Andrew Mulligan: Being No 1 has its ups and its downs

Dangerous metre eater Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is nursing his injured knee. Photo / Jason Oxenham

There's a slippery slope for those on top.

Who on Earth would want to be No1? Leicester City do. They won the English Premier League with two games to spare and, despite the best efforts of Spurs to catch them, the Foxes of the Midlands can thank former No1, Chelsea, for ruining Tottenham's chances.

The Kiwis league team are No1 in the world but their line-up is missing a lot of No1 selections tonight in Newcastle.

The No1 metre eater in the NRL through seven weeks isn't there and although Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will be missed, you wonder if he's thinking about the No1 sport in the country and joining Super Rugby in two-and-a-half years.

The Chiefs are No1 but will be in a dog fight with the Highlanders in Hamilton tomorrow night as they scrap for the underdog title of New Zealand while the undisputed No1 franchise in Super Rugby of all time is flying under the radar and hosting the Reds in Christchurch tonight.

The No1 team in T20 cricket is New Zealand because their strong and steady play is down to the No 1 belief that you don't get too high when you win and too low when you lose.

The No1 team in Madrid can't even beat their poor little brother in La Liga but you'd think they'd be the favourites in the Champions League final with a full squad and the No1 goal scorer of all time in Europe, Cristiano Ronaldo. Atletico Madrid are there to ruin the rich boy, Galacticos party and Atletico manager Diego Simeone is more than happy to have a "scowl off" with Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

Who'd want to be the No1 heavyweight fighter in the world when you have to fight Tyson Fury and when you lose to the Gypsy King, you then have to go through another verbal barrage while awaiting a rematch.

Thank goodness for impending world No1, Anthony Joshua, for his thoughtful and respected views on the heavyweight division and the potential No1 pay-per-view event in New Zealand when he hopefully fights Joseph Parker.

Lewis Hamilton used to be No1 and isn't used to being No2 in his team this Formula One season.Being on Hamilton's side of the garage wouldn't be much fun as he is having mechanical issues and expecially after the No1 driver in the world, Nico Rosberg, cleaned up again in Russia with his seventh win in a row.

Steph Curry, the No1 basketball shooter of all time, is having problems with his knee. A dodgy MCL is barely hampering the run of the Golden State Warriors but at least his gimpy ankle is getting a rest.

Cedric Jackson is used to having ankle problems and now the bigger problem for the Breakers is to find someone who would be the No1 point guard for their team after Jackson is set to explore the free agent market in the Australian NBL.

And all of this is why sport is No1 to us all.