About the Sports water
Sports prompts look easy until you realise everyone else had the same three answers. The mirror game rewards the second division: the Olympic events nobody televises, the champions from decades nobody alive watched, the rules and equipment only real followers can name.
The mirror angle
Think of the highlight reel backwards — not the winning goal, but the tournament it came from, the referee, the host city, the losing finalist. Depth in sports is mostly memory of the undercard.
Example ladders
Three real shapes from this pack's bank — the crowd's answer, and the answer that leaves the crowd at the surface:
| Prompt | The crowd (10) | The deep water (85–100) |
|---|---|---|
| Name an Olympic sport | Swimming | Modern pentathlon |
| Name a country that has hosted the World Cup | Brazil | Uruguay |
| Name a piece of sports equipment | Football | Shuttlecock |
Sports tips
- Pre-1970 champions and host cities are chronically under-named.
- Winter and niche Olympic events (skeleton, biathlon, curling stones) dive fast.
- Know the losing finalists — they are the Deep Cuts of every famous final.
- League depth counts too: second divisions, expansion teams and retired jerseys are under-named water.
Every sports prompt in the bank
38 prompts — each with its own rarity ladder published:
- Name a sport at the Summer Olympics — gem: Modern Pentathlon
- Name a famous soccer player — gem: Johan Cruyff
- Name an NFL team — gem: Jacksonville Jaguars
- Name a famous tennis tournament — gem: Monte Carlo Masters
- Name a sport played with a net — gem: Bossaball
- Name a famous basketball player — gem: Larry Bird
- Name a combat sport — gem: Sumo
- Name a Formula 1 driver — gem: Jenson Button
- Name a winter sport — gem: Biathlon
- Name a famous boxer — gem: Joe Frazier
- Name a Major League Baseball team — gem: Tampa Bay Rays
- Name a sport played on ice — gem: Bandy
- Name a famous golfer — gem: Arnold Palmer
- Name an English Premier League club — gem: Burnley
- Name a martial art — gem: Aikido
- Name a famous swimmer — gem: Johnny Weissmuller
- Name an NBA team — gem: Memphis Grizzlies
- Name a sport at the Winter Olympics — gem: Biathlon
- Name a famous sprinter — gem: Donovan Bailey
- Name a country famous for cricket — gem: Zimbabwe
- Name a famous soccer club in Spain — gem: Athletic Bilbao
- Name a team sport with more than 5 players per side — gem: Water Polo
- Name a famous cyclist — gem: Bernard Hinault
- Name an NHL team — gem: Ottawa Senators
- Name a racket sport — gem: Frescobol
- Name a famous gymnast — gem: Larisa Latynina
- Name a sport played on horseback — gem: Tent Pegging
- Name a famous Formula 1 team — gem: Haas
- Name a track and field event — gem: Steeplechase
- Name a famous surfer — gem: Duke Kahanamoku
- Name a sport that originated in England — gem: Rounders
- Name a famous marathon — gem: Tokyo Marathon
- Name a sport played in water — gem: Underwater Hockey
- Name a famous NFL quarterback — gem: Joe Montana
- Name a country that has won the FIFA World Cup — gem: Uruguay
- Name a famous tennis player — gem: Billie Jean King
- Name a sport with no ball — gem: Fencing
- Name a famous stadium — gem: San Siro