CFB: Why We Love Sports Vol. 6
Here at Sports Posts, our writers have a passion for sports like nothing else, and during our childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, we've been treated to exhilarating, inspiring, intoxicating, and stimulating sporting events that have created an addiction for each of us. We spend countless hours reading and writing about our favorite athletes - We endlessly debate our contemporaries on who's the Greatest of All-Time - We spend our hard earned dollars to watch our favorite teams face their rivals. And because of that, each one of us decided to put together our most memorable moments that started that fascination for athletics, competition, and sports.
HERE ARE CHARLES POST'S MOMENTS:
1. Vince Young's Rose Bowl (2006): The first college football game I can remember watching was the 2006 Rose Bowl, pitting No. 2 Texas against No. 1 USC, who was fresh off of their own title, and were riding a 34-game winning streak dating back more than two years. This game stood as the 2005 BCS title game, and it's the reason I became a Texas fan. There were three Heisman finalists: Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Vince Young, as well as a plethora of future NFL starters including Jamaal Charles, Michael Griffin, Brian Orakpo, Steve Smith, Lendale White, and many more. After getting down 7-0, the Longhorns took a 16-10 advantage into the locker room. However, the Trojans answered back, receiving scores from White, Leinart, and Bush's famous leaping score, to hold a tight 38-26 lead with just 6:42 remaining. And then Vince Young happened, and I simultaneously fell in love with the sport. He led Texas down the field in less than three minutes, to close the gap to a five-point game. With the game virtually on the line, Pete Carroll decided to go for it on 4th & 2 at the Texas 45-yard line. White was stuffed at the line, giving the ball back to the 'Horns with just enough time. As Keith Jackson said "4th & 5, the national championship on the line right here." Young took the snap, a three-step drop, and then took off for the corner of the end zone - winning the title, 41-38. He put on a superhuman performance, totaling 467 yards on 30-40 passing, 19 carries, and a trio of touchdowns, nothing more important than the last.
2. Syracuse Downs Connecticut in 6OT (2009): I distinctly remember watching this game from my bunk bed, without a care in the world that I had school the following morning. This game had two of my favorite teams facing one another, No. 18 Syracuse vs. No. 3 UCONN, in the Big East quarterfinals. Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun were the two well respected coaches, and some big names took the court that night, like four future NBA players for the Huskies (Kemba Walker, Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien, and A.J. Price), and two for the Orange (Jonny Flynn and Andy Rautins). Walker tied the game, 71-71, with a lay-up with 1.1 seconds to go in regulation. And then Eric Devendorf's quick three seemingly won the game, as he stepped up on the scorer's table to celebrate, before the referees reviewed the shot and said time had expired. Because of that, the game eventually went six overtimes, as Syracuse failed to lead in any of the overtime periods, until the final one. After eight total players fouled out, 65 fouls were committed, and 211 field goals were attempted, the Orange advanced 127-117, in front of 19,375 people at Madison Square Garden. This epic lasted three hours and 46 minutes, as I watched everyone single moment, until it ended at 1:22 a.m.
3. Michael Phelps' Olympics Record (2008): I was born before the 2000 Olympics and watched some of the 2004 Olympics at a young age, but I wasn't fully aware of the magnitude until I was 11-years-old, watching the 2008 Olympics. And that year, in Beijing, there were three main storylines: Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and The Redeem Team. I watched each in amazement, but none have stuck with me longer than Phelps' unbelievable performance. He set out to win eight gold medals, which would break Mark Spitz's record of most gold medals by an individual in a single games. And while six of the eight races were blowouts for Phelps, there were two that came down to the final second. In the 4x100m freestyle relay, the United States weren't considered the favorites - France was. Phelps' run kept the U.S. within striking distance, but Jason Lezak anchoring the team with a miraculous finish, kept Phelps' goal intact, just barely. And then in the 100m butterfly, Milorad Čavić looked like he was going to end the dream, before Phelps closed ground, and finished in first place by a hair, the closest finish I've ever witnessed. The U.S. were able to win the final relay and close out Phelps' historic Olympics, a perfect eight-for-eight.
4. Auburn's Kick Six (2013): The Iron Bowl is always one of the most sought after rivalries in college football, right up there with Michigan vs. Ohio State, Florida vs. Florida State, and Notre Dame vs. USC. However, in 2013, it unquestionably took the cake for the best game of the year. This time around it wasn't simply a rivalry. Both teams were ranked in the top-5, the winner would win the SEC West, and advance to the SEC championship game, with a BCS title berth on the line. Simplifying it, this game was for all of the marbles. Auburn tied it up 28-28 late in the fourth quarter, but Alabama's T.J. Yeldon stepped out of bounds with one second remaining, giving the Crimson Tide a 56-yard field goal for the win. But instead, Adam Griffith's kick came up short, and Chris Davis returned it 109 yards for the 34-28 victory. And to think that just two weeks prior, Auburn beat Georgia on another miracle, to keep them in contention. Auburn's incredible 2013 campaign solidified my passion for college football.
5. Tayshaun Prince's Block (2004): I grew up in Michigan, and the first sport I fell in love with, was basketball. An easy transition was to becoming a Detroit Pistons fan, and in 2004, I was getting into the NBA at the perfect time. The moment that it all clicked for me was when Tayshaun Prince closed in on Reggie Miller's fastbreak lay-up, and blocked it, saving the Pistons from possibly losing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit was up 69-67 with the time quickly disintegrating, and Miller's lay-up would have (and should have) tied it. Already trailing the series 1-0, the Pistons could have fallen down 2-0, and would have been in a tough position to come back. Instead, Prince's block resulted in a five-point swing and a 72-67 victory. And the Pistons would eventually go on to win the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers in six games, and then defeat Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the NBA Finals.
Photo Credit: Detroit Bad Boys, NFL, & Sports Illustrated.
