WHEN YOU’RE ONE of the world’s best athletes, it probably gets a bit boring winning some variation of a cup or trophy at every tournament. Fortunately, some tournament organisers take it upon themselves to brighten up the trophy cabinet with some weird and wonderful prizes.
The Paul Bunyan Axe
Wisconsin's Ben Ruechel (57) celebrates with the giant axe, which again, is a giant axe. Andy Manis
Andy Manis
American college football is the home to far too many of the world’s weirdest trophies, but few are better than this gigantic axe. Paul Bunyan is an American folk hero, a mythical gigantic lumberjack with tremendous strength, symbolising hard work and resolve. The axe, built to fit his huge size, passes between the winners of the annual game between Midwestern rivals Wisconsin and Minnesota. Think about how much more exciting your local county championships would be if the winner got a huge axe. Think about it. The previous trophy was a slab of bacon (carved from walnut wood, but still), which, unfortunately for this article, went missing in the 1940s.
The Telephone Trophy
Batman, we're struggling on the offensive line. Get here ASAP. L.G. Patterson
L.G. Patterson
In 1959, a test before Iowa State played Missouri found that the telephones teams used to communicate were faulty, and allowed the two teams to hear each other. This doesn’t seem that strange, really, but the Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. of Ames, where Iowa State is based, decided to commemorate the incident with a a trophy topped by a phone, which definitely is strange.
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Mexican Tennis Open Trophies
Rafael Nadal won this giant pear for beating David Ferrer. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
The Mexican Open is a bastion of weird trophies. Rafael Nadal’s next injury could have been a serious toothache after winning this giant pear in Acapulco in 2013.
A giant tennis ball. Somehow both really weird and really boring at the same time. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
The following year Dominika Cibulkova won this giant tennis ball for her troubles at the same tournament. It’s definitely less creative than a pear, but the whole scene remains very, very strange.
Dubai Tennis Championships
Will Federer launch a sailing career? Only time will tell. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
It turns out ATP tennis trophies are just as commonly strange as college football ones. This gorgeous ship given to winners of the Emirates Dubai ATP Tennis Championships would be an excellent prize for the winner of a sailing tournament, but, obviously, it’s for tennis. It’s nice when tournament organisers think outside the box, but sometimes boxes are there for a reason.
The Hero World Challenge Tiger
Jordan Spieth (left), in his moment of triumph, holding a creepy-looking tiger. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
The Hero World Challenge is hosted by Tiger Woords, and a benefit for The Tiger Woods Foundation, so it makes sense, in a way, that the trophy would have some tiger-imagery. It doesn’t quite make sense that it would be a disturbing, tacky tiger gently stroking a globe-painted golf ball with murder in its eyes, but at least there’s a link.
The NBA’s Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy
This may be one of the most special moments of Erik Spoelstra's life, but it looks ridiculous. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
The Larry O’Brien trophy, named for a previous National Basketball Association commissioner, attempts to capture a basketball falling through a net. Unfortunately, that’s a dynamic, fluid moment that’s almost impossible to accurately represent with a completely static piece of sculpture. In the attempt, the trophy has made the absolute culmination of the lives of so many professional basketball players look nothing short of ridiculous.
Sport's weirdest trophies: all I got was this lousy...wait, what is this?
WHEN YOU’RE ONE of the world’s best athletes, it probably gets a bit boring winning some variation of a cup or trophy at every tournament. Fortunately, some tournament organisers take it upon themselves to brighten up the trophy cabinet with some weird and wonderful prizes.
The Paul Bunyan Axe
American college football is the home to far too many of the world’s weirdest trophies, but few are better than this gigantic axe. Paul Bunyan is an American folk hero, a mythical gigantic lumberjack with tremendous strength, symbolising hard work and resolve. The axe, built to fit his huge size, passes between the winners of the annual game between Midwestern rivals Wisconsin and Minnesota. Think about how much more exciting your local county championships would be if the winner got a huge axe. Think about it. The previous trophy was a slab of bacon (carved from walnut wood, but still), which, unfortunately for this article, went missing in the 1940s.
The Telephone Trophy
In 1959, a test before Iowa State played Missouri found that the telephones teams used to communicate were faulty, and allowed the two teams to hear each other. This doesn’t seem that strange, really, but the Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. of Ames, where Iowa State is based, decided to commemorate the incident with a a trophy topped by a phone, which definitely is strange.
Mexican Tennis Open Trophies
The Mexican Open is a bastion of weird trophies. Rafael Nadal’s next injury could have been a serious toothache after winning this giant pear in Acapulco in 2013.
The following year Dominika Cibulkova won this giant tennis ball for her troubles at the same tournament. It’s definitely less creative than a pear, but the whole scene remains very, very strange.
Dubai Tennis Championships
It turns out ATP tennis trophies are just as commonly strange as college football ones. This gorgeous ship given to winners of the Emirates Dubai ATP Tennis Championships would be an excellent prize for the winner of a sailing tournament, but, obviously, it’s for tennis. It’s nice when tournament organisers think outside the box, but sometimes boxes are there for a reason.
The Hero World Challenge Tiger
The Hero World Challenge is hosted by Tiger Woords, and a benefit for The Tiger Woods Foundation, so it makes sense, in a way, that the trophy would have some tiger-imagery. It doesn’t quite make sense that it would be a disturbing, tacky tiger gently stroking a globe-painted golf ball with murder in its eyes, but at least there’s a link.
The NBA’s Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy
The Larry O’Brien trophy, named for a previous National Basketball Association commissioner, attempts to capture a basketball falling through a net. Unfortunately, that’s a dynamic, fluid moment that’s almost impossible to accurately represent with a completely static piece of sculpture. In the attempt, the trophy has made the absolute culmination of the lives of so many professional basketball players look nothing short of ridiculous.
- Eoin Gubbins
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