1)Cathy Freeman’s gold medal win in the 400m final at the Sydney Olympics. Being half Australian, I had first hand experience at seeing how much pressure was piled onto Cathy in the years preceding her famous win. As the eyes of the nation saw her cross the line you could see the weight of expectation being lifted from her as she slumped to the ground… Perfect.
I am also half Greek, so Konstantinos Kenteris winning the 200m final (Greece’s first gold in track and field since 1896) against all odds was very satisfying too.
Michael Jordan’s buzzer beater to win his 6th championship ring with the Bulls. Please don’t make a comeback Michael, it was the perfect exit.
Bill Buckner’s error in game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I had a reason to enjoy this even beyond being a Mets fan - Buckner had been a jerk to me earlier that year. I doubt anyone was happier with the outcome than me.
Sometimes living well isn’t the best revenge after all!
My favorite is “The Agony of Defeat.” You surely remember the clip of the guy tumbling down the ski jump ramp. It’s a cultural icon. I remember seeing a special anniversary show of Wide World of Sports where they tracked the guy down 25 years later and showed him the clip. You shoulda seen him wince when he saw it, I’m sure he hadn’t even thought of it since that time. And oh man was he irritated when they told him he was the icon for Defeat.
My favourite would be the same as most english men. Contary to American thought the English national game is not cricket, its football(soccer)
Although a good few years prior to my birth, It is the 1966 World cup final England V Germany, in England.
following a 2-2 draw at the end of normal time (90 mins) another 30 mins were played to find a winner. Enland scored, but were always being attacked by the Germans. The came the greatest moment in sport in my opinion and with it a good contender for best comentry.
Picture the scene, England are 3-2 up with less than a minute to play when Geoff Hurst gets the ball on the left wing
Geoff runs at full pace up the wing
COMMENTATOR: ‘and here comes Hurst’
Crowd at the other end think the match is over and start invaiding the pitch
COMM: ‘Some people are on the pitch, the think its all over…’
Hurst hits the ball a good 20 yards from the goal. It sails in the back of the net, the goalkeeper doesnt even move
COMM:’ It is now!!!’
as you can amagine the place when mental
This is the only time (so far!!) that england have ever won the World Cup.
1980, Lake Placid, US Hockey Team. I can still remember the moments after the final victory against Finland, when people opened windows and rushed out of doors all along our usually quiet street, chanting “U.S.A!” Us kids were racing in and out of the houses, going from the television to see the post-game coverage, back out to the street where we started impromptu street hockey games.
I’ve read a lot of commentary that cites the victory over the USSR as the greatest moment of the series, but as I remember, as kids, we didn’t really understand the politcal baggage that was attached to that game. It was the final game, for the gold medal, that really got us going (of course, we were like maniacs when we played the Russians, the frenzy just escalated by the time of the USA-Finland game). Cold war, schmold war, we wanted GOLD. And we got it.
When the U.S. Men’s Soccer team actually won a game in the 1994 World Cup. That was tremendous.
When the U.S. Women’s Soccer team won the last World Cup, and Brandi Chastain showed us her underthings. The game was tense, and Brandi’s final reaction fit my emotions completely. My dad and I went to Hooters to celebrate.
When Boston College beat Notre Dame on a last-second field goal in the 1994 (?) NCAA college football season. I was watching the game with a bunch of friends, and we all rushed the big-screen TV, slapping hands, etc.
When the Florida Gators finally beat FSU, and won the 1996-7 national championship of college football.
When I first killed a bear using only a butter knife and two pinecones.
Watchhing Steve Redgrave win his fifth gold medal at the 2000 Olypmics. The BBC had shown a documentary in the weeks before the race showing how much he and the rest of the coxless went through and how much they sacrificed to get to where they are. Nearly brought me to tears, staying up till two in the morning watching them win.
Kerry Wood. 20 K’s. Disgusting fastball. Nintendo curveball. Completely amazing.
Chicago Bulls’ 3rd Championship. Phoenix. Game 6. Bulls down two. John Paxson for three. Sweet.
Cal Ripken. Game 2,131 in a row. And he hit a homer. No freaking way.
Mark McGwire. #62. Even if it did have to happen against the Cubs.
MJ, game 6, championship 6. The whole last minute of the game. Bulls down 3, MJ scores. Steals the ball from Big Dumb Oaf (er, Karl Malone, sorry). Hits the jumper for teh win, with the little Wesley Snipes white-men-can’t-jump pose thrown in for good measure.
These are the best I’ve actually seen. I could probably come up with a few more…
Grok, game 6 was incredible. Perhaps the greatest moments for this sports fan. 1969 was also great year of the New York sports fan. The Mets winning the World Series and the Jets winning the Super Bowl.
I’d like to give honorable mention to Ali-Frazier I. This was huge. The City was abuzz. I was 12. My sister and I each put a sheet of paper on our bedroom doors so that our dad could check off who won when he got home from watching it on a closed-circuit broadcast. When I woke up, I scrambled out of bed just like it was Christmas. I remember being shocked that “Frazier” was checked off!
Ali eggs a strong but immature George Foreman into wearing himself out on Ali’s body for eight rounds. Then, when everyone is waiting for Foreman to win the decision, Ali steps off the ropes and almost casually brings an exhausted Foreman down. I can’t think of a better example of an athlete knowing his opponent and exploiting his weaknesses.
This is one of my few sports memories, so please bear with me.
Orioles-Yankees game sometime in the early 80s. Ricky Henderson was in his prime then as a base-stealer.
Got to first on a single. Eveyrone knows he’ll try for another base. Two pitches later, he steals second. Just like that.
Takes a huge lead off second. This time, everyone in the stadium knows what he’s going to do. First pitch, boom. He’s on third.
I couldn’t think a man could run so fast, and to do it twice with the other team ready to pick him off, and still make it. Wow.
Of course, another memory was Michael Jordan’s play in the University of North Carolina-Georgetown game back in the NCAA tourney in 1982, but I saw that on a television in a bar in Chapel Hill. And we partied in the streets afterward without turning over cars and fighting the cops. Still proud of that.
Greg Lemonds time trial win in Paris in the 1989 Tour De France cycle race.
Thousand of miles and three weeks of racing he was around 50 seconds behind race leader Laurent Fignon with a 35 kilometre time trial for the final days race.
Fignon was a noted time-trial specialist and it was thought an impossible task for any rider in the world to take back those 50 seconds. Even taking back 1 second per kilometre was thought to be near enough impossible.
Lemond did it and more, he won the event by 8 seconds, the closest any Tour de France has ever been.
Gripping to watch as both riders were followed by the cameras fully aware of how the other was doing.
Cal Ripken breaking the streak, then when he finally took himself out of the lineup he got a standing ovation for being on the bench.
Ozzie Smith’s “Go Crazy” homerun in the bottom of the 9th in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS. It was the game-winning HR and Smith’s first ever left-handed homerun.
(Also on the list, just about every other defensive play Ozzie Smith made on the field.)
Rams’ Rickey Proehl making his only TD catch of the season, just happened to be vs Tampa Bay to win the game and send the Rams to the SuperBowl.
Rams’ Mike Jones stopping Kevin Dyson at the one yard line, making the St Louis Rams the SuperBowl Champs.
