It’s clear from my Pinterest news feed that the general female population is obsessed with the month of October because of the cozy sweaters, pumpkin-flavored treats, and “boyfriend weather” the time of year brings. Yeah yeah, those things are all fine & dandy, but this girl loves October for more reasons than being able to Instagram her pumpkin spice latte. Let me break down why October is my favorite month for sports (in no particular order).

1) Playoff Baseball

I might even go so far as to say October would still be the best sports month even if playoff baseball was the only thing going on. Yes, we get baseball nearly year-round, but something about October is different. Epic walkoffs, Cinderella stories, and playoff beards are just a few ingredients of of the gloriousness that is the MLB playoffs.

2) NFL

Conveniently providing you with plans for Thursday, Sunday, and Monday. Does anything else really need to be said?

3) NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup

Kansas, Charlotte, Martinsville… and Talladega. It’s getting down to crunch time in NASCAR’s version of the playoffs this time of year. If that isn’t exciting enough for you, there’s a race at one of motorsports’ most revered tracks that’s guaranteed to have some kind of dramatic crash. Still not amused? Maybe you should go to a race before you open your mouth on that one.

4) SEC Football

Nothing says fall in the South like SEC football. And the month of October is chock-full of great conference match-ups. Take this past weekend’s Upset Saturday for example. And of course at the end of the month, there’s one of my all-time favorites, the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

5) Hockey

Hockey is cool, I guess (spoken like a true Southerner). I’ve always wanted to learn more about the hockey scene, but sadly have not done so yet. Still, it’s a sport and the NHL season kicks off in October. More sports = more fun.