My personal greatest sports moments

A reprint of my July 30 SlapShots column in the Woodford Sun.

I’m heading out of town for a week vacation on Friday, July 24, so needing to write a column way ahead of time, I wanted to do something a little different. I got to thinking about all of those lists pundits like to put together – you know, the greatest this or that in history. So, I decided to create my own. I have compiled a list of the top-10 greatest sports moments in my life. These are the events that meant the most to me, not necessarily because of their historical significance, or their greatness in the big scheme of sports, but because they involve my teams, my emotions and my sports passions. That is after all what keeps us watching, eh?

10. Cincinnati Reds win 1975 World Series over the Boston Red Sox, Oct 22, 1975
I was 8-years-old when the Big Red Machine won the first of its two back-to-back World Series. I was like a lot of kids during that time. I loved baseball. I played in the local youth league, collected baseball cards and organized impromptu games with the other neighborhood kids in a nearby vacant lot. And the Reds were my team. Johnny Bench was my hero. This was my first experience watching a favorite team win a championship. It was a dramatic one too. Carlton Fisk blasted a 12th inning home run off the foul pole in left field to give the Red Sox a 7-6 victory in game six. That made for an early lesson in sports disappointment, which only made Cincinnati’s 4-3 win the next day that much sweeter.

9. USA defeats the Soviet Union in the Olympics Feb. 22, 1980
Quite frankly, this would rank higher if I had a better memory of it. We watched the game at a Mr. Gatti’s pizza place in Ohio or Indiana because I was up there competing in a swim meet. I don’t know that I had ever watched a hockey game before that, but just about everybody in the country watched that one. I don’t really remember the game at all, but I do remember the pride of being an American and taking down the hated Soviets. Those of you old enough to remember the Cold War understand this. For you younger folks, I’m not sure I can even think of anything to compare it with. And I do vividly remember the complete pandemonium that broke out in the restaurant when the U.S.A. scored the go-ahead goal. The game also sparked my lifelong love for hockey.

8. USF beats the University of Louisville 45-14 Sept. 24, 2005. This was the year before I started classes at USF, but I was already a fan of Bull football. The win over the ninth ranked Cards was USF’s first victory over a team in the top 10. That it came over Louisville made it even better. The rise of the Bulls’ football program makes for a pretty amazing story in and of itself. The team began playing in 1997 as a D-II squad. USF held its first team meeting under a shade tree because the school didn’t have football facilities on campus. The win over Louisville was a classic David slays Goliath story, and you gotta love those.

7. Florida Gators win National Championship with a 24-14 win over Oklahoma, Jan. 8, 2009. Ahh – it’s good to be a Gator football fan. This was the team’s second National Championship in three years. I really respect Tim Tebow, both as a player and a person, so I was thrilled to see him hoist the BCS trophy. And look out SEC because Tebow will be back this coming season.

6. Florida Gators win National Championship with a 41-14 win over Ohio State, Jan. 7, 2007. The 2007 National Championship gets the edge over 2009 because the Gators not only brought home the hardware, they exposed Ohio State and the Big Ten for the perennial overrated sensations that they are.

5. Tampa Bay Rays 3 Boston Red Sox 1, game 7 ALCS, Oct. 19, 2008.
This would rank higher if I cared anything about baseball. Loved the game as a kid, but something happened over the years and I just have no passion left for the boys of summer. But it was still a thrill to watch the hapless Rays make it into the World Series, especially beating the Red Sox, my second most un-favorite team in the world of sports. (Top honors in that category goes to the Detroit Red Wings.) I lived in the shadow of Tropicana Field, and like most St. Petersburg residents, ignored the Rays for many years. I started paying some attention when Stu Sternberg bought the team, running that clown Vince Namoli out of town and injecting some life into the franchise. Most fans thought the new ownership was taking the team in the right direction, but I don’t think anybody imagined the Rays would make the run that they did in 2008. Another little guy overcomes the big boy story.

4. USF beats fifth ranked West Virginia 21-13, Sept. 29, 2007. I would argue that the 2007 win over the Mountaineers was the signature victory for the Bulls’ football program. It thrust USF into the national spotlight. This win was so special to me because I felt a part of it. I was a student at the time and this was my school. I only got to watch the first half of the game. The USF hockey team was in Miami that weekend playing Florida Atlantic University. I remember our entire team was crammed into this tiny bar attached to the rink watching the first half. As the Bulls took the early lead, we were all going nuts. It was one of the most exciting fan experiences I’ve ever been a part of – sharing that moment with my teammates and fellow Bulls. We had to go get ready for our own game at halftime. We didn’t even know who ultimately won until after the hockey game. The coaches wouldn’t tell us anything, wanting us to focus on our task. By the way, the Ice Bulls beat FAU 5-3 that night.

3. Florida Gators win the National Championship with a 50-20 win over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 2, 1997. I’ve been a Gator fan since I was a little kid. Even though I spent most of my growing up years in Kentucky, three years living in Ormond Beach as a child was enough to make me a Floridian in my mind. When I attended UK in the late ’80s, I went to the Wildcat-Gator games and cheered for Florida. So watching the Gators win their first National Title in my lifetime was a pretty big deal. Beating Florida State to do it made it that much better. That the Gators’ only loss that year came at the hands of the Noles just weeks earlier made it that much better. The rivalry between Florida and Florida State is something akin to UK’s rivalry with Louisville in basketball, to put things in perspective for you Kentuckians.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the Super Bowl 48-21 over the Oakland Raiders, Jan. 6, 2003. For so many years, the Bucs represented ineptitude and futility. From the ridiculous creamsicle uniforms to the successive years of losing records, Tampa Bay was the laughing stock of the NFL. And from the team’s first season in 1976, I was a fan. I actually owned one of the old orange jerseys. I wish I still had it. I moved to Clearwater in 1991 and my favorite team became my hometown team. It wasn’t easy being a Bucs fan. The joke was that you could leave a ticket on your car windshield in the parking lot of the Big Sombrero, as old Tampa Stadium was known, and when you returned, you’d have five tickets. I once went to a Bucs game against Green Bay and there were about 35,000 Packer fans in the stadium. It was embarrassing. But I’m nothing if not loyal, and that loyalty paid off when the Bucs finally became World Champions. I can’t even describe how amazing it felt to see the team that struggled for so long finally win. The emotional words of Bucs radio announcer Gene Deckerhoff as the clock hit zero sums it up. “Buccaneers win! Buccaneers win! Buccaneers win in San Diego! We are kings of the world!”

1.Tampa Bay Lightning wins the Stanley Cup with a 2-1 game seven win over the Calgary Flames, June 7, 2004
I don’t have a whole lot of sports memorabilia in my home. Now my office is a different story, but other than items from my playing days at USF, there isn’t a whole lot displayed in my house. But one piece of sports history does hang in a prominent spot in my living room. It’s a framed copy of the St. Petersburg Times from the day after the Lightning won its Stanley Cup. The photo on the front page featured Tampa Bay captain Dave Andreychuk lowering the Cup toward his lips for a kiss. It’s an iconic image. I will admit that I am a pretty emotional guy, and I am passionate about sports. But the night the Lightning won the Cup was the only time I’ve shed tears of joy as a fan. It was so amazing – so emotional. I have followed the team closely since it came into the NHL. In fact, I moved to the Tampa Bay area the summer before the inaugural season. I attended countless games and was a partial season ticket holder. Like the Bucs, the Lightning franchise spent many seasons serving as the butt of countless jokes. Lightning ineptitude started in the front office and extended to the ice. There were many years of frustration for Lightning fans. I was here in Kentucky when the Bolts finally won. In fact, I was at work at the airport in Louisville. Fortunately, there were no flights on the ground, and I was able to slip into a dark office and catch the end of the game. As the Lightning skated the Cup around the raucous St. Pete Times Forum, I was alone in this office, awash with emotions and memories, jumping up and down – a few tears trickling down my face. It was kind of surreal. It’s amazing how team can connect an individual with a community. I was 1,000 miles away from Tampa, but I felt I was a part of it all.

Quick Shots

As I look over my list, I realize how fortunate I’ve been as a sports fan. A lot of big moments. Many great memories. This is a very personal list, but for me, it’s probably the most special list I could create. Because it’s about my memories – my connections to the sports and teams that I love.

One lesson from my life as a fan, loyalty and persistence eventually pay off. Stay off the bandwagons!

I would love to hear about some of your sports memories. Write me at sports@woodfordsun.com

Quote of the week

“Gone like a freight-train, gone like yesterday Gone like a soldier in the civil war, bang bang” –Montgomery Gentry (I’ll see you all after my vacation.)

Puck to the Head

Hey, I’m on vacation. You don’t expect me to be wasting times shooting pucks around, do you?