NFL: Why We Love Sports Vol. 1
Here at Sports Posts, our writers have a passion for sports like nothing else, and during our childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, we've been treated to exhilarating, inspiring, intoxicating, and stimulating sporting events that have created an addiction for each of us. We spend countless hours reading and writing about our favorite athletes - We endlessly debate our contemporaries on who's the Greatest of All-Time - We spend our hard earned dollars to watch our favorite teams face their rivals. And because of that, each one of us decided to put together our most memorable moments that started that fascination for athletics, competition, and sports.
HERE ARE TUNDE ADUROJA'S TOP MOMENTS:
1. Saints' First Game At the Superdome After Katrina (2006): Hurricane Katrina was a horrendous natural disaster that wrecked New Orleans and the surrounding area. During the 2005 season, the New Orleans Saints were forced to play their home games at a host of different places due to the storm. While the 2005 season didn't go as planned, there was hope for optimism. Newly minted head coach Sean Payton brought with him offensive creativity that was missing under erstwhile HC Jim Haslett, and new QB Drew Brees appeared to provide an upgrade at the position. The Saints came out victorious in their first two games against the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers, but the true fun would occur in their third game of the season: Their first home game at the Louisiana Superdome since Katrina's touch down. All eyes were on New Orleans due to the game being on Monday night, and the Saints didn't disappoint. On the first possession of the game, the visiting Atlanta Falcons struggled to get anything going offensively, and they were forced to punt. What ensued is one of my favorite all-time sports moments. Safety Steve Gleason came through the line and blocked the punt, which was recovered for a touchdown. The New Orleans faithful, many of whom were still reeling from Katrina, were nothing short of raucous. To their credit, the commentators allowed the crowd to do all the talking during that moment. In many ways, that play was the city of New Orleans regaining its roar. As for the result of the game? The Saints could have been playing the 2007 New England Patriots. It wouldn't have mattered. On that night, New Orleans wasn't losing. They came out victorious, 23-3. Gleason's punt block gave hope to a city that sorely needed it. That is sport at its finest: Giving light to those who have lost it all. This moment truly encapsulates what I love about sports.
2. Beast Quake (2011): Going into their 2011 NFC Wild Card playoff game against the New Orleans Saints, most people believed that the Seattle Seahawks were destined to lose. After all, they finished the season with a 7-9 record, making them the first team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a losing record. In contrast, the Saints were 11-5 and boasted one of the league's most explosive offenses. Most national pundits didn't give the Seahawks a chance, despite the game being played in Seattle. Seattle was up for the challenge, though, and they held the lead throughout the duration of the game. With 3:37 left in the game and the ball on their own 33-yard-line, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselback turned around and handed the ball off to Marshawn Lynch, who proceeded to do the impossible. Marshawn has never been shy about his running style. In fact, he expounded upon it in this sit-down interview. The aforementioned play is a pretty good example of what Marshawn was talking about. He ran through seven mother- faces on his way to the end zone and a Seattle win. The ensuing celebration from everyone in the stadium was so powerful that it actually registered on a nearby seismograph.
3. Manchester City's First Title in 44 Years (2012): On the final day of the 2012 Premier League season, Manchester City needed a win to ensure their first Premier League title in 44 years. Through the standard 90 minutes of game action, Queens Park Rangers were ahead 2-1. It seemed as if Manchester United was going to win the title yet again and relegate City to being the 2nd best club in Manchester. City still had stoppage time, however, and they took full advantage of it. City forward Edin Dzeko scored a header off of a corner kick in the 92nd minute, giving City a little bit of hope. However, with only a couple minutes left in stoppage time, things still looked bleak. City managed to earn a throw-in, and that gave them enough for one more chance. And they didn't squander it. Striker Sergio Aguero blasted his shot into the back of the net, and City managed to win their first title in 44 years. As a Manchester United fan, I should hate this moment. For whatever reason, though, there is something about listening to 47,435 fans go crazy that gives me chills every time.
4. NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 6 (2012): Back in 2012, the Boston Celtics were ahead in their best-of-7 series with the Miami Heat, 3 games to 2. Celtics swingman Paul Pierce was hitting daggers and strutting around after the fact. Heat forward LeBron James had yet to win a title. After losing in the NBA Finals the prior year, Miami appeared likely to lose again, despite having stars like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh alongside LeBron. At the time, that Game 6 was set to be the biggest referendum on LeBron's legacy thus far. Many wondered: Does LeBron have it in him? After all, the Celtics were the team that more or less made LeBron decided to take his talents to South Beach. Would LeBron overcome the biggest obstacle in his path towards championship No. 1? This was the look in his eyes before the tip: That's the look of a man who decided he was
​​not losing that night. James hit up Boston for an efficient and dominating 45 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a 98-79 win. Boston threw every type of defense they could at him, and none even made a difference. Miami would go on to win the series and the title. Watching James take control of his narrative under such burden and pressure inspires me to this day.
5. Women's World Cup (2011): After a hotly contested, poorly officiated, 121 minutes of soccer, the U.S. Women's National Team found themselves down both a player and a goal in their semifinal match against Brazil. With time set to expire, midfielder Megan Rapinoe received a pass, dribbled down the left wing, and swung in a cross towards star forward Abby Wambach with her weaker foot. Somehow, Wambach managed to get her head on the ball and put it in the back of the net. The USWNT would go on to win via penalties due to the brilliance of their goalkeeper, Hope Solo. Imagine being in a situation where you and another person were competing for something that was shot in the air. Now imagine that you can't use your hands, but they can. Even for a player like Wambach, who was known for her aerial brilliance, the person using their hands should win 99 percent of the time. Wambach's header was the one percent. Scoring an improbable goal like that on the very last chance of the match is one the best moments I've ever watched live.
Photo Credit: New York Times.
