Feb Club: Feb 4-5th: Favorite Sports Moment

[orichalcum]

In honor of the Super Bowl - a favorite moment in sports, either played by you or something professional you remember still as somehow iconic or awesome.

For me, it would have to be Sarah Hughes' free skate at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, where she just gave the rare performance of her life at the moment it counted and jumped from 4th to 1st. One

Comments

[ladybird97]

Aww, I remember that one too! It was amazing.

Can I say two, since it's two days? :) I have to include the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004, of course!

But there's also this shot in the 1990 NCAA basketball tournament, that let UConn beat Clemson. With just a few seconds left on the clock, Scott Burrell hurled the ball down the entire court to Tate George, who instantly spun and shot - and got a basket, and UConn won by one point.

I could hear the people who lived upstairs from us cheering and jumping - I think everyone in the whole state was, too.

That was the tournament that put the UConn men into the realm of real competitive college basketball, and gave Connecticut a sports team of its own to cheer for. We all stayed up late to watch every single game, and nobody really cared that we were all very tired in school that week.

[outlawradio]

That shot was *insane*. Scott Burrell was a pitching prospect, so he was the obvious choice to do the inbound pass.

[contrariety]

Well, for me, obviously being in Boston for the Red Sox's big victory over the Yankees/World Series victory was big. But I also have a few favorite Olympic moments, including:

1) Oksana Chusovitina taking silver in vault in 2008 at 33 after having had a son.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu7z6S1xXVQ

2) Kerri Strug competing on an injured ankle at the 1996 Olympics (damn, was it really that long ago?) and clinching the US team gold.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFn47a_Ny0Y

[orichalcum]

I have such mixed feelings about Strug's ankle these days, because really, the message is that we should risk permanent injury for shiny ribbons? Especially since the U.S. team would have won anyhow.'

OTOH, apparently she's a marathon runner these days, so clearly it didn't actually injure her permanently.

[karakara98]

I have two: one I watched and one I competed in.

The one I watched was the 2003 Pennant race between the Sox and the Yankees. I only watched it because I was living with Ladybird at the time and she put it on. Watching the games with her was eye opening. I suddenly realized why people watched baseball. It was a gift.

The one I competed in was the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships in 1992 at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts. That was the first season I ever rowed, and for most of the season I was in the JV boat. I got promoted to the Varsity boat for championships. During our qualifying heat in the morning, we achieved a course record. That's less of a big deal than it sounds because the rowing world doesn't set much store by records since currents and wind can have a big impact. It was still a very exciting moment. We didn't win the finals, and I can't remember where we placed. It was still a great day.

[ladybird97]

Awww, thank you! That was a really special pennant race for me too in a lot of ways, both because of the drama and because of the fact that it came so soon after I lost my dad. Still, if there was ever a series of baseball games that would show someone why baseball was exciting, that would be it :)

(Also, I miss you!)

[a_dodecahedron]

Sarah Hughes: Yes! It was amazing to see something so flawlessly performed.

My dad and I watched the 2007 Fiesta Bowl on TV as it happened: the most crazy/awesome football game I have ever seen. A crazy "hook and lateral" trick play on 4th and 18 to send it into overtime, with 18 seconds remaining, was just the beginning. In overtime, Boise State, down by seven, did another trick play to get the touchdown. Then they decided to go for the two point conversion instead of the single tying point, an incredibly risky call. Then they used an even MORE ridiculous trick play to get the two point conversion and win the game. THEN the quarterback proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend and she said yes. It was an unrealistic underdog sports movie happening in real life. I'll never forget it.

[OK, my beloved Ohio State winning the 2002 national championship was my favorite moment as a sports fan, and that was an incredibly good game, down to the last play, but the 2007 Fiesta Bowl wins for pure crazy awesome.]

[julianyap]

Andy Schleck's victory in on the Cor d'Izoard in the 18th stage of last year's Tour de France was epic. But it does not make for good YouTube videos.

So instead, I shall post the best dunk of all time. Vince Carter on Team USA dunking over Weis in the 2000 Olympics