Who doesn’t love arbitrary, certainly opinionated, subjective lists? I sure as heck love ’em, so here it is, the top 15 moments of our generation-or of the last 15 years. And don’t worry; the NL Wild Card play-in game isn’t on the list.
1) The number one spot belongs to Michael Jordan and his game winning shot in game six of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. The shot with 6.6 seconds left secured the Bulls’ sixth and final title.
2) The fist pump on the 18th green – but which one. It goes to Tiger Woods’ first Masters Championship win. The man revolutionized golf, 21st century sports and culture as a whole, quickly becoming an icon – and the wealthiest athlete of all time. On April 13, 1997, Tiger splashed onto the scene as the youngest to put on the green jacket in Augusta.
3) Aaron Boone made the former Red Sox Grady Little pay for listening to his Pedro. Boone lifted one deep into the dark night at Yankee Stadium to win the 2003 ALCS for the Yanks, only to fade into mediocrity and off the map following his heroics.
4) Before andro, cream and clear, there was Big Mac lifting Little Mac after the 220-plus-pound father his 62nd home run of the 1998 MLB season squeaked over the left field wall at the old Busch Stadium. Mark McGwire passed Roger Maris and took the reins – temporarily – of the most sacred record in sports, the single-season home run record.
5) It marked the beginning of one of the greatest dynasties in sports, one that hasn’t ended. Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal in Super Bowl 36 as time expired gave the Patriots their first ring in franchise history, and first of three.
6) Kerri Strug tore two ligaments in her ankle after her first jump on the vault. Strug limped back for her second jump and stuck the landing on one foot, sealing the gold for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.
7) As Mariano Rivera, Mr. Clutch, The Closer, hurled in the final pitch of the 2001 World Series, Luis Gonzalez, chewing gum and all, blooped the championship-winning run over the head of Derek Jeter, and the four-year-old D-Backs defeated the legendary Yankees. How sweet.
8) The flip from Kevin Foulke to Dough Mientkiewicz three years ago was routine in an uneventful game in a blowout of a series, but it exorcised 86 years of curses, partially wiped away decades of tears shed by fans and allowed many to proclaim they can die in peace. Boston beating the Yanks, then St. Louis in 2004 will go down as one of the greatest stories in sports history, and one of the loudest nights in campus history.
9) In a moment of pure emotion, Brandie Chastain tore off her shirt, slid on her knees as her goal in the shootout of the 1999 Women’s World Cup won the American women a title and sent participation in girls soccer skyrocketing.
10) Even though the steroid storm engulfs him, when Barry Bonds smacked his 756th against the Washington Nationals this past summer to surpass Hank Aaron, becoming the Home Run King, it was great moment for baseball, but only because of the record.
11)Vince Young had no problem disposing of Matt Leinhart and Reggie Bush with a clutch 8-yard scamper on fourth down into the end zone with 19 seconds left in the 2006 Rose Bowl to win the BCS title.
12) Three feet gave the St. Louis Rams a win in Super Bowl XXXIV, as Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the one-yard line as time expired, and the Tennessee Titans haven’t been back.
13) When Cal Ripken Jr. passed Lou Gehrig for most consecutive games played, it brought the feel-good back into baseball and fans back to the game. The Iron Man defines perseverance and is one of the all-time nice guys in baseball history.
14) Maybe former Pride forward Aurimas Kieza’s buzzer beater two years ago didn’t quite make ESPN’s top 25, but it makes it here. Drexel knotted the game with less than five seconds left, Kieza took the inbounds pass at half-court, suavely and quickly dribbled to the top of the key, and pop!
15) Well one can’t go a decade-an1d-a-half and not mention the iron man of football and the all-time leader in passing touchdowns, Brett Favre. Favre’s most memorable performance wasn’t in his Super Bowl win over the Pats, but a Monday Night game in 2003, the day after his dad died. Favre tossed four touchdowns and 399 yards in honor of his late father.
Michael Jordan’s game-winner against the Jazz in the 1998 Finals tops all other sports stories in the last 15 years. (pdngallery.com)