Mount Rushmore: "Where Were You When You Heard The News" Moments, 1980 And Beyond

[BYU 14]

09/11
Bronco Chase
Challenger explosion
Murder of John Lennon

[korme]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

9/11
OKC Bombing
Columbine
Cubs win WS

I remember the OJ chase but I actually have a more vivid memory of the verdict being read.

Can't believe it took post #30 for this. I was too young for the challenger, but my first significant moments of memory are far and away OJ & the OKC Bombing. I'd round it out with 911 and Princess Di. For whatever reason, Columbine did not stick out at all to me. But yeah, I remember being in 2nd or 3rd grade hearing about OKC

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Radii

I've been looking forward to hearing from posters that don't live in the US, thanks.

With previous Mount Rushmore threads I've been a bit of a homer picker to give some other suggestions, but in this topic I've gone with a personal/local approach that I think are probably the top four choices. The four I picked are diverse (still mostly sad moments) and a balance between international events and (sort of) national events. Although I mentioned the Berlin Wall, it was more of a Dutch-centric pick than a true personal 'Rushmore' pick.

I could think of several others where I remember where I was, like many other terrorist attacks shortly after 9/11 (Madrid, London) and the past couple of years in all the neighboring countries. There've been several basically 'national' events that I still remember far too well. Michael Jackson to me as the most famous 'international celebrity', I will always link it with saying goodbye to my father side's grandfather on that day (on the ride there, the radio stations only aired Michael Jackson songs). But the death of David di Tommaso, at the time the star player on my favorite sports team, I think would be my 4th pick.

[Carman Bulldog]

OJ Simpson Bronco Chase
9/11
Princess Di
Wayne Gretzky traded to LA Kings - as a Canadian, this one is massive. Many people can recite the day (Aug. 9, 1988) as well as the line "I promised Mess I wouldn't do this."

Honourable mentions because I think I was too young at the time to grasp the magnitude include...

Challenger explosion - I wasn't quite yet 5 when this occurred, however I have a memory of watching this while at day care. I didn't really connect it all until years later that this is what I had witnessed.

Fall of the Berlin wall - I was 8 at the time and I remember that I was at my grandparent's house watching this on the news. Again, something I didn't quite grasp the significance of at the time but still I knew it was a big deal. Funny how I understood the Gretzky trade one year earlier but didn't quite grasp how big this was.

Additionally, I'll do a sports related one from a Canadian perspective (beyond the Gretzky trade which would be at the top)...

Ben Johnson stripped of gold medal
Donovan Bailey wins 100m
Joe Carter walk off home run
Sidney Crosby's 2010 Olympic golden goal

The 2002 Gold Medal hockey game was big as well but I think Crosby's goal slightly edges it out.

[VPI97]

There's really only three that people have mentioned where I really do remember where I was:

1. 9/11
2. Challenger
3. Start of the ground war during Desert Storm

The only other thing I can think of which might be qualify would be:

4. Laettner's shot to beat Kentucky - 1992 East Regional

[pbot]

For me, only 9/11 and Challenger would meet the criteria.

Most everything else I'd put at a tier or two below those two. While the others were significant, I cannot tell anyone where I was or what I was doing, with any level of detail, when I found out about them. I know exactly where I was and what I was doing for Challenger and 9/11. The only other one I can definitively describe the events surrounding it was the Miracle on Ice game, but that was mostly because it was the USA vs Russia while the cold war was still raging as well as the first hockey game I ever watched. I knew what hockey was (clips/highlights, etc), but had never actually watched a game before that.

[EagleFan]

9/11 - at work, at Caesars, then we went down to the racebook and watched as they had turned the TV's to the coverage. Still remember this degenerate gambler complaining about the races not being on.

Oklahoma City bombing - at work, at the Taj.

Reagan shot - at school, the teacher broke the news.


Not really any other remember where I was moments popping out. Miracle on ice, but that was more of remember where I was when I watched it since it wasn't broadcast live.

[Carman Bulldog]

I was thinking about this and I wonder if these moments (outside of the massive ones) will slowly disappear with the advent of smart phones.

The reason being that we are now pretty much fed everything instantaneously and to me, it all kind of blends together when you read it on your smart phone. There is no more collective holy shit moment when everyone is standing around watching a television together that helps to ingrain some of these moments.

For example, I feel I'll always remember where I was when I heard Chris Cornell died, because I was driving to work and heard it on the radio. However, Bowie, Prince, Robin Williams, etc. were all things that I simply read on my smart phone and kind of blend together.

What are everyone else's thoughts on this?

[molson]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

The reason being that we are now pretty much fed everything instantaneously and to me, it all kind of blends together when you read it on your smart phone. There is no more collective holy shit moment when everyone is standing around watching a television together that helps to ingrain some of these moments.

Cell phones can create different kinds of collective moments, like what happened at baseball games the night Osama Bin Laden was killed.

E:60 May 1, 2011 - The Night Osama Bin Laden Was Killed (Full Feature HD) - YouTube

We now learn about these moments while we're in the middle of doing other things, if THOSE things happen to be big community or big life moments, then I think these "where were you when" memories might be even more intense.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

I was thinking about this and I wonder if these moments (outside of the massive ones) will slowly disappear with the advent of smart phones.

The reason being that we are now pretty much fed everything instantaneously and to me, it all kind of blends together when you read it on your smart phone. There is no more collective holy shit moment when everyone is standing around watching a television together that helps to ingrain some of these moments.

For example, I feel I'll always remember where I was when I heard Chris Cornell died, because I was driving to work and heard it on the radio. However, Bowie, Prince, Robin Williams, etc. were all things that I simply read on my smart phone and kind of blend together.

What are everyone else's thoughts on this?

I think it will be a bit more tilted toward "unfolding" stories that grab the collective consciousness. When I think of stories like 9/11 or the O.J. Chase, I'm not sure those will change. Where we *get* the news will be more divergent, but we'll still gather collectively to watch those types of events as they progress.

Now, I wonder about something like the Reagan assassination attempt, though. It's a one-instant event with follow-up info desired. I suspect those types of things will move more and more toward something like: event happens; we hear about it and watch a video of it and maybe some quick commentary for a few minutes, but we then rely on "breaking news" alerts on our phones to get alerts regarding if he's alive, dead, going into surgery, etc. A smaller percentage of people will feel the "need" to keep the TV on all evening waiting for information to be dispersed.

[Scarecrow]

1. Royal Wedding (29 July 1981)
2. Challenger Explosion (28 January 1986)
3. Princess Diana Death (31 August 1997)
4. Twin Towers Attack (11 September 2011)

(Could also make a case for the OJ verdict and either KC Royals World Series wins)

[Chief Rum]

The obvious ones:

9/11-- My brother woke me up and told me the Twin Towers had fallen. Spent day watching the planes in our apartment.
Challenger-- West Coast kid, I was in 8th grade and it was before classes started. Word spread really quick. I was a space nut and was absolutely stunned.
OJ-- I was working at a pizza restaurant and it was a slow, slow day. Had Knicks-Rockets on and needless to say, couldn't miss it after that.

Other ones I have seen a lot which did not have a memorable impact for me: Columbine (don't remember where I was), Princess Di (maybe working?), Reagan shot (can't recall), Desert Storm start (don't recall).

I remember OBL killed because I was in, of all places, a strip club. A stripper friend of mine told me. I think we high fived.

The two moments I haven't seen mentioned yet that have very specific moments in my mind...

1. Mike Tyson losing to Buster Douglas-- I was home with my brothers. I think my bro saw it on Sportscenter and came and told me. Remember thinking, wow, we need to get that pirated tape from the fight (VHS days).

2. The reading of the verdict against the cops in the Rodney King beating-- I watched that on TV and was shocked that came out the way it did. that of course became even more notable, as it kicked off the LA riots.

[kcchief19]

I think unless you were born after 1996, 9/11 tops the charts. If you were born before 1980, it seems like the Challenger explosion and the OJ Bronco chase take the next two slots.

If you're outside those demographic ranges, seems like your Mount Rushmore is much less predictable.

I was born before 1980, so 9/11, Challenger and OJ definitely take the top 3 spots. I'll always remember 9/11, and the week leading up to OJ will always be pretty dominant for me with the Bronco chase capping it off.

Challenger is a bit more murky for me, because I don't have a visual to enforce it. My school only had a couple of TVs, and they were on carts that went from room to room depending on the teacher who had it checked it out for that class. I was in junior high, and our science teacher and the library had the TVs checked out that day. Kids who were in science class or the library saw the explosion, but no one was in class long enough and the details were too vague for anyone to know the truth. We were all talking about it during lunch hour, but it sounded like a rumor at the time. I had science class after lunch, and we watched the coverage the entire hour. That's when it hit home.

For my fourth, I have to go with Michael Jackson's death. That just barely edges out the starts of both Gulf Wars, the war in Afghanistan and some other deaths such as Princess Diana. I remember all of those vividly as well. I remember the OKC bombing aftermath vividly, but I can't tell you exactly where I was when I got the news -- I was in college and I'm pretty sure I heard about it between classes. I do remember watching the coverage on CNN when I got back to my dorm.

I think the difference with the Michael Jackson death is that it was a shared experience. I was at work when the news hit and I was watching the coverage with my co-workers. I know I was alone for most of the others -- although Princess Diana stands out pretty well too. I went to the Royals-Cardinals game that night and hear the news on the way home.

[ntndeacon]

As someone born before 1980..
1. Challenger explosion. I didn't believe it for a bit and thought someone was playing a joke on the class.
2. 9/11 I happened to be watching one of the morning shows while getting ready for work... which was unusual. They were already discussing the first plane. I saw the second go into the second tower on tv. I couldn't think of anything to do but try to go about my day as normal...I think some of the students were surprised that math was discussed.
3. The OJ verdict. everything stopped. Everywhere without a tv was deserted
4. the berlin wall coming down. It was a celebration in the air that the communists (in which we meant the russians) had really lost.

[Umbrella]

For me (in chronological order)

1. Reagan shot. That was the first moment (post 1980) that I specifically remember where I was. In the junior high school library when it was announced over the intercom system.
2. Challenger explosion. I was in the Navy getting ready to go on shift when one of my buddies nonchalantly said the space shuttle blew up. He was so casual about it that I thought he was joking.
3. OJ verdict. I remember where I was during the chase, but I was going to college when the verdict came out. I was pulling into the parking lot when it came over the radio that the verdict was in. Time stopped, and when it was announced, there was a loud combination of cheers and shock in the parking lot.
4. 9/11. Absolute no brainer.

Others that I would include as specifically remembering where I was are the release of the Iran hostages, John Lennon's death, start of Desert Storm, death of OBL, DBacks winning the world series (my first championship, and it was an expansion team).