SI's 100 Greatest Moments in Sports History

[cartman]

The magazine has released their list of Top 100 moments in sports. The list seems pretty solid to me (from a US perspective) after a quick perusal.

100 Greatest Moments in Sports History

[Drake]

My 8th grade 3-pointer as the clock expired didn't make the list. Disappoint.

[Solecismic]

It's easy to take pot-shots at someone else's list, but when I see Brandi Chastain taking her top off just ahead of Malcom Butler's interception, I wonder about the criteria involved.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

It's easy to take pot-shots at someone else's list, but when I see Brandi Chastain taking her top off just ahead of Malcom Butler's interception, I wonder about the criteria involved.

I honestly can't tell if you take more exception with Chastain being close to Butler or Butler being behind Chastain

[claphamsa]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I honestly can't tell if you take more exception with Chastain being close to Butler or Butler being behind Chastain

i was the same...since i have no idea who butler is... i assume hes over rated!

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

It's easy to take pot-shots at someone else's list, but when I see Brandi Chastain taking her top off just ahead of Malcom Butler's interception, I wonder about the criteria involved.

I agree. Butler should much lower than Chastain.

[Logan]

Butler's name will be forgotten long before the image of Chastain in her sports bra leaves our collective memory.

[Groundhog]

I really wish Hayward's halfcourt heave against Duke dropped, because that might have been my favourite moment right there. As it stands, it's probably my favourite near great moment.

[timmae]

Gibson at 62... this list is broken.

[EagleFan]

Rulon Gardner?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I agree. Butler should much lower than Chastain.

Agreed.

[Groundhog]

It's hard for me to judge lists like these because events like horse racing, for example, do absolutely nothing for me. Still, even admitting my basketball favoritism, Wilt's 100 game at #16 seems low to me, considering it will never be beat. I think it's really hurt by the lack of footage.

I also think if we're talking cultural significance as well as sporting significance, Taking a Stand at #44 is too low as well. And not just because an Aussie co-stars on the podium.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Logan

Butler's name will be forgotten long before the image of Chastain in her sports bra leaves our collective memory.

I've seen more exciting images of women with and without sports bras. It's hardly controversial for women to exercise without anything over these bras.

What makes the moment? Does anyone remember the opponent? How many people care about the sport - especially when the US women are usually the world's best?

In Butler's case, no, his name won't be remembered. I even conflated the unusual spelling of the first name with the previous year's Super Bowl MVP. But that was an unexpected play that completely changed the biggest sporting event in the world in 2015. I'll always remember that play as one of the greatest in my sports viewing experience.

I'm not all that big on Chamberlain's 100, simply because it seems artificial, like an exhibition. The record won't be broken not because of skill, but because for a team to try and get that far would display a lack of sportsmanship consistent with today's game.

[digamma]

Jim,
It was the first time almost 100,000 people jammed into the Rose Bowl to watch a women's sporting event. Pretty sure a generation of girls remember it vividly. Way more than any number of Super Bowl winning plays (personally, I'd vote for Santonio Holmes being lower).

I think you can rank things based on a couple of criteria. One is impact. I think the Chastain moment wins there, in the same way (though admittedly with less impact) that the Jackie Robinson or Jesse Owens or even Tiger Woods moments do. The second is what all call the "wow, you were there!" factor. Being at Super Bowl 49 is a cool story, but in 20 years, I don't see it as being more special than any Super Bowl. The women's World Cup doesn't score as big on this scale, but I still think it's a better story to be there than SB49.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I've seen more exciting images of women with and without sports bras. It's hardly controversial for women to exercise without anything over these bras.

What makes the moment? Does anyone remember the opponent? How many people care about the sport - especially when the US women are usually the world's best?

In Butler's case, no, his name won't be remembered. I even conflated the unusual spelling of the first name with the previous year's Super Bowl MVP. But that was an unexpected play that completely changed the biggest sporting event in the world in 2015. I'll always remember that play as one of the greatest in my sports viewing experience.

You serious, Clark?

USA women v. China in the Women's World Cup Final, 1999, in the Rose Bowl. That's off the top of my head without looking it up. And that was as a casual soccer fan at best at the time.

I won't even remember Malcolm Butler's name in another year.

And the day after International Women's Day, too.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

You serious, Clark?

USA women v. China in the Women's World Cup Final, 1999, in the Rose Bowl. That's off the top of my head without looking it up. And that was as a casual soccer fan at best at the time.

I won't even remember Malcolm Butler's name in another year.

And the day after International Women's Day, too.

+1

Yeah Im 1,000,000x the football fan I am of soccer. But I happened to be watching that one and can tell you exactly where I was at the moment. Has nothing to do with the shirt coming off and everything to do with the kick going in...the shirt off celebration just adds to the visual memory.

[ISiddiqui]

I'm with Butter and CU Tiger. I actually think the Chastain moment is ranked TOO low. It was a massive moment that isn't on par with the incredible upset of the Miracle on Ice, but a very similar feel.

[flere-imsaho]

This isn't even on the list: 1999 UEFA Champions League Final - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

How many people care about the sport

USA-Japan Women's World Cup final shatters American TV ratings record | SI.com

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I've seen more exciting images of women with and without sports bras. It's hardly controversial for women to exercise without anything over these bras.

WHOOOOSH

[nol]

Jim with the hot takes straight outta 1994 ITT. How come nobody ever pays attention to the sporting accomplishments of men?! They're bigger and stronger after all.

And what's up with the Miracle on Ice? Gretzky was better than any of those college schlubs, and the USA still had to play the gold medal game. Overrated.

Jesse Owens at #3? What the hell! Pretty sure his times wouldn't qualify him for the Olympic finals these days. Yawn.

[larrymcg421]

Bird's steal seems like it should be on there.

[korme]

I see where Jim is coming from. That Malcolm Butler play is going to live forever. People saying you'll forget his name, please. He's a fine cornerback, first, and secondly do we forget the name David Tyree?

[ISiddiqui]

Most of us have already forgotten the name Malcolm Butler, FWIW. I had no idea who that was. I think Tyree is much more memorable because that amazing catch came in a game where an undefeated team was defeated in the Super Bowl (which has never happened).

[Butter]

Originally Posted by korme

I see where Jim is coming from. That Malcolm Butler play is going to live forever. People saying you'll forget his name, please. He's a fine cornerback, first, and secondly do we forget the name David Tyree?

Is he though? Or is he just going to end up like that guy from Dallas that intercepted Neil O'Donnell twice in that one Super Bowl, whose name I have forgotten... and who ended up being celebrated as a great quite wrongly.

[nol]

Originally Posted by korme

People saying you'll forget his name, please. He's a fine cornerback, first, and secondly do we forget the name David Tyree?

If you're the kind of person who only watches the Super Bowl, those details surely would've slipped your mind by now.

Conversely, a bunch of people still remember the details of Brandi Chastain's goal 16 years later despite probably not watching much women's soccer outside of the World Cup (and in my case it's probably even less frequently than that).

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Most of us have already forgotten the name Malcolm Butler, FWIW. I had no idea who that was. I think Tyree is much more memorable because that amazing catch came in a game where an undefeated team was defeated in the Super Bowl (which has never happened).

Agreed, I still remember Tyree's name, but I had forgotten Butler's name until it was mentioned by Jim here.

[cartman]

I think that the US winning the Women's World Cup was a huge event, and the Chastain reaction is what made it truly memorable. Much in the same way that Gibson pumping his arm as he rounded second after the home run, or Jordan's jump after hitting the shot against the Cavs makes a moment memorable. Or an announcer's call, like Al Michaels' Miracle on Ice call, Lundquist's call of Tiger's chip shot on 16 at the Masters, or the track call of Secretariat at the Belmont. It is the combination of the event and the reaction that makes things memorable. Remove the reactions, and things aren't as special.

[flere-imsaho]

Or indeed: Alex Ferugson - Football, bloody hell.wmv - YouTube

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Most of us have already forgotten the name Malcolm Butler, FWIW. I had no idea who that was. I think Tyree is much more memorable because that amazing catch came in a game where an undefeated team was defeated in the Super Bowl (which has never happened).

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Is he though? Or is he just going to end up like that guy from Dallas that intercepted Neil O'Donnell twice in that one Super Bowl, whose name I have forgotten... and who ended up being celebrated as a great quite wrongly.

Originally Posted by nol

If you're the kind of person who only watches the Super Bowl, those details surely would've slipped your mind by now.

I think I found 3 broken sarcasm meters

[JeeberD]

It's good to see the Texas Western Miners at #23 on the list during the 50th anniversary season of their championship.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I think I found 3 broken sarcasm meters

Why do you think he's being sarcastic? I think we all remember the name David Tyree after all.

[nol]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I think I found 3 broken sarcasm meters

I think we found one MENSA member.





that would be an example of what's known as sarcasm


But to recalibrate everyone's sarcasm meter, my examples with Jesse Owens and the 1980 Olympic hockey team were a send-up of what someone who doesn't realize that sometimes sporting events can have a lasting cultural and/or political impact would say if they applied Jim's supposedly neutral scrutiny across the board rather than just to the highest-ranked women's sporting event.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by digamma

Jim,
It was the first time almost 100,000 people jammed into the Rose Bowl to watch a women's sporting event. Pretty sure a generation of girls remember it vividly. Way more than any number of Super Bowl winning plays (personally, I'd vote for Santonio Holmes being lower).

I think you can rank things based on a couple of criteria. One is impact. I think the Chastain moment wins there, in the same way (though admittedly with less impact) that the Jackie Robinson or Jesse Owens or even Tiger Woods moments do. The second is what all call the "wow, you were there!" factor. Being at Super Bowl 49 is a cool story, but in 20 years, I don't see it as being more special than any Super Bowl. The women's World Cup doesn't score as big on this scale, but I still think it's a better story to be there than SB49.

The argument is more about symbolic importance, then, which is fine. The match itself was poorly played compared to other games in the same Cup. And shootouts are a terrible way to decide soccer tournaments. Maybe that's why it remains the most-watched (and apparently remembered) women's soccer match despite there being so many better efforts since. You could argue that the quality of this particular match was so bad that it caused serious harm to the sport.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The argument is more about symbolic importance, then, which is fine. The match itself was poorly played compared to other games in the same Cup. And shootouts are a terrible way to decide soccer tournaments. Maybe that's why it remains the most-watched (and apparently remembered) women's soccer match despite there being so many better efforts since. You could argue that the quality of this particular match was so bad that it caused serious harm to the sport.

Just wait until Jim finds out that Jackie Robinson went 0-3 in his first game.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by nol

Just wait until Jim finds out that Jackie Robinson went 0-3 in his first game.

LOL!

One can, btw, argue that the popularity of the Women's World Cup Final, with the super packed Rose Bowl, the shootout and the Chastain moment (which found its way on the covers of many a magazine, including Sports Illustrated) may have saved soccer in the US. Soccer in the US got quite a boost from the 1994 World Cup, but the MLS (which started a year later) ratings and attendance were poor by 1999. Two teams would soon fold after all. And the US Men's Soccer Team had an absolutely horrible showing in the 1998 World Cup. It is arguable that the 1999 Women's World Cup gave soccer in the US a shot in the arm when it needed it the most, even though the men's game is not directly associated with the women's game.

[NobodyHere]

I feel like the list should have Bobby Knight throwing a chair.

[nol]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

One can, btw, argue that the popularity of the Women's World Cup Final, with the super packed Rose Bowl, the shootout and the Chastain moment (which found its way on the covers of many a magazine, including Sports Illustrated) may have saved soccer in the US. Soccer in the US got quite a boost from the 1994 World Cup, but the MLS (which started a year later) ratings and attendance were poor by 1999. Two teams would soon fold after all. And the US Men's Soccer Team had an absolutely horrible showing in the 1998 World Cup. It is arguable that the 1999 Women's World Cup gave soccer in the US a shot in the arm when it needed it the most, even though the men's game is not directly associated with the women's game.

Yeah, there have been better showings since then specifically because the event legitimized women's team sports in America and likely across the world by providing such a high-profile example of females competing athletically at a high level without having to be regarded as "butch" or non-feminine while also not being ogled as sex objects.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by nol

I think we found one MENSA member.





that would be an example of what's known as sarcasm


But to recalibrate everyone's sarcasm meter, my examples with Jesse Owens and the 1980 Olympic hockey team were a send-up of what someone who doesn't realize that sometimes sporting events can have a lasting cultural and/or political impact would say if they applied Jim's supposedly neutral scrutiny across the board rather than just to the highest-ranked women's sporting event.

If korme's post was sincere and not sarcastic, then...
I just dont know what to say.

If "fine corner back" is the standard for live forever...well that list needs to grow exponentially.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The argument is more about symbolic importance, then, which is fine. The match itself was poorly played compared to other games in the same Cup. And shootouts are a terrible way to decide soccer tournaments. Maybe that's why it remains the most-watched (and apparently remembered) women's soccer match despite there being so many better efforts since. You could argue that the quality of this particular match was so bad that it caused serious harm to the sport.

Sorry, but you're making a ridiculous conclusion based on some really bizarre logic. The way to measure the effect of a landmark event on a sport wouldn't be to measure the event against how it performed in the years afterward. You'd instead want to measure the years before the event against the years after the event.

[Logan]

Yeah no offense Jim, but your response is like when my wife catches me in a stupid white lie and I try and ramble my way out of it.

Pretty sure Jesse Owens at #3, and Jackie at #2 as was pointed out, was very much about symbolic importance as well.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Sorry, but you're making a ridiculous conclusion based on some really bizarre logic. The way to measure the effect of a landmark event on a sport wouldn't be to measure the event against how it performed in the years afterward. You'd instead want to measure the years before the event against the years after the event.

I get your point, this is about symbolism rather than specific great sports achievements. What's important to you is the lead-up to the event rather than the event itself.

But most of the people attracted by that lead-up never tuned in again. It was that bad.

And by your logic, where are Tanya and Nancy on this list?

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

And by your logic, where are Tanya and Nancy on this list?

Because normal people wouldn't consider premeditated assault on another person to be a "great" event?

[nol]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

But most of the people attracted by that lead-up never tuned in again. It was that bad.

I couldn't tell you the last time I even saw highlights of a hockey match, let alone an actual one (and I'm sure that viewership numbers and the fact that NHL games are on God knows what channel bears my specific case out on a larger level), but I'm not shitting on the significance of the Miracle on Ice.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I get your point, this is about symbolism rather than specific great sports achievements. What's important to you is the lead-up to the event rather than the event itself.

But most of the people attracted by that lead-up never tuned in again. It was that bad.

Um, no. My point is that people who never tuned in before that event continued to tune in after that event. That is the mark of a successful and influential event.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Logan

Yeah no offense Jim, but your response is like when my wife catches me in a stupid white lie and I try and ramble my way out of it.

Pretty sure Jesse Owens at #3, and Jackie at #2 as was pointed out, was very much about symbolic importance as well.

I'm not denying that symbolic importance is relevant to this list, I just have a hard time equating the racism of baseball's self-imposed ban on black players, for example, with this. Seems like apples and oranges to me. No one was trying to stop women from playing soccer.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Um, no. My point is that people who never tuned in before that event continued to tune in after that event. That is the mark of a successful and influential event.

That is true... look at the ratings for the US matches in the Women's World Cup last year.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I'm not denying that symbolic importance is relevant to this list, I just have a hard time equating the racism of baseball's self-imposed ban on black players, for example, with this. Seems like apples and oranges to me. No one was trying to stop women from playing soccer.

Well, when you reduce the moment to "a chick took off her shirt and she was wearing a sports bra. Heh heh, boner!" it sort of shows what women's sports are up against.

[oykib]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The argument is more about symbolic importance, then, which is fine. The match itself was poorly played compared to other games in the same Cup. And shootouts are a terrible way to decide soccer tournaments. Maybe that's why it remains the most-watched (and apparently remembered) women's soccer match despite there being so many better efforts since. You could argue that the quality of this particular match was so bad that it caused serious harm to the sport.

Count me in as someone who thinks that was an overrated moment. I had the same argument back then when the USWNT was made the Sportsman of the year. I found it absurd. They were the overwhelming favorite-- playing at home. The barely squeaked through after a dull, poorly played match. There were much greater sports stories that year.

It seemed like a bunch of people falling all over themselves to show how progressive they were. I remember getting into an argument with a couple of women at work about it. My response was asking how many of the games of the tournament they had seen. I had watched all the women's knockout stage matches for the US, which was more than all of them combined.

Ask ten people and three couldn't tell you the US goalkeeper's name. I think if it was a major event, most sports fans should be able to tell you the major players.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by digamma

Well, when you reduce the moment to "a chick took off her shirt and she was wearing a sports bra. Heh heh, boner!" it sort of shows what women's sports are up against.

Yeah, quite the opposite. I'd argue that's what SI was trying to do by endlessly hyping that particular image. Now, 17 years later, they want to claim some sort of noble "women's sports" motivation.

I do follow the sport and don't have to look up Brianna Scurry's name.