What’s the best game you ever saw in person? I suppose you can include and sporting event.
Mine would be a Maryland-UNC game about 5 or 6 years ago at Maryland. It was 2 star studded teams battling back and forth for the entire game. UNC had the last possesion with the score tied, or maybe down by 1. Someone put up a shot, there was a scramble for the rebound and Dante Calabria got it, hiked it between his legs to Antwain Jamison and he laid it in for the win.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Maryland fan, but that was a great game. I’ve seen a few Maryland-Duke wars (one where Rickey Price hit a 3 at the buzzer for the win), but that game really stands out in my mind.
A freind of mine was at the Superdome for the Chris Webber timeout game, but he said he was so far from the court, he couldn’t see anything.
Back in '93, I saw IU-Michigan play basketball when they were #2-#3 in the nation. The height of the Fab Five, Knight could still coach and Calbert Chaney in his senior year at IU. IU won by one point and went on to win the Big Ten championship thanks to that win.
I also saw in person Cuba and the US play baseball in the Pan Am games in '87. This was not the gold medal game but a regular tourney game. The US won on a bottom of the ninth home run. They lost in the gold medal game, but that was one of the first losses for Cuba in baseball in the Pan Am games in a long time. I also remember there being a whole group fo Cubans sitting in front of us. After the game, which was well played all around, they stood up and cheered even though they lost.
I can’t tell you exactly which game it was, for fear of either breaking down in tears or roaring into a homicidal frenzy, but I’ll say what I can: I was nine- March 28, 1992. NCAA East Regional Finals, The Spectrum, Philadelphia. Kentucky versus… someone. Overtime. Somebody threw a pass… somebody caught it and shot… I remember nothing afterwards.
Houston Astros v. New York Mets in the 1986 playoffs. Went 14 innings, IIRC. Eventually went against my guys, but a great game. My boss was a 3% owner in the 'Stros and we thus had box seats.
The Greatest Comeback in NFL History. Backup QB Frank Reich leads the Buffalo Bills to a 41-38 overtime win over the Houston Oilers after being down 35-3.
I was ten years old and stood on my seat the entire second half.
The only sporting event I ever attended, and truly enjoyed, was nowhere near professional.
It was an event in basic training called Warrior Challenge. Trainees would sign up for events like push-up and sit-up contests, a relay race, a 10k run, and a tug-of-war. My training squadron (the 322) won, and even beat the TI team in the tug-of-war. Thanks largely to a HUGE guy we called Jolly Green. 6’10", and he had to have most of his uniform items special made. It looked pretty funny, because he was the only guy authorized to wear black shoes with his PC gear when we were out running.
That event was the only time in my life that I knew what those guys who strip down and paint themselves in their team colors feel like. Even though I stayed firmly in uniform the whole time.
oh yes, I was there. It’s as close to a Super Bowl win as Buffalo ever got.
I also witnessed Bruce Smith knock Joe Montana into retirement during another great playoff game at Rich Stadium
Game 6 of the NBA Finals in 1982. Lakers beat Dr J’s 76ers to win it all. It was the second Magic/Kareem Championship. This was before the NBA (particularly the Lakers) went Hollywood and it was still possible for a normal person to see a game at a reasonable price. My seats were halfway up the second section at exactly mid-court. I bought a scalped ticket on the day of the game for $35.00. The equivalent ticket would cost over $1000.00 today.
I still remember watching that Bills-Oilers game on TV. Glorious.
I think the best game I ever saw in person was Northwestern vs. Michigan in 2000. I was a freshman, it was Visiting Weekend so my folks were there. We were getting whooped in the first half. Came back to tie, had a really great chance to win in the fourth… but our running back dropped a pass in the end zone.
Michigan got the ball back, maybe 3 or 4 minutes left on our 20. Anthony Thomas takes the handoff - this next bit happens in slow motion - I think it was third down and we were playing the run, so as he comes to the line, I look downfield and I see there’s nobody there, if he gets through he’s going to go 80 yards and score, it’s over… but just as he breaks through the line, a hand sticks out and strips the ball. Northwestern recovers, place goes crazy. We have a second chance, and Sam Simon (if memory serves) scores the big touchdown.
Michigan gets the ball back with just enough time - and the score is 54-51, so there’d been no defense all day - and makes their way down the field. With time running out, they try a field goal… and the snap is bad. They throw a pass, but nothing happens. It’s over!
54-51. We tied for the Big Ten championship and went to a bowl game that year and got murdered, but that (and the three years of mostly crappy football that followed) could take away from that game.
Washington Bullets beat San Antonio Spurs in the East Conference Semfinals on their way to the NBA Championship
Wes Unseld, throwing that big, Mack Truck body around, Elvin Hayes, and Mitch Kupchak (Mitch Cupcake) taking it to “the Iceman” and the Capital Center went absolutely, positively nuts.
Dick Motta: “It ain’t over 'til the fat lady sings.”
The best game I ever saw (in person) was the '97 Rose Bowl. Ohio State vs. Arizona State. That was until I saw (in person) the the National Championship game 2 years ago. Ohio State over Miami in triple overtime.
Bears/Jets Monday night game. Bears down by two touchdowns with less than 5 minutes left. Mongo rips the ball from some Jets guy’s (running back, most likely) hands. I mean he rips the ball out of the guy’s hands. Takes the turnover and the Bears go on to win the game.
It may have been the last Monday night game they won.
**Nolan Ryan’s 7th no hitter, Rangers vs Blue Jays. ** I’d gone to the game the day before too and had taught myself how to “score” the game. Pity I didn’t fill the sheet out the next day as well.
By about the 3rd a buzz began to fill the stadium. By the 5th the crowd was cheering with every batter retired. By the 7th we heard major networks were monitoring the game and when he struck out Alomar the place went freakin’ nuts. People were picking up everything remotely tied to the game… programs, cups, we saw one guy picking up some damn peanut shells off the ground.
I kept the ticket in my wallet for years but at some point I’ve lost it. I remember my girlfried, not a huge baseball fan, turning to me in about the 6th and saying “I take it this doesn’t happen very often?”
