Thursday, August 26, 2004
Making a List
Updated: August 27, 6:15 a.m., see bottom
For the most part I'm a sucker for lists. Order out of chaos, blah blah blah.
So my friends' series of emails about greatest plays ever and greatest games ever has been rattling in my head tonight. And as my eyes are trying to force themselves shut for the night I'm pushing them to help me put something together.
Games. Greatest games. My friend was inspired to write one of his own, based on one of ESPN's list-shows.
I think to make a good Greatest Games list, I think you have to break it down in a couple of different ways. There are the games you've seen with your own eyes, games you experienced second-hand (read about in the paper the next day, heard about from friends) i.e., games from your time that you just didn't see, and games before your time.
I'll start with some games before my time that stick out in my mind as The Best. In no particular order, b/c I don't have the time or energy to give an ordered list justice.
* 1958 NFL Championship Game, Baltimore Colts vs. New York Giants. I don't know if there's another major American sport whose modern foundation rests so solidly on one contest as the NFL does. It was the first sudden-death football game. It launced the importance of television to the NFL. And beyond its mythic cultural status, it sounds like it was a helluva game. Unitas, Landry, Lombardi... Some mythical figures were in Yankee Stadium that day.
* 1951 NL Playoff Game, Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Giants. I assume you're a baseball fan if you're reading this. No explanation needed. The sport's signature moment until Fisk hit the pole in the 12th of Game 6.
* Other baseball games: Game 7 1960 World Series, the aforementioned Game 6 in 1975
There are other games that stand out, but I'm not sure if they stand out because the games were great or because the circumstances surrounding them were great. Case in point, the '78 playoff game between Boston and New York. Great game? I'm not sure about that. Great setting, memorable moment. But not a classic game.
Same can be said for Larsen's perfect game, the Mickey Owen game in the '41 Series, Cookie Lavagetto off of Bill Bevens in '47, Dusty Rhodes in '54 (although that was an extra-inning home run in Game 1 of the World Series), Ruth's Called Shot. All memorable moments as the centerpiece of important games, but do any of them reverberate in our conscience as great games?
If I'm going to put a game from a prior time on my list, I expect some kind of mythic status attached to it. Like the 1968 game between UCLA and Houston. It was an amazing game, to be sure. Elvin Hayes had 39 points; it was a 2-point Houston win. But from an outside-the-lines standpoint, it might be the most important game in college basketball history. Not only did it snap UCLA's 47-game winning streak, it set a record for the highest attended game in college history, with 50,000+ at the Astrodome.
Going back to the NFL, I'd probably have to throw the Ice Bowl in the mix. December 31, 1967. Packers 21, Cowboys 17. Bart Starr's dive over the line in the final seconds. The most amazing stories, of course, from that day are how players, coaches and fans dealt with the cold that day. All 46 degrees below zero (according to the wind chill) of it. Bob Hayes running his pass patterns with his hands in his pants. Don Meredith's mouth freezing in the huddle, so as he called out the plays it sound something like "Ruff, rife, fifffy-oh, ooof on toof"
We can't base everything on outside the line impact, b/c then we have to put something like Super Bowl III in the mix. And as much as I love that game, it was a pretty boring game to watch.
For the NBA, there's only one obvious choice to me, in terms of picking games before my time: Game 5 1976 Finals, Suns-Celtics. Triple overtime in the Boston Garden. The highlights play wonderfully, and the game has always come across as completely gripping.
Right on the border between "before" and "during" my time: Game 4 1984 NBA Finals, Lakers-Celtics.
Now to move onto games in my time. Picking games that I watch is a very subjective thing. My geographic location provides a bias, as do my favorite teams. So instead of separating them, here's a smattering of some of my favorites during my sports viewing years.
Game 6, 1986 World Series. Not a thing of beauty, but I was very impressionable and seeing a baseball game in that situation with that kind of finish opened another world for me.
Game 6, 1986 NLCS. Came home from school, and the game was in the 5th inning or so. Stuck with it and my brain was numb by about 7:00 that night. That '86 post-season as a whole changed my view of baseball specifically, and sports in general.
Super Bowl XXV. Watched the game with a bunch of Giants fans. On a short list of football games that I think reached as close to perfection as that sport can offer.
Game 1 1988 World Series. Stunning. The most decisive gear change in a post-season series that I have ever seen in any sport. It went from "A's! A's! A's!" to "My God, how can the Dodgers lose now?" with one magical swing.
1990 NFC Championship, Giants-49ers. The intensity on the field bled through the television.
1991 Easter Sunday. Bulls-Celtics. In the annals of sport, just a blip on the screen. But in my sports memory bank, this is one of those games out of the hundreds of regular season games I watch that stick out like a full moon. Double-overtime. Jordan in his absolute prime. Bird still able to drop in a 35/15/8 game as long as his back allowed him on the court. An amazing game. Standout play: Jordan hits a three falling into the Celtics bench at the end of the first OT to win the game. But the refs, correctly, waved it off because it came just after the buzzer.
2001 World Series Game 7. The Great Mariano fails in the desert. But there was more than just that. From first pitch to the end, it was baseball at its zenith. An end to an exhausting series, Clemens vs. Schilling, Soriano's home run that seemingly clinched it and then the Diamondbacks improbable rally.
1992 NCAA Regional Final. Duke-Kentucky.
Other good Super Bowls: 23 (Bengals-49ers), 32 (Packers-Broncos), 34 (Rams-Titans), 36 (Pats-Rams), 38 (Pats-Panthers) -- Of all of these, 32 is a personal favorite. A great QB match-up, despite Elway being on his last legs. Had the drama of him going for his first ring, Green Bay trying to repeat, Favre in his prime... Just an exciting one to watch from start to finish.
1999 NCAA Championship, UConn-Duke
1991 NCAA Semifinal, Duke-UNLV.
1996 Big East Tournament Championship. UConn-Georgetown.
I'm starting to run out of steam, but I will keep on plugging.
Game 7 1991 World Series, Twins-Braves
Game 7 1992 NLCS, Pirates-Braves. Francisco Cabrera.
Game 7 2003 ALCS, Yankees-Red Sox
Game 5 1995 ALDS, Yankees-Mariners
Game 4 1997 NBA Finals, Bulls-Jazz
Game 5 1994 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Knicks-Pacers
Game 7 1988 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Hawks-Celtics
Game 5 1996 World Series. Easily the best game of this series. Was a classic pitching duel.
Maybe I'll continue this another day if I get the chance. Or I'll just add some of my buds' choices to the mix. I haven't even given thought to college football...
UPDATE: 5:26 a.m.
I realized that the above Hawks-Celtics game was a Conference Semifinal game. So that should be noted.
Another NFL game I thought about: Dolphins-Chargers 1982 AFC Playoff Game
For college, I immediately think of the Boston College-Miami game in 1984. And the Michigan-Colorado game in 1994. I can't think of any Bowl game that I would amongst my Greatest Games.
Some random games that I don't think I'd put in any type of "Sports Canon," but stick out in my mind as memorable:
Game 6 1988 NBA Finals, Pistons-Lakers
Game 2 1990 NBA Finals, Blazers-Pistons
Game 4 1988 NLCS, Dodgers-Mets
1992 NFL Wild Card Game, Oilers-Bills (This and the 49ers-Giants game from two years ago are tough calls to be considered among the "greatest games." Amazing, jaw-dropping comebacks, but their value comes 100% from that. Re-watching a comeback like that is like watching two blowouts in one game... When you take the anticipation of the moment out of the equation, the greatness of the games deflate quickly.)
1991 Regular Season, Dolphins-Jets for a playoff berth
Game 7 1997 World Series (it was awful watching the Marlins in the World Series, but a really good game to finish a lackluster series).
1986 AFC Championship, Broncos-Browns
1993 NCAA National Semifinal, Michigan-Kentucky
2003 National Championship, Syracuse-Kansas
1997 National Championship, Arizona-Kentucky
1989 National Championship, Michigan-Seton Hall
Game 7 1995 Western Conference Seminfinal, Rockets-Suns
2002 Big East Championship, Pittsburgh-UConn
1992 NFL Regular Season finale, Dallas-New York Giants (Emmit Smith runs wild with two separated shoulders)
Game 5 1991 NBA First Round, Pacers-Celtics
Another UPDATE, 6:08 a.m.
Alright, now I'm starting to cheat a bit... Found this list. And I'm kicking myself for forgetting about this game.
I'm doing some Google searches, and I haven't found a ton of organized Greatest Games list like I thought I would...
Still searchin'...
Updated: August 27, 6:15 a.m., see bottom
For the most part I'm a sucker for lists. Order out of chaos, blah blah blah.
So my friends' series of emails about greatest plays ever and greatest games ever has been rattling in my head tonight. And as my eyes are trying to force themselves shut for the night I'm pushing them to help me put something together.
Games. Greatest games. My friend was inspired to write one of his own, based on one of ESPN's list-shows.
I think to make a good Greatest Games list, I think you have to break it down in a couple of different ways. There are the games you've seen with your own eyes, games you experienced second-hand (read about in the paper the next day, heard about from friends) i.e., games from your time that you just didn't see, and games before your time.
I'll start with some games before my time that stick out in my mind as The Best. In no particular order, b/c I don't have the time or energy to give an ordered list justice.
* 1958 NFL Championship Game, Baltimore Colts vs. New York Giants. I don't know if there's another major American sport whose modern foundation rests so solidly on one contest as the NFL does. It was the first sudden-death football game. It launced the importance of television to the NFL. And beyond its mythic cultural status, it sounds like it was a helluva game. Unitas, Landry, Lombardi... Some mythical figures were in Yankee Stadium that day.
* 1951 NL Playoff Game, Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Giants. I assume you're a baseball fan if you're reading this. No explanation needed. The sport's signature moment until Fisk hit the pole in the 12th of Game 6.
* Other baseball games: Game 7 1960 World Series, the aforementioned Game 6 in 1975
There are other games that stand out, but I'm not sure if they stand out because the games were great or because the circumstances surrounding them were great. Case in point, the '78 playoff game between Boston and New York. Great game? I'm not sure about that. Great setting, memorable moment. But not a classic game.
Same can be said for Larsen's perfect game, the Mickey Owen game in the '41 Series, Cookie Lavagetto off of Bill Bevens in '47, Dusty Rhodes in '54 (although that was an extra-inning home run in Game 1 of the World Series), Ruth's Called Shot. All memorable moments as the centerpiece of important games, but do any of them reverberate in our conscience as great games?
If I'm going to put a game from a prior time on my list, I expect some kind of mythic status attached to it. Like the 1968 game between UCLA and Houston. It was an amazing game, to be sure. Elvin Hayes had 39 points; it was a 2-point Houston win. But from an outside-the-lines standpoint, it might be the most important game in college basketball history. Not only did it snap UCLA's 47-game winning streak, it set a record for the highest attended game in college history, with 50,000+ at the Astrodome.
Going back to the NFL, I'd probably have to throw the Ice Bowl in the mix. December 31, 1967. Packers 21, Cowboys 17. Bart Starr's dive over the line in the final seconds. The most amazing stories, of course, from that day are how players, coaches and fans dealt with the cold that day. All 46 degrees below zero (according to the wind chill) of it. Bob Hayes running his pass patterns with his hands in his pants. Don Meredith's mouth freezing in the huddle, so as he called out the plays it sound something like "Ruff, rife, fifffy-oh, ooof on toof"
We can't base everything on outside the line impact, b/c then we have to put something like Super Bowl III in the mix. And as much as I love that game, it was a pretty boring game to watch.
For the NBA, there's only one obvious choice to me, in terms of picking games before my time: Game 5 1976 Finals, Suns-Celtics. Triple overtime in the Boston Garden. The highlights play wonderfully, and the game has always come across as completely gripping.
Right on the border between "before" and "during" my time: Game 4 1984 NBA Finals, Lakers-Celtics.
Now to move onto games in my time. Picking games that I watch is a very subjective thing. My geographic location provides a bias, as do my favorite teams. So instead of separating them, here's a smattering of some of my favorites during my sports viewing years.
Game 6, 1986 World Series. Not a thing of beauty, but I was very impressionable and seeing a baseball game in that situation with that kind of finish opened another world for me.
Game 6, 1986 NLCS. Came home from school, and the game was in the 5th inning or so. Stuck with it and my brain was numb by about 7:00 that night. That '86 post-season as a whole changed my view of baseball specifically, and sports in general.
Super Bowl XXV. Watched the game with a bunch of Giants fans. On a short list of football games that I think reached as close to perfection as that sport can offer.
Game 1 1988 World Series. Stunning. The most decisive gear change in a post-season series that I have ever seen in any sport. It went from "A's! A's! A's!" to "My God, how can the Dodgers lose now?" with one magical swing.
1990 NFC Championship, Giants-49ers. The intensity on the field bled through the television.
1991 Easter Sunday. Bulls-Celtics. In the annals of sport, just a blip on the screen. But in my sports memory bank, this is one of those games out of the hundreds of regular season games I watch that stick out like a full moon. Double-overtime. Jordan in his absolute prime. Bird still able to drop in a 35/15/8 game as long as his back allowed him on the court. An amazing game. Standout play: Jordan hits a three falling into the Celtics bench at the end of the first OT to win the game. But the refs, correctly, waved it off because it came just after the buzzer.
2001 World Series Game 7. The Great Mariano fails in the desert. But there was more than just that. From first pitch to the end, it was baseball at its zenith. An end to an exhausting series, Clemens vs. Schilling, Soriano's home run that seemingly clinched it and then the Diamondbacks improbable rally.
1992 NCAA Regional Final. Duke-Kentucky.
Other good Super Bowls: 23 (Bengals-49ers), 32 (Packers-Broncos), 34 (Rams-Titans), 36 (Pats-Rams), 38 (Pats-Panthers) -- Of all of these, 32 is a personal favorite. A great QB match-up, despite Elway being on his last legs. Had the drama of him going for his first ring, Green Bay trying to repeat, Favre in his prime... Just an exciting one to watch from start to finish.
1999 NCAA Championship, UConn-Duke
1991 NCAA Semifinal, Duke-UNLV.
1996 Big East Tournament Championship. UConn-Georgetown.
I'm starting to run out of steam, but I will keep on plugging.
Game 7 1991 World Series, Twins-Braves
Game 7 1992 NLCS, Pirates-Braves. Francisco Cabrera.
Game 7 2003 ALCS, Yankees-Red Sox
Game 5 1995 ALDS, Yankees-Mariners
Game 4 1997 NBA Finals, Bulls-Jazz
Game 5 1994 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Knicks-Pacers
Game 7 1988 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Hawks-Celtics
Game 5 1996 World Series. Easily the best game of this series. Was a classic pitching duel.
Maybe I'll continue this another day if I get the chance. Or I'll just add some of my buds' choices to the mix. I haven't even given thought to college football...
UPDATE: 5:26 a.m.
I realized that the above Hawks-Celtics game was a Conference Semifinal game. So that should be noted.
Another NFL game I thought about: Dolphins-Chargers 1982 AFC Playoff Game
For college, I immediately think of the Boston College-Miami game in 1984. And the Michigan-Colorado game in 1994. I can't think of any Bowl game that I would amongst my Greatest Games.
Some random games that I don't think I'd put in any type of "Sports Canon," but stick out in my mind as memorable:
Game 6 1988 NBA Finals, Pistons-Lakers
Game 2 1990 NBA Finals, Blazers-Pistons
Game 4 1988 NLCS, Dodgers-Mets
1992 NFL Wild Card Game, Oilers-Bills (This and the 49ers-Giants game from two years ago are tough calls to be considered among the "greatest games." Amazing, jaw-dropping comebacks, but their value comes 100% from that. Re-watching a comeback like that is like watching two blowouts in one game... When you take the anticipation of the moment out of the equation, the greatness of the games deflate quickly.)
1991 Regular Season, Dolphins-Jets for a playoff berth
Game 7 1997 World Series (it was awful watching the Marlins in the World Series, but a really good game to finish a lackluster series).
1986 AFC Championship, Broncos-Browns
1993 NCAA National Semifinal, Michigan-Kentucky
2003 National Championship, Syracuse-Kansas
1997 National Championship, Arizona-Kentucky
1989 National Championship, Michigan-Seton Hall
Game 7 1995 Western Conference Seminfinal, Rockets-Suns
2002 Big East Championship, Pittsburgh-UConn
1992 NFL Regular Season finale, Dallas-New York Giants (Emmit Smith runs wild with two separated shoulders)
Game 5 1991 NBA First Round, Pacers-Celtics
Another UPDATE, 6:08 a.m.
Alright, now I'm starting to cheat a bit... Found this list. And I'm kicking myself for forgetting about this game.
I'm doing some Google searches, and I haven't found a ton of organized Greatest Games list like I thought I would...
Still searchin'...
