Patriotic Sports Moments that Chilled the Spine

When the suspense and jubilation of sports merges with one’s love of country, this rare moment has the power to etch an indelible imprint on the sports fan’s soul.

Like Rocky Balboa defeating Ivan Drago on the big screen, we’re somehow captivated by these moments to the point that we feel our state of life and mind is better, if only for a short period of time.

While that may or may not be the case, there is no point in pondering because sports is, by (unofficial) definition, entertainment, and a diversion from reality. We can enjoy and interpret it any way we want. After all, we’re Americans, dammit!

To celebrate our nation’s 233rd birthday, here are some of the greatest American sports moments since 1980. Why 1980? Um, because I didn’t want to leave out that ice hockey game.

Miracle on Ice

Admittedly, I was just a shade under three years from living on this planet in February, 1980, but having watched the movie Miracle, and having seen countless documentaries, I can’t help but get chills during the last five seconds of the game.

And whether it was real or a figment of Hollywood’s imagination (most signs point to the latter), the post-game “AGAIN” scene in the film where Herb Brooks eventually asks Mike Eruzione, “Who do you play for?” is freaking awesome.

Whitney Houston’s Super Bowl National Anthem

A historic Super Bowl XXV was made memorable before the opening kickoff. The sea of American flags, coupled with Houston’s rendition, left little doubt that celebrity involvement at the Super Bowl can be useful and highly effective.

Thankfully, Whitney’s Star Spangled Banner didn’t have fans jumping up and down like morons a la the Super Bowl halftime show.

Hulk Hogan Defeats Sgt. Slaughter

It’s one thing for a pop star to sing America’s national anthem in a time of war at the Super Bowl, it’s another for America’s wrestling hero to put an end to the war by defeating an American turncoat and Iraqi sympathizer at WrestleMania 7.

Hey, don’t look at me, Gorilla Monsoon said as much after the pinfall.

No one can write an American song quite like Rick Derringer, by the way.

The Dream Team

Sure it was expected, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the world’s super power fielded a global power for a basketball team at the ‘92 Olympics.

Seeing MJ, Magic, Larry Legend, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Christian Laettner, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Clyde the Glide, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, and John Stockton stand together as one “for America” with gold around their chests is something that will never be duplicated by any modern day “dream team” assemblage.

Stars and Stripes Challenge

It wasn’t of the national importance of Lex Luger’s body slam of the unstoppable Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid, nor was it his instant transformation from narcissistic heel to Hulk Hogan’s replacement that did it for me; it was those two things PLUS the fact that he did it wearing stone-washed jeans.*

This was arguably the peak for stone-washed jeans in America, according to many historians.

Kerri Strug’s Vault

I’m a dude, and I don’t really care about gymnastics (male or female), but I still remember watching the event and feeling more American as a result. And knowing what we now know about Bela Karolyi, this flashback takes on even more significance.

Don’t forget about Muhammad Ali’s lighting of the torch to commence the games, either. That was a sports moment to behold as well.

Brandi Chastain’s Bra-Breasts

Along the lines of Kerri Strug, the 1999 Women’s World Cup is something no average American fan would remember had it not been for the ladies capturing the gold on a penalty kick by a woman draped in obscurity up until she took of her shirt and celebrated in hysteria.

The decision to take off her shirt might be the most important moment in women’s soccer history. I say "might" because I don’t know much else about women’s soccer—which pretty much proves the point.

U.S. Comeback at the 1999 Ryder Cup

The post-match celebration was enough to piss off the rest of the sporting world and bring a chill to the native fan’s spine.

WWE Smackdown 9-11 Tribute

While the NFL opted to cancel a week of football, and Major League Baseball took nearly a week off following the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the WWE (then WWF) aired SmackDown! two nights later on September 13th.

The matches that took place were irrelevant; it was the shear prospect of living the spirit that “the terrorists won’t stop us from living our normal lives” that was so memorable.

Vince McMahon’s opening speech was great, and ring announcer Lillian Garcia’s performance of the Star Spangled Banner was inspiring.

For this sports fan’s money, there isn’t a better singer of our nation’s anthem than Garcia.

She’s pretty good at America the Beautiful, too.

Jack Buck 9-11 Poem

This poem was documented a few weeks ago on this site, but it shouldn’t be forgotten in the class of modern patriotic sports moments. America’s pastime knew no better American spokesman than John Francis Buck.

Patriots Win Super Bowl 36

This one leaves a bitter taste in my mouth because a) I live in St. Louis, and b) the Patriots have been accused of cheating.

Whatever history officially declares won’t take away from the improbability of the New England Patriots monumental upset just months after the World Trade Center was left in ruins, though.

Michael Phelps Gold Medal Record

Bong or no bong, any time an American makes Olympic swimming the topic of nearly a month of sports discussion, he has done something spectacular. Phelps is a freak of nature who made us watch and cheer for the USA. Hacksaw Jim Duggan surely approves.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

* Denotes the fact that I really didn’t think the body slam was patriotic, I just thought Luger’s wardrobe was so ridiculous it needed documentation at some point.

If I overlooked something, please feel free to contribute in the comments.

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