Did You Just See That? - Greatest Plays in Sports History
It is always exciting when the game is on the line with the team, crowd and fans of the city on the edge of their seats holding their breath and hoping for that moment that will leave them shocked, speechless or embracing that stranger sitting next to them.
These are the moments that are unforgettable and that last forever. These are the moments that make us want to turn the television on every day and watch the sports we love. We are always watching, waiting for that next amazing moment, hoping that it will become embedded in our consciousness.
Below are what I consider to be the five greatest plays in American sports history.
The only perfect season in NFL history on the line since moving the schedule to 17 weeks, the New England Patriots had yet to lose a game all season and were one game away from finishing their season undefeated. However, the underdog New York Giants had plans of their own.
With the NFC Champion Giants trailing 14-10, the play involved quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver David Tyree in the final two minutes trailing against the AFC champion Patriots.
The Giants finished the regular season with a record of 10-6 and were looking to become the first Wild Card team out of the NFC to win a Super Bowl. With the season and a championship on the line, Manning needed to make a play on third down with five yards to go.
Manning was able to escape the pressure of three separate Patriots defenders and threw what seemed to be a desperation pass to Tyree, who was able to make a leaping contested catch by using his helmet to control the ball and continue the drive for the Giants.
The 32-yard gain allowed the Giants to drive down the field and score the game-winning touchdown and seal the title as Super Bowl Champions on February 3, 2008, during Super Bowl XLII. This play was immediately dubbed "The Helmet Catch".
The Giants spoiled the party for the Patriots and the 1972 Miami Dolphins were able to continue to celebrate as the only undefeated team in NFL history by continuing the tradition of popping the champagne bottles when every team in the NFL receives their first loss of the season.
This one was just a little too close for comfort.
This could go down as the greatest College Football game of all time. The Boise State Miracle took place in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl between the Boise State Broncos out of the Mountain West Conference and the favored Oklahoma Sooners out of the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma was the designated home team and was favored by 7.5 points, but Boise State pulled off the miracle and the upset 43-42 in overtime.
This game featured a series of amazing plays. Oklahoma scored 25 unanswered points to grab their first lead with just over one minute left in the game. Both teams combined to score 22 points in the final 1:26 of regulation and 15 points in overtime, culminating with Boise State completing three do-or-die trick plays.
On the following possession with the game tied, Boise State had a chance to drive down the field and win the game, but Jared Zabransky threw a pick-six and Oklahoma led 35-28.
Game over, right? Not so fast!
On fourth down and with just 18 seconds left, the hopes were dwindling for the Broncos and their fans, but one of the greatest plays in College Football history happened next. Zabranksy threw into the middle of the field and Drisan James caught the ball at the 35-yard line, then he proceeded to lateral the ball to Jerard Rabb on a hook and ladder play and Rabb galloped into the end zone with seven seconds remaining.
The 2007 Fiesta Bowl went into overtime, and was far from over!
In overtime, Oklahoma took the ball down the field and scored to go up 42-35, but remember in College Football each team gets an opportunity with the ball.
Boise State proceeded to go down and score to pull within one point at 42-41, but there would be no second overtime in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
The Boise State Broncos decide to go for a two-point conversion and pull off another miracle with the "Statue of Liberty” play as Ian Johnson walked into the end zone to give Boise State the victory.
This goes down as one of the greatest college football games in history.
As a couple of side notes, Adrian Peterson was on the losing end with the Oklahoma Sooners, which was his last collegiate game before going onto a very successful NFL career.
Ian Johnson, after scoring the winning two-point conversion, proposed to his girlfriend on national television.
The Dwight Clark catch, also known as “The Catch”, was the winning touchdown reception in the 1981 NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The game took place on January 10, 1982.
With just under a minute left in the game the 49ers were facing a third down with three yards to go, San Francisco wide receiver Dwight Clark made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone to complete a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana with six seconds left sending the 49ers to the Super Bowl.
The 49ers won the game 28-27 because of the catch.
This play is widely recognized as one of the most memorable plays in not only NFL history but in all of sports. The catch came at the end of a 14-play, 83-yard drive which was led by Montana and the 49ers offense in a game that represented the end of the Cowboys' supremacy in the NFC since the conference's foundation in 1970 and it was the beginning of the 49ers’ rise as an NFL dynasty in the 1980s.
The 49ers went on to win three Super Bowls in the 80s and two in the 90s, some might say largely due to this play.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
Many sports fans or analysts believe that this could be the greatest sports play of all time, so it was difficult to put it at number two, but I feel this is where it belongs.
It occurred in the AFC Divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders on December 23, 1972.
The Steelers were trailing the Raiders 7-6 on fourth down needing ten yards for the first with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass that was intended for running back John Fuqua. The ball bounced off the helmet of Raiders’ safety Jack Tatum or off the hands of Fuqua, it is unclear due to technology at the time, and, as the ball continued to fall toward the ground looking like the Steelers’ season could be over, rookie Steelers’ fullback Franco Harris controlled the ball before it fell to the ground and ran untouched into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown, sending the Steelers to the AFC Championship game while sending the Raiders home.
Keep in mind, the pass was never intended for Harris in the first place. The play continues to be talked about to this day, as many people argue whether that the ball only touched Fuqua or whether it hit the ground before Harris caught it, either of which would have resulted in an incomplete pass based on the rules at that time.
Can you say challenge flag anyone?
Before I reveal my top sports play of all time, here are a couple of honorable mentions.
- The Music City Miracle was an American football play that took place on January 8, 2000, between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tennessee in the AFC Wild Card game. The Bills had a slim lead of 16-15 following a Bills’ field goal with 16 seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff return, Titans Tight End Frank Wycheck possessed the ball and attempted a lateral pass across the field to Kevin Dyson, who ran 75 yards to score the game-winning touchdown and sent the Tennessee Titans to the AFC Divisional Round.
- Philly Special was an American football trick play that took place during Super Bowl LII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. On fourth down and late in the first half, the Eagles were knocking on the door to get into the end zone, but everyone, including the New England Patriots, was shocked that the Eagles decided to go for it on 4th down instead of kicking a field goal. The play was executed to perfection and may have been the play of the first half to allow the Eagles to hold on and win their first Lombardi Trophy. It was described by NFL Films as "a play that the Eagles had never called before, run on fourth down by an undrafted rookie running back (Corey Clement) pitching the football to a third-string tight end (Trey Burton) who had never attempted an NFL pass before, throwing to a backup quarterback (Nick Foles) who had never caught an NFL pass before, pulled off on the biggest stage for football. "
Now it is time to reveal, in my opinion, the greatest play in sports history.
The Willie Mays Catch is also known as "The Catch", although involving a different sport from the NFL 1981 NFC Championship Game. The Willie Mays Catch was a baseball play made by New York Giants center fielder Willie Mays on September 29, 1954, during Game 1 of the World Series at the Polo Grounds in New York.
During the eighth inning with the game tied at two, Cleveland Indians batter Vic Wertz hit a fly ball to center field that looked like it was going to allow the runners on base to score.
However, Mays made an over-the-shoulder catch and his throwback prevented the runners from advancing. The Giants went on to win the game 5-2 in extra innings and eventually the World Series.
“The Catch” goes down as one of the greatest plays in not only Major League Baseball history, but all of sports. Mays went on to have an amazing career and is regarded as possibly the best to ever put on a uniform.
There are so many amazing plays in sports history that leave the fans and players speechless and leads to the question “did you just see that?”
There are so many to choose from, but sports always leaves us asking for more. The greatest plays in sports history will be embedded into our minds forever.
Just make sure you don't miss the moment, and if you have to hug that stranger next to you after an amazing play and they are uncomfortable after the fact, maybe offer to buy them a dog or beer!