T-Jack's List
5. Kirk Gibson hits pinch-hit walk-off Home Run in 1988 World Series
4. Joe Namath guarantees victory as an 18 point underdog to the Colts during Superbowl III.
As a member of the AFL they were not even supposed to put up a fight against the unstoppable Baltimore Colts. Upon receiving his AFL MVP he stood at a podium and guaranteed his New York Jets team would win the 1969 Superbowl. This victory has become one of the largest upsets in sports history.
3. Hank Aaron hits 715th Home Run
2. Jesse Owens wins four gold medals during the 1936 Munich Olympics
Jesse Owens went to the Berlin games in 1936 with the dream of winning a medal and competing for his nation. Adolf Hitler went to the games to prove that the Aryan athlete was superior to everyone else. He even went as far to use propaganda depicting African Americans as an inferior race. Jesse Owens won four gold medals (100m sprint, Long Jump, 200m, and 4 x 100m relay). Needless to say Jesse Owens winning these four gold medals was the eventual cause of the Nazis losing WWII. Thanks Jesse
1. The Miracle on Ice
A bunch of college misfits come together and do the unthinkable. Playing against a polished and professional USSR who was considered unbeatable, a bunch of college amateurs beat the worlds best at their own game. Furthermore, a weak prior to this mach the USSR beat the United States 10-3 in a friendly leading up to the 1980 Olympic Games. This is what also caused the destruction of the Soviet Union and the United States victory during the Cold War. Thanks guys for all the hard work.
Pain Train's List
5. Pain Train with the walk off squeeze - April 2008 vs. Stanford club baseball
At first I was going to make my top 5 moments all about myself, but I decided to only go with one. I was coming off a ridiculous streak where I had hit the go ahead run in like 3 of 5 games but this time I got the sign from the coach to lay one down as the runner was sprinting home. I flailed at a shoulder-high pitch, put it down and the runner scored. This capped off a game where I also hit a home run, made a toasty diving catch, and gunned someone at the plate. No single play could describe me as a baseball player more, the selfless dirty underdog who loves to compete. Chicks dig the bunt.
| Re-enactment of the Pain Train's Glory Days |
4. Pedro throws down Zimmerman
Am I the only one who has not forgotten about this? Only in sports can a 70 man still think that he has “it”. “It” being the strength to beat the crap out of someone else. What makes this one of the best moments in sports is that Pedro has the audacity to toss down this feeble old man. This just shows us the ferocity of rivalry and competition between two hated foes. They don’t even spare our great-grandfathers.
3. Namath being Namath
We all know the high school quarterback who is still basking in the glory of 15 years ago. Heck, the boss even immortalized it in a killer awesomely bodacious song, “Glory Days”. Without fail, that quarterback has put on some LBs and usually has a drinking problem. But who knew (besides everyone) that retired athletes have a similar complex. So I offer up a question, “Who is in you Joe Namath All-Stars”?
2. Softball player carried around bases by losing team
Now I know this will be hard to believe especially in the brief snapshot I have presented of myself, but I truly believe this was a top moment in humanity. At the highest levels of sport, we see truly amazing displays of competition, sportsmanship, and athleticism. When taken to the extreme we get epic games where we feel lucky to have participated or watched. After a game of this caliber, there are no losers (as sappy as that sounds). Thus was the case in this game. As the player hits a walk-off home run she injures herself and can’t run the bases. Therefore the opposing team carries her. That is the highest form of competition and compassion. This is why we play sports, to better our selves. P.S. how could this happen at a place where people are getting injured for drinking too much 4-lokos.
1. Autistic kid gets in basketball game, drains multiple threes, and crowd goes nuts
Watch the clip and your faith in humanity is restored
Corey's List
5. Ali-Frazier I
Deemed by publicists at the time as “The Greatest Sporting Event in History,” it had everything that you could possibly conceive in a championship fight. Two of the greatest heavyweights of all time, both undefeated, representing greater causes (Ali the anti-Vietnam counter-culture of the 1960’s and Frazier the conservative, All-American visage), held at THE sporting venue of the 20th century (MSG) and an epic fight that lived up to its billing. Ali’s first loss, Frazier’s greatest win and the catalyst for two more all-time classics, Ali-Frazier II and the Thrilla in Manilla.
4. Secretariat wins the Belmont by 31 lengths
Everything is bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic now than it was in the past—except there has never been a horse like Secretariat. We lose sight of how important horse-racing is as a sport to this country, but that is only because we haven’t had the “super-horse” to hitch our emotions to. For decades, the ponies were THE sport of the blue-collar, working-class Americans, through the Roaring 20’s, the Great Depression and beyond. People who had witnessed few spectacular things watched the greatest horse of all-time thrash the field by 31 lengths (1/16th of a mile) in running the fastest 1 ½ miles…ever…to this day. And oh yeah, it salted away the most prestigious trifecta in sports, Horse-Racing’s triple-crown at the same time.
| No Need for a Photo Finish in this Race |
3. Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Speech
Perhaps a bit of personal bias here, as Gehrig is one of my favorite baseball players of all-time, but doesn’t the “Luckiest Man” speech belong here? The best baseball venue of all time, the most prestigious team of any sport, ever…one of the real rags-to-riches stories coming to a tragic end, one of baseball’s best players, best people, and real heroes (along with 70,000 others in person and millions others over the airwaves) humbled by something so much bigger than the sport itself. Gives goosebumps…every time.
2. 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship
Another of those “way-more-important-than-the-game” moments. Texas-Western’s all-Black Ballers upset Adolph Rupp’s Caucasian court-goers at the peak of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement. Paved the way for the modern era (outside of Duke).
1. Miracle on Ice
Only because any list that does not include this as the greatest sports moment of all-time immediately MUST be docked significant points. More story-lines than you could imagine and too many to list. College kids take down the most intimidating team in the world, America over the Soviets at the pinnacle of the Cold War. Motivation for several full-length films. Instant celebrity for kids who would never have tasted it. Al Michaels’ call going down in history as the BEST sports call of all-time. And the hands-down, 100% best example ever of how sports can transcend everything else, and unite people who have only an affinity for a team and unadulterated joy in common
| Suck it, Pinkos |
Kevin's List
5. Cal Ripken Breaking Lou Gehrig's All Time Consecutive Games Played Record
This moment came when baseball needed it the most. Baseball had just gotten done with a strike that left most fans disenfranchised with the game. Your normal working class American is not going to understand or justify million dollar athletes bitching for more money. The fact that the World Series was canceled was a final straw for fans, or so they thought. It took Cal Ripken, the epitome if hard work and dedication. The personification of America's drive and unwillingness to quit. That victory lap around Camden Yards was magical. Only someone like Ripken could have broke Gehrig's record. Ripken had a Hall of Fame career, but his finest achievement was saving baseball.
| Pure Class |
4. Red Sox Winning 2004 World Series
86 years. An entire lifetime. That is how long New Englanders went without their beloved Red Sox winning a World Series. People were born, lived their lives, and died without seeing them win a title. They truly did believe that they were cursed. What made things worse, their hated rival won over 20 titles during that span. Even though the ALCS was probably the most exciting playoff series of all time, the true magic moment came during game four, when that final out was recorded. I was only 18 at the time, but understand how important this moment was. I skipped an evening history class that I needed to graduate high school in order to see the second half of the game. Totally worth it.
3. Boise State Beats Oklahoma on Trick Play
The game the BCS wishes never happened. The BCS was built on the idea that only a couple of conferences and a small amount of teams could compete for a national championship. Only the historic, prestiogious programs can compete on that level. Small conference teams with tiny football budgets didn't have the talent, the coaching, or the resources to compete with the big boys. Until 2007. Boise State, with it's tacky blue field, had developed into a great program. This was their first chance in a BCS game, against a former BCS Champion, Oklahoma. This was the BCS throwing the mid-majors a bone. They thought, "OK, we'll throw Boise State into the Lion's Den, get destroyed, and they will never complain again." That was all fine and dandy, but Boise State had other plans. After executing one of the most amazing plays anyone had ever seen to bring overtime, things looked grim when OU scored quickly. But Boise State scored a touchdown and shockenly, decided to go for two and win the game. History was made the ensuing play.
| Could have been the most awkward "NO" ever |
2. Tiger Woods Wins 1997 Masters
Once again, I chose a moment that changed it's sport forever. For hundreds of years, Golf was a rich, white man's sport. People of color were not golfers, but caddies or greens keepers. It was the final frontier of desegregation and equal opportunity. This was the status quo, until Eldrick Tont Woods came along. A child prodigy, Woods played in his first PGA event at age 16, and turned pro before completing college. In 1997, Woods not only won the Masters, the most prestigious tournament in the world, held at the most prestigious golf course, but destroyed the competition while breaking color barriers. Woods showed an entire generation that golf could be cool, and you didn't need a roman numeral behind your name to enjoy it or be good at it. I was 10 years old when Tiger won and later that summer picked up my first golf club. I still play to this day and have had countless memories on the course with my friends. Programs such as "First Tee" started up around the country and taught the game to kids of all races and backgrounds. Thank you, Tiger.
1. George W. Bush Throws out First Pitch at 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium
I don't care about your politics. I don't care about how you feel about W. I don't care if you think 9/11 was a conspiracy or that the CIA lied about the WMD's. This was one of the best moments in sports because of the circumstances and what it meant to the country. This was barely one month after the worst attack on US soil ever. The country was in turmoil. . There was talk of canceling the rest of the baseball season, that sports were not important during a crisis. But American refused to back down. People realized sports is not life, sports can make life better and bring people together. America needed its pastime more than ever. The Yankees, one of the symbols of New York, was playing in the World Series just a few miles from where the towers fell. In game 3, our President and face of the nation, proudly strolled out to the mound with an FDNY jacket, and threw a perfect strike. I am not going to be silly enough to say that him throwing a strike brought the country out of despair, but it was a proud moment for all of us. I still get goosebumps every time I watch the video.
There you have it. Some real great moments there. Except for Pain Train's, that was lame. Please leave your comments below, including your own top 5.
Till next Tuesday...
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