Partly it was the special piquancy of the product.

FORBES: 85 and kicking

The most interesting and compelling race of Frankel's career to date was given more piquancy by the presence of Cecil, who was returning to the racetrack for the first time in months following ongoing treatment for cancer.

CNN: SHARE THIS

India was regarded as the final frontier by the Australians even when they were pulverizing everyone else to a pulp, and encounters between the two sides have had added piquancy ever since, intensified by some very intense on-field disagreements between players, most notably between Harbhajan and Australia's Andrew Symonds at Sydney in 2008.

WSJ: A Boxing Day Treat to Savor