For all of us sports fans, it’s the happy moments that make us go to the games. It’s when you can see your team achieve its ultimate goals. I’ve been fortunate to remember seeing my favorite NFL team win two titles, including the latest, the SUPER BOWL WINNING CHAMPIONS, THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS. The New York Rangers won a Stanley Cup in 1994 and it was awesome. I’ve seen great moments in Vanderbilt sports history, including this year (WAR SHAN FOSTER) and many other things in sports over time.
However, for every ying there’s a yang. Us sports fans tend to remember the sad moments more than the happy ones because those are the ones that stick with you. Anyway, here are my Five Saddest Sports Moments, in no particular order.
First, here’s an honorable mention:
-The Giants losing the Super Bowl to the damn Ravens in 2002. I was a junior in college and an RA. The person next to me happened to be from Baltimore and was talking crap. Needless to say, that was an unhappy moment. The bad part about it was that the Giants dominated the Vikings in the NFC Championship and I got my hopes up. Never again, until this year, when the SUPER BOWL WINNING CHAMPIONS, THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS restored some order.
1) Dodgers/Mets, 1988 NLCS. As a kid, I was obsessed with the New York Mets and Dwight Gooden was my hero. He was the first guy that I had posters of and thought he was the greatest thing ever. I was born in 1981, so I was too young to know of his drug usage. I was also too young to really comprehend the Mets World Series victory in 1986. However, being the young sports fanatic, I understood everything in 1988. I was fans of Keith Hernandez, David Cone, Howard Johnson, Gary Carter, newcomer Kevin McReynolds, Sid Fernandez, Daryl Strawberry and many others. None of them compared to Gooden.
So in 1988, the Mets won 100 games and the division by 15 games! They completely dominated the season, including the Dodgers, who won only 94 games.
I thought the Mets would cruise to the World Series and face Oakland. The teams split the first two games of the NLCS in LA. Then the Mets destroyed the Dodgers in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Game Four was going great for the Mets. Gooden started the game was still pitching and nursing a 4-2 lead, pitching a one-hitter by the way, going into the top of the ninth inning. Gooden walked Mike Shelby and then this dude:
Mike frickin Scioscia hits an OPPOSITE FIELD HOME RUN TO RIGHT FIELD to tie the game. I was crushed and speechless watching from home. It gets worse. Loser Kirk Gibson, who I never, ever liked, even to this day, hit a solo home run off of Roger McDowell in the top of the 12th inning to give LA the 5-4 lead. Finally, in the bottom of the 12th, Orel Hershiser came in and got the save. He was the Cy Young winning pitcher that season and dominated. When he ran out of the bullpen to save the game, I knew it was over.
LA won Game Five, NY won Game Six. Guess who pitched a five-hit shutout in Game Seven to send the Dodgers to the World Series?
To this day, whenever I see Hershiser on TV covering a game or Scioscia managing the Los Angeles/Anaheim/California Whatever Angels, I don’t trust or like any of them. Real talk.
2) Mets/Braves, NLCS 1999. What is it about the Mets and the NLCS for me? This was during my freshman year of college. The Mets were in the NLCS and it was my first time not being in the NYC while one of my teams was competing in the playoffs. I usually get into lockdown mode when watching my teams, meaning that I talk to no one and watch the games alone because I can’t stand people watching sports. People are generally dumb.
So when Game Six came along in Atlanta, the Mets were down three games to two and I decided to be social and watch the game with some dorm mates. I remember exactly which room I was in. It was Byron’s room, a native of Atlanta. All of these Braves fans were in the room as well and talking smack about the Mets and the NYC in general. I got back at them because no one talks smack about New York around me.
Anyway, the game goes into extra-innings and in the 11th inning, Kenny damn Rogers walked in the game-winning run to Andruw Jones and end the Mets’ season. I literally throw a cup at the TV screen and stormed out of the room and out of the building to gain composure. I came back in, said nothing to anybody and went to bed.
I’ve gotten over this one over time and Kenny Rogers' asshole tendencies over time have made everyone hate him, so I’m not alone.
I lived in Atlanta for three years and this moment would come up often. Not happy about that.
3) Penguins/Rangers, Eastern Conference Semifinals in 1992. The 1992 season was a magical one for the Rangers. They finished with the most points in the regular season hence winning the President’s Trophy. Messier was dominating. Furthermore, the Rangers led their series against the Pens two games to one and actually held a two-goal lead in game four. The Rangers win game four, they win that series.
So the Rangers are cruising along in game four until disaster happens. Ron Francis of the Penguins takes a harmless shot from the blue line that catches Rangers goalie Mike Richter out of position and it goes in. That started the downfall for the Rangers. They lost game four in overtime, Francis had a hat trick in the game and the Rangers drop the next two games to lose the series 4-2. Pittsburgh goes on to win the Stanley Cup and a young boy in Brooklyn was devastated. Highlights of that game are below.
The Rangers ended up winning the Stanley Cup in 1994 and gave me this moment:
4) Vanderbilt/Kentucky night football game in 1999. I know you old school Vandy fans can remember this one like it was yesterday. At the time before the game, Vanderbilt was 5-4. The Dores needed one more win to clinch a spot in a bowl game for the first time since 1982, when I was one year old. Vandy had two games left, a home game against Kentucky and then a road game against Tennessee over Thanksgiving weekend. Vandy wasn’t going to beat a top-ten ranked Tennessee team that year, so everything hinges on the Kentucky game.
During that season, Vanderbilt continued to find ways to lose games that they should have won. I remember my first ever college football game was Vandy’s season opener against ranked Alabama. They had Shawn Alexander and everything. Vandy was winning the game and had to punt from their own 15 yard line. However, Vandy calls a fake punt, it doesn’t work, and Alabama comes back and wins the game 28-17. This should have been a sign.
So the Kentucky game is coming up and its changed to a night game so that it can be on ESPN 2. Furthermore, it was declared a “Black Out” and everyone in the stadium wore black. It was one of the rare times that it was a sell out and nearly everyone was a Vandy fan.
I had my all-black on and got absolutely wasted at the Kappa Sigma house before the game. Hey, I was a freshman in college, so sue me.
I get to the game and the atmosphere is amazing. Perfect night, great conditions and the entire nation is watching an actually decent game.
Vandy is driving down the field late in the fourth quarter. They get into the redzone and if I remember correctly, Vandy calls a running play. Of course, the player fumbles the ball; Kentucky recovers the ball, game over.
Vandy loses 19-17. The silence in the stadium is depressing. Everyone was sad. I was supposed to go back to the Kappa Sig house and party some more, but I just went back to my dorm room. My roommate Tom and I just nodded and went to bed. It was that bad.
The next week, they lose at Tennessee, 38-10. No bowl game and the program was never the same again. Vandy has had some crappy losses over the years, including Miami of Ohio and MTSU, but the Kentucky loss hurt the most for me.
5) Knicks vs. Bulls, 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, Game Five or the Charles Smith game. I actually have video for these moments. As much as I loved the Mets, they stunk in the early 1990’s. My attention turned to the Knicks and their pursuit of a championship.
The Knicks were actually good back then and hung with the Bulls. The two teams met again in the playoffs, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks even had home court advantage.
The two teams are tied at two games in the series before Game Five at Madison Square Garden. In game four, Michael Jordan maybe played the best game I’d ever seen when he scored 54 points. But that game was in Chicago, I thought, he couldn’t do that in the NYC, where the Knicks hadn’t lost since late January. This game took place much later.
So I’m home watching game five getting ready to see my Knicks win game five, maybe lose game six but come back for game seven at home, where they never lose.
Of course Jordan decides to drop a triple-double in game five and play an even better game then game four.
Jordan is the greatest athlete ever; I don’t care what anyone says.
However, the Knicks find a way to stay in the game and have the ball with 30 seconds left and down by one. Here’s what happened:
Game over, Bulls win game six at home and beat the Suns for their third straight title. Charles Smith is never invited to my house for a meal ever!
Well that was fun kids. I would love to hear your thoughts on my list and some of your painful memories. Good times!
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