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We all have those moments. The
ones when we're watching a triple overtime unfold, or we're hitting
the last-second jumper ourselves - the ones that stay with us the
rest of our lives. They remind us of why we're passionate
about sports - why everything from the Tallahassee Little League
Championships to the Super Bowl can get us excited. Some
of us here at Outsports, and some of our readers, have put together
our lists of our Top Moments In Sports. We hope some of these
lists remind you of "where you were when..." and that they
inspire you to create your own list. Whether you have 3, 5,
10, or any number of favorite sports moments, e-mail
them to us and we'll post them here. Jim
Los Angeles
Outsports co-founder
Having watched hundreds of sporting
events it’s hard to narrow down a list to a Top 10 or even Top
100. But this one moment as a participant is tops for me.
Gay Games Flag Football Gold Medal
Game, June 23, 1994
It
was USC vs. UCLA, Florida vs. Georgia, the Yankees vs. the Red Sox.
When LA Motion met the West Hollywood Quake for the gold medal it
was like playing family. All of us had played together in a gay flag
football league in Los Angeles, and split into two teams for the Gay
Games since we had so many people who wanted to play. It was only
fitting that the two of us wound up meeting for the title.
Prospect Park in Brooklyn may not
have been the Rose Bowl, but it was my little slice of football
heaven that day. I was coach, quarterback and fund-raiser of Motion
and playing for the gold made up for all of the hard work it took to
get there. Our team had 19 players and it was amazing to see that
many people come together and work toward a common goal. Knowing the WeHo players well
we figured the game would
come down to the end.
We started slow and many of our best
players seemed to have a bit of the dropsies. WeHo scored first and
then had us in a third-and-long in our own territory. As I always
did in this situation I called a play for my favorite receiver, Dan, the best athlete I’ve ever played with. We had a sort of
telepathy together, not surprising since we had dated for a while
and were very close.
The play was designed to get only
about 10 yards and keep the drive alive. But as I got to the line
and called signals I saw WeHo had man coverage on Dan and the corner
was cheating up. Time for a fake pump in that direction and have Dan
go long. I was praying he’d see it. His barely noticeable glance
my way showed he did.
I called for the snap and stared at
the corner guarding Dan. I cocked my arm and pumped once. As I
hoped, the corner bit. Big time. Dan blew by the shocked defender
and the only thing that could go wrong was me overthrowing him. But
my pass was perfect, hitting Dan in stride for a 65-yard TD and a
tie. We were back in the game. Dan’s effort was all the more
amazing since he had broken his rib about a month earlier. Simply am
amazing and gutty effort.
Fast forward to about 3 minutes in
the game. Score tied at 22, thanks to a bonehead interception I
threw to allow WeHo back in the game. We had the ball and a chance
to win.
On second and 10 deep in our
territory I rolled left and found my other Mr. Clutch, Brian
Dreesman, who faked his defender out, caught the pass and ran down
to the WeHo 25. Brian was a 22-year-old with a shy smile and
unassuming demeanor. But he was a total activist, taking a male date
to a high school prom and forcing a local radio station to offer
same-sex song dedications on Valentine’s Day. And he had hands of
glue.
Two short passes and runs by another
clutch player, Jesse Whitmire, got us to the WeHo 10, with about 30
seconds left. I forget what play I called next, but what happened
always brings back a smile when I think about it.
My center was Thorn Edwards, a great
athlete with the unfortunate habit of dropping passes at the wrong
time. He was not a go-to guy for me, but played his ass off and was
a stellar defender.
I took the snap and quickly looked
left, then right. I then saw Thorn open down the middle between two
defenders. I fired a pass a bit high so if it was tipped it would
fall harmlessly to the ground.
Time froze. We held our breath. Thorn raised his arms up in full
stride and the ball hit his hands. ... And stayed there.
Touchdown! Our
team went nuts, the hundreds of fans cheered and it was all captured
by a local cable channel which showed it on NY public access for the
next six months. Thorn had delivered his version of ``The Catch.'' Our defense,
which was magnificent the second half, stopped WeHo on the final three
plays and we had won
the gold.
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