I was watching HBO last night, and they had a documentary on the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. I realized that despite seeing thousands of games in dozens of sports, and being present for a bunch of tremendously triumphant moments (World Cup Quarterfinalists, Michigan national championships in basketball, football and hockey, 3 Red Wings Stanley Cups, the 85 Bears Super Bowl shuffle, among others), there will never be another moment like that. What other events do you remember watching, thinking "I'm seeing history, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing?"
Most of these are great or neutral moments for me, others I hated to see. All are historic in some way. Great: Jack Nicklaus winning his sixth Masters. Tiger Woods wining his first. Doug Williams' 2nd quarter in the Super Bowl. Flutie to Phelan (the arrogant noses-up at rural Notre Dame attitude of BC supporters aside, that play was incredible) to beat Miami. Raymond Bourque finally lifting the Stanley Cup. All he ever needed was some talent around him. Ivan Lendl d. John McEnroe, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 to win his first major, the 1984 French Open. Neutral- Villanova shooting 79% (and missing ONE shot from the field in the second half) to beat G'town in 1985. Oliver McCall's nervous breakdown mid-match. McEnroe's 17-15 fourth set tiebreaker over Bjorn Borg (tennis' true Greatest Ever) in the 1980 Wimbledon finals. There was one (1) unforced error- a netted forehand volley from Borg- in this whole tiebreaker. Borg went on to win the fifth set 8-6 for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. Hated: Greg Norman choking away a six-shot Sunday lead at Augusta. The 1986 Oilers being eliminated by an own-goal. Edwin Moses staying too long.
1988 World Series, bottom of the ninth, two outs, Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run. That was truely an "only in the movies" moment.
Bah! The fist-pumping, mocking Eck, ruined what should have been a class moment. My two faves: "The Catch" - birth of the 49ers dynasty Manchester United 2 - 1 Bayner Munich CL Final "The German players are on their knees, they don't know what's hit them, Manchester's hit them!"
1982, City of Miami Orange Bowl, NFL playoffs, Miami 38 San Diego 41, overtime. I Still remember Kellen Winslow collapsed on the field from exhaust in what was the best football game I have ever seen and one of the best individual efforts by any player. Winslow was inserted on special teams and block a potential game winning field goal. Everything was left on the field by both teams. 1984, the Pit, University of New Mexico, NCAA Mens National Championship Game, North Carolina State 54, Houston 52 Probably the most incredible finish in NCAA basketball history. Lorenzo Charles puts in Derrick Whittenberg's desperation jumper before the buzzer. The scene after the game is incredible. Houston players pounding the hardwood in agony, Valvano running around the court looking to hug his players. 1972, Munich Olympic Games, Gold Medal Mens basketball Game, USA 50 USSR 51, We wuz robbed not once, not twice, but three times. 1982, NFL Championship Game, San Francisco 28, Dallas 27, like the other poster said "the Catch" 2002, World Cup Finals, Group play, USA 3, Portugal 2, outstanding game well officiated with a tremendous comeback by Portugal. Great drama.
I thought about listing that game off the bat, too. Greatest NFL game ever. I think I'll remember that hook-and-lateral play until the day I die. Shame the Chargers had to play in Cinci the next week in temperatures roughly 100 degrees colder than the Miami game. Admittedly great, although I was pulling for Phi Slamma Jamma, so I prefer to think of the semi against Louisville as the greatest college game... Although no one ever saw it, rumor has it the greatest basketball game ever played was a scrimmage when the Dream Team was practicing in Barcelona prior to the Olympics. Twelve of the greatest basketball players ever to set foot on the earth, like an all-star game except they actually cared, and put forth a world-class effort.
Greatest Moment: USA 1-0 Costa Rica at Arrowhead on 4-25-01. We sat just outside the left side of the penalty area as Wolff tapped in the winner. Other great moments were as a kid and student: watching Wilt Chamberlain lead KU to victory over Gary Thompson and Iowa State in '57 and watching Gale Sayers score touchdowns in the first and last minute as KU upset OU 15-14 in '63. The midwest doesn't get many historic moments. (Maybe this belongs in the old geezer thread!)
Canada's Gold Cup run in 2000. Canada winning the men's hockey tournament at Salt Lake (one in three Canadians were watching!). And for pure "can you believe it?" factor: The Yankees Midnight Halloween comeback in the 2001 World Series and the EXACT same thing the next game. After 9/11, this truly had a strange felling attached to it.
2002 world cup - usa defeating portugal - i sat there thinking i was seeing history being made while everyone else but the die-hards in this country were sleeping and missing it! thank god my alarm woke me up. 2003 fiesta bowl - ohio state defeating miami<fla> -one of the greatest college football games ever, if not the greatest, too bad i didnt shell out the money and head out there to arizona like the rest of ohio. there have been others: joe carter's home run to win the world series for the blue jays, watching jordon pour in like 40 points despite being sick as a dog and practically throwing up on the sideline, ohio state vs. indiana double-ot basketball game back in the jimmy jackson era at st john arena.
I was at the 1984 Olympic Trials at the LA Coliseum, I'll never forget the start of the 100m final. The PA guy asked for silence and the crowd so still and quiet as the starter went through the commands, that from the field, you could hear a phone ring from the press box-which if you've been to the Coliseum, you know it pretty far up. Just a chilling moment, that underscored the tension. In the same stadium, I saw Pele play his final game in LA-Steve David of the Aztecs scored a hat trick. I saw Tom Petranoff set a world record in the javelin. Another big one for me was the Kings coming back from 5-0 in the 3rd to beat Edmonton. Daryl Evans scored the winner in overtime and did this dance skating backwards that I will never forget. Probably still, the most memorable hockey game ever in LA. Lastly, Ben Johnson winning the '87 100 WC in Rome. I have this on tape and perhaps will post it. Several things stand out: 1. Frank Shorter saying during the replay, "this is the race they will be showing to athletes for years and years to come," 2. Just the sheer power of his start-that leaping start he had, and 3. Charlie Jones' call of the race where he screams, "a 9.83 at sea level-you gotta love it! Whooa!" You have to see it again and remember just how big Carl Lewis was, to appreciate what a feat it was-especially as the world had to accept it as legit until the truth about Johnson got out. Until Seoul, this race just blew people's minds-mine for sure.
1. 1972 Summit Series Canada-USSR-absolute gut-wrenching drama mixed with low comedy played out over a month.(do the Russians still claim the series win on goal difference?) 2. Super Bowl III-Even as a little kid,I realised the seismic importance of this game and the dominating manner in which the Jets won. 3.USA-Portugal.Sometimes I still think I'm dreaming...
I have a lot of the same moments as you Kats, so i will nominate just this past weekend 9ers v NY Football Giants. When the Giants hit their last field goal in the 3rd quarter, i thought we were done, we know what happened after that, just incredible feeling for my friends and I , what a way to start the new year and the work week! USA v Portugal WC J/k 2002, i cried !
If I had to narrow it down to just one, it'd be the Gophers' overtime championship victory against Maine last year. That whole night was amazing. Everything just felt right... It was in St. Paul, Leopold won the Hobey, Pohl and Taffe had been scoring ridiculous amounts of goals all year, and and it just felt like we were due. The festivities began about two hours before the game with singing and chanting out of my apartment window. We hung a Gopher jersey out the window and just about every car that went by honked when they saw it. The game itself was about as thrilling as it gets. The atmosphere in the apartment I went to to watch the game was probably second only to the arena itself. It was ***************ing crazy. We ran outside as soon as the winning goal was scored and joined everyone in the celebrations. The whole campus went absolutely crazy for hours. Bonfires in the streets, police helicopters, riot squad (not that those are particularly good things)...the whole nine yards. We didn't get back to our apartment until 5 or 6 a.m. Honorable mention: -US vs.Portugal -US vs. Costa Rica WCQ at Columbus in 2001 (the first US game I'd ever attended) -Hibbing vs. Elk River (high school hockey section final that went into 3 overtimes) at a packed Hibbing Memorial Arena. Travis Weber, who's now the Gophers' goalie, put on easily the most amazing goaltending display I have ever seen. We lost, but it was such an amazing game that nobody was really disappointed. -Hibbing vs. Duluth East (high school hockey section final) in front of the largest crowd I've ever seen stuffed into the Memorial building...the were probably close to 7,000 in there. Both sets of players and fans absolutely hated each other. I don't think the game was all that remarkable (2-0 loss), but the atmosphere still tops just about anything I've ever been a part of. Not even the adults sat, probably because there wasn't room to, and both massive student sections went back and forth the whole game with clever songs and chants. It was also sadly the last game that flags on poles were allowed into the building after a fight broke out between the two groups of fans and a pole was supposedly used as a weapon. The whole town basically shut down during the game. Those who couldn't get in were glued to their TVs and radios.
Greatest sports moment that I ever witnessed in person: I'd have to say game 3 of the 2000 NLDS between the Mets and Giants. Benny Agbayani's game winning homerun, bottom of the 13th. I jumped on top of my friend and we fell over. Greatest moment in general.......I'd have to say Korea's run in the World Cup. A lot of expectations were met and much more. It was a wild run. With my local teams, I've been through 2 NBA Finals, World Series, Stanley Cup playoffs, yet this just sucked me right in.
Greatest moment I've ever personally witnessed was when JoePa won 324 vs Ohio St infront 105,00+ at beaver stadium. Ohio St was up 27 - 9 sometime in the middle of the 3rd, and then Zach Mills brought us back for a 32 - 27 win. The whole 4th quarter had this crazy feel to it with fans chanting "Joepa-joepa-joepa" the whole time. And then afterwards seeing Coach Paterno and his wife breakdown and cry. The first game in NYC after 9/11. Mets vs Braves. The winning HR that Mike Piazza delievered gave me chills. Late in the game, all to play for. It was amazing. it was like a huge hug for New York City. I thought watching McGuire hitting #62 was pretty amazing. My freshman year, I had an exam the next morning and had forgotten about the game. Then all i hear is "YEEEAAAHHHHH" and I'm like "Oh Crap!!" ran to my next door neighbors room and all I see is the replay of Big Mac blast. I mean you could hear cheers from all over the campus. pretty cool. My Bills coming back down from 35 - 3. I was just 12 or 13 and the Bills were my life. And when Chris Dishman returned that Int early in the 3rd I was so upset that I ran to the other room and started crying. After awhile I came back. After the TD the Bills scored I was like, yea well, whatever. And I still remember feeling pissed off when the fans started throwing streamers into the air, it was like what the hell. Then Don Beebes huge TD, big play after big play. And finally coming down to the figgie in OT. I was feeling that win all the way upto the Super Bowl.
Gordon's knuckler thru Notre C***'s uprights. Messier lifting up Lord Stanley's Cup (made up for the years the Fishermen eliminated my bhoyz from the playoffs) Scott Norwood. The Yankees 1st WS win since 1978, the year after Donnie retired in 1996. Going to Korea this past summer watching the USA (to borrow Don Cheadle's line) Make the impossible, possible Flutie to Phelan (part of the fabric that is college FB)
What a great thread, sorry in advance this is going be disorganized and stream of consciousness . . . Greatest was probably Richard Hastings golden goal for Canada over Mexico in the Gold Cup, I was just so stunned that there's little to compare it to. As a lifelong Kings fan, the Miracle on Manchester (Evans' OT goal) was spectacular and so satisfying, but I was too young to really appreciate it. If that happened now it would be right with Hastings' goal. Those two left me speachless, other moments are less jaw-droppers than the sort of thing that makes you knock over tables with food on them and hug complete strangers and run around like an idiot: Canada 5 US 2 - Salt Lake 02. Watching it in a bar with hundreds of other fans made this really special. I mean the waitresses sang the anthem after the game. Saskatchewan 43 Hamilton 40 - 1989 Grey Cup. Sask wins first cup in 33 years (and was the first team I cheer for to win anything) on a last second field goal only seconds after Hamilton tied the game on one of the greatest catches I've ever seen (pass is behind Tony Champion, he jumps off the wrong foot twists around in the air and catches the ball with his body parallel to the ground - oh did I mention they were gambling from inside the 10 to stay alive and he had broken ribs? Ridiculous catch). Lemieux' goal in the game 3 of the 87 Canada Cup. Gretzky scores his third to eliminate the hated Leafs in 93 and send the Kings to the Stanley Cup. The Canadian women over the US in Salt Lake. The Canadian men over the US in hockey in Nagano in 98. Great events I didn't really care about either way: Red Army v Montreal Canadiens New Year's Even 75. Best hockey game I've ever seen. Mickey Ward against Arturo Gatti, this fight was like a Rocky movie. I can't believe these guys both lived for the rematch. Rams/Ravens Super Bowl, finally a decent game and this one was better than most. ManU v Bayern Munich, Champions League final. if I cheered for either team I would have had a heart attack and died. I swear. Senegal v Uruguay - World Cup 02. See above. Most of the Yankees/Arizona world series. Game 7 of the Twins/Braves World Series (91?) which is the best baseball game I think I've seen. Joe Carter's home run. For a few seconds I stopped hating the Blue Jays it was such a great moment. I'm sure I'm forgetting an awful lot of great stuff. I'm leaving out a HS moment and a University moment (Neil Hughes in the 2000 Churchill Bowl) because I've Canadianized my list enough. cheers, hobbes P.S. Of course the greatest moment ever will be the next time Canada qualifies for the World Cup.
http://www.geocities.com/castmind/ben.html The file is a bit too large to post, but I broke down the start. Scary when you think about what sort of extremes can be reached using drugs, The last two images just show how damn fast he got out of the blocks. Considering that Lewis and others felt he was using, it must have been depressing 'cause no one was going to catch him during this period.
I remember when Carl Lewis first made the allegations that Johnson and others had enhanced their performance by use of drugs. At first I thought it was Lewis not being able to cope with a faster runner, but then if you looked at the times posted by Johnson before he got juiced it really made you wonder. After he tested positive it made me mad. Lewis was right after all. The cheating aspect for me made it so that everytime I see a replay of the 1988 100m Final from Seoul, South Korea I wish I could magically erase Ben Johnson from the race. He tainted the sport and most importantly, the Olympics. Ben Johnson never ran faster than 10.3 drug free. I rather remember Maurice Greene's world record or Dave Wottle's finishing kick in the 800m Final in Munich. Bob Beamon's 29'-21/2" leap or best Carl Lewis jumping over 29' 3 times in the 1991 World Championships only to lose by 1 3/4" to World Record holder Mike Powell. Clearly the greatest long jump competition in history. 3 times over 29' amazing.
I was at the Univ of Kentucky in 1992 when that rat-b%^*&%$^ed Laettner and Duke beat UK in the quarterfinals of March Madness. When UK was up with seconds to go the noise coming from the student housing was incredible. Then when Laetner made the shot you could hear a pin drop.
Right on dude. I know the highlight of it all was Piazza's game winning homer, but I just thought the whole game had so much emotion in it, from the pre-game ceremonies to the last pitch. Just seeing everyone in the crowd with American flags in their hands and Mayor Giuliani being there to show his support. Shea was literally just all red, white, and blue. Then you had the color guards and the moment of silence and all that which was emotional. Then Marc Anthony singing the star spangled banner, which I thought was terrific. Then there was Diana Ross singing God Bless America. I thought one of the best was Liza Minelli singing New York, New York during the 7th inning stretch which Gary Cohen called amazing. Then you have the Piazza bomb and the Mets competing for a playoff spot and you get one heck of a night.