10.) The 2013 AFC Championship Game
I memorably did not watch this game live. At this point, I really couldn't handle the internal pressure of Manning v. Brady, an argument I happily engaged in for many years befoore it became too tiresome. Instead, I watched The Godfather, Pt. 2, maybe for the first time. I then loaded ESPN.com when I hoped the game was over. It was 26-10 at that point. I later watched the game so enthralled by how damn good Peyton was, how awesome they were against the Patriots. For years, I grew to fear Belichick's brilliance, but this time, he was no match. They were no match. For once, the Patriots were any old kind-of-good-team who nicely went quietly into the night. Sure, the Broncos got hammered two weeks later, but that only means this is #10 and not a bit higher.
I memorably did not watch this game live. At this point, I really couldn't handle the internal pressure of Manning v. Brady, an argument I happily engaged in for many years befoore it became too tiresome. Instead, I watched The Godfather, Pt. 2, maybe for the first time. I then loaded ESPN.com when I hoped the game was over. It was 26-10 at that point. I later watched the game so enthralled by how damn good Peyton was, how awesome they were against the Patriots. For years, I grew to fear Belichick's brilliance, but this time, he was no match. They were no match. For once, the Patriots were any old kind-of-good-team who nicely went quietly into the night. Sure, the Broncos got hammered two weeks later, but that only means this is #10 and not a bit higher.
9.) The Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII
8.) The 2015 AFC Championship Game & Super Bowl 50
7.) The Devils winning the 2012 Eastern Conference
6.) The Astros win the Pennant / Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS
5.) The Patriots Losing Super Bowl XLII
This is the only negative favorite memory I had. It's not like I haven't hated other teams. I thought about putting any of Barcelona's numerous UCL failres on this list. Anyway, I'll go with one of the most memorable moments in general US sports history, a team getting so close to 19-0, only to see that die because of a helmet catch, a truly 1/1000 event. This game was ridiculous. I still remember watching it with my friends at our neighborhood friend Jeff Reimann's house. I don't remember at what point we all realized that 'Holy Shit, the Giants may actually win', but when we did we focused squarely on the game.
4.) The Spurs winning the 2014 NBA Finals
Look, I am a complete bandwagon Spurs fan, but man, after living through the horror that was the 2013 finals, having them smash the Heat, in such irresistible fashion, was amazing.
3.) The Devils winning the 2003 Stanley Cup
2002-03 was a formative year for me. I followed the Raiders religously throug to their Super Bowl defeat. The Devils were next in line, a good collection of decent offensive players, one of the best goalies ever, and a great blue-line. Back then, the playoffs were still shown regionally, and COmcast didn't have FSNY. I had to listen to their playoff games on radio for the first 1.5 rounds. Starting in the Eastern Conference Finals, ESPN2 showed it, a gutty seven game series win over Ottawa - a series that remains in my memory bank as one of the best single series I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Their Cup win featured three Brodeur shitouts, but more than that, featured personal vindication. After investing so much time in the Raiders only to have them lose the Super Bowl, I needed a title. I was too young to truly appreciate the Devils wins in 1995 and 2000. This was my team, the one I can still name the lien combinations of 15 years later.,
2.) The Astros winning the 2017 World Series
It's odd that I have this so high. I was 26, a gainfully emplyed adult, who shouldn't care, but damn was the Astros win incredible. The whole series was aamzing. I probably should have Game 5 on this list, the greatest single sporting even (non-NFL) that I've witnessed But Game 5 would not have had its lasting impact if they didn';t pull out Game 7 in LA. Add into all of this that I should have been in Cape Town, rudely turned away because I didn't have requisite empty passport pages the day before Game 6. The only way that crime would have been repaid was if I could watch my team win a World Series. I did. They did.
1.) The 2006 AFC Championship Game
Nothing will ever beat this. In my lifetime, this was the apex of my sports fandom. I was ta the perfeect age (15), with enough scars from years of Manning playoff defeats and three Patriots Super Bowl wins. I was there to see them go down 21-3, to think that the Colts just arent as good. And then I was there to see them come back, and come abk again and again and again. To see Peyton hit his thumb on a lineman's helment, forcing him to tell backup Jim Sorgi to 'be ready'. I don't think there will ever be a game that I'll remember so much: I can probably get 80% right if tasked to anem the play-by-play. The Super Bowl was a fait accompli - so it was playing Rex Grossman. This was the true moment. This was my apex moment as a sports fan, probably forever.
