12-30-2020, 05:35 PM
Actually witnessed all of these.
Olympic swimming trials, July 12, 2004 - in the span of about 90 minutes, I saw Aaron Piersall and Amanda Beard set world records in event finals and Michael Phelps win another event
Many, many John Elway moments including his nearly single handed defeat of #3 Oklahoma in 1980. Stanford led OU at one point 31-0
Christian McCaffrey in the 2016 Rose Bowl
US women's Olympic soccer gold medal victory vs. China at Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA (first time women's soccer at the Olympics) - not only the match, but also the feeling of electricity across the sold-out crowd of 76,000 for a women's soccer game. No one could imagine that women's sports could be that big a deal. This feat was a great athletic and ground-breaking achievement.
The British Open at Troon in 1989. Greg Norman birdied the first 6 holes of the final round to get into contention. I remember the crowd running across the fairways to follow his group as the successive birdies were posted on the leaderboard. But Mark Calcavecchia pulled off some amazing shots including a 40 footer for par and a chip in for birdie on back-to-back holes on the final 9 and eventually would beat Norman and Wayne Grady in a playoff.
For all of the baseball games that I have attended, I have only seen one no-hitter so far - Jake Arrieta for the Cubs against the Dodgers, August 31, 2015.
As I review this list, there is a common element aside from memorable performances - the thrill of the crowd at what we were watching. That shared experience helps to etch the memories into my brain. It's what we will be missing until fans are allowed back at athletic events.
Olympic swimming trials, July 12, 2004 - in the span of about 90 minutes, I saw Aaron Piersall and Amanda Beard set world records in event finals and Michael Phelps win another event
Many, many John Elway moments including his nearly single handed defeat of #3 Oklahoma in 1980. Stanford led OU at one point 31-0
Christian McCaffrey in the 2016 Rose Bowl
US women's Olympic soccer gold medal victory vs. China at Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA (first time women's soccer at the Olympics) - not only the match, but also the feeling of electricity across the sold-out crowd of 76,000 for a women's soccer game. No one could imagine that women's sports could be that big a deal. This feat was a great athletic and ground-breaking achievement.
The British Open at Troon in 1989. Greg Norman birdied the first 6 holes of the final round to get into contention. I remember the crowd running across the fairways to follow his group as the successive birdies were posted on the leaderboard. But Mark Calcavecchia pulled off some amazing shots including a 40 footer for par and a chip in for birdie on back-to-back holes on the final 9 and eventually would beat Norman and Wayne Grady in a playoff.
For all of the baseball games that I have attended, I have only seen one no-hitter so far - Jake Arrieta for the Cubs against the Dodgers, August 31, 2015.
As I review this list, there is a common element aside from memorable performances - the thrill of the crowd at what we were watching. That shared experience helps to etch the memories into my brain. It's what we will be missing until fans are allowed back at athletic events.
"We have an unwritten rule around here not to do anything stupid."
-Casey Jacobsen, Feb 3, 2000