Your best days of your life as a sports fan

[DG_ThenNowForever]

TBH, I thought the Sounders MLS Cup win would rank higher than it does. It's awesome, but maybe it's because it wasn't at home and because PKs suck as a way to decide a game.

 

Other awesome moments:

 

- Syracuse's national title win in 2003. I was a senior in college, Carmelo was incredible, and the Orange finally broke through.

- Seattle's Super Bowl win in 2014. More for the atmosphere in the city than for the actual team. Living in a city and going through a Super Bowl march like that was pretty great. Everyone was so happy. The blowout of Peyton Manning was icing on the cake.

- Seeing USMNT beat Ecuador in person at the Copa America this year. It was a twist of fate that I even got to see the men's team, and it was a game that counted. The Copa America in general was awesome.

 

That might be it for me. The Bills haven't made the playoffs since 1999 and likely won't until Brady and/or Belichick retire. It sucks.

[Jer15]

On 12/13/2016 at 2:26 PM, DG_Now said:

TBH, I thought the Sounders MLS Cup win would rank higher than it does. It's awesome, but maybe it's because it wasn't at home and because PKs suck as a way to decide a game.

 

That might be it for me. The Bills haven't made the playoffs since 1999 and likely won't until Brady and/or Belichick retire. It sucks.

Meanwhile I'll never forget that MLS Cup. You never forget your first  That easily ranks on top for me when you take into consideration the whole TFC playoff run. I agree, the PK were a :censored:ty way to end a game but it was still a memorable night.

 

I'll also add "game 5" against Texas with the famous batflip. I don't think I've been in a louder stadium. 

 

To round this out and call it a "top 3":

2011 NLL Championship game, got to see the Rock win at home. Special moment as a Rock fan after the team was bought by the current owner (Jamie Dawick) and brought them back to being a contender. 

 

oh...and I agree with the Bills sentiment as well. Man, if they ever do make the playoffs though...It will be one :censored: show (assuming they play at home).

[-kj]

October 28 and 29, 2011:

 

 

 

FYI, beer tastes even better out of a championship trophy.

 

[wildwing64]

Only a handful off the top of my head:

 

- 2007 Stanley Cup. No topping that.

- 2011 NHL Premiere in Stockholm, October 8th Ducks VS Rangers. The first and only Ducks game I've attended in person. 2-1 shootout win maybe wasn't the most exciting game in retrospect, but it more than made up for me missing the 2007 Premiere in London. Aaaand the rest of the 2011-12 season that followed.

- October 13th 2013, Mighty Ducks Throwback Night VS Ottawa. I happened to be in Ottawa at the time and watched the game at a bar. I never got to properly watch a game with the old uniforms before they rebranded, and I would have waited an eternity for this.

- 2010 NHL Premiere, again in Stockholm. October 9th Sharks VS Blue Jackets. First NHL game I attended.

- October 19th 2013, Canadiens VS Predators. First NHL game I attended in an NHL building.

[kiwi_canadian]

2002 Men's Gold Medal hockey game

2010 Men's Gold Medal hockey game

97th Grey Cup and the infamous 13th man... What an emotional roller coaster that was

2011 Western Conference Finals game 5 and Bieksa's "duck" shot that neat Niemi for the series win for the Canucks.

2016 Women's Bronze medal game for 7's rugby and Canada beating Great Britain

2016 Vancouver 7's Bowl Final Canada vs. France and Canada scores with no time left on the clock to tie the game. Nathan Hariyama kicks to convert converts to win the Bowl Final for Canada.

[Bruins]

October, 2013: TIE GAME!!! Heard the radio call actually, but that didn't kill it at all. Came home to see Saltalamacchia hit the walk-off single to left to win game 2.

 

October, 2013: Even though in like late August I knew it would happen, it still felt unbelievably sweet to see the Sox win the WS, especially at Fenway. Of course Matt Carpenter had a double digit pitch at-bat before it could happen, but, well, insert sage-like proverb about time being good here. It was awesome.

 

February, 2015: Heartbreak. Euphoria. By far the best sports moment of my young life. Saw a kid wearing a "Butler Did It" t-shirt at school soon after, made it that much better.

 

May, 2013: Game 7, Down 3 goals, 3rd Period, Horton, Lucic, Bergeron, Bergeron. Type in Bruins-Leafs Game 7 and watch the NESN broadcast and you'll understand how that felt. Far and away one of the best Game 7's of all time.

 

April, 2013: You wanna talk about chills, the B's game after the Marathon Bombing got me choked up. Absolutely Beautiful. Rene Rancourt, A stunning tribute, and a TD Garden filled with palpable, inclusive emotion. Boston Strong.

 

Geez, 2013 was a good year for Boston Sports.

 

Sadly for me, I'm only 16 so I wasn't lucid during the Patriots dynasty, the breaking of the Curse of the Bambino and all that, but I consider myself wicked lucky to be a Boston Sports fan. 

[Sykotyk]

Ohio State, Fiesta Bowl National Championship over Miami.

 

1997 Youngstown State 10, McNeese State 9 (I-AA National Championship)

 

AFL Grand Rapids Rampage over Nashville Kats ArenaBowl

[winters in buffalo]

I'm going to have to go with April 10, 1993, the only time I've attended a championship final. The Buffalo Bandits capped a perfect MILL season with a home win over Philadelphia. 

[crashcarson15]

So, zero doubt it’s June 19, 2016 and almost certainly always will be. Can’t see anything coming close to that first title.

 

Other great days to mention were the two Blue Jackets ones McCarthy mentioned (qualifying for playoffs in 2009, getting the first win in 2014), Notre Dame beating Stanford in the 2012 football season (which I was at), Villa’s FA Cup semi win over Liverpool in 2015 and in my senior year of high school, when my school (enrollment ~280) played in the basketball state semis in front of ~7,000 people in one of the country’s largest high school gyms. We lost by 3, but it was dope as hell.

[DDR]

Game 4 of the 2005 World Series which saw the White Sox end their 88-year drought was pretty special, but I was living in Atlanta at the time, away from all friends and family, and watched the game at a bar with only my girlfriend (now wife) and a random Chicagoan I knew there. 

 

I was too young to appreciate the Packers' 1997 Super Bowl win, but the 2011 win was awesome and I watched it with my entire family.

 

I've watched the clinching games of all 3 (recent) Blackhawks Stanley Cup wins, and all 3 were amazing experiences. 

 

***

 

But if you're talking best days of my life as a sports fan, it's a tie between two days in Spring 2005. The first was March 26, when Illinois came back from 15 down with 4 minutes to play to win in overtime. I was back home for some reason (seems too late for Spring Break?) but I watched the game with one of my best friends at a bar. He wanted to leave with like 6 or 7 minutes left, but I don't leave beer on the table and we had half a pitcher. My frugality let us see that amazing comeback.

The second was a week or so later when I was back in Champaign and Illinois beat Louisville to advance to the Championship Game. The game itself wasn't as legendary, but after the win I'll never forget being part of the thousands of students who marched (peacefully) towards the Quad, past the Alma Mater statue wearing an oversized Dee Brown jersey. I never felt more part of the University as that night. 

[habsfan1]

I haven't had the chance to go to a Stanley Cup parade yet. But this was amazing...

 

 

[saturn93]

Cubs clinch NL East in 1984.

Bulls championships, especially Game 6 in 1997 (night of my college graduation)

Bears Super Bowl XX

Blackhawks 2010 Game 6 OT goal, 2013 Game 6 "17 seconds" to win the Cup, 2015 Game 5 to finally have the Cup on United Center ice

And finally...

Game 7 2016 World Series...my life is complete with the Cubs winning the World Series.

[rainmaker17]

Super Bowl XXVIII in Atlanta.  I was fortunate enough to be there.  There's nothing like walking into a Super Bowl stadium on game day and seeing the field with the different team end zones and all the signage everywhere.  I'll never forget it.

 

Side note:  I almost knocked over Jesse Jackson in the concourse by accident.  He was a really nice guy and we had a brief chat and shook hands.

 

Dallas won the game too, so pretty hard day to top.

[cubsfan2015]

November 3, 2016 Cubs Win The World Series: So I was feeling under the weather that day. I went to bed that night at 6 PM and then I got up at 11 to watch the World Series. Safe to say,I was so damn pissed when Chapman blew us a 3 run lead. Then it starts raining and my hope is renewed. I will forever remember that moment of Bryant throwing to Rizzo,and my heart was felt of joy. The tears streaming down my face,the curse was knocked down.

 

Super Bowl XLI Colts and Peyton win Indianapolis with their first professional sports title: This was an amazing moment for Indianapolis. After all of the heartbreak from Brady,they finally got into the biggest stage in sports. Only for Devin Hester to score a kickoff return TD. But when your QB is Rex Grossman,facing off against Peyton Manning,your not going to win. I felt so happy when won,it was the best feeling ever.

 

2012 NFC Championship Game: My grandma was a 49ers fan in the 80s when Joe Cool led them to 4 titles and being argued as the best team of all time. I have gotten my 49ers fan status from her. After being mad knocked off by Eli last year,the Falcons gave us the win and we were on to the Super Bowl. Expept to lose to the Ravens.

 

I have others but that will come later.......