Had a sleepover at a friends house, we were about 6th grade. Sat on the floor in front of the tv, in the basement and watched the Portland Trailblazers win their only championship.
I was in the student union in 1985 when my school won the NCAA men’s hockey tournament. (As a freshman, I had a work-study job in the game room until 10 pm or 11pm on Saturday evenings.)
I got up at 3:00 a.m. (or whatever it was) to watch the gold medal game for men’s curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics. It turned out to be worth it; the U.S. scored 5 in the 8th end to pretty much clinch the game.
I was also at Nolan Ryan’s last game; it was at the Kingdome against the Mariners. He was supposed to have two more starts and finish the season at home, but he hurt his shoulder and left the game in the first inning. His final, record-setting strikeout was in his previous game against the Angels.
I’ll leave aside the various championships my home town teams have won over the years, for a couple where I was strictly a bystander.
In 1989 I was at my kids’ school for parent-teacher conferences when I wandered by the library and saw the World Series earthquake coverage on TV. As word spread more and more parents (and teachers) came in to see what was happening until the room was packed.
Sitting with my future father in law watching Game 6 of the 1975 World Series
At a party in 1986 with an insufferable Mets fan
And in a shopping mall parking lot in 1990, listening to my car radio as Missouri football announcers went apoplectic over a blown call
One additional one I remember:
Sitting with my father in our family room, watching TV coverage of a Dodgers/Braves game, and watching Hank Aaron break Babe Ruth’s career home run mark.
I was sitting at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, waiting with my mom for my dad’s flight from Wisconsin to arrive (this was when you could wait in the actual airport for arrivals) and the PA announcer came on to state that the United States had beaten the USSR in their Winter Olympics hockey semifinal. It was 1980, and I was 10. I didn’t follow hockey then, and I still don’t, but I knew it had to be a big deal because of the PA announcement. I remember a couple of older ladies seated next to us being very excited about it.
Sitting with my friend at Game 6 of the 2011 World Series bracing myself to watch the Rangers celebrate their victory on our field. David Freese (and others) had something to say about that.
I was sixteen, we drove from the farm on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia where I was spending the summer to a neighboring farm that had a television, to watch the 1973 Belmont Stakes. That was the year Secretariat won it by 31 lengths.
I have five:
- Paul Henderson’s winning goal in the summit series: I was home sick, so up early and watching it in our downstairs rumpus room:
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Sandra Schmirler’s rink winning Olympic Gold in 1998: Mrs Piper and I got up early to watch it live from Japan, so about 4 am in our living room.
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Riders win the Grey Cup in 1989 on the Kick, after what many say was the most thrilling Grey Cup ever: 43 - 40: alone in my apartment.
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Riders win the Grey Cup in TO in 2007: Mrs P and I were sitting in upgraded corporate seats in SkyDome / Rogers Centre.
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Riders win the Grey Cup in 2013: Mrs P and I were in Taylor Field, at the last Grey Cup played there before the new stadium was built. Home field advantage; a sea of green.
Pretty easy to remember where I was for the Jays’ two World Series wins. In both cases I was on Ontario Street in Kingston; for 1992 I was in my car listening on the radio, too stressed to watch on TV. In 1993 I was in the Cocamo, a nightclub, with a young lady named Beverly. We were by the pool table in the front.
I also remember perfectly well where I was for Canada’s gold medal wins in Olympic hockey in 2002 and 2010. For the former, at a Philthy McNasty’s in Oakville; for the latter, on my living room couch.
I was in my parent’s TV room when Donovan Bailey won the 100m dash at the 1996 Olympics.
I remember watching Randy Johnson pitching a perfect game. I was in an MLB stadium… but not the one it happened in (Atlanta.) I was in Angel Stadium in Anaheim, and it was before first pitch there; they put the Johnson game on all the screens, and at least half the crowd had arrived and was watching when he got the last out. I was standing in the first deck on the third base side watching.
I remember game 6 from that year as well, only it was the NLCS rather than the World Series. I was on a couch at my grandmothers house, watching with my dad and brother.
In particular I remember Billy Hatcher’s home run off the left field foul pole in the bottom of the 14th. I also clearly remember Kevin Bass striking out a couple of innings later to end the game. And of course I remember that everyone “knew” that if only the Astros could somehow scratch out a win, that the Mets might as well give up, because Mike Scott was going to be untouchable in game 7.
I should have a better story than any of you, as I was in the Homestead High School Marching Band, that was at the stadium for the World Series Earthquake game, about to go unveil a big American flag in center field for the playing of the national anthem. So the whole band was in a tunnel leading to the outfield.
But… I was sick that day, so I was at home instead. Honestly, I should just start telling people I was there. Who’s going to check?
I’ve only been in the venue for one “finals” of a major US sport, which was the NBA finals game where the Warriors beat the Cavs because one of the Cavs players dribbled out the clock in regulation, thinking they were up one rather than it being tied. Which you might think would have been super exciting, but that particular moment was just confusing. Didn’t really understand what had happened until we got home and read about it.
As for events I will never forget watching on TV, number one by far is the USA vs Brazil Women’s World Cup game with the Rapinoe-to-Wambach goal to tie it up deep in stoppage time of extra time. I watched the replay of the final 10 minutes or so of that game every day for like a week after that. Genuinely unbelievable. (But we were just watching in our living room, no exciting anecdote or anything.)
I was at school for that one, but the school realized that nobody’s mind was going to be on lessons that day, so it caved. Problem was, that the school had only so many TVs to go around, so we had sixty kids packed into our classroom, plus teachers. But we got to watch The Goal by Henderson.
I missed the 1992 win of the World Series by the Blue Jays, due to working a 12-hour shift that began at 5:00 AM, and being exhausted when I returned home at 7:00 PM (after a beer with co-workers at a local pub). Yep, I was asleep for it.
But I do remember the Jays’ 1993 victory. I was at an English pub in Scarborough, Ontario; and it only had one TV set behind the bar. I got there early, and had a seat at the bar, so I was fine; but there was a crowd of six to eight people deep behind me and the others at the bar. When Joe Carter hit that walk-off home run, the place went nuts. The owner bought a round for the house.
ETA: When the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship in 2019, I was in Toronto on business. I went to the hotel’s bar/restaurant for dinner. The hotel barman said that if the Raptors won the championship that night, he’d buy a round for the house. Having no place else to go, I stuck around for the game after dinner. The Raptors won the championship, and the barman made good on his promise.
I still have a strong memory of being on the grassy area just north of the main classroom block of my high school talking to a friend when some other guys came over to tell us that Pre had just died.
I remember several World Series games:
1977 game 6: I was allowed to stay up late to watch the game in the living room with my dad. Reggie Jackson hits three home runs in three at bats, all on the first pitch, each one longer than the previous.
1987 game 7: watching crappy TV in crappy TV room of campus house. Gary Gaetti throws out Willie McGee 5-3 for the final out.
1991 game 7: in the top row of the Metrodome, obstructed seat. Gene Larkin pinch hits for Al Newman. Swings at first pitch, suck in breath DEEP ENOUGH. Bedlam.
I was in a sports restaurant/bar that’s long since been torn down, watching my Raiders play the Patriots in the AFC Division game. I watched in utter disgust as the refs cashed their paychecks from Kraft and Bellichek and called the worst call in the history of the NFL, now known as the “Tuck Rule call”.
I was at home sitting on the couch with my Dad in 1966 when England won the Soccer* World Cup. 
It was also amusing because we were watching on a new TV that my Mum had bought especially for the match. When it arrived, Mum noticed there was a colour control slider. Now previously we had a black + white TV. So for the first half, Mum set the slider to minimum, so it looked black + white. When Dad went for a cup of tea at half-time, we moved the slider to full, glorious colour. It took Dad a few minutes to realise what had happened. 
In 2003 I was teaching at a school when England won the final of the Rugby Union World Cup. A group of staff watched the match in the Sports Centre staffroom.
Engerlaaaaand, Engerlaaaaand, Engerlaaaaand!
*a friendly reference for our American hosts 
Ooops!
I’ll never forget the 1993 European GP. Senna utterly dominated the field in a car that was probably about 10th on the grid in pure pace, including overtaking four people on the first lap.
My first real sports memory is Maradona crying after Argentina beat West Germany in the 1986 World Cup final. I distinctly remember asking my dad to explain because I didn’t know that grown-ups cry. But I think the image in my head is actually Maradona crying after losing to the Germans in the 1990 final.
Yup, Cubs in 2016. I’m embarrassed to admit I went to bed when Cleveland tied up Game 7 in the 8th inning. It pissed me off that the Cubs were going to let the game get away and it was already an hour past when I needed to go to bed. I woke up about 90 minutes later and checked Facebook on my phone… bracing myself for bad news. Instead, the first post I see is from a Cubs fan page saying “Holy Cow! The Cubs are one out away from winning the World Series!” I jump out of bed, run to the living room, and turn on the TV just in time to see the final out. Then I sat on the couch and cried because my dad was a huge fan and he didn’t live to see it.