Before I go into it, first I will give my criteria. The criteria for this list is that I had to have witnessed the event live or at least thought I was witnessing it live, because that's when you truly get the feel of how great it was and it really sticks in your memory. Other factors to making the list or where they rank include how overjoyed or in awe I was at the moment it occurred, how much I talked about it afterward, how vividly I still remember it now, and how significant the event was to me and to the world. Now we can get on with the list.
5. Michael Jordan's Last Shot (I don't care, his stint with the Wizards doesn't count for his legacy.) - The significance of this shot is tremendous. He is the greatest basketball player and maybe even the greatest athlete in any sport to ever live. He won six titles in eight years, and that could have probably been eight for eight if he wouldn't have left for a year and a half. In his final game of that sixth championship though, he hits the game winning shot and does one of the most memorable poses ever afterwards. It was one of the first finals I remember watching and probably the last one that actually entertained people, with an exception to Dallas - Miami that I heard was great, but unfortunately missed because I was in Korea. Plus those teams really hadn't done anything before or since so its not really a big deal, but anyways, back to Jordan. I know I feel privileged, as most do, to have been able to watch him and especially this game and this shot. It left everyone without any doubts that he is the greatest, but I wouldn't say it really left many of us in awe because well, it's Jordan! The only reason this didn't make it higher on my list is because I kind of wanted the Jazz to win and I was a bit younger, so the memory is still there but not as vivid as some of the others.
4. David Tyree's Improbable Super Bowl Catch (By the way, where is that guy now?) - This edges out Jordan because more than wanting the Giants to win, I really wanted the Patriots to lose this game. My joy was a little greater with this one because the outcome was as I wanted. This was truly incredible though. The undefeated, cocky as can be Patriots against the "How the heck did they get here?" New York Giants. They were trailing and driving the field with a quarterback who up until that playoffs, probably hadn't ever heard his name even associated with the term "clutch", unless someone was talking about his car. Somehow, something special was happening that game and those playoffs though, and almost everyone could sense it, even the Patriots probably. They get to a fourth and forever play, and Manning throws to a guy who no one had ever heard of, and he catches it with half a hand and a helmet. They score and pull one of the biggest upsets I have ever seen. I remember that play the most and watching it with two other anti-Patriot (which pretty much just means anti-Bill Belicheck & Tom Brady) fans. We pounded the floor, cheered, and they went a little more bizerk while I just kind of took the moment in (just a difference in personalities, that's all). Believe me, I was just as happy!
3. The Detroit Brawl - This one doesn't make it because of joy or because of its positive impact of course (although I could watch that Jermaine O'Neal perfect punch for hours and probably still be amused every time), but it makes the list because of awe and how much I talked about it after. I don't think there is another sporting event in history that made me think "I can't believe what just happened?" more than this one. I believe it was a weekend night and I came home early, turned it on, and actually caught it just in time, which helps make it so memorable. I was shocked, and because I was alone when I saw it, I was antsy the rest of the night to tell everyone I could how crazy it was. Every time I think about it I can still feel some of those feelings, so I knew this one had to be on the list.
2. Lezak's miracle last lap to save Phelps - This one makes it so high because of how unexpected it was. I never thought I could ever care so much, or yell so much, or be so elated over swimming. Before 2008, I had never watched a swimming relay, race, or event that I could recall and here I was enthralled in this Michael Phelps' quest for the gold medal record. Watching it, everyone in the room thought the U.S. had lost this one, and the mood was in the process of switching from team U.S.A. swimming pride to "I can't believe we ever really cared about swimming." But before it totally switched, everyone's eyes were glued back to the TV and the cheers returned. Thoughts suddenly came that this goofy kid might come back. He got closer and closer and adrenaline started pumping faster and faster. Then the last stretch of his arms that still looked like he lost, but nope, they won by a fragment of a second. The room erupted with screams, high fives, chest bumps, fist pumps, pelvic thrusts, and any other celebration you could think of. Wow, what a moment and memory?
1. One of my teams finally won!!! No more Curse!! - Having my two favorite teams as the Philadelphia Eagles and Phoenix Suns, you can see what I have to put up with-teams that are consistently good, but never good enough. Well, in the late 90's, I started watching baseball more and didn't really know who to like. My dad and brother kind of liked the dodgers, but they didn't really have any body special. I thought Barry, Griffey, Kirby Puckett, and Chipper Jones were all fun players to watch (or at least had cool names), but their teams didn't intrigue me. Than I thought about it, and for some reason, I have never liked consistent championship winners or popular dynasties in any sport. I still don't and some examples are the Bulls, Lakers, Spurs, Cowboys, Patriots, and of course... the most historic franchise, the Yankees. When I was trying to figure out which team I would like, it was right at the heart of the Yankees dominating baseball. They seemed to just be buying everything they could get with no limit, and I hated it. Then in the early 2000's, the Red Sox started to compete with these Yankees, and I thought what better way to hate the them than by liking the Sox. Plus, I already liked Nomar, and I started to fall in love with the rest of this scrappy team. In 2003, never had I wanted any team to win a series as much as I wanted the Sox to beat the Yanks that year, and then lucky Aaron Boone had to came along and ruin it.
In 2004, it looked at least like it was gonna be a blowout in the series, which they're never as much of a heartbreak as close losses. But then game 4 felt magical, and after the forever memorable walk-off by Ortiz, I remember thinking, "what if they came back?" Then game 5's extra-inning miracle, Schilling's over-dramatized sock (sorry Curt, but like most sports injuries in big games, it was), and finally the game 7 slaughter. I was so on top of the world after that victory over the Yanks that it almost cost me a friendship because I called a Yankee-liking friend taunting him at a not very appropriate time. The world series was then a walk in the park and a spit in the face at any notion of some so-called "curse". I remember exactly where I was when they won it all, and I remember dancing and cheering and even hitting random things to make noise as other Red Sox fans came around with pots and pans. The real series was with the Yankees, but the whole thing was awesome. A team I loved finally won a championship. And if they can do it with the greatest series comeback ever and by staring a 86 year curse square in the eyes, then it gives me hope for my other teams like the Eags and my first love, the Suns.
I love it. Dude, you are in my top 5 all time best sports writers.
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