Favorite sports moments ever

[john m]

I had a little time to write something like this, so now I'm asking you for your opinions as well.

What are your personal favorite sports moments? "Moment" can be defined however you choose to define it, whether it's one play or an entire season, but I'm more specific in asking you for moments that are of special importance to you. I'm not asking for your opinion on the "best" moments ever, because if I wanted a series of posts listing The Play, Gibson's home run, and the Miracle on Ice in assorted order, I could make it myself. I want to know what absolutely took over your emotions at the time and still gives you chills every time you even think about it. I don't care about the scope of the events, whether they're an international phenomenon or local events involving you, as long as they are your fondest sports memories. I made an ordered list of my top 5 complete with YouTube links, but you can answer in whatever format you choose.

(I'm using the commonly accepted definition of "sports," too, meaning unscripted athletic competition. Post whatever you like, but if you want a debate on the best professional wrestling matches of all time, you're going to have to catch me in a different topic.)

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5. January 3, 2003: The Ohio State University wins the 2002 BCS National Championship

Not terribly high on my list simply because I don't care too much for American football (especially college), but it was an exciting finish to a great season.

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4. May 31, 2007: 2007 NBA Conference Finals, Cleveland vs. Detroit, Game 5

After the previous year's disappointing exit against the same Pistons team, the Cavaliers appeared to be in danger of another Conference Finals exit at the hands of their rivals. The Cavs lost the first two games 76-79 in Detroit, with LeBron scoring a disappointing playoff career low 10 points in the first game. However, the Cavaliers worked through the unforgiving Pistons defense in games 3 and 4, sending the series back to Detroit. In Game 5, LeBron finally exploded, scoring 48 points, but far more memorably, assuming the role of the entire Cavaliers team in the end of regulation and all of overtime. LeBron scored the Cavaliers' last 25 points of the game -- 29 of the last 30 -- to win an overwhelmingly important road playoff game before closing out the series in the following game.

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3. August 5, 2001: "The Impossible Return" - Cleveland Indians erase 12-run deficit vs. Seattle Mariners

The Indians trailed the Mariners 0-12 in the bottom of the third inning, and after a little more scoring on each side, trailed 2-14 by the time they came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh. The Tribe narrowed the gap to 5-14 in the seventh, then 9-14 in the eighth. In the bottom of the ninth, the leadoff batter (Taubensee) singled, but Thome flied out to right and Branyan struck out swinging, bringing the Indians to their final out of the game. Cordova then doubled to deep left, moving Taubensee to third base. Wil Cordero walked, loading the bases for Einar Diaz. Diaz singled to left, scoring the two from second and third. Men on first and second now for Kenny Lofton, who singled to left field to load the bases again, this time for Omar Vizquel. Vizquel then hit the most exciting bases-clearing triple I've ever seen, finally tying the game in the process. The Indians eventually went on to win the game in the eleventh inning, solidifying the greatest baseball comeback I've ever witnessed.

(Sadly, no video highlights, because MLB is stupid and refuses to embrace the internet.)

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2. July 12, 1998: France wins 1998 FIFA World Cup

I was actually on vacation in Washington D.C. during the the World Cup Finals tournament, but I couldn't tell you a single memorable landmark of the city. All my memories of that summer involve sitting in the hotel room glued to the television as my beloved French squad, after having dominated the group stage, obtained exciting victories over Paraguay (1-0 Golden Goal victory), Italy (0-0 regulation, 4-3 on penalties), and Croatia (2-1, after trailing 0-1), before finally achieving a decisive 3-0 victory over powerhouse Brazil. Those in the United States that suffer from generational narrow-mindedness (if the USA didn't invent it, it's not worth my time!) or an ignorant biased sports media (ESPN, Fox) may only remember Zinedine Zidane for his 2006 World Cup Final headbutt on scum-of-the-Earth Marco Materazzi, but I will always remember him for his unbelievable perfomance throughout the 1998 World Cup.

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Summer X Games VII. Skateboard Vert Final.

Bucky Lasek, aiming to win this event for the third consecutive year, delivered a fantastic run. His 95.50 score virtually guaranteed him the three-peat, and if the score wasn't good enough by itself, there was the reassurance that only one skater remained.

Unfortunately for Bucky, the remaining skater was Bob Burnquist, and what followed was the single greatest skateboarding run in history.

1. August 18, 2001: The 98

[Steve Durand]

Dave Wottle winning the 800 meters at the 1972 Olympic Games.

The way he barely squeaked through the heats to make it into the final it was hard to believe that he even had a chance. And then in the final he looked like he was completely out of it for the first lap. The way he made up ground on the homestretch to just win the race at the line was a nailbiter.

This happened in the summer before my junior year of high school and was a big motivating factor for me to take up distance running.

[roymond]

I've posted this before, but my favorite moment was the USA winning the hockey gold. The stadium was shaking so much from people stomping their feet and I thought it might collapse (well, it crossed my mind), and the noise was terrific.

[bz£]

I've posted this before, but my favorite moment was the USA winning the hockey gold.

That is probably the high point in US sporting achievement!

Most of mine involve Adam Vinatieri field goals, or the Red Sox beating the Yankees in ridiculously unlikely circumstances. I can't help it, it's where I grew up.

I would like to include watching the 1986 World Series with my dad, in a hotel in New York, but, while I still remember it clearly, things didn't turn out quite so well there.

I still cry every time I hear Johnny Most's there's-a-steal-by-Bird-underneath-to-DJ-lays-it-in-etc. call. I can barely even remember the game but the ending is incredible.

[rone rivendale]

The Giants beating the Patroits in the 2007 Super bowl is high up there. They ended what would have been the greatest season in pro sports history (a 19-0 record). I lost a bet with my Mom over that game. I was SO sure New England would win, and I had never lost a bet to her in my lifetime. (She once bet me that Alexander Hamilton was a U.S. President. I knew he had only made it as high as Treasurer).

Kerry Strugg winning the gold in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Gymnastics is probably the greatest sports moment I've witnessed though. She had a broken ankle and still landed a vault that gave her team the win.

[Hoblit]

My favorite moment in NFL play wasn't a moment at all. I went to see the Bucs beat the 49ers when they came to town for a playoff game. (Jeff Garcia was the QB for the 49ers back then and now he's playing for us, ha)

The bucs clobbered them and my cousin and I got stupid drunk at that game. That was the most positive NFL experience of my life. The bucs went on to win the Super Bowl in San Deigo against the Raiders.

Another moment that stood out for me was the Saints kick return. It was the last play of the game and the Saints were behind by 7 points. They catch and start to return, lateraling the ball all over the place... (reviews later showed that they were all legit) and they end up scoring! The extra point was then missed...therefore losing the game by 1 point.

I'D YOUTUBE THAT FOR YOU LIKE I HAVE IN THE PAST but it seems the NFL has taken a page from the MLB book and has removed any trace of that video. Which is crap because its not like they are selling internet copies of that play or anything...so it's just a memory now.

[Hoblit]

The Giants beating the Patroits in the 2007 Super bowl is high up there. They ended what would have been the greatest season in pro sports history (a 19-0 record). I lost a bet with my Mom over that game. I was SO sure New England would win, and I had never lost a bet to her in my lifetime. (She once bet me that Alexander Hamilton was a U.S. President. I knew he had only made it as high as Treasurer).

I didn't think the Giants could pull it off but I was pulling for them anyways. I wanted to see the Manning brothers score back to back Super Bowl wins and I was pleasantly surprised. (especially because of the whole 'cheating' thing with the Patriots in question)

I once had to convince my mom that Benjamin Franklin was never the president. She just wasn't having it.

[Caravan Ray]

1. Newcastle beat Manly in the 1997 Australian Rugby League Grand Final - in particular, try by Darren Albert, set up by Joey Johns in the dying seconds of the game to come from behind and win the Premiership.

2. The Sydney Olympics. The whole thing. I was there for 3 days - it was magic.

Best moments: TheMen's 4 x 100m Freestyle final when he Australian team gave those dickhead American wankers a great big boot up the arse.

And Cathy Freeman winning the 400m - that was a big "the-whole-nation-stopped-and-watched" moment

3. Ella Magic. Mark Ella was the finest player of any code ever to lace on a boot (except for perhaps Andrew 'Joey' Johns, mentioned in #1). An ornament to the game, an ambassador for his country and an inspiration to kiddies everywhere. When combined with his brothers Glen and Gary - it was the finest of all footballing moments

4. 2005 Ashes Tour. Australia had been the easily the best team in the world for about 15 years. Cricket seemed to be slowly dying simply because we won all the time and it was becoming predictable and boring. Then in the northern summer of 2005 - a miracle happened and the Poms got some heart! (you can follow an almost blow-by-blow account of the SF! messageboards here

5 The birth of Rampaging Roy Slaven. Roy and HG are the fathers of modern sport journalism. Here they present their "Arseclown of the Week Award'

6 Wallabies vs France. Not a great game - but it is just so good watching a whole lot of stupid French idiots getting their stupid French heads punched in. Check the big poof near the end go for the cheap shot, Zinedine Zidane-style, on Fitzy. What a pack of cheese-eating skirt-wearing coqsuckers.

[john m]

it is just so good watching a whole lot of stupid French idiots getting their stupid French heads punched in. Check the big poof near the end go for the cheap shot, Zinedine Zidane-style, on Fitzy. What a pack of cheese-eating skirt-wearing coqsuckers.

Boy, do I like you.

[jimtyrrell]

Another moment that stood out for me was the Saints kick return. It was the last play of the game and the Saints were behind by 7 points. They catch and start to return, lateraling the ball all over the place... (reviews later showed that they were all legit) and they end up scoring! The extra point was then missed...therefore losing the game by 1 point.

This game crossed my mind when I saw the question. HERE is a clip of the end of that game. I'm a Saints fan, and this still stands out as an amazing moment in sports history for me. It just sums up the Saints' entire franchise career so eloquently. (Look out this year, though. Yeah.)

I have fond memories of the Saints' first ever playoff victory, against Kurt Warner's St. Louis Rams. I listened to the game on the car radio, driving home from work through a blizzard. The whole experience was extremely tense and personal, and I'll never forget it.

[Caravan Ray]

Boy, do I like you.

Awsome! Here's some more good ones:

This time it's cheating All Black bastards getting their heads punched in and some Kiwi idiot and Greg "Dish-head" Dowling smacking each other at Eden Park in 1985.

This is so sweet.

I'll keep googling till I can find some good footage of someone thumping a South African.

[Spud]

I have no favorite sporting moments or memories. They are all exactly equally dull.

SPUD

[Caravan Ray]

This game crossed my mind when I saw the question. HERE is a clip of the end of that game.

Almost like a Rugby try, the way they were passing.

Except they all look like a big pack of sheilas with their poofy helmets on. And the arseclowns on the other team didn't seem to know how to tackle.

This, BTW is how to score a try. 1973 Barbarians vs the All Blacks.

[ujnhunter]

Favorite: Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007 Pittsburgh Penguins @ Boston Bruins - I had pretty good seats at the game, and I was with my friend who is a Bruins fan (I'm a Pens fan...) Sidney Crosby got in his first NHL fight... right in front of my seats! The Penguins were up 4-0... the Bruins came back to tie 4-4 went into overtime then Shootouts and the Penguins won 5-4! Woohoo! Most Awsome sports moment for me...

Least Favorite: 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Atlanta Braves Game 7 of the NLCS former Pirate Sid Bream slides into home plate and the umpire calls him safe before he even touches the plate, the Braves end up winning the right to goto the world series... the Pirates don't have a winning season since...

[Paco Del Stinko]

I went to a game seven Celtics playoff in 1981. They beat the Sixers to go to the championship. I'm not a basketball fan, and didn't even follow the championship afterwards. However, the insanity of the crowd after the win was almost too much to handle. Craziest crowd I've ever been in.

I'm with BZL on those Red Sox/Yankees ALCS games a couple of years ago, though. Every pitch a nail biter.

[Caravan Ray]

I have no favorite sporting moments or memories. They are all exactly equally dull.

SPUD

You really should see a doctor or something about that. That's just not right.

[Spud]

I have no favorite sporting moments or memories. They are all exactly equally dull.

SPUD

You really should see a doctor or something about that. That's just not right.

Ah. I see the problem which led to your misunderstanding. I did not clarify whether it was my memory or the sporting events which were dull. It was the latter.

SPUD

[Hoblit]

Another moment that stood out for me was the Saints kick return. It was the last play of the game and the Saints were behind by 7 points. They catch and start to return, lateraling the ball all over the place... (reviews later showed that they were all legit) and they end up scoring! The extra point was then missed...therefore losing the game by 1 point.

This game crossed my mind when I saw the question. HERE is a clip of the end of that game. I'm a Saints fan, and this still stands out as an amazing moment in sports history for me. It just sums up the Saints' entire franchise career so eloquently. (Look out this year, though. Yeah.)

I always think 'kick off return' but its actually just the last play of the game. (in regulation time) THANKS FOR THAT LINK. I've now downloaded that video and will have it stored away for the next time a question like this gets asked. I have always loved that play...but only because of the miracle getting crushed by missing the extra point which should NEVER happen.

I have no favorite sporting moments or memories. They are all exactly equally dull.

SPUD

At least you're moving away from "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA" - This is progress.

[jimtyrrell]

I think the movie 'North Dallas 40' ends in almost the same way as that Saints game.

[Kill Me Sarah]

One of my top favorites is Tony Romo bobbling the field goal snap in the divisional playoffs against my Seahawks. Too bad we couldn't pull out one more win the following week against the Bears who were awful.

[bz£]

The best part of that Saints play is the reaction from the commentators. "Nooooooooooooooooooooo" ranks up there with Nancy Kerrigan tearfully asking us "Why?"

If you like that sort of thing, which I'm sure you all do!

[Hoblit]

One of my top favorites is Tony Romo bobbling the field goal snap in the divisional playoffs against my Seahawks. Too bad we couldn't pull out one more win the following week against the Bears who were awful.

I frickin' couldn't believe that Romo bobble. I was rooting for Seattle (because of the previous Super Bowl BS) in that game and had pretty much figured it was going into overtime and was standing / pausing to get another beer or coke from the fridge...and bam...next thing you know I'm jumping up and down in disbelief.