In America’s nearly 250-year existence as a country, sports have almost always been a part of the culture. Whether it was as simple as playing soccer in the backyard or throwing a baseball, you can’t take it away from this country. While these things are on a much smaller scale, it’s always represented us in one way or another.
With local sports bringing together tight-knit communities, national sports bring entire regions or even countries together. Hundreds of thousands of people all cheering for the same team, witnessing the losses, the victories, the heartbreaks, and the miracles. Miracles that become ingrained into the viewers minds and can replay at any given time. As I thought upon that, I wondered, “What are some of the greatest moments in all of sports?”
Tiger Woods Wins the 1997 Masters
One of, if not, the most legendary golf moment, Tiger Woods beating the odds by a record 12 strokes in the 1997 PGA Tour Masters. As a young 21 year old, he was not picked the favorite by the masses but prevailed as the first black golfer to win a major, and youngest to win at Augusta National. A fiery start to his legendary career.
Serena Williams Wins First Grand Slam
On September 11, 1999, tennis legend Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam Tournament, defeating Martina Hingis to win the women’s single title. Williams was the first African American woman to win a singles major in the Open Era.
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s white-black color barrier that had been in place for numerous decades. Despite having slurs and insults shouted at him nearly every single game that he played, he played a successful 9 years with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Miami Dolphins Perfect Season
In 1972, the Miami Dolphins completed a perfect 17-0 season and won Super Bowl VII in Los Angeles. Despite several teams in history coming close to this feat, nobody has successfully pulled off a perfect season in the NFL.
The Miracle on Ice
With one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympics history, the US hockey team filled with college students, defeated the Soviet Union in 1980. This Soviet Union team was known as the greatest hockey team in the world at this point and was the favorite to win the gold medal.
Minneapolis Miracle
On January 14, 2018, during an NFC playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, the Vikings were down 23-24 with 10 seconds left. With one play left, Vikings quarterback hiked the ball, cocked his arm back, and threw a hail mary pass to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, which he miraculously caught and ran untouched into the endzone. Ending the game 29-24 and sending the Vikings to the NFC Championship.
Nebraska volleyball breaks world record for women’s sporting event attendance.
During a regular season college volleyball match featuring schools the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks, the girls broke the all-time record for highest attendance at a women’s sporting event. This game broke the record for the World attendance record for a women’s sporting event with 92,003 fans appearing at the game.
LeBron James breaks the all-time scoring record.
On February 7, 2023, Lebron James broke the all-time NBA record for most career points, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar(38,387) on the list. He broke this record with Kareem courtside, and more than 3 million people watching it whether from home or in-person.
