Top 5 (or 10) Favorite Sports Wins

[EagleFan]

Since everyone is depressed with the top 5 losses, how about your top 5 victories. Pro, college, high school, little league, personal, as a fan, whatever...

Feeling generous so go to to 10 if you want.... It's a regular feel good thread...

[MrBug708]

I think this will involve a certain year for Eaglefan

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I think this will involve a certain year for Eaglefan

Hopefully 2011.... Flyers and Phillies!!!!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Not necessarily in order

-- Braves over Pirates when Sid slid
-- Goldberg over Hogan at the Georgia Dome
-- Pickens HS over Gilmer HS b'ball in 3 OT at home in '83 (arch rival featured future NFL'er John Davis)
-- Atlanta Knights over Ft. Wayne Komets to win 1994 Turner Cup
-- Atlanta Attack over Canton Invaders with 0.3 seconds on the clock in 1990

Oddly,although I don't consider myself an "in person" kind of fan, every one of those that came to mind very easily were things I saw in person.

[Buccaneer]

1. Syracuse beating Kansas 2003.
2. Redskins beating Cowboys in NFC Championship 1972.
3. Reds beating Yankees 1976.
4. Reds beating Red Sox 1975.
5. Rams beating Titans 1999.

[EagleFan]

- Phillies over the Royals!!!! As a 10 year old this was absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately the late 70's/early 80's were false advertisement for Philly sports but as a kid in the area that was huge into baseball this was a great memory. Turned 11 the day after they won the Series... or about a half hour after the game was over.

- Personal... 1981, winning the city championship in Little League, Almost pitched a perfect game in the city series clinching game. We started out the season 1-2 but went on to win the next 19 games (including city series).

- 2008 Phillies over the Rays; of course they win it with a strange multi-day rain delayed clinching game.

- 2007 Phillies clincher over the Nationals to win the division for the first time in what seemed like forever as they complete their comeback from 7 games down with just 17 to play.

- Flyers 4-3 win in game 7 over the Bruins, coming fromn down 3 games to none and then 3-0 in game 7.

- Sixers over the Lakers in 83', Moses predicted fo fo fo but was only one game off as they lose just one game in the entire playoffs.

- Flyers game 6 in 1987 to lead to a 7th game against the Oilers. They were a heavy underdog but rookie Hextall almost brought them to the promised land. I missed attending that game by about 15 minutes, left to go to a class party and found out that someone from church had called to see if I could go as he had an extra ticket (and he had great seats too).

- Wings win their first title in 1989 against New York in my first season as a season ticket holder in a thriller. Chris Dent, a defensive specialist, scores the game winner in the 4th on a great fast break goal (only his 2nd of the season) but then Kevin Bilger makes a fantastic save on an inexcusable two on none with just 2 seconds left to secure the one goal victory.

- 1995 Wings championship over Rochester. They allow the Knighthawks to tie the game with about 30 seconds left and then win it in overtime.

- Red Sox over the Angels in the ALCS in 1986. It would later lead to a very bad moment (was much more into the Red Sox when I was younger; liked them as my AL team).

[gstelmack]

2001 Super Bowl - Pats over Rams
2004 ALCS Game 4 - Red Sox start their comeback from 0-3. Only edges out the World Series because it was over the Yankees
2004 World Series - Finally!
2006 NHL Stanley Cup Finals - Canes over Edmonton
2002 Super Bowl - Bucs over Raiders. Not just because the Bucs actually won a Super Bowl after decades of futility, but I was in the hospital just after the birth of my daughter and watching on the TV in there.

It's been a good decade...

[cartman]

2006 BCS Championship Game, Rose Bowl: Texas 41, USC 38.
Maybe the greatest sporting event I'd ever watched. Such a roller coaster game, and possibly the greatest single-game effort by a player in college football history.

2010 ALCS, Game 6: Rangers 6, Yankees 1
The Rangers finally win a pennant, beating the Yankees, which had beaten the Rangers throughout their history like a rented mule. Made all the sweeter when the final out was a strikeout of A-Rod.

1993 NFC Championship Game: Dallas 30, San Francisco 20
Dallas was only a couple of seasons removed from their disastrous 1-15 campaign. They hadn't been a good team for quite a while, and the jury was still out on them. They did get the #2 seed, but not many people gave them a chance of beating the 49ers at Candlestick. It was a close game until the end, but the Cowboys sealed it with a late touchdown followed by an interception.

1980 Winter Olympics, Hockey Semifinal: USA 4, USSR 3
The place where the "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chant originated. Was more than a sporting event, it was a patriotic movement.

1997 Masters Tournament
Tiger just destroyed the field en route to his first Major championship

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by cartman

1980 Winter Olympics, Hockey Semifinal: USA 4, USSR 3
The place where the "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chant originated. Was more than a sporting event, it was a patriotic movement.

Closest I could come to a facepalm smiley for forgetting this one. That was HUGE.

[MJ4H]

The two counterpoints two my two worst losses:

#1) 1994 National Championship, 76-72 over Duke
#2) 1999 Home victory over Tennessee by the identical score that Tennessee beat us by the previous year, with Stoerner redeeming himself via a winning TD in the closing minutes

Then #3 would be the 2008 season ending victory over LSU in Little Rock that signaled that Petrino was really turning things around. It also was a story book ending for embattled QB Casey Dick who won the game with a TD pass after being yanked earlier in the game for his brother Nathan.

#4 Strollin with Nolan win over Texas in 1990 when Nolan Richardson walked off the court in protest over poor officiating and the team came back and sent the game to overtime where they won easily.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by cartman;2414992[b

1980 Winter Olympics, Hockey Semifinal: USA 4, USSR 3[/b]
The place where the "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chant originated. Was more than a sporting event, it was a patriotic movement.

Crap, how did I forget that one...

[Pumpy Tudors]

1. The Devils winning their first Stanley Cup in 1995. After the pain of 1994, it was great to see the Devils win the Cup in a sweep the following year. My joy was tempered somewhat by the fact that it was a shortened season, so I was hopeful that the Devils would win another Cup in a full season.
2. The Devils winning their second Stanley Cup in 2000. I jumped up and down like a flea when Jason Arnott scored the final goal.
3. The Devils winning their third Stanley Cup in 2003. That was a hell of a series, and both teams deserve all the credit in the world for putting forth those efforts. The home team won all 7 games, and there were tons of ups and downs throughout the series. Great way for Ken Daneyko to end his career.
4. The Broncos winning their first Super Bowl after the 1997 season. John Elway finally won a championship.
5. The Broncos repeating as champions the next season. After losing 3 Super Bowls in his career, John Elway was on the winning end of two in a row to close out his career. As a John Elway fan (he's the reason I became a Broncos fan), I'm glad I never have to hear "He was a great quarterback, but he never won the big game." That phrase makes me cringe as it is, and I'm glad no one can say it about my favorite football player.
6. New Orleans winning the Sun Belt basketball tournament in 1996. When I enrolled at UNO in 1997, I was hoping that I'd get to see UNO make it back to the NCAA tournament, but it didn't happen again.

[Chief Rum]

All right, this is what I'm talking about...

Tough to pick even 10, actually... Listed in exuberation order

1. 2002 World Series Game 6, Giants vs Angels

One of most amazing comebacks in World Series history; Scott Spiezio.

2. 2006 UCLA-USC football

UCLA 13, USC 9; stunning defeat keeps powerhouse Trojies from going to the title game.

3. 1995 UCLA-Missouri basketball, Round of 32

Tyus Edney, baseline to baseline.

4. 2002 World Series, Game 7, Giants vs Angels

Game 6 makes Game 7 pale in comparison, but still, title was won here.

5. 2007 Western Conference Finals, Game 5, Wings vs Ducks

Series tied 2-2 against superpower Red Wings; Niedermayer ties up game with 47 seconds left and Teemu wins it in OT; Ducks come home and win series in Game 6.

6. 2006 UCLA-Gonzaga basketball, Sweet 16

Howland's first F4 team was truly magical; two from tourney list in this post (see below). UCLA comes back at end, steals ball on in-bounds, Mbah a Moute scores to put UCLA ahead; Adam Morrison slumps to the court floor crying.

7. 2007 SCF, Game 5, Senators vs Ducks

Like Game 7 of 2002 World Series, this seems anticlimactic next to the key Game 5 in the WCF vs the Wings, but this is the key win which got the Ducks their Cup.

8. 1995 UCLA-Arkansas basketball, NCAA final

Another game which pales next to an earlier one, with the Edney-Mizzu game taking the cake; Edney is hurt, so backup PG Cameron Dollar leads UCLA to victory over powerful Arkansas, getting UCLA its 11th title and first since the Wooden years.

9. 2003 SCF, Game 6, Devils vs Ducks

Ducks down 3-2 in the Finals and playing at home; Scott Stevens lays on vicious hit on Kariya and knocks him out in first period; Kariya comes back in third and blasts eventual game winner past Brodeur; Ducks would lose Game 7 in Jersey.

10. 1989 NFC Divisional Playoff, Giants vs Rams

Offensively explosive Rams team led by Jim Everett wins going away on road versus the Giants, with Flipper Anderson catching the winning TD and literally running out of the stadium.


HONORABLE MENTION

2002 ALDS, Game 3, Yankees vs Angels-- personally attended; Angels go down 6-0 in a series tied 1-1, only to come back and win 9-6; go on to beat Yankees and then on to win title
1997 Regular Season Game, Caps vs Ducks-- personally attended; Kariya's first game back after ending three month hold out, first game is against Caps in former coach Ron Wilson's return to the Pond; Kariya scores game winner in OT
1998 UCLA-Oregon football-- McNown versus Harrington shootout; Cade throws up on the field from being sick; game won on last second 53-yd TD catch by "backup QB" (future All Pro WR) Drew Bennett, keeping undefeated season going
2009 ALDS Game 3, Red Sox vs Angels-- the Angels' Red Sox curse ends; Angels finally beat Red Sox in a playoff series
2008 Regular Season Game, Red Sox vs Angels-- Lackey one hit the Red Sox in Fenway, no-hitter until 9th on same day Angels traded for Teixeira
1996 UCLA-USC football-- UCLA came back from 18 points down and won in OT, first year of college OT
1992 UCLA-USC basketball-- personally attended; Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner versus the M&M (Don Maclean/Tracy Murray) boys; UCLA wins going away in a game made famous by an amazing Miner dunk shown all over Sportscenter
2006 UCLA-Memphis basketball, Elite Eight-- UCLA gets revenge for early season NIT loss to powerful Memphis squad; Howland's first F4 team (Farmar, Afflalo, Mbah a Moute) and only Howland team to get to the championship game
2007 UCLA-Kansas basketball, Elite Eight-- UCLA beats #1 seed in west to get to second straight F4

[MrBug708]

How about that Maryland-UCLA game a few years back with Rush playing? If only I could see that game again

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

How about that Maryland-UCLA game a few years back with Rush playing? If only I could see that game again

Oh, yeah, that was a great one, too. And stunning how it came about. Stupid Lavin.

[sterlingice]

Easy:



SI

[EagleFan]

Just realized that I don't have one Eagles game in my list... that's just sad...

[MJ4H]

Going back to add the Strollin with Nolan win over Texas in 1990 when Nolan Richardson walked off the court in protest over poor officiating and the team came back and sent the game to overtime where they won easily.

[Marmel]

1) Syracuse over Kansas for National Title
2) Giants over Patriots in SB
3) Syracuse over Uconn in 6OT Big East Tournament Game
4) Giants over Denver SB
5) Giants over Buffalo SB

HM: Yankees titles in this order: 1998, 1996, 2000, 1999, 2009
Also: Games 4&5 of 2001 World Series vs. Diamondbacks, Syracuse over Florida in 1991 (football)

[Radii]

1) UNC 75, Illinois 70, 2005 national title game - After the 8-20 season and the Doherty disaster getting back on top with Roy was so much more meaningful than any other UNC success for me

2) 1993 NCAA Basketball title game, UNC over Michigan 77-71. Not my favorite UNC team though George Lynch is an all time favorite of mine

3) 2009 NCAA Basketball Title game, UNC crushing Michigan State.

4) 2003 NFC Divisional Round - Carolina 29, St Louis 23 (2OT). This wasn't the one that got them to the super bowl but it was a really exciting team over a heavily favored Rams team and going into a second overtime was just ridiculously intense.

5) 1990 NCAA Tournament Second Round - 8 seed UNC over 1 seed Oklahoma 79-77. Rick Fox was one of my two favorite UNC players in my childhood(Kenny Smith the other with George Lynch a little ways behind). Fox scored on a shot inside as time expired to extend UNC's streak of consecutive sweet sixteen appearances. UNC didn't get to be the underdog often back then and it was an amazing feeling watching them win that game.


No Jordan because I was only 6 in 1982 and really don't remember it.

[Comey]

1. Phils 2008: The only championship I've seen as a Philadelphia sports fan (I was born in 1980, and obviously do not recall their victory).

2. Winning my first championship, of any kind, when I was 13. This was my baseball team; there were four teams from my township in the league, and we were said to be the worst out of the four. I was a late-bloomer as a ballplayer, and had actually become a decent pitcher as a 12-year-old (I found out I was a second-round pick in the draft, which elates me to this day, because I was such a horrible hitter, I was worried I'd be picked at all). I went 12-0 as a pitcher for this team, with an okay fastball and the slowest curve you've ever seen; I pitched three one-hitters that season, taking all three no-nos to the final inning (losing two no-nos on the final out). The rest of our staff was a combined 0-7 until the championship game, which I could not throw because I pitched a complete game in the semifinals. I went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI in the championship game, and hit .625 in the playoffs...this after a 9-for-47, 32 K year while hitting ninth.

3. Beating St. Catherine's in CYO basketball my senior year. I was going for baseball scholarship, and as a result, did not play HS basketball my senior year. I helped start a parish team (that I would later coach); we were able to get our old coach to coach us (he had just retired after winning the Dios with the 8th grade team the previous season). We had an okay team; I would be our point-center, because I was our tallest player (6'3) and had the most experience at handling the ball (I am a shooting guard by trade). This was actually very nice for me, because I first played basketball in eighth grade, and I was a center who didn't touch the ball, because I was so bad offensively, I was our sixth option on the court at all times. One of my former coaches that year told me I'd never shoot 3s; he happened to be at a game my junior year (playing for the HS team) when I went for 27, with six threes (including my first NBA rainbow). He told me after the game how proud he was of my hard work, which made me feel great.

Anyway, we played the parish I grew up in in our third game. We were up by 12 or so in the second quarter, and I was out of my mind in shooting. I had 16 up to that point. I stole the ball near mid-court, and took it in for a layup. While in the air, the defender barreled into me (he just ran right into me, didn't play the ball). I landed knee-first into the metal door frame (the ones that stick out in gyms); I partially dislocated my kneecap, and severely sprained it. I came out for the half, during which we gave up the lead against their press. I went back in to walk the ball up (I could only limp); I took only one shot in the second half, and we lost that game...and the next four after that. I was supposed to be out five weeks, and was on crutches all week after that. How I went off the crutches the next week and played all 32 minutes of that...and every game...the rest of the year, I don't know. It was beyond stupid.

We faced them again in the postseason tournament; I didn't have a good game, but we beat them on a shot from the short corner with about 20 seconds left, and I blocked a putback attempt as time expired (I actually think I should've been called for a foul). It's really the only story of resolving a prior injustice I have, I think. We could have gone to states that year (we lost our five games by a combined 11 points, including a loss to the league champs by 2 the day I came off the crutches). I averaged 20 points and 20 boards, which says more about the competition than my own ability.

4. September 2010: I had to pitch a one-game playoff (wood-bat baseball league) after our ace (who throws 85-90) was a late scratch. I threw a lot more this year than in previous years, because of injuries; my arm is crap now, but I've learned how to be a better pitcher, changing arm slots, looks, and disguising pitches better. We get a lead in the bottom of the sixth, and finally go up 3-1. We face their 3-4-5 in the bottom of the seventh, including the most imposing batter I've ever faced.

Now, I've played on some great teams. I did nothing while on those great teams, but I've played on them. The Central PA Twilight League is one of the best amateur leagues in the nation; when I played there, our team was ranked something like 18th or 19th nationally; our chief rivals were ranked fifth. The league is/was stacked, and we faced great competition from all over the place...former minor leaguers (we had the #1 pick of the Phillies in 1992, Chad McConnell, on our team...never played with a guy who had his own baseball card). We faced Solomon Torres two weeks before he went back to the majors. It was serious competition.

But, nothing was like this guy. He's about 6'6, 265 pounds, and is one of the best hitters I've ever seen. He faced one pitch of mine, a beautiful slider I threw down and away. He hit it on one hop to the right-field fence, which is about 355 down the line.

The first guy up hit a bloop single, which brought this guy up. And I have *no* idea what to throw him. Just none. So, I decided to throw the one pitch that he couldn't take out of the park if he tried. I threw a slow curve. He got out in front of it, and almost took the third-baseman's head off.

An error loaded the bases with nobody out. Fine.

I coaxed a fly to left; I figure runners first and second, a 3-2 game, and one out is fine. And I want the ball cut off so the runners can't advance. So I'm pissed when the ball is thrown home...until I realize that the guy on third fell down somehow. And we get a double play.

Next pitch, I got a pop-up to second. Game over, we're in the playoffs. Very, very satisfying win.

5. Eagles over Falcons in 2005. I went to the NFC Championship in 2004 (I'm in a video game, ESPN2k5, because of that game). Greatest and worst time I've ever had. Finally seeing the Eagles get there...and the hit from B-Dawk on Alge Crumpler...is something I'll never forget.

[Wolfpack]

*1983--State beats Houston and Phi Slamma Jamma in the NCAA Championship
*2006--Canes win the Cup over Edmonton (hell, any playoff win that year, but especially beating New Jersey in Game 2, Buffalo in Game 7, and Edmonton in Game 1)
*2009--Canes win both Game Sevens against New Jersey and Boston, plus the "Miracle Finnish" goal by Jokinen to beat New Jersey with less than a second left in regulation
*1998--Becoming the second team in the ACC to beat FSU in football, 24-7
*2002--Best ever football season for NC State, capped by demolition of Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl
*2003--Panthers beat the Rams in OT to advance to the NFC championship
*2002--Canes stun the Red Wings and every fan in Joe Louis Arena in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals
*1993, I think--Alonzo Mourning drains a jumper at the top of the key to beat Boston for the Charlotte Hornets in their first-ever playoff appearance
*2007--Colorado's insane finishing stretch to catch San Diego for the Wild Card and then winning the one-game playoff in Denver to clinch it
*1986--State beats Carolina for the first time in forever on the football field, leading to years of domination in the series before Dick Sheridan retires and Mack Brown destroys Mike O'Cain on the recruiting trail, leading to a reversal in the series during the 1990s

[digamma]

1. Harvard 24, Dartmouth 0, 1997. My senior year in college. I was pretty close friends with three seniors on the football team and I knew how much the season meant to them. We took a caravan of two or three cars up to Dartmouth for the game. Both teams were undefeated in the Ivies; Dartmouth hadn't lost in the Ivies in about two years. We just crushed them. Our group was the loudest crew in a pretty rainy, empty stadium. We got in trouble with our band because we stole their cymbals and were clanging them. Harvard won the Ivy League title (first in a decade) two weeks later.

2. Sid's slide. All praise Franky Cabrera!

3. Georgia Tech 33, Georgia 22, 1989. Nerdy me had the DeKalb County Academic Bowl the morning of the game and my parents had worked out for our Academic Bowl coach to drive me to the game to meet them. She was a big Dawg fan and was going anyway. Going into class Monday morning sure was sweet.

4. Georgia Tech 21, Georgia 19, 1998. A drought buster. Awesome for me as it was the first Georgia Tech game to which I took my then girlfriend, now wife. Tech deserved to win the year before but a phantom pass interference penalty kept a Georgia drive alive. In 1998, the Jackets got vengeance in Athens.

5. Georgia Tech 21, Clemson 19, 1990. This is the best football game I've ever attended in person. Better than the Rose Bowl in 2006. So hard hitting. Kick off returns. Goal line stands. It had everything. Georgia Tech would go on to win a national title.

Like Jon, I listed 5 I attended in person.

A few others that just missed...
Georgia Tech 67, Oklahoma State 65, 2004 Final Four
Georgia Tech 102, North Carolina 75, 1990. Hadn't seen a team dominate the Heels like that.
Georgia Tech 81, Michigan State 80, 1990. Kenny definitely beat the buzzer.
Harvard 22, Yale 21, 1995. My buddy Rupen Soultanian recovered a fumble late in the game and Harvard scored to win The Game, one of our two wins that year.

And a few not in person...
Georgia Tech 45, Georgia 42, 2008. Come back from down 16 at the half.
Georgia Tech 41, Virginia 38, 1990, 1998. Both of these were awesome.
Harvard 71, Stanford 67, 1998 Women's NCAA Tournament. First 16 seed to beat a #1 seed my senior year in college. I definitely haven't jumped up and down about women's basketball since then.

[StLee]

1, 1a, 1b, and 1c: Super Bowl XLIV. 3:24 left in the game. Peyton Manning stares down Reggie Wayne and tosses a perfect pass to Tracy Porter two seconds later. He returns it and the Saints, the SAINTS, are only three minutes away from being Super Bowl champions. All those years. All those tears of Woulda, Coulda, Shouldas. Tears flowed down my face. I wept openly and was proud of it. The Saints. My Saints. The face of New Orleans and the hope that turned a city around. SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS.

2. 1996 College World Series. Bottom of the 9th. Former All-American Warren Morris, who was hurt all season in 1996, was up to the plate with a man on and two out. LSU was down to Miami 8-7 and Miami's closer Robbie Morrison was looking to close it out. Morrison threw a curve ball that broke low. Morris swung and knocked over the right field wall for a dramatic walk-off CWS-winning two run shot. Tigers win! Tigers win!

3. 2000 NFC Wild Card round. Saints took a big lead over the Rams, but Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, and crew were making a mad comeback and only trailed by three. The Saints had to punt with 1:51 left in the game. Plenty enough time for The Greatest Show on Turf to drive down and tie the game. The punt. Az-Zahir Hakim sets up under the punt at his own 8. Jim Henderson, Saints radio's play-by-play then made the most legendary call in Saints history at that time (though I didn't hear it since I was in the stands): "Hakim drops the ball! Hakim drops the ball! Brian Milne might have fallen on it at the 10-yard line. (Hokie Gajan talks and Jim Henderson lets out an inaudible yelp) the New Orleans Saints football! Brian Milne, the most likely hero of them all, falls on the fumble, the muff by Hakim. There is a God after all!" Saints win 31-28 for the franchise's first-ever playoff win.

4. 2003 NCAA Sugar Bowl. #1 Oklahoma vs #2 LSU. Final score: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14. The first LSU championship game I got to witness (the last was in 1958, 19 years before I was born).

5. 2007 NCAA BCS MNC. #1 Ohio State vs #2 LSU. After falling behind 10-0, LSU started steamrolling the Buckeyes. Final: LSU 38, Ohio State 24. This was also my first football season out of Louisiana. I moved to Korea in August of that year, and my teams started to have great sports success since then (LSU won it in football in 2007 season, LSU won it in baseball in 2008 season, and Saints won it in football in 2009 season).

[Suburban Rhythm]

1) 2009 Stanley Cup. The game had everything-- game 7, 2-1 lead with a clock that seemed to never run, huge save by MAF at the end. Superstar Max Talbot with both goals. This is tops because of the memories it brings besides the victory itself. My kids were really into the whole playoff deal. This was 6/12/09 (Friday) and the victory parade was the following Tuesday. I took the day off of work and took the kids to the parade. I'll never forget the sound of them screaming and waving.

2) 2008-2009 Super Bowl 43, Steelers- Cardinals. Again, great finish, tons of big plays.

3) 2005-2006 AFC Divisional Game. This game, vs the Colts, moreso than the AFCCG vs Denver and Super Bowl 40 vs Seattle. Only about 6 weeks prior, the Colts smacked the Steelers around in a regular season game in Indy. Steelers were given no chance in this game, but jumped out to an early lead and held on despite the Bettis fumble (and missed call on TP43 interception). After this game, the AFCCG and SB were almost a letdown.

4) 1991 and 1992 Cups. Lumping these two together. Slight nod to 1991 cup as it was the first, the continually replayed Lemieux goal splitting the D and beating Casey. 1992 did have the backdrop of playing for Badger Bob after he died that November.

5) 2009 Cup Finals, game 4. For one thing, I was there. Pens trailed 2-1 in the 2nd (trailing 2-1 in the series) and Wings going on the PP. 2 goal lead seemed like it would wrap up the game (and series?). Jordan Staal SHG driving in past Rafalski. Crosby on a 2-on-1 with Malkin, and then Kennedy on a sweet setup from Crosby...all about 6 minutes apart. 2-1 turned into 4-2.

Honorable mention-

It was one game in a first round playoff series, but it deserves mentioning. 2009 Playoffs, round 1 game 6. Trailing Philly 3-0 and coming back to win 5-3 and take the series in 6 games. Plus:

[Castlerock]

I really only need 2:

1980 Winter Olympics, Hockey Semifinal: USA 4, USSR 3
30-something years later, I still get goosebumps listening to the call of that game.

2001 Super Bowl: Patriots 20, Rams 17
I have watched damn close to every Patriots game for the last 30-35 years. Even the 2-14 season I watched every game. No mater what happens the rest of my life, as a sports fan, I will die fulfilled.

[molson]

1. Pats beating Rams in Super Bowl. I wasn't really old enough to appreciate Boston's last pro championship in 1986 (and the fact that such things didn't happen every year), so this was the culmination of my fandom. After this, sports were less important in my life

2. 1986 Game ALCS Game 5. This, I appreciated at the time - I rememberr everything about it, probably because it was a day game (see MLB, that's how you hook the kids, start the games before 8PM Eastern Time).

3. Syracuse over Kansas

4. 2004 Red Sox comeback from 3-0 against Yankees.

5. 2007 Red Sox World Series over Rockies (gets the nod over 2004 because I was there for games 3-4 in Denver, and 2004 was a little bittersweet because I was far from home and watching it alone.)

[Butter]

1. 2002 Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State beats the supposedly unstoppable Miami Hurricanes in double OT. I was starting to think I would go my whole life without seeing an Ohio State championship team while suffering through the John Cooper era, but here we were in Tressel's 2nd year. Craig Krenzel is still my favorite Ohio State QB of all time, even over Troy Smith.

2. 1990 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament Final, Dayton Flyers over Xavier Musketeers, 98-89 - The only year I ever had season tickets to my beloved Flyers (next season that is set to change), and we beat the hated Muskies to advance to the first NCAA tournament. Sadly, that was the highlight of Jim O'Brien's college coaching career, as UD won something like 7 games in his final 2 years of dragging the Flyers into the abyss. But nothing takes away that feeling of watching the crowd rush the floor from our 2nd level seats as the time ran down in that game.

3. 1990 World Series, Game 1 - Reds 7, A's 0 - I watched this game in the back room of my high school auditorium, as I was at play rehearsals... but everyone who was not on stage was crowded into this tiny room watching Game 1 on a 13" TV. Eric Davis, who had been in and out of the lineup all year with injuries and was a shell of his mid 80's self homered in his first AB, and I think everyone in the room knew then that we were going to take the vaunted A's... maybe no one thought we would sweep them. But that Eric Davis home run was unbelievable. Billy Hatcher hitting .750 for the 4 game series was unreal, as was Jose Rijo retiring 20 in a row in Game 4 for the sweep.

4. 2002, Ohio State @ Purdue - The "Holy Buckeye" Game.

5. 2009, NCAA Tournament First Round, (11) Dayton Flyers 68, (6) West Virginia 60 - Chris Wright with 27 points including a couple of thunderous open court dunks. The Flyers finally break the 19 year streak without a tourney win.

[Kevin]

1. 2002 Gold Medal Hockey watched in the bar at the Ottawa airport

2. Super Bowl 43 - only Steelers fan in a room full of haters

3. 2010 Gold medal Hockey

4. 1993 World Series - Joe's walkoff Home Run to win it

5. 2003 Masters

Honorable Mentions - 1993 Stanley Cup; Frazier-Ali 1971; being at Fenway for Bucholz no-hitter

Best & Worst in same event: Ben Johnson 1988

[FBPro]

In no certain order:

-Braves over Pirates when Sid slid
-Braves over Indians '95 WS clincher
-'85 Braves 13th win in a row to open season

[Comey]

I have to add one more that I had forgotten, because it came as a coach, and not as a player. But it is my most satisfying win, for sure.

I stated above that I helped form a parish team my senior year of HS. Throughout college, I continued to help the team, coming to work out with them on break and stuff. When I got out of college, and returned from a stint living in California, I became an assistant coach for them. I ended up coaching one game while the head coach was gone over break, losing to a superior team by four points; I only state this because we had just five players for the entire game...that game was my most satisfying loss.

Anyway, as a team, we stunk. We had good components...but the results weren't there. This culminated in a game at St. Joseph's of Hanover. I had a chip on my shoulder against them for a game my senior year of HS (which I discussed in worst losses thread). This was a different group, but the results were the same; they were going through a stretch of three straight league wins. And we were horrible.

Before our game against them, their coach told me to not be offended if they run up the score. I proceeded to get offended. And then they did run up the score, pressing us while up thirty in the third quarter. There was a discussion between the coaches after that, and the press got taken off. But the damage had been done.

After that season, the coach left; he was there for his son, and his son graduated. I took over the team.

I changed the culture of the team; I had five seniors, all of whom had been there for the losing. I decided that I'd run practices the way I ran practices at the high school, where I was a freshman coach and varsity assistant. We were going to play man-to-man and mix in zones. We were primarily a zone team before. And I was going to put a lot of leadership in the hands of my seniors; they were a great bunch of kids, and I felt they could handle it. This is best illustrated when I gave them a choice between being a team that comes to win and competes, or a team that comes to have fun, and the differences between the two. They wanted to be a team that wins, which was what I hoped. We broke practice, and my power forward, who was the starting MLB on the football team, told the team to get on the line. One of the other seniors started to laugh; he said he was serious, and get on the f'n line. They lined up quickly, in groups two-deep. He then looked at me and said, "We're ready coach." They were going to run suicides. I was so shocked I couldn't get out the word. I could tell I had a good team.

We played St. Joe the second game of the year. I wanted that game badly; we had a lot of newcomers to the team that year...a bunch of athletic sophomores who weren't with us for the injustice the previous season. So, in one of my best speeches as a coach, I gave them the history. And I said that I didn't care if we won another game the rest of the season; this game was for those who had to put up with that the year before, and that we were going to go down there and knock their heads off.

We went down there, started in full court man-to-man (their coach had to call a timeout immediately; he wasn't prepared for that), and held a lead wire-to-wire. We even weathered the normal refereeing storm that goes on down there (it's commonly known that the games called down there are slanted towards the local teams, which is fine, but you have to know it going in). We held the ball with about 15 seconds left; I called my final timeout, and set up the final play. And I made sure that everyone knew that, if they had an open shot, take it with confidence...they all had the ability. They just had to use it.

One of my seniors did just that; he was a guy who was having confidence issues, as he wasn't taking to PG as much as he wanted; but here, he got the ball, stepped up, and drilled the shot. We won by two.

After the game, the same coach who told me not to be offended if they ran up the score came into our locker room and congratulated us. Pretty stand-up of that guy, I believe. We ended up finishing second in the league, losing to the favorites to win the title (our local rival parish...the boys all went to school together) by 3, in front of a packed Trinity gym (this never happened). That was my most devastating loss, but one I am extremely proud of.

This was, far and away, the best team I ever coached.

[Sun Tzu]

Again, no particular order.


2010 World Series - Giants over Rangers - I watched every single game this past season, from Opening Day to game 5 of the WS. I've never been so emotionally attached to a baseball team in my life as I was the 2010 Giants, and the fact that they went all the way made the win that much sweeter.

1998 Wild Card Round - 49ers over Packers - "The Catch II" starring Steve Young, co-starring Terrell Owens. The closest thing to a miracle win (for "my" team) I've ever witnessed. The fact that they lost to the Packers in the NFC Championship the year before made this one even better.

1994 NFC Championship - 49ers over Cowboys - Two straight losses to the 'Boys in '92 and '93 were tough...I couldn't bear a third. Apparently, neither could the Niners. The game was over at halftime. Watching Steve Young race around the field pumping his fist in the air was a true act of "redemption" that in no way, shape, or form resembles the shitbird version of "redemption" that Big Ben is doing this year.

1995 Regular Season - Orioles over Angels - Cal Ripken's 2131st game was a triumpant win over the Angels. Ripken, who was my idol growing up, did the unthinkable in breaking the unbreakable record. He homered in the fourth inning, as well as in each of the two games leading up to it. I cried for a solid half hour watching him take a lap when the game became official.

1989 Summer Slam - Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake over Randy Savage and Zeus - I was only seven years old when Zeus was tearing shit up in the WWF. I still remember the Hulkster laying on the ground in a heap after Zeus took him down with his "neck wrench" early in the match. The Hulkster came back though, as he often did, and eventually pinned "The Human Wrecking Machine" for the 1-2-3. Brother.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

3. 1995 UCLA-Missouri basketball, Round of 32

Tyus Edney, baseline to baseline.

You can't see me, but I'm giving you the finger.

Also, this: June 28, 2008 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Los Angeles Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com

[GrantDawg]

The games that hooked me as a football fan and has never let me go:

October 26, 1980, I am 11 and just starting to really watch football. The Falcons were a decent team, but had started 3-3 before going on an amazing run. They would win their next 9 in a row, but this game was the turning point. The Rams were the favorites for the division, and had a 10-6 lead going into the 4th quarter. The Falcons started moving the ball, but then stopped themselves with penalties. It was 3 and 30 something, when Steve Bartkowski hurled the most perfect throw 54 yards, parting two defenders, right into the out-stretched hands of Alfred Jackson. It was a thing of beauty.

November 8, 1980, at my uncles house watching the game with sound turned off to listen to Larry Munson on the radio (as we were wont to do). Bulldogs had just reached number 2 in the rankings, and we had already heard that some how the wretched Yellowjackets (they only won one game that season) had pulled off a tie versus the Number 1 ranked Fighting Irish. The problem was we were down to the Gators late in the game. 3rd and long at the Dawgs 8, seconds on the clock, Lindsay Scott catches a Buck Belue pass on the 25, and just out runs everybody. I get chills just thinking about it.

January 1, 1981, not a great game, but one that gave the Dawgs the (mythical) national championship over the Irish. One of the happiest sports days of my life.

Then, of course the last two are Sid's slide and Game 6. Great games, but still those early memories are the dearest.

[JediKooter]

1. December 24, 1994 - Chargers defeat the Steelers to make it to their first Super Bowl.

2. October 7, 1984 - Padres win game 5 of the NLCS to make it to their first World Series.

3. October 6, 1984 - The Padres' Steve Garvey hits a bottom of the ninth, game winning 2 run home run to tie up the NLCS at 2 games apiece.

4. January 2, 1982 - Chargers vs Miami in the 2 over time epic game that the Chargers eventually won 41 - 38. To this day, I am still perplexed how a team can score 24 points in the 1st quarter and manage to barely win the game.

5. Any year the Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA finals.

[Mac Howard]

For me the first has to be Bayern Munich 1 Man Utd 2 in the European Champions Cup Final: one - nil down on 90 minutes and a 2-1 win minutes later is something special.

[EagleFan]

A little surprised about pro wrestling showing up as a top sports moment (or in the other thread as a worse loss). Wouldn't that be like including a scene from Field of Dreams?

Spoiler

It's not real...

[ColtCrazy]

5. 1987 - Colts regular season finale win over Bucs. The Colts won the division that year with that win. First in Indy, and last until 1999. Great atmosphere that day and as a 13 year old, it got me hooked on the Colts.

4. 1987 (That was a good year) - IU beats Syracuse for the National Championship. I remember Smart's shot so clearly, and I remember people in the streets in our small town waving IU flags that night. Showed me how much basketball really meant to this state.

3. 1989 - State Championship, HS Girls Team. I was a freshman in the stands when our HS won the state championship. Mrs. Basketball for our team went on to lead Western Kentucky to a Final Four.

2. 1988 - Colts MNF win over Broncos - Halloween Night. Not until #1 had I ever seen a crowd like that. It was surreal...Dickerson's 4 TDs in the first half was too.

1. 2006 - AFC Championship Colts over Pats. Amazing comeback and the best game I've ever seen in person.

[SteveMax58]

1. Giants upset the Pats in Super Bowl 2007 - Easily the high point for a Giants fan. This was the game they REALLY weren't supposed to win and the dramatic way they did just made it too much of a storybook to not be at the top.

2. Mets beat Red Sox in 2006 World Series - The Mets were such a loaded team back in those days that you wish they had the Wild Card back then. But this season they were unbeatable, until the playoffs. 2 outs, nobody on, 2 strikes, down by 2...just unbelievable that they made that comeback. Even Game 7 was nice comeback win. a magical season & thrilling conclusion.

3. Giants over Bills in Super Bowl 1990 (season) - Wide right...gotta feel for Bills fans but what a nerve wracking game that was. You figured Buffalo would be back and get a ring at some point...half right anyway.

4. Giants over Broncos in Super Bowl 1986 (season) - G-men cruised to their 1st title behind Simms & the defense. I miss that team.

5. Giants over Minnesota in NFC Championship 2000 - I remember being so worried about Moss & Carter lighting us up that game and well, it didnt quite go that way at all...41-0!!

[BYU 14]

1-The miracle on ice in the 1980 Olympics

2-BYU hail mary win over SMU in the 1980 Holiday bowl (that was a good year)

3-Yankees defeat Boston in 1 game playoff 5-4 in 1978 behind the power of Bucky Dent

4-BYU defeating Michigan in the 1984 Holiday Bowl to win the National Championship

5-Derek Redmond finishing last in the 1992 Olympic 400 meters proving you don't need to finish first to win.



And as an added bonus, last play of the game BYU vs Utah 2006