Stairway to Heaven

Putting your hands on a major trophy is something that all athletes live for but in some sports they hand out of the trophy in a better way then most. In the United States, when a team wins a major trophy like the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals, they roll out a stage on wheels and present the trophy to the captain of the team.

But in Europe, they give out the trophy in a different way, they make the players climb up a stairway to heaven. Traditional in cup tournaments like the FA Cup, Coppa Italia, Champions League, and the Carling Cup the captain leads his team up the steps to meet the president of the association and collect the their trophy and medals.

The best thing about having players climb up the steps to get their trophy is the interaction with fans. During the walk up fans give the players flags of native country, scarfs and hats to show there appreciation for winning the trophy.

It would be great to see Tim Duncan climbing up the steps to the commissioners box to collect the trophy from David Stern.