YOUR Top Emotional Moments In Sports

[ITurnGirlsGay]

We can all admit as men that sports can be very emotional for us. Fans weep, players weep, we jump for joy, we feel heartbreak, but every year we come back for more.

The purpose of this thread is to post those moments in sports, for you, that were the most emotional. (If you honestly don't have any, you're not a fan).

I will start with the most emotional moment for me.

2001 Stanley Cup Finals: I am a huge Avalanche fan, but this moment transcends my love for the Avalanche because something WAY more important took place that hasn't happened before or since.

After falling short the year prior Ray Bourque contemplated retirement. Joe Sakic, the captain of the Avs, convinced Bourque to come back for one more year, promising him that the team was dead set on winning him a cup.

After falling behind 3-2 to the Devils, it looked like Bourque would fall short once again, but Colorado rallied back to win games six and seven (With Bourque's family in attendance). Traditionally, the team captain takes the cup, hoists it, and takes it on a victory lap, but Sakic did something that had never been done in the history of the sport, it took the cup, handed it to Bourque, who hoisted it, and then took it on the victory lap.

This particular moment brought tears to my eyes because Bourque had been one of the classiest players in the league, and Sakic, being a true sportsman, recognized that the entire team's effort that season had been for Bourque and he gave him the moment in the sun. Such class and sportsmanship is not often seen like that in the thrills of victory, but Sakic knew this was something special and recognized it. Bourque then exercised his rights with the cup and shared it with Boston. While it wasn't their cup, this was their man, and Boston celebrated with him.


2007 Stanley Cup Finals: While I'm not a Ducks fan, the Neidermayer brothers had a dream since they were children and that was to win a cup together. They finally accomplished this when the Ducks beat the Senators to win the Cup in 2007. Captain Teemu Selanne took the Cup and did his thing, but then passed it to Scott, who then was able to pass it along to his brother in tears.

There's many more for me, but I thought I'd see what some of yours were.

 

[Davi323]

two of them really stand out:

Runner up: January 1, 1998, my beloved Michigan Wolverines win the national championship by beating Washington State, and to top it off, by turning Ryan Leaf into such a basketcase that it ruined his entire future NFL career. Yeah. Taking credit for that.

My all-time moment: The Detroit Red Wings winning their first Stanley Cup since 1955. Nothing will ever top seeing Steve Yzerman carry the Cup around for the first time. They have won it another 3 times since, but none compare to that first one. (well, the Lions winning the Super Bowl maybe, but what are the odds that will ever happen?)

 

[Big Sexy]

2004 NBA Finals- Watching my Detroit Pistons take down the mighty Lakers was something I will never forget. Every single analyst gave the Pistons no shot and the majority said they would get swept by the Lakers. Instead they dominated the entire series, including the one game that they lost. Once the series got back to Detroit it was complete domination.

Larry Brown did probably his best ever coaching job and the Pistons were the class of the NBA without a true superstar. A great starting 5 of Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and the heart and soul of the team Ben Wallace. Their bench core was great with Lindsey Hunter, Mike James, Corliss Williamson, Mehmet Okur, and Elden Campbell. Even the end of the bench with Darvin Ham and finally Darko Millicic getting his one minute a game brought me to my feet during the title run. Let's not forget Tremaine Fowlkes who failed to make the playoff roster. I will always remember the Pistons championship winning roster from 2004.

Once the series was over I bought every magazine and got every paper that commemorated the Pistons victory. I also got a championship hat and shirt and the DVD about their season. All of that I still have to this day. Easily my greatest moment as a sports fan.

Honorable mention: Michigan becoming National Champions after winning the 1998 Rose Bowl with Charles Woodson and Brian Griese leading the way.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

See, we don't have to disagree about everything. We're both Pistons fans.

Holding the Lakers to 68 points won me $100 and a free night of drinking.

Rip led the way during the playoffs at about 21-22 PPG. Chauncey began his legacy making big shots and nailing clutch free throws.

We invented Hack-a-Shaq, bitches.

 

[People's Champ]

I don't know if this is meant to talk about happy emontional moments, but the most emotional I've been when it comes to sports wasn't a good one. It will stick with me forver.

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This was a really tough one. When I first heard he was shot, I was shocked and surprised. I was hoping it wasn't some stupid nightclub thing or or that he was being reckless. Then I heard he was in him home and it was a robbery. It made it all the more worse. At first I initally thought it was a minor gunshot shot and he'd be out for a while but would make a full recovery. However I quickly realized it was more than that. I still had hope, though, that he would pull out it.

Then came the news that he had died. Now the video I showed wasn't one that I had seen, as I'm from the bay area and that was from a D.C news station. However, when I heard the news, I was completely floored. Taylor had been my favorite all time player in any sport (well, tied with Kobe). When news spread, it cut me deep. I didn't cry (though I was as close as you could get), but that was one of the worst days I've had as a sports fan, and still really an emotional one. I didn't expect the Redskins to all of a sudden win the Super Bowl, but that run they went on to make the playoffs was really enjoyable.

At any rate, I can't think of a time where I had feeling rise up in me the way Sean Taylor's death did, either good or bad. That right there was my most emotional moment.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

Yeah, that was a sad day. I won't lie. When the Redskins took the field with only 10 players on defense after that, I shed a tear.

 

[ThePeoplesChampion]

Runner Up - Super XVI Kickoff...Colts which i hate vs. DA BEARS my team...Hester running the opening Kickoff for a touchdown I think i lost my voice yelling cheering in that one play. Thinking he we might actually win this game which leads me too........

Most Emotional - The End of the Game....the Bears losing broke my heart and i dont care i shed a tear or two..and it was my senior year of high school i took the next two days off (to also avoid hazing alot of Colts fan there) ..i wanted them to win so bad and over a team i despise but they had Manning we had Grossman what else do i say? But by far one the top emotional days

And actually to add i guess for a tie when Walter Payton died...i was to young to see him play live but i watched his tapes...had his cards and pictures...he was my sports hero and i remember growing up playing football i wanted to be just like him..but that day was a very sad day

 

[Барбоса]

Anyone who knows anything about Association Football and knows who I support will not be surprised when I say

UEFFA Champions League Final 25th May, 2005
The Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
Liverpool FC vs AC Milan
​

The biggest football match of the year produced the greatest comeback ever.

After a 20 year gap, Liverpool had finally made it back to the big time. Let's get something straight - in 2005 we were not a good side at all.

We had struggled through the group stages, requiring three goals in the second half of our final game to get passed Olympiakos at Anfield,

including a screamer from Steven Gerrard at the Kop End but the crowd during the home games was capable of sweeping the team up to play above themselves while Rafa Benitez, in his first season as manager, proved himself to be very tactically asute when it came to playing away from home.

In the last 16, we made the 2002 finalists Bayer Leverkusen look a poor side with a 6-2 aggergate win but then had to face 2 time winners and 5 time runners-up, the mighty Juventus.

In a pulsating first half at Anfield, Juventus were blown away by a rapturous crowd but in the second half they stole an away goal. In the second leg (I have never been as drunk watching a football match), we clung on for a 0-0 draw to advance to the semis. Then we had to face Chelsea, who were in the early throes of the Special Ones' revolution. Somehow they failed to score at Stamford Bridge, leaving us with only having to win at Anfield to reach the final...

A contentious issue in the first two minutes left the referee with the choice of awarding a goal (which almost certainly did not cross the line) or sending off the Chelsea goalkeeper. He chose the easier option in giving the goal and Liverpool, with Anfield bouncing, clung on again to win 1-0.

In the final, it looked like the fairytale had come to an end as an AC Milan team packed full of world class talent - Pirlo, Shevchenko, Crespo, Maldini, Nesta, Kaka, Gattuso - simply picked Liverpool apart for the first 45 mins. After going 1-0 up in the first minute (Maldini) and 3-0 by half time (Crespo '39 +'44), it looked like Milan were going to annihilate Liverpool.

But something happened at half time. With the Liverpool team reportedly in pieces in the dressing room hoping just to spare some face, AC Milan celebrating like the European Cup was already theirs, through all the doom and gloom came a beacon of light... Liverpool fans had travelled to the fringe of Europe in their tens of thousands and now when their team needed it most, a goosebump-inducing rendition of the club anthem You'll Never Walk Alone roused the team to do something for these fans.

The next 90 mins were some of the most incredible football I have ever seen.

Benitez and the team decided that instead of shutting up shop to save face they would go for broke. Gone was any semblance of a rigid defence system. Defenders became auxiliary attackers. We virtually played with only one out and out defender in Sami Hyypia. Milan just did not come out for the second half, so confident were they of victory and in the fact that Italian teams just do not concede that many goals.

Then came, as one Italian newspaper was to put it, "six minutes of madness."

Gerrard made it 3-1 in the 54th minute.

Then Vladimir Smicer made it 3-2 on 56 minutes...

and then Xabi Alonso made it 3-3 on 60 minutes. I along with everyone watching could not believe my eyes.

Gerrard was everywhere and gets many of the plaudits for the comeback but personally I felt that Jamie Carragher was actually trying to kill himself to prevent Milan scoring again. His performance from when we made it 3-3, even with crippling cramp, was one of the most heroic I have ever seen. He blocked or tackled everything that three of the world great attackers - Crespo, Shevchenko and Kaka - could throw at him.

There were no more goals in the second half so it went to extra time. Again Gerrard, Carragher and co prevented Milan from really getting a foothold in the game again, shutting down any passing or crossing.

However, in the dying minutes of extra time, with penalties looming, Gerrard for the first time failed to close down the AC Milan winger Serginhio who put a wicked cross into the box right onto Shevchenko's head less than six yards out...

Then Jerzy Dudek, the Liverpool goalkeeper wrote his name into Anfield history. Not only did he save Shevchenko's header but even more unbelieveably he somehow palmed the rebound over the bar.

Spoiler

The second save in particular was simply mindboggling. How could one of the great strikers of European football not score and win the cup for Milan? As Andy Gray said on commentary at the time, after seeing that you had to believe that Liverpool's name was on the trophy.

And so it was. With Liverpool leading 3-2 in the shootout (Hamann, Cisse and Smicer scoring, while Riise missed for Liverpool; Kaka and Tommasen scoring and Serginhio and Pirlo missing for Milan) Andri Shevchenko stepped up to keep the match alive. But to be honest after not scoring in extra time, his mind was shot. It was like Dudek had ripped out his heart by saving his two efforts. He looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights... there was no way he was going to score... and of course, he did not

Pure... unadultered... sporting pleasure

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I was too young to remember this, but the movie MIRACLE. About the USA hockey team when they played against the Russians. I remember after that movie came out watching all the specials on that, and the documentary and the emotion all those players showed after doing what everyone told them was impossible, it was amazing.

 

[The People's Peep]

My top moment, well, sort of, is the 2001 World Series.

The Yankees reach the World Series for the 4th straight year, and that year was probably the most important. It was just a month after 9/11 and the city was still hurting. Baseball and sports in general really helped the city get back on track.

The Yanks lost the 1st two games pretty badly. But now they were coming home to play in front of the great fans of NY. One of the most iconic images in baseball then took place, with George Bush standing out on the mound, giving a thumbs up, and then throwing a perfect strike and leaving to chants of USA, USA. The Yanks went on to win the game 2-1.

The next two games will always be remembered as well. Game 4 was the birth of Mr. November. In the 9th inning, Arizona brought in closer Byung-Hyun Kim and he gave up the tying homerun to my favorite player, Tino Martinez, in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. The captain then hit the walk off in the 10th, also off of Kim. Then the next night, Kim was back in to close out the game, but then Scott Brosius hit his own game tying two run homerun with two outs in the 9th. It was pandemonium. Alfonso Soriano went on to win it in the 12th, but those two games will always be remembered for Tino, Scott, and Mr. November.

Arizona tied the series in Game 6 and then came Game 7. We all know how that ends. Another iconic World Series hit, this one off the bat of Luis Gonzalez off of Mariano Rivera to win the World Series. I remember staying up past my bed time to watch Game 7 and then going to bed and just staring at the ceiling, hoping that what I just saw didnt really happen. Although my team lost, that whole series was an emotional rollercoaster and one of the best Series of all time.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

Well the first one that pops into my head is Darrent Williams death. Anyone who knew me at the time knew I LOVED Williams. Everything about him was awesome. His style, his lock down D, his kickoff/punt returns, and he seemed to be a geniunly nice guy. The day he died I cried my eyes out, it was the only time I ever cried over something or someone sports related, and it sucked, even thinking about it brings back bad memories.

The next one is an emotional moment for a better reason. It's when the Jayhawks won the nat'l championship. Unfortunatley I wasn't downtown when it happened, and (besides my dog) I was completely alone. But damn, I was yelling my ass off, every single possession I was yelling instructions, cussing out Jayhawks and Tigers alike, and when it looked like they were about to lose, I was breaking shit all over my house, punching walls and yelling obscenities. But then they came back and Chalmers hit that shot to put it into OT, and I knew it was over. Definitley the best moment I've had alone, and something I'll never forget.

The Broncos winning back to back titles gets an honorable mention, and if I was older when it happened, it would be at the top of the list.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

September 25th 2006: Saints vs. Falcons After being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina the Saints finally returned to the Superdome to play the first NFL game since the disaster. The Falcons got the first possession and went 3 and out. Forced to punt, the next event sent shockwaves throughout the entire city of New Orleans. Steve Gleason ripped through the line and swatted the hell out of Michael Koenen's punt and CB Curtis Deloatch recovered the ball in the endzone.

The announcers didn't even try to speak for the next 37 seconds as New Orleans celebrated for the first time since the devastating disaster.

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[Megatron]

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September 16, 2009 Only a few weeks before, news was spread that longtime beloved Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell had been diagnosed with cancer and that he would only have a few months to live. On this day, Ernie made his final speech to a Detroit crowd of 25,400. It was short, but very, very emotional. Even though I've only heard of a few innings of Ernie broadcast in his career, seeing a loved figure like him make an appearance got me a little bit choked up.

Game 163; Twins-Tigers 1 Game Playoff This one REALLY got to me. We were up in the division from like June till the end of the year, yet we fell off so badly at the end we had to have a 1 game playoff. It was a great game, too. We had multiple chances to win it - we had a lead in the 10th but lost it in the bottom of the inning, we should've had a run home thanks to a HBP that wasn't called in the 12th - but seeing us choke and just lose our lead and playoff spot on the final game of the season was one of the most heartbreaking things to see, especially since we haven't been the most successful team in making the playoffs since 2000.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

Australia v Italy 2006 World Cup

This game should have been ours. I know it was Italy but we had them on the ropes. We were the ones attacking, they had lost a man from a red card and we had so much passion to win that game. For it to come down to a horrible end was truly heartbreaking. When Grosso (Italy) went down we all knew it was a dive. Neil had started sliding a good 2 meters in front of him and he dragged his feet to make it look legit. In extra time Totti kicked a goal from a penalty and won the game. Australia eliminated after such a great effort. I was so emotionally wrecked after watch this game.

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St Kilda v Collingwood 2010 AFL Grand Final

After a full season of footy this year we were left with the 2 final teams for last weeks Grand Final (our Superbowl in Aus) where an amazing game was put on display. It was the best GF I’ve seen in years and was so good to see St Kilda get back at Collingwood in the 2nd half. The scores were so close towards the end and no one knew who was going to get the win but the Saints were a point behind. In the last 40 seconds the Saints got another point leaving the scores tied at 68 all. The siren sounded to mark full time and I expected extra time but no. AFL doesn’t like extra time so we get a 2nd Grand Final tomorrow, a rematch between St Kilda Saints and Collingwood Magpies. I’m keen to watch a second match up between them tomorrow but when the 1st one ended everyone I was with went dead quiet, so did the crowd at the ground. No one knew what was happening, it was emotional. Here’s a clip of the ending:

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[LSN80]

AFC Championship Game, Pittsburgh Steelers vs San Diego Chargers. Steelers playing at home, dominating the game with their defense. But the offense kept having to settle for field goals.

Down 13-9 after giving up a long touchdown pass, Neil O'Donnell drives the Steelers down to the Chargers 3. First and goal, theyre stopped. Timeout taken. stopped again on second down, and theres 4 seconds left. O'Donnell drops back to pass, and has an open rb in the end zone. He throws the ball.......and it bounces off the rbs hands and to the ground. The Charegrs score one of the biggest upsets in AFC championshiop game history, breaking my heart.