Most patriotic moments in sports history: Honorable mentions
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
So at We Rite Goode, the 4th means a lot to us. It means "The Wire" marathon on DVD. It means catching up on phone calls to relatives. It means Go America!, and we really do mean that.
And with a few DC residents on the writing roster, the 4th also means WRG wants to play its own small part to fight for freedom, punish evil, etc.: Chronicle the most patriotic moments in (American) sports history.
Now, the Internet's a big place--we know that someone, somewhere has probably done this already and, most likely, better than we could hope to achieve. But with cursory searches turning up zilch, and with the whole "ignorance is bliss" motto that's informed WRG from the beginning, we plowed ahead.
So here's the scoop. We used a highly scientific process--i.e., e-mailed each other and asked a few friends--to determine which moments were truly patriotic versus which events inspired applications for Taliban membership. Frankly, some suggestions were exceptional and truly stirring, and those went right to the top 10 list. There were also a handful of moments that warranted mentioning; they may not inspire an America tattoo, but they usually came with a YouTube clip that made them easy to post. Enjoy, check back later for our Top 10 (and dishonorable) lists.Most patriotic moments in sports history: Honorable mention
- USA run in 2002 World Cup. A berth in the Quarters was very much worth waking up at 3 a.m. to watch.
- Tom Brady hooks Gisele. Strong move to keep this Brazilian treasure in the family post-Leo.
- White Men Can't Jump: The movie.
- Sean Astin stars in "Rudy." I think I just cried twice writing that sentence.
- The drama of 1986 World Series Game 6...when re-enacted in America's greatest video game: RBI baseball.
- Clint Dempsey celebrating a goal, given that he's our one flashy scorer
- Baron Davis goes over Andrei Kirilenko in this year's playoffs. Utah may have beaten Golden State, but NorCal always tops Siberia.
- The first season of "Friday Night Lights." Numerous epic moments in one of the best sports shows on TV. For those who don't mind being spoiled, skip to 10:40, where the team (highlight if you want to be spoiled) arrives at Texas Stadium for its state championship game. Just chills-in-your bones.
- International players keep winning the NBA MVP. We were split on this, but eventually decided it's a good thing for America. Basketball may be our game, but we'll take thriving global interest over a defunct NFL Europa any day.
- Kerri Strug's injured vault at the 1996 Olympics. I don't know nothing about gymnastics, but I know I'll never forget this.
Also, we beat the Russians, which was nice. - Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics. Given problems in America, some argument for putting this on the less-proud moments for the country...if it didn't still have so much resonance today.
- Andre Agassi's final US Open--especially his first- and second-round performances. Unforgettable.
- Hasim Rahman KOs Lennox Lewis. Skip to 2:15 to see "the Rock" KO the cocky Brit in a huuuuge upset.
- Dan vs. Dave: The build-up.
(Update: Our final list of the top-10 moments can be found here, while the less-proud memories are shunted off here. Please let us know what we've missed.)
Labels: andre agassi, Baron Davis, Dan O'Brien, Dave Johnson, Game 6, Gisele, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, world cup
posted by Crucifictorious @ 03:30,
3 Comments:
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At July 4, 2007 at 7:46 AM,
said...
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You forgot the Miracle on Ice, which many sports fans, myself included, think is the most patriotic moment that we can remember.
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At July 4, 2007 at 8:06 AM,
Crucifictorious said...
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Oh, we totally agree. It's included--just in another post, our top 10 of patriotic moments. Check out http://weritegoode.blogspot.com/2007/07/top-10-most-patriotic-moments-in-sports.html
Warning though: Given our mess of coverage today, we absolve ourselves from any patriotic decisions made by readers (which may include getting tattoos of soaring eagles, registering for military service, or sending strongly worded letters to Hulk Hogan's guitar instructor.) -
At July 4, 2007 at 3:46 PM,
said...
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the dan versus dave video is a riot
