Greatest Sports Moments Ever: #4

So I know that I originally advertised this as “Top 3,” but while I was writing, I realized that I couldn’t narrow the list to 3. I have also decided that in order to give each moment its proper recognition I will divide the post into four parts.

This posting is about what I think are the 4 greatest sports moments ever. While I fully realize that there are probably several dozen events worthy of making the list, I have chosen these as my Top 4. The criteria I have set as the basis for ranking these moments are: Overall significance to sports, Emotional impact, Memorability, and Future sports impact.

#4- Kirk Gibson’s Game Winning Home Run in Game 1 of 1988 World Series

While many other baseball teams have historic and memorable home runs, none is as significant as this one. The Oakland A’s had been a juggernaut and were overwhelming favorites in the series. When Kirk Gibson hobbled to the plate as a pinch hitter, the Dodgers were trailing 4-3 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Dennis Eckersley was on the mound for the A’s looking to close out the win. Gibson, who had sustained multiple injuries to his legs and knees during the NLCS, could barely stand and grunted in pain after each swing. He extended the count to full at 3-2, and then hit the next pitch into the right field bleachers winning the game. Gibson then became immortal as he rounded second base and pumped his fist twice.

The Dodgers went on to win the World Series in 5 games, but the significance of the event reached even further. It marked the first time in World Series history that a team had won a game on a come from behind home run. And even more significant, millions of kids (myself included) were seen to mimic Gibson’s fist pump at little league games all over Southern California. We thought we were so cool rounding First base on a ground ball, but still pumping our fists like Gibson. That was Kirk Gibson’s only at bat in that World Series, as his injuries prevented him from any further playing time. Lastly, this home run is also considered to be the greatest home run in Dodgers franchise history.

What tops this sports moment? You’ll have to check back next week for #3 of the Top 4 Greatest Sports Moments Ever.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct III: Hockey, A Beacon of Hope

Many of you are probably thinking something like, “How the heck can Hockey represent sportsmanship with all the fighting?” Here is what makes Hockey different from the rest.

While it is absolutely true that Hockey is one of the most physical sports (Sports Illustrated says it is the 2nd toughest sport [Boxing #1]), it is also the one where those who play can also see the big picture. In the other major sports where ones-self and ones-own are glorified in success, Hockey stands in stark contrast by showing respect to those who came up short. If you have ever been to a youth, high school, college, or playoff series deciding pro game, you have seen the handshake line.

After almost every game growing up, no matter where they are in the world, both teams line up and shake each other’s hands, win or lose, champion or not, to congratulate each other on their efforts. It is a tradition in-grained into the sport. Some of my proudest moments being a Hockey fan have been watching Stanley Cup Champion after Stanley Cup Champion follow this model. Buzzer sounds, throw gloves, sticks, and/or helmets into the air, mob the goalie, hug teammates (sometimes cry), put on champs cap, and then automatically like it has been built into their very being, line up as a team and shake hands/hug every player and coach on the team they just defeated. They don’t celebrate their victory during the handshake line; they celebrate the game, and the grit, passion, and determination it takes to play.

This type of sportsmanship is rarely if ever seen in the NBA, NFL, or MLB. When one of those sports crowns a champion, the winners are mobbed by reporters and other officials looking for that chest-thumping, self-boasting sound bite / video clip, and the losers are left to maybe congratulate a former teammate before disappearing into the mob and going to their locker room. When a big name player loses, he gets interviewed about why he and his team failed, and oftentimes he congratulates the other team but berates his own.

The question to ask here is which image do we want to send to kids? Do we want kids to realize that you can interrupt / put off celebrating long enough to show respect to your opponent, or do we want them to see that winning isn’t just everything, it really is the only thing.

Lastly, I want to cite some statistics about success beyond sport. What follows are the graduation rates among NCAA Div. 1 male student athletes as reported by the NCAA and its member institutions in their 7-year trend report of Sept. 2008. I also injected my own opinion by including their most likely career after sports in [brackets]. The statistics didn’t surprise me one bit, did they surprise you?

Ice Hockey- 84% [Manager/Entrepreneur]
Football (1-A)- 67% [Car Wash Attendant]
Football (1-AA)- 65% [Burger Flipper]
Baseball- 66% [High School Gym Teacher/Coach]
Basketball- 61% [Drug Dealer/Gangbanger]

Check back soon for my next article: Top 3 Greatest Sports Moments Ever