OT: Best sports moment / event you've seen in-person

46 comments

• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  "...cool on its own but the game was epic on its own.". Idiot. Read before you hit post.
• PredragDr

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  3 years ago

  - Roy Halladay's perfect game in Miami in 2010 - Mavs beating the Heat and winning the NBA championship in game 6 in 2011 - 2012 US Olympic gold medal game in women's soccer - Giants winning the WS with a sweep in game 4 of the 2012 WS - Sean Manea's no hitter vs Red Sox in 2018
• twentyfive

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  3 years ago

  I've seen a few big games, Miami winning the NBA title with LeBron I had season tickets to the NY Islanders the year they lost the Stanley Cup to the Flyers, I've been to football games many football Giants, and Jets games over the years, but the most monumental game I've ever seen in person was The N.Y. Yankees fifth playoff game in 1978 against The Boston Red Sox and Bucky Dent hitting that fantastic home run over the Green monster crushing Boston's hopes once again
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Nice. This is what I was hoping to get... championship games, Bucky fucking Dent, and ASU 19-0. Shit I was in 10th grade and listened to that game on the radio.
• grand1511

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  3 years ago

  That Bucky Dent HR came in a one-game playoff at the end of the regular season...not a game 5.
• twentyfive

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  3 years ago

  I think you might be right I misremembered maybe it was a long time ago I was about 27 years old I’ must be getting old timers disease Lol
• mike710

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  3 years ago

  Saw a 52-52 college football game with SDSU playing BYU. That was in 1991 in Marshall Faulk's Freshman year. It was like playing football in the backyard where every series led to a touchdown. Saw AJ Burnett throw a no hitter against the Padres and didn't even realize it because there were always men on base since he also walked 9 guys. Got tickets and watched game 3 of the 1998 World Series. I had never been to a baseball game where I lost my voice the next day from getting into the crowd and electricity of that game. Whatever you think about him, Barry Bonds could rake. He loved playing in San Diego and I saw a few of the most prodigious homeruns I had ever seen in my handful of years with Padre season tickets. Saw a couple of SF Giants playoff games during their world series run years. The energy at those games was also amazing. Sat in the top row of the Oakland Colosseum during a Wildcard game between Oakland and Houston in the days Earl Cambell played Finally got to see a lot of bad ass hitters from the 70's until today. When I was a kid in the 70's, those guys seemed superhuman. Vlad Sr. was one of the most dangerous hitter I saw as an adult. He would just about swing out of his shoes sometimes.
• kilgoretrout12

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  3 years ago

  Those that I have been at Boone's walk off v Boston in the ALCS 2003 Purdue's blow out of thee Ohio State Univesity. 2018 Notre Dame's win over over FSU in 1993 31-24
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Burnett no-hitter would have been cool. The one Randy Johnson home game summer of 99 we didn't go to, was because my buddy went with his dad... And Jose Jimenez of the Cardinals no-hit AZ. Would have LOVED to be at that Purdue win. Watched it on TV, though. Big Michigan fan, so I hate that team that shall not be named. Thank you, Purdue!
• Papi_Chulo

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  3 years ago

  1936 Olympics - man that Jesse Owens guy - glad I didn't miss that one
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Oh wow, completely forgot... watching The 100 Foot Wave on HBO and it reminded me... December 2003, between semesters at ASU, I was in Hawaii right before Christmas. I had gone surfing out there a few times but my buddy had never been. In the middle of the week, we decided to rent a Jeep and head up to the north shore. The plan was just to check out the waves at Pipeline, hopefully find a bar on the beach with a hot bartender, grab lunch and a few beers, and then drive back to Waikiki. But that would not be the case... Instead, we showed up at the beginning of the final day of the Pipeline Masters, the last event of the triple crown of surfing. Andy Irons beat Kelly Slater, at that time a six-time champion. Parked, walked across the street to the beach, and there it was: free "seats" to the Super Bowl (please don't sue me, NFL) of surfing, Kelly Slater, the Michael Jordan of surfing, running six feet in front of us to paddle out and catch another wave. Andy Irons (RIP), Slater's heir-apparent holding him off to win. That whole day was killer. It was cloudy, right before Christmas, so the beach wasn't crowded. And yes, pro surfer groupies are way way way way way hot.
• mike710

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  3 years ago

  I had forgotten about some free beach sporting events I saw. When Beach Volleyball was just taking off, I got to see some of the best teams play for free at the beach in San Diego. I wasn't a big fan, just happened to come across it on a bike ride out to the beach a few times. Eventually, they stopped having the events on public beaches I guess as it only lasted a couple of years. Don't know why the cute tall girls play volleyball but the ugly ones play basketball.
• ATACdawg

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  3 years ago

  I, along with my two daughters, watched Mario Lemieux AND Jaromir Jagr both score their 50th goals of the season. I believe that is the only time in NHL history that has happened. Fun fact: Jaromir is an anagram for Mario Jr!
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  50th goal would be cool, but x2 would be pretty epic. Thought of another that was fun: Phoenix Open Pro-Am in 2007. Bill Murray was booed mercilessly when his drive on the famous par-3 16th hole landed in the bunker. But then the guy chipped it into the cup, got a monster ovation, and did snow angels in the sand. Bill fucking Murray!
• Hank Moody

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  3 years ago

  On the 1 year anniversary of the end of Cal Ripken’s streak, waited out a two hour rain delay and saw Eddie Murray hit his 500th homer. And by ‘waited out’ I mean drank free beers because I knew a bartender at Camden Yards.
• Warrior15

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  3 years ago

  NBA All-Star Game played in the Houston Astrodome. About 60,000 there to watch the game.
• goldmongerATL

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  3 years ago

  I took my grandson to game 3 of the 1919 Black Sox World Series.
• misterorange

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  3 years ago

  ^^ Lol
• crosscheck

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  3 years ago

  Cam Neely scoring his 50th goal in 50 games (44 games actually) in 1994. BC beating Clemson at Clemson in 2007 on a Matt Ryan bomb with about 3:00 left and a spot in the ACC Championship Game on the line. The fan experience at Clemson was just incredible as a whole. University of Denver beating Maine 1-0 in the 2004 NCAA hockey National Championship game in Boston, with Denver killing off a 6 on 3 powerplay int he last minute (5 on 3 plus Maine's goalie pulled for the extra attacker). Craziest, most unique ending I've ever seen. Was very cool to see in person.
• skibum609

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  3 years ago

  We were at the finish line when Sunday Silence beat Easy Goer in the Breeder's Cup Classic, proving once and for all that the little black horse with the crooked legs was far better than the regally bred son of Secretariat. Footnote: got to see my favorite race horse of all time (Go for Wand) put down near the finish line at Belmont in the breeder's cup. Never been so close to anything being killed.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  @goldmonger -- that's impressive! You must be related to our 10th president, John Tyler, born in 1790, he had a grandson still alive in 2020.
• misterorange

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  3 years ago

  ^^ @skibum My dad told me a story about a soccer game he went to at the old Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan. This would have been in the 50's when he was a kid. I have no idea who was playing, but those crazy soccer fans got so riled up with loyalty to their respective teams they threw a guy out of the upper deck. He crashed and died, injuring several other people where he landed. They were all carried out by police and stadium employees, and there wasn't even a time out called in the game.
• Mate27

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  3 years ago

  Tiger Woods at the Phoenix Open in Jan 1997. Forget who the guy was who tees off prior to Tiger, but the guy nailed it right next to the pin for a sure birdie and the crowd was going nuts before Tiger even swung on the infamous 16th hole. My friends and I shouted to each other “watch Tiger hit a hole in one!” A few seconds later Tiger hit it in the hole and it became the loudest shot in golf! It took 5 minutes for the workers to clear off the fairway because all of the party goers were throwing their beer cans and stuff out in the fairway. We got totally hammered, and I hammered a blonde milf later on that night in her scottsdale condo. Good times!
• Hank Moody

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  3 years ago

  I forgot I was also at the January 1988 Orange Bowl which was the national championship game that year. Miami beat Oklahoma 20-14. Melvin Bratton blew out his knee but what was notable was that Oklahoma ran the fumblerooski play for a TD, the same play Nebraska ran against Miami in the 1984 national championship. The ncaa banned the play a few years later.
• whodey

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  3 years ago

  Most of my best memories from sporting events have been more about the people I was there with instead of the specific event, but I have been at two very noteworthy events. I only vaguely remember the first because I was only 3 at the time. My family had season tickets for the Cincinnati Reds for decades so we were there when Pete Rose hit 4192 to break Ty Cobb's career hits record back in 1985. I was too young to fully understand what was happening but I remember thinking how cool it was when they drove that bright red Corvette out onto the field to give to him. The second, which I sadly remember much more clearly, was the 2001 Daytona 500. I grew up as a HUGE Dale Earnhardt fan and from my seat about halfway between turn 4 and the start/finish line I was heartbroken when I saw him wreck coming through the final corner. Then I sat in utter disbelief as the scene played out afterwards. My friends and I were sitting in the hotel bar when I heard the words that are seared into my brain "after the accident in turn four at the end of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt" and the entire bar went completely silent. The next day as I was driving up I95 I heard on the radio that his car hauler was just a few miles behind where I was with a huge line of cars following it. I pulled off at the next exit so I could get a glimpse of it and as it went by there was a line of cars that had to be at least a mile long behind it with their lights on following it like it was the hearse at the front of a funeral procession.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Nice, McNulty... 500th HR and a national championship! But holy shit, Meat, you were there for that ace?!? That's awesome. I used to be a pool boy at the resort next to the golf course, all the players would stay there. In English class one day in high school, girl who was a maid there told me she was cleaning a room and the door opened...in walked Tiger. After all the Perkins waitress stuff I thought back to that and wondered if Tiger nailed her...she was good-looking. Forgot about another "sports event" I saw... working at that hotel, we also hosted men's and women's tennis tournaments. I saw Anna Kournikova laying out. Red thong. I was 18, she was 18... I was absolutely too chicken shit to say hello. [view link]
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Definitely two major events, Whodey. Damn.
• minnow

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  3 years ago

  Can't match you fellas in watching a memorable game. I do have a memorable sight from over 3 decades ago- seeing the tallest and shortest NBA players on the court at the same time: Mark Eaton (7'4", Utah Jazz), and Muggsy Bogues (5'4", Charlotte Hornets). Unmistakable sight, even from the cheap seats.
• gSteph

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  3 years ago

  Sometime during the mid-70s, I watched the U of Oregon Ducks beat UCLA, back when UCLA (basketball) was setting records for unbeaten stretches. My friend scored a better seat with his friend, so I got to sit with his parents (season ticket holders) for my 1st ever college basketball game. It was the loudest thing I ever heard; a close game all the way. I yelled myself into a case of laryngitis. At the end, when the Ducks won, I'm jumping up and down and hugging this friend's parents (who I'd only met a time or two). It was great.
• JamesSD

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  3 years ago

  1991 World Series Game 6. Kirby Puckett walk off home run. Arguably the greatest world series of all time and I was lucky enough to be in the stands.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Oh damn! That's the game where he had that catch against the wall, too. That would be awesome.
• goldmongerATL

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  3 years ago

  How could I forget being in Olympic Park when the bomb went off. THAT was fucking memorable :-( Luckily I was like 300 yards away.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Goldmonger that would definitely qualify as a big sports moment
• Cashman1234

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  3 years ago

  I was at Yankee stadium to see Doc Gooden throw a no hitter in 1996 against the Mariners. The experience of being in the stands was as memorable as the game. There were so many cool aspects to the game. A Rod and Ken Griffey Jr were playing for the Mariners. I think Joe Girardi caught for Doc. It was a nice sort of redemption for Doc after his struggles. One of the most exciting sporting events I’ve ever seen was being on the risers for the first round of March madness in the 1980’s. That was one of the best nights of my life!
• NinaBambina

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  3 years ago

  I had front row center court seats for Michael Jordan's last game at the Palace (when he played for the Wizards). Seats were so good, Kid Rock was sitting behind us. If I remember correctly, so was Anita Baker. That was pretty cool but other than the fact that it was MJ I think it was pretty uneventful. The women's team (Detroit Shock, RIP) had a huge brawl once. My twin sister was trying to rush out onto the court to fight the players from the other team but luckily for her she was stopped by security. Lol. That whole situation was crazy to witness, including Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn's reactions.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Another no-hitter. Nice, Cashman! Nina those sound awesome, especially a bunch of women brawling in front of those guys! I was living downriver for a year in high school in the 90s...would have loved to be at the Joe the night Darren McCarty beat the crap out of Claude Lemieux. And more recently, Comerica Park for Magglio Ordonez' walk-off to go to the World Series would've been epic. [view link] [view link]
• Mate27

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  3 years ago

  JamesSD, not only you saw one of the greatest moments in sports with Puckett’s walk off HR, but the inning prior when he leaped high up the plexiglass to rob what would have been a two run double to keep it a tie ballgame going into the last half of the inning. How many times does a ball player make a great play in the field to then turn around and have a great hit at bat? Momentum. That game 6 was just as good as the game 7 series.
• ElDuderino_AZ

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  3 years ago

  Any of you out booby barring in Toronto this weekend and stick around for Tigers @ Blue Jays? Cabrera hit # 500 there today. Thought of a couple other interesting moments... I was leaning up against a wall or a pillar or something outside of a sports book Vegas, and suddenly a blur right in front of me and I got slammed... Shook out the cobwebs for a second and looked down to see Mike Tyson looking up and me saying, "I'm thowwy, thowwy!". And at an Irish bar across from my office on my lunch break, this little Mexican dude was wasted (11:15am), kept bugging me, wanting to fist bump every few seconds. Bartender called his girlfriend to pick him for being too drunk. Turns out it was former silver medalist and five-time world champion Michael Carbajal.
• mark94

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  3 years ago

  Played in a football state championship.
• Huntsman

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  3 years ago

  Technically this is not an actual event but the Twins had just beat Detroit to win the ALCS in 1987. Obviously well before the days of social media, word on the street was that the players would be brought from the airport to the metrodome that evening for a celebration. I went there with a few buddies on faith, thinking there would be a small handful of us in the stadium. Or that maybe we were just gullible. We walked in, free of charge, and the dome was packed. The players were brought in and were in shock. We all were. The Twins went on to beat the Cards in 7 games is a season where GM Andy McPhail said “we were just trying to get organized and then we ended up winning the whole thing”.
• rediguan

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  3 years ago

  Easy - June 24th. Blackhawks 3 - Bruins 2. 17 seconds. I will die happy.
• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  3 years ago

  I saw Ireland beat England in the 2001 Six Nations Rugby Championship. The match itself was great, but even better was watching the entirety of Dublin turn into a massive 10-hour pub crawl in the aftermath. It was a great night, because rugby doesn't do the the soccer hooligan thing. So, no riots.
• DeclineToState

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  3 years ago

  All SF Giants games: Bonds hitting HRs #71 and #72 same night (yes I understand he was roided out). Bonds HRs #600 and #700 Final game of 2002 NLCS to reach WS Must-win games 6 and 7 of 2012 NLCS to reach WS Bumgarner's 2-0 win in 2012 WS Bumgarner's 5-0 complete game shutout in 2014 WS
• SaltyNuts

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  3 years ago

  Saw Willie Mays and Hank Aaron both hit homeruns in the same game in Atlanta
• TxVegas

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  3 years ago

  Texas beating USC in the Rose Bowl. The loudest I have ever been at a game was when Vince Young scored on fourth down at the end. I could still get pumped up just watching the recap.
• azdd

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  3 years ago

  Favorite - UA football - Chuck Cecil returning an interception 106 yards from the end zone for a touchdown against ASU, 1986 maybe? The entire concrete structure of Arizona Stadium was shaking. Another fun one - Game 6 of the Diamondbacks-Yankees World Series in 2001. Dbacks lit up Andy Pettit and NY for something like 19 hits. Game 7 would have been nice, but only saw that one on TV Finally - numerous UA great basketball wins in McKale Center in the Lute Olsen years. Steve Kerr, Sean Elliot, and all the greats that followed.