My 10 Favorite Sports Memories
In this time of Coronavirus and shelter-in-place, a lot of things have been challenging. Beyond the illness, isolation, postponed weddings, cancelled graduations, closing of businesses, and loss of jobs, there has been something much smaller in importance that has changed day-to-day experience for many people. We have been without sports for a couple of months now.
Now, I know this isn’t the most important thing at the moment and it isn’t a design post, but I’ve been thinking of my favorite sports memories and it’s brought an added level of happiness to my routines. So, here’s my list:
10. An Oregon Sweep of the 800M at the 2008 Olympic Qualifiers
While I was attending Oregon for graduate school, my wife and I were able to attend one day of the track and field qualifiers for the Olympics in Beijing. We were watching plenty of the events on the other days as well, and while there were many great races, not one was better than seeing three runners from Oregon grab the three spots in the 800M to represent the United States in the Olympics.
9. Gonzaga Beats #1 Duke in Maui Invitational
This was a stellar Duke lineup led by Zion Williamson. There were thoughts so early in the season that this 2018-2019 Gonzaga team could go all the way. While that didn’t end up being the case, it was incredible to watch the Zags get pushed to the brink and hold their own in an incredibly tough game. Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura played tough defensively and were so cohesive on the attack.
8. The San Francisco 49ers Win Super Bowl XXIX
I was around for the end of the Joe Montana era, but I was a Steve Young fan. Getting to see him, Jerry Rice, Ricky Waters, Brent Jones, and the rest of the Niners go to the Super Bowl and absolutely dominate the San Diego Chargers was a great moment. The only downside was that such a lopsided victory meant that the game was pretty much over by halftime.
7. Quakes Win MLS Cup 2001
Since the creation of the league, I had gone to more games than I could remember at Spartan Stadium in San Jose and saw the Quakes try to pull themselves out of the cellar. Not an easy task to complete considering the club had four head coaches in its first six seasons. When I went away to college, it was our year. I can remember being in the TV room in the basement of my dorm at 9:30am watching the game by myself. Landon Donovan had breathed new life into the club as a 19 year old and Dwayne De Rosario won the cup with a golden goal in overtime. The icing on the cake was that San Jose beat the LA Galaxy that day to make them 0-3 in the title game.
6. Gonzaga’s 3OT Maui Invitational Win Over Michigan State
This was around the time Gonzaga was moving beyond the Cinderella moniker. In 2005, Adam Morrison was beginning his incredible season and this 43 point performance in a win over Michigan State helped set the tone for the season.
5. The First Game in MLS History
San Jose hosted DC United on April 6, 1996 for the first game in the history of Major League Soccer. I had been waiting for months for this new league to get started and at 13 had bought a group of tickets in the 6th row for me and my friends. Eric Wynalda left it late, but his goal with 3 minutes left in the game meant that my new team would always be remembered as the victors in the first game in league history. There was also the added bonus of my club coach coming into the game for San Jose in the 2nd half. This clip also helps you remember the old school ESPN graphics.
4. The Entire SF Giants 2010 Playoff Run
It all started with the final game of the regular season. The Giants were one game up on San Diego and, of course, they were hosting the Padres in San Francisco. If the Padres had won, there would have been a one game playoff for the division title. If the Giants had lost that, there would have been a one game playoff against the Braves for the Wild Card spot in the playoffs. However, the Giants got the job done and were headed to the post-season.
The NLDS was against the Braves and the highlight was Timmy Lincecum in game one. He shut them down with 14 strikeouts in a complete game. It was a good thing too because the Giants only put one run on the board that night.
The Giants were up against the Phillies and their incredible pitching rotation in the NLCS. The unlikely hero was Cody Ross, getting two home runs off Roy Halladay in one game.
The Giants ended up beating the Texas Rangers in the World Series. My family and I were in Poulsbo, Washington visiting family and stayed late on the night we were leaving to watch them clinch. It was surreal to have the Giants win the World Series. Once we got on the road to head back to Eugene, Oregon, I was able to listen to the replay on KNBR and see the Giants’ minor league affiliate, the Salem-Kaizer Volcanoes have their digital billboard outside the stadium blasting a celebratory message out over I-5 as I finished the drive home.
3. Ireland Equalizes Against Germany at 2002 World Cup
With the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, the time difference made for some bizarre schedules. I was regularly up all night watching games and then heading off to my summer job. Ireland had drawn their opener against Cameroon. With the opening group stage being 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, every match matters. It was devastating when Ireland and Germany kicked off the second group game at 4:30 in the morning and by 4:45am, the Germans already had the lead. If Ireland lost to Germany, that would give them 1 point from the first two games. Generally, 5 points will get you through to the knock-out rounds. If Ireland couldn’t grind out a result, then even the expected win against Saudi Arabia wouldn’t be enough to see them through.
After an admirable performance in the 2nd half, the game was in the waning minutes of injury time and I was coming to terms with the reality that Ireland’s World Cup campaign was over after just two games. Then, in the 92nd minute, a long ball from the back was flicked on by the head of Niall Quinn into the path of a darting Robbie Keane. He rifled a shot that careened off German keeper Oliver Kahn and the inside of the post. Ireland were still alive! Without thinking, I jumped up and down yelling and screaming, waking up my mother around dawn. I was alone in my living room, but I knew that the Irish across the globe were reacting just as I was.
2. Manchester United’s ‘99 Champions League Triumph
No team had done it. No team had ever won their domestic league, their domestic cup, and the Champions League in the same season. In 1999, Manchester United were chasing history. They went into the Champions League final having not lost in over 30 games and they had checked 2 of the 3 boxes. They were just one match away from making a claim to be one of the greatest squads of all time.
I was in high school at the time and the game aired in the late morning or early afternoon, so I had set a timer on the VCR to record the game. Almost no one cared enough in California in those days for me to have to worry about any spoilers related to the game, so once school was over, I got home prepared to watch history.
But Bayern Munich scored early and controlled the majority of the match while hitting the crossbar and the post in the 2nd half. Then came injury time and 2 corner kicks. United fans will never forget the late substitutions for Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to come onto the field. And I’ll never forget the antagonizing British tabloid headline the next day that read, “British Subs Sink Krauts”.
1. Ireland Defeats Italy at World Cup ‘94
My father was a big reason for my interest in sports. He had played Gaelic Football growing up in Ireland, after immigrating to the United States, in the mid-80’s he would subscribe to obscure television channels in order to watch the Olympics before they were considered prime-time, and I remember him telling me when I was young that if I could do anything great in athletics, he would love to see me as a sprinter in the Olympics. An Irish sprinter? You don’t see many of those!
I have hazy memories of the ‘92 Olympics in Barcelona, but my most vivid memory of sheer joy for us both, was watching Ireland open their campaign in the 1994 World Cup by beating Italy 1-0 in New Jersey. Ireland’s first trip to the Cup came in 1990 and they shocked the globe with a run to the Quarter-Finals before falling to Italy. As fate would have it, they were able to immediately avenge that match with their very next World Cup game. It was so emotional to watch Houghton score early, to see an Irish volley hit the crossbar, and to marvel at the defensive heroics of Paul McGrath.
It was my most exuberant sporting memory with my father, and I’ll never forget it.