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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.
Complete List of
Sports Moments, from Gay Games triumphs to games to remember
Marlins Are Best ...
and Worst
By Matt P.
I'm a huge baseball fan from Miami. My favorite teams are the Marlins,
the Twins, and the Red Sox. And, in my opinion, if MLB is going to
contract two teams, they should be the Yankees and the Mets (Need I
say more).
BEST
6. Yankees lose the World Series, 2001.
The Evil Empire Falls! Finally someone beat the Yankees, and what made
it even better was that it was a young expansion team (see Best
Moments #1). (I root for the underdog most of the time.) Not to
mention that this series will go down as one of the best ever (most 7
gamers do).
5. (Tie) The Summer Olympics, Sydney, 2000; the Winter Olympics, Salt
Lake City, 2002.
I love the Olympics, and these are the best two in my memory. Sydney
is a beautiful city, there couldn't have been a better host. And the
Australian fans were wonderful. It sounds really clichéd now but
having the Olympics in the United States after what happened in
September was really important and I think it helped tremendously.
That and the unprecedented success of American athletes for the Winter
Games.
4. Twins win it all, 1987.
The Twins win their first World Series since 1924, when they were the
Washington Senators. One of the greatest of all time, it was the first
in which the home team won every game and the first to be played in an
indoor stadium. Best moment of the Series: Kent Hrbek's sixth-inning
grand slam in Game 6. The Twins won the game, forcing Game 7.
3. Pedro and the BoSox pound Rocket and the Yankees, Game 3 of the
1999 ALCS.
The Red Sox beat the Yankees 13-1 in the only bright spot of what was
possibly the worst playoff series ever. What made it even better was
that the modern-day Benedict Arnold, Roger Clemens, fell on his face
in front of his old home fans, who now hate him. Also very memorable
for me because I had to watch it on a battery operated TV with a 2
inch screen because Hurricane Irene knocked out my electricity for two
days.
2. The "Worst-to-First" Series, Twins beat the Braves, 1991.
The Twins win the GREATEST World Series of all time, bar none, in
which both teams had finished last in their division the previous year
and the home team won every game. All but two games were decided by
one run, one of those two was decided by only three runs. Four of the
seven games went to extra innings. The Twins win their second
championship in five years. Best moment of the Series: Jack Morris's
10-inning, complete game shutout in the
Twins 1-0 Game 7 victory.
1. Marlins beat the Indians, 1997.
The only reason the '91 Series isn't Number 1 on my list, is because I
had to watch it on TV. For the '97 Series, I was there. A great Series
that involved two teams that nobody expected to reach the Fall
Classic. The Marlins were the first Wild Card team to reach the Series
and the youngest expansion team to reach the Series (until the D'backs
got there just last year). A Series of climate extremes, Games 1,2,6,
and 7 were played in balmy 75 degree
weather; Games 3,4, and 5 were played in wind chills in the 20s and
30s under snow
flurries. Best moment of the Series: Edgar Renteria's Series-winning
RBI single, scoring Craig Counsel from third. 67,000 people go wild.
And I was there.
WORST
6. The Jacksonville Jaguars defeat the Miami Dolphins in the second
round of the NFL playoffs, 2000.
The final of Dan Marino's career was a doozie. The final score: 62-7.
Jacksonville advances, and the perennial disappointments that are the
Dolphins fall out in the second ound...again.
5. Panthers lose in the Stanley Cup Finals, 1996.
The Colorado Avalanche swept the Panthers after the Panthers'
Cinderella run through the playoffs in the Year of the Rat. (For those
who don't remember, one of the Panthers players killed a rat in the
locker room before the opening game of the season, a game that they
would win. News of the incident reached the fans, and since it was the
year of the Rat on the Chinese calendar, it became the custom to sneak
rubber rats into the arena to throw
on the ice after a Panthers goal.)
4. Bill Buckner, 1986.
One out away from their first World Series championship since 1918,
The Red Sox give up the lead and lose Game 6 of the '86 World Series,
forcing a Game 7 that the Mets would win. During Mookie Wilson's
at-bat in the bottom of the ninth, the Boston pitcher throws a wild
pitch, allowing the tying run to score. Then, Wilson hit a slow
grounder to Red Sox first-baseman, Bill Buckner. Buckner allowed the
ball to roll between his legs, allowing
the winning run to score.
3. Yankees beat the Red Sox in the ALCS, 1999.
Five game humiliation. Except for Game 3 (see Best Moments #3), I was
completely disgusted by this series. Poor Red Sox defense (10 errors),
poor officiating (There were 15 Yankees on the field, not nine.), and
the BoSox left 45 runners stranded. And worst of all, another Yankee
pennant.
2. The "Subway Series", 2000.
The Yankees play the Mets in the Series that never really occurred (It
was a
right-wing conspiracy). My gag reflex was on a hair trigger that week.
1. The dismantling of the '97 World Series Marlins, 1997-98.
Because of this the Marlins haven't enjoyed a winning season or high
attendance since the World Series. Also MLB moved the 2000 All-Star
game from Miami to Atlanta. The defending World champs, or should I
say chumps, went 54-108 in 1998. To this day, Wayne Huizenga is Numero
Uno on my Excrement List.
THE SIX BEST WORLD SERIES OF THE LAST THREE DECADES
6. Arizona defeats the New York Yankees in seven games, 2001.
5. Minnesota defeats St. Louis in seven games, 1987.
4. The New York Mets defeat Boston in seven games, 1986.
3. Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" defeats Boston in seven games, 1975.
2. Florida defeats Cleveland in seven games, 1997.
1. Minnesota defeats Atlanta in seven games, 1991. |
