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Sunday, June 01, 2008

A little game

If you could go back in time and attend any 5 sporting events - all time, anywhere in the world - what would they be?

Don't look at others' answers before you post. Write the first five you can think of off the top of your head.

5 comments:

Joe Grav said...

1. Miracle on Ice - 1980

I can't think of any game that has 'the whole package' as much as the US-USSR Olympic game in 1980. Raucous atmosphere, tight game, important game, surprise/upset element, outside implications... I can't even imagine how amazing that must have been.

2. Game 5 of the ALCS - 2004

I picked this one over the WS clincher because it includes all of those suspenseful elements that make it such a release. The late rally to tie it, the shock factor, the fact that now we really did believe the Sox could come back, the 86-year curse thingamajig. You know.

3. Flutie's Miracle in Miami - 1984

I, too, laugh at how obnoxiously overplayed the Flutie hail mary highlight is. But having seen that game 940,000 times on ESPN Classic, not only was that play amazing, that entire game was thrilling. Add in the upset element (BC over Miami is not exactly a common occurrence), the last-minute win, and the quality of the teams involved, and it's an all time great.

4. UEFA Champions League final - Liverpool over AC Milan - 2005

Arguably the greatest game in any sport, all time. Liverpool trailed 3-0 at half time to AC Milan, considered one of the best defensive teams in the world. Then in just a seven minute span, they knocked in three to tie it. They survived a number of incredible Milan chances in extra time, then won in penalty kicks. I'm not sure it's possible to convey what that game meant internationally in words. Greatest 'mayhem potential' of any game.

5. BC hockey wins 2001 National Championship

I was 13. I remember it vivdly. BC, trying to shake off a 52-year hex, led by 2 with 4 minutes to go. North Dakota scored twice in those final minutes to tie it. Uh-oh.

Enter Krys Kolanos. He breaks in, dekes around the goalie and stuffs it in, giving the Eagles the title. What's better than overtime hockey? Nuthin'.

Wooden U. Lykteneau said...

I'll go for the rare and magnificent ones...

1. The Called Shot - 10/1/32
If you don't know what this refers to, log off now.

2. The Big Train derails Boston - 7/1/20
Walter Johnson, arguably the greatest pitcher ever, only threw one no-hitter out of his 117 shutouts, but it was at Fenway.

3. Ty Cobb's "I told you so" - 5/5/25
Cobb set off to prove that he could hit like Ruth when he wanted to, and went 6-for-6 with 3HRs and a double, setting a then-AL record for total bases at 16.

4. 27 Strikeouts In One Game - 5/13/52
It has happened. Once. In a Class-D Appy League game by a 19-year-old who went 1-6 in his MLB career.

5. 12 perfect innings - 5/26/59
Unlike the other single-game feats, this was a losing effort, with Milwaukee scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the 13th to win 1-0.

6. Bonus Pick - 9/10/99
28 Batters Faced, 17 Strikeouts, 1 hit allowed... at Yankee Stadium against a lineup that was in the middle of the three-year run of World Series Championships. This one I actually saw on TV, but nearly everyone who was there thought it was the greatest pitching they had personally witnessed.

Joe Grav said...

Good stuff. I'd never heard of 4 & 5.

As for 6 - there are a lot of old Pedro games I would have loved to have been at. The guy was freaking electric in his prime. He's still my favorite Red Sox player of my lifetime.

icesk8ingtrezzafan said...

1. 2004 World Series
2. 1918 World Series
3. Red Sox VS. Angels August 18, 1967 at Fenway (Tony C got hit)
4.The last Spirit Game- even though I was there for it when it was actually played
5. 2007 World Series

DaveCo said...

1) The 7th game of the 04 ALCS
2) the 33-inning game between the Paw-Sox and Rochester Red Wings in 1981
3) Ted William's Last game in 1960
4) The Miracle On Ice in 1980
5) The Snow Bowl in 2002

I like the list Wooden has going....The first three choices are great. the next 2 are also ones I've never heard of before.