Greatest Moments in the History of Sports

After last night's upset of Canada by the American men. As well as the fact thattoday being the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice when a bunch of young Americans beat the heavily favored and dominant Soviets, in a slice of the cold war, and went on to win the gold, the last gold the US has won. I have decided to look at the 10 greatest moments in the history of sports, this is not the greatest games in sports, it is the most impactful and memorable moments in sports.

10. The Play (Cal-Stanford 82) This play, which cost John Elway his final college game and the chance to play in his 1st bowl game, involving 2 rivals had it all. Many laterals, a controversy about if a Cal player was down or not, and then a what did I just see moment with Cal's Kevin Moen scoring and then running into a member of the Stanford band. Now anytime there is a kickoff with about 15 seconds or less everyone hopes for their team, if trailing, to pull a Cal-Stanford play.

9. 1966 NCAA Men's Basketball championship Texas Western over Kentucky- This game which saw a team with an all black starting five beating Kentucky led by their legendary coach Adolf Rupp, who was a strong racist, and signaled the true end of the good ole' boy network and opened college sports up to more teams then just the traditional powers.

8. 1981 The Catch- Dwight Clark's miraculous catch 2 years after ESPN was founded not only helped start the push of the NFL to the number one sport of America but also sparked the Niners Dynasty which lasted for about 15 years and sent the then dominant Cowboys into a ten year tailspin until Jimmy Johnson and the Triplets saved them.

7. Tiger Woods win the 1997 Masters- This took golf from an old white man's game to a game open to the masses and more specifically in the African American Community. It also marked the birth of the greatest star in the sports history and one of the biggest stars in sports today in Tiger Woods, who has not only increased golf's exposure but also the money earned by the golfers.

6. Joe Namath backs up his words upsetting the Colts in Super Bowl 3: Namath, who was charged as the face and savior of the upstart AFL, guaranteed that his AFL champion Jets would beat the heavily favored NFL champion Baltimore Colts and they did winning 16-7. This game along with the Cheifs upset of the Vikings the next year saved the AFL and forced the merger which has helped make the NFL what it is today, but it would not have happened without the moment #4.

5. 1979 NCAA Championship Game- A game that pitted Magic Johnson and Michigan State against Larry Bird and undefeated Indiana State was one of the most watched sporting events up to that point. In the end Magic led his Spartans to their first national title but this game introduced the world to Bird and Magic who's subsequent decade long rivalry with the Lakers and Celtics saved the NBA.

4. 1958 NFL Championship Greatest Game Ever Played- A game between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts which ended being the first ever Overtime game in which the Colts won. This game put the NFL on the map and saw the birth of stars like Johnny Unitas and ideas like the 2 minute drill. Without this game the NFL would be nowhere near where it is today.

3. Shot Heard Round the World (1951: Bobby Thompson's Home run)- the Giants' Bobby Thomson's 9th inning home run off of Ralph Branca of the Dodgers gave the Giants the 3 game playoff to determine the NL champ. The Giants forced this playoff by overcoming a 13.5 game deficit in mid-August and this home run really helped make these two franchises big nationwide and eventually led to them both moving to California making Baseball Nationwide.

2. Miracle on Ice (1980 USA over USSR)- during the midst of the 4 decade long Cold War between capitalist US and the Communist USSR and 8 years after the USSR men's basketball team stealing the gold from the US this hockey game is remembered by everyone a live at the time and has taken on a life of it's own. This semi-final game saw the US team, a bunch of college kids led by Coach Herb Brooks, shock the heavily favored Soviet team, who had won 4 straight olympic golds and trounce the US 10-3 2 weeks earlier. The US went on to beat Finland to win the gold but it is this Semi-final game which is most remembered and like many moments on this list there is a call synonomous with this game (Do You Believe in Miracles...YES!)

1. Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier 1947- In April 1947 when Jackie Robinson took the field for the then Brooklyn Dodgers at second base he made history he was the first black player in MLB history and major team sports history. Jackie Robinson's ability to keep his cool and play great in the face of horrible discrimination, racism, and death threats paved the way for many stars we see today like Kobe, Lebron, Albert Pujols, and Ray Lewis and changed sports forever.