic franchises will see the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New York Giants, with the Steelers as the home team.
NBA
The NBA enters its second full week of action starting on Monday evening. There is a large number of games on the slate for the evening, with 11 total games taking place around the league. There are a couple of notable matchups, including a possible Eastern Conference playoff preview between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Phoenix Suns for the second time this season.
NHL
The NHL typically starts and ends around the same time as the NBA, and teams are already in double digits when it comes to the number of games played. There are eight hockey games on the slate for Monday evening, with many of the top teams in action. The Winnipeg Jets still have yet to lose a game through their first eight, and will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in hopes of keeping the streak alive. In the late game, the 3rd place Vegas Golden Knights will take on the 6th place Calgary Flames.