Best and Worst Days of Your Life as a Sports Fan

[Homer]

Worst - Joe Carter, walk-off HR in '93.

Best - Don't have any.

[Uston]

I prefer pics of Laettner getting the [censored] kicked out of him.

[The Venetian]

I'm only about three days late resonding to this, and for that I apologize, but since the topic's still a-burning...

Sure, it's fine to be a Tar Heel basketball fan living in Ohio. It's maybe even justifiable since your Dad was a UNC grad. Kind of. Mine was too and I managed to avoid being pulled to the dark side.

Since you didn't include this in the original post, I just lumped you into the "I think baby blue makes me look manly" group that I've grown accustomed to in the Southeast. The types that also like the Yankees, Lakers, Cowboys, and whoever else fits the bill at a particular time.

I guess my point was that when I think of the great sports days of my life, they would be unique events that I didn't expect or the anticipation of a great thing had been building for so long that when it finally happened, you almost didn't know what to do with yourself.

Off the top of my head, I'd say...

Best --

There aren't many. Mainly because I cheer for teams that have been embroiled in mediocrity for the last 20 years.

1. Being in Scott Stadium when Virginia beat #2 Florida State in 1995 on a Thursday night 33-28.

2. Being in University Hall when Virginia beat UNC in 1996 after camping out the night before. It wasn't a championship moment, but you had to be there.

3. Watching Virginia come back to beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in 1998. Unfortunately, I had to go to work right afterwards, so the euphoria was short-lived.

There have been moments for the Braves and Redskins, but nothing that sticks out. The Redskins were winning Super Bowls and making the playoffs from the moment I started following, so not much excitement there. The 1991 season was special as a Braves fan, but the "suffering" had only really lasted a decade.

Worst --

Oh, I could go on and on...

1. Virginia-Georgia Tech 1990. This game has scarred me for life. Ranked #1 and rolling at home, we blow the first of a neverending parade of second half leads and lose 41-38 on a Scott Sisson FG. There was a late TD called back on a 6-men-on-the-line penalty that twisted the knife even further. Also, kicking a FG to tie late before college had OT made me ill.

2. Virginia-Georgia Tech 1998. Almost exactly same situation except Virginia was only #7 and the game was in Atlanta. I hate Joe Hamilton. Another 21-point lead blown.

3. Virginia-Virginia Tech 1995. Two-TD lead into 4th quarter at home. Ends with trainer trying to trip Hokie running back an INT to seal the deal.

4. Virginia-Michigan 1995. 17-0 lead in Big House in 4th quarter. I hate Mercury Hayes.

5. Virginia-Texas 1995. I hate Phil Dawson and his 51-yard FG into a 30 MPH wind.

6. Virginia-BYU 2000. Blowing 21-point leads at home is fun!

Those are just the tip of the iceberg. To throw another sport in, I'd say the Jim Leyritz 1996 HR in Game 5 off Mark Wohlers was another good one. The entire post-Joe Gibbs era (Part 1) has been a bad day for the Redskins, save the Brad Johnson season.

Needless to say, I've had far more bad days than good days sports-wise, but the good days keep me coming back.

[AndysDaddy]

Best:
1997 - Wings win their first cup in my lifetime. I paid $600 for two game 4 tickets in the last row.

Worst:
1983 - Jerry F'ing Harriston (sr) breaks up Milt Wilcox's no hitter with two outs in the ninth. Its the last time I cried because of a sporting event. I was 17. I still cringe when I hear his son's name on SportsCenter.

1995 - Living in Boston at the time, bought tickets for all the Devil's home games for conference and cup finals. Thrilled to death that the Wings made it. Shocked to watch them go down 0-3. Sold my game 4 ticket to some kid for his life savings (about $250). He got his money's worth.

[JoePro]

My Best:
When the NHL locked out its players.

My Worst:
When the NHLPA signed an agreement with the NHL to end the lockout.

[SammyKid11]

Best: Tie between the Rockets winning the 94 NBA title and the next year when they won the 95 NBA title. Those were cool times for my dad and I, so that was key.

Worst: Tie between the Oilers-Bills 35-3, Bills come back to win 41-38...and...Game 7 of last year's NLCS between Astros and Cardinals...and...TCU getting blown out, then coming ALL the way back, then blowing it at the end against Southern Mississippi in 2003 (had they won, it would have cemented a perfect season and almost-certainly locked them into a BCS bowl). There are many other disappointments, including the endings of all Dallas Maverick playoff runs in the past 5 years...but those are my top 3, tied for how disappointing.

[IHateKeithSmart]

Nice thread.

Google the bastard in my sn for the worst.

Best is a toss up between Francisco Cabrera in 1992 and the big orange winning with Carmelo.

[adios]

Best

John Wooden coaching an NCAA championship team (1975) in his last game after announcing his retirement earlier in the season. Not his greatest team by a longshot either. I still get goosebumps.

Worst

A tie, Indians losing the 97 World Series when winning going into the bottom of the ninth with their closer on the hill. The drive and the fumble in consecutive AFC championship games.

[CollinEstes]

Best:

When the Texans kicked the Cowboys ass in their franchise opener. That place was louder than anything I have ever heard that night.

Worst: When Walt Wiess made a diving catch up the middle with the bases loaded in extra innings against the Astros in the NLDS in 1998 (99 not sure) to keep them from scoring. I still want to punch him in the face.

[hoopsie44]

[ QUOTE ]
Those are just the tip of the iceberg. To throw another sport in, I'd say the Jim Leyritz 1996 HR in Game 5 off Mark Wohlers was another good one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Leyritz so traumatized you that you forgot which game he hit the homer in. He hit it in Game 4. Game 5 was Pettite beating Smoltz 1-0.