Sunday, May 06, 2007

10 Greatest (Relatively Speaking) Sporting Moments

How does one measure greatness? In particular how does one measure his or her own greatest sporting moments? If success were the primary measure then mine would be a very short list indeed. And does greatness mean that you even need to be a part of the moment? Or is being a spectator being a part of the moment? Is it possible that your scream (or sledge for that matter) contributed to the moment enough to make it change? Or in other words, if one hand claps on the top deck of the Olympic stadium and not one of the players hears it yet the result is a cliffhanger and there's that dream moment where everything slows down and it tips one way but not the other, then do you get my drift?

Here's my list...

  • Strike in the final frame of the final match of the 1985 NSW vs VIC junior Jewish bowling competition (3rd grade) winning the only match for NSW in the whole competition. So deep in concentration was I that I didn't notice every other match finish and a crowd of on-lookers gather to watch. I delivered, they cheered, teammates attempted high-fives and connected on more than one occasion.
  • Last place, Head of the River, Sydney Boys High Fourth-Four 1986. Indeed we came last in every race we rowed but this was the culmination of 6 months hard training and our last place was met by a rousing cheer from the crowd of private school kids and the rabble from High. It took 1500 of the 1600 metres for us to click into rhythm but it was beautiful to be part of. Sheer and total exhaustion like I wasn't to experience again until climbing mountains at altitude.
  • 7/71 for Maccabi in fourth (or maybe it was fifth) grade park cricket 1988/89 season. In a bowling career staggered over many seasons of park cricket it really only ever clicked once. I could do no wrong and bowled 22 overs to take 7/71, the only time I ever took more than 3 wickets in an innings.
  • Cathy Freeman winning the 400m at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. A deaf-defying cheer I was thrilled to contribute to.
  • SCG 2003, century off the final ball of the day's play ensuring continuation of career as Australia cricket captain. Not me of course. Steve Waugh - and I was there. The biggest orgasmic-like cheer I've heard at a sporting event, since, well Cathy Freeman.
  • Running, diving, flying, one-handed at full stretch outfield catch for the Glebe Gypsies in third grade park cricket 2003 right in front of my new girlfriend who was watching me play for the first time. Over the following few seasons she was never to see me take a wicket and only ever score 8 runs. But she did see that catch and she did marry me! The two may or may not be related.
  • Glebe Gypsies win their first ever premiership, taking out third grade park cricket after 11 years in competition. Sure I was only eleven-and-a-halfth man, but that meant I could start drinking early and shared all the tension and celebration (and my first Mad Monday) as much as all of my teammates.
  • Playing in a winning premiership team - finally. Dragons Indoor Cricket team take out 3rd division 2006. It had to wait till I was 37, but was worth it. Actually that's not true I would have preferred to play in many other premiership winning teams but at least I got a taste. And how sweet it was.
  • Losing 6-0 6-0 to Australia's 91st ranked tennis player - 2007. I knew he would be good, he had multiple racquets and a clothing sponsor but he was young and I had previously done well against the club's best juniors. Except he wasn't a junior, he was a coach. The scoreline is no indication of how much fun I had or how competitive I was on approximately one point per game (including a couple that went to deuce).
  • Watching sport overseas - whether it was the Test in Mumbai, the soccer in Buenos Aires or Highbury, visiting Lords, baseball in America or watching Rugby in Bath, it's hard to find any better way to meet and mingle with the locals and experience them at their most passionate (and mad). Still on the 'to do' list is the Rugby at Cape Town and Bledisloe in New Zealand and the Winter Olympics in Canada.

Yours?


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