On July 3rd I was reminded of why I love sports. Other than a sporting event, I don’t know of anywhere else in the world where you can have the kind of experience I was able to share with two of my sons. We were at Miller Park in Milwaukee, watching the Brewers blow a 7 run lead to Miami in a game that was already four hours along by the time the 10th inning began. We had gone to the ballgame with a group of 13 relatives, but everybody in our group had left the park except for two of my boys, one of my nephews, and me by the end of the 8th.
In the top of the 10th Jose Reyes of Miami hit about a 843 foot homer to right, and I was kind of wishing we’d left with the others. But we’d lasted that long, so we weren’t going to leave until it was over. In the bottom of the 10th, the Brewers had a runner on with NL home run leader Ryan Braun at the plate. This was the spot for Braun to end it, but then he struck out on a pitch in the dirt. So with two outs, and most of us feeling like it was pretty much over, Aramis Ramirez came to the plate. I said to the kids, “if he hits one out this place is going to explode”. One out from defeat, Ramirez hit a home run to center to win it for the Brewers. It was unbelievable. It was loud and crazy, with strangers high-fiving each other, the whole deal. A couple times in the past I’ve been in a big league park for a walk-off homer, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with two outs and the team at bat trailing. It was maybe the most exciting single sports moment I’ve ever witnessed in person.
For the last week or so I’ve been thinking about how cool it was to be there, and trying to put together an unofficial list of the most exciting sporting events I’ve had the privilege of attending. Chances are you have a list of your own, and maybe reading some of my memories will help jog some good ones for you.
So here’s my list:
5. December 12, 1988 Cleveland Browns at Miami Dolphins
A Monday night game in Miami that ended 38-31 when the Dolphins scored on a 1-yard TD play with under a minute to go. Cleveland (and former long-time Miami) backup QB Don Strock came in to replace Bernie Kosar and led the Browns on a wild comeback. The crowd had been chanting “We want Strock!” who had just recently joined the Browns. I was there with my Dad, Grandpa and younger brother.
4. July 3, 2012 Miami Marlins at Milwaukee Brewers
See above for description
3. November 9, 1992 Cypress Lake High School, Ft. Myers, FL
This one I actually played in, but I think it would be close to making the list even I’d been in the stands. A high-school district 3-way playoff tiebreaker. One team would go home the district champion and get ready to host a playoff game. The other two would see their season end. Our team won a coin-flip or something and had the great fortune of getting to watch Cypress Lake and Mariner beat each other up for a quarter, and then through 3 10-yard line Kansas tiebreakers. There were 2 or 3 missed extra points that would have won the game for either team, and Cypress prevailed when Mariner missed another PAT.
Our 12 minutes against Cypress ended in a 7-7 tie, and so we went to our own 10-yard line Kansas tiebreaker. John Paul intercepted Noah Brindise on 2nd down (after the previous play was a TD run that was called back), and we got the ball on the 10 needing only a field goal to win the championship. Brian Edmond ran in for a TD on first down and it was over. Maybe the single most thrilling moment of my life.
2. July 8, 1990 California Angels at Milwaukee Brewers
It might be cheating to have two different Brewer games in my top 5, but since in 1990 they were an American League team playing in a different stadium, I’m allowing both on the list. This game is one I remember more than maybe any other from my childhood because of the unlikely way the game developed. Down 7-0 in the 3rd inning, the Brewers were looking terrible and my Dad was about ready to leave. They scratched out a single run in the bottom of the 3rd, and I remember telling Dad that if they could hold the Angels and keep scoring one run per inning, they could tie it up by the end of the 9th. He wasn’t buying it.
Then the craziest thing happened. The Brewers scored 6 in the 4th to tie the game. That was amazing enough. But then they scored 13 runs in the 5th to take a 20-7 lead. That 5th inning lasted about an hour, and it was about as much fun as you can have at a ballgame. I guess both teams figured 27 runs was enough, because that ended up being the final score. The box score is here. Unbelievably, the entire game lasted only 3 hours, 34 minutes, and it was incredible.
1. December 7, 2001 – Tallahassee, FL
An emotional autumn for all Americans culminated in my greatest ever in-person sports memory. As a young JV assistant coach at Naples High School in SW Florida, I had watched our team make it through four rounds of tough postseason football, qualifying to face Chamberlain HS from Tampa (a team with I believe two future NFL players) in the 2001 5A Florida State Title Game. Taking a 21-3 lead into halftime, we held on for a 21-17 victory and other than things like seeing people coming to faith, weddings and the birth of children, it was probably the happiest day of my life.
Just reading through this list brings back unbelievable memories and feelings involving people and places that I will always treasure. Sports are a great gift, aren’t they?
80’s Lyric