Sports Performances That Came Out of Nowhere
Though the sports world is littered with stars that consistently produce at an elite level, every so often fans are mesmerized by out-of-nowhere sensations.
With bottled lighting on their side, these athletes or teams surface from the depths of anonymity to dazzle and amaze before ultimately returning to their unexceptional roots.
For example, when Buster Douglas upended Mike Tyson in 1990, no one saw it coming. And, when Douglas disappeared from the boxing scene altogether less than one year later, even less people were surprised.
In a similar fashion, former Athletic Dallas Braden traveled from absolute obscurity to literal perfection on a single night in May of 2010, only to plummet back down to earth soon thereafter.
And in 2008, Georgia basketball became the newest and boldest embodiment of temporary success, following up a dreadful regular season with an SEC tournament title right before ultimately returning to reality.
So, with these athletes and teams in mind, we’ve done our best to highlight 10 of the most memorable sports performances that came out of nowhere.
Some lasted a season—others a month or even a day. In the end, though, each performance was both remarkable and fleeting, stunning us all first before abandoning us next.
UGA Basketball, 2008
1 of 10
Heading into the 2008 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Georgia Bulldogs sported an underwhelming 13-16 overall record. And, with a 4-12 conference mark—which included two five-game losing streaks—they were the tournament’s lowest seed.
Once play tipped in Atlanta, however, the past—and the miserable season it included—was thrown out the window.
In dramatic fashion, Georgia escaped Ole Miss in Round 1, grabbing the win on a Dave Bliss bank shot with 0.4 seconds remaining in overtime.
Thanks to tornadoes, however, games the following day were postponed, setting up a rare Bulldogs doubleheader on Day 3.
In the first outing, Georgia again notched a narrow overtime victory. This time Zac Swansey was the hero, while conference power Kentucky was the victim. With just 1.4 seconds left, a Swansey turnaround three sunk the ‘Cats, whom Georgia had never before defeated in tournament play.
Later that night, the Bulldogs continued their torrid play and found a way to get by No. 1 seed Mississippi State, 64-60, becoming the first team since Kentucky in 1952 to win two tournament games in a single day.
And when Georgia made relatively easy work of Arkansas in the conference finals, it became just the second team in school history to win a SEC tournament title.
Georgia’s success, however, was as fleeting as it was improbable.
The Bulldogs went on to lose to Xavier by double digits in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Head coach Dennis Felton was fired a year later after failing to capitalize on the momentum achieved in 2008.
Fernando Pisani
2 of 10
For 12 years, Fernando Pisani mostly toiled around secondary hockey leagues, failing to stick in any one place for an extended period of time. Between it all, he played nothing more than minor roles during two seasons in the NHL
In 2006, however, that all changed.
Following a relative breakout season in which Pisani posted a career-high 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists), the Edmonton Oiler took things to a whole other level once the playoffs began.
In the first round, against top-seeded Detroit, Pisani scored an impressive five times, including two third-period goals in a series-clinching Game 6.
Against San Jose in Round 2, he contributed yet another two-score effort, and it again included the game-winning goal.
And, in the Stanley Cup Final, the Canadian-born forward miraculously saved the day once more, scoring a short-handed goal in overtime to defeat Carolina in a must-win Game 5.
Though the Oilers would end up losing the series, Pisani finished postseason play with a league-leading 14 goals and an astonishing five game-winners.
Of course, his assault on the league was nothing more than lightning in a bottle.
Pisani would remain in the NHL for another five seasons but never again managed to register more than 28 points in a single one.
Rulon Gardner
3 of 10
Few people knew of Rulon Gardner in 1999.
Even in the world of wrestling, he was somewhat of an afterthought—at the time, the Wyoming native had zero Olympic appearances and the same number of professional titles.
By the summer of 2000, however, he had become a household name and more.
Of course, Gardner’s arrival and subsequent fame were the result of his mind-numbing performance in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
With only his mother giving him a chance in the Greco-Roman wrestling gold-medal match, the former Nebraska Cornhusker shocked the world, defeating the sport’s most feared competitor—Aleksandr Karelin.
To be sure, Karelin was far more than feared; he was virtually unbeatable.
In the 13 years preceding Gardner’s historic victory, the Russian Bear lost a grand total of zero matches. And, perhaps more impressively, he had gone six years without giving up a single point.
And, not surprisingly, conquering "Kong" was Gardner's finest moment.
He added a world championship to his list of accomplishments in early 2001, but fizzled out and retired after settling for bronze at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Rich Beem
4 of 10
Before 2002, Rich Beem was a nobody in the golf world.
In total, he had appeared in one of golf’s four major championships on just a single occasion, finishing tied for 70th in the 1999 PGA Championship.
In 2002, though, Beem came out of nowhere to reach golf’s highest mountaintop.
The site was Hazeltine National, home of the 2002 PGA Championship.
Trailing Justin Leonard by three strokes heading into Day 4, Beem saved his best golf for last, finishing off the tournament with a final-round 68. He needed every stroke too, finishing just one shot ahead of some guy named Tiger Woods, who—oh by the way—shot a Sunday 69.
Beem’s time at the top was short-lived, however. He never again finished better than 15th in a major championship and failed to win another tournament on tour.
After dealing with back surgery in 2010 and game-related struggles in 2011, Beem moved to the European Tour in 2012.
Now, he resides in Austin, Texas, and, barring an extraordinary comeback, is done with golf for good.
Dallas Braden
5 of 10
Throughout a five-year career in MLB—from 2007 through 2011—Dallas Braden was average at his best, posting a 26-36 record with a 4.16 ERA.
Out of nowhere, though, and on just one day in particular, h was literally perfect.
It came on May 9, 2010. Braden—a Phoenix native—took the mound in Oakland for a regular start against the Tampa Bay Rays.
But 109 pitches and 77 strikes later, Barden’s start could be described as anything but regular.
In the end, he registered just the 19th perfect game in MLB history and received his own day—Dallas Braden Day—in Oakland as a result.
And, as if divinely inspired, the legendary performance went down on Mother’s Day, a holiday of particular importance to Braden considering he lost his mother to breast cancer.
Unfortunately, as alluded to earlier, things were never again so good for Braden.
He finished out the 2010 season with an 11-14 record and made just three starts in 2011 before missing all of 2012 and most of 2013 due to injury. The one-time wonder officially called it quits in January of 2014, referring to his arm as a “shredded mess” on the way out the door, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Harold Arceneaux
6 of 10The Show arrived at Weber State in 1999 after two years of junior college ball and to little fanfare.
Arceneaux’s ascent, though, didn’t take long. Teaming up with Eddie Gill, the first-year junior led the Wildcats to a Big Sky Conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance.
At the latter, Arceneaux would face the kind of talent against which he’d never had success. So when he led Weber State into a first-round battle with powerhouse North Carolina, little was expected.
The nation, however, got a whole a lot more.
Behind a scintillating 36-point performance from The Show, Weber State stunned America and eliminated the ‘Heels, registering one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
In Round 2, Arceneaux again proved unstoppable, this time torching the Florida Gators for 32 electrifying points.
Weber State went on to lose the game against Florida in overtime, but not before The Show had introduced himself to the world.
As a senior, he had yet another strong year but fell shy of the NCAA tournament and then failed to get drafted or make an NBA roster.
Arceneaux has played professionally in Australia, France, Portugal and Venezuela but has been far from the limelight since coming out of nowhere to captivate a nation in March of ’99.
Greek National Team, 2004
7 of 10
In 2004, the Greek national team qualified to take part in the European Championship tournament for just the second time ever.
And, with no real internationally distinguishing wins in the team’s history, the Greeks were considered little more than an afterthought.
Oh, how we were wrong.
With their signature—but forever overlooked—tough and gritty style of play, the Greeks handed Portugal a surprising 2-1 loss in Game 1 before tying Spain, 1-1, their second time out.
All their hard work was enough to move Greece on from the group stage to quarterfinal action, where the underdogs seized a 1-0 win over undefeated, reigning champ France. From there, Greece stunned the Czech Republic in the semis and then once again got the best of Portugal, this time in the finals.
With the unprecedented European title, Greece shot all the way up to No. 14 in the FIFA world rankings. And since their glorious championship run, the Greeks have qualified for two of three World Cups.
They have not, however, come even close to flirting with the pinnacle they reached in 2004.
Buster Douglas
8 of 10
In 1990, Mike Tyson was the most feared human on the planet. The heavyweight champion of the world was unmatched in the ring and unapproachable out of it.
In contrast, Buster Douglas was a boxing journeyman and, for Tyson, considered nothing more than a tune-up for a future bout with Evander Holyfield.
In fact, when the fight between Tyson and Douglas was finally scheduled for February 11, 1990, it was considered too lopsided for the Vegas casinos—to be exact, only one was willing to publish odds on the affair.
In astonishing fashion, however, Douglas—perhaps motivated by the recent death of his mother—dominated Tyson from the sound of the first bell.
After a long and grueling fight, the challenger managed the unthinkable in Round 10, becoming the first boxer ever to knock down Iron Mike. The shot—an uppercut followed by multiple combination punches—would be the last of the bout and the highlight of the new champ’s career as well as the beginning of his end.
When Douglas stepped into the ring with Holyfield roughly eight months later, he was already 15 pounds heavier. Out of shape and sync, then, Douglas lasted less than three rounds with Holyfield.
In the end, a shot to the chin knocked him down and out…for good, as Douglas announced his retirement from boxing almost immediately after the bludgeoning.
David Tyree
9 of 10
Perhaps no one on our list made better use of his “moment” than David Tyree.
During the 2007 season, he hauled in just four passes for 35 yards. And, in the four seasons prior, he managed to record only 50 combined catches for 615 total yards.
But when his Giants met up with the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, Tyree took his game to heights he’d never reached before.
In New York’s 17-14 upset victory, the forgotten wideout made two of the game’s most important catches. The first was a five-yard TD grab that, more importantly, gave the Giants a 10-7 lead late in the game. The second—now considered one of the most iconic catches in NFL history—occurred on a 3rd-and-15 with just one minute, 15 seconds remaining in the game.
Trailing the Patriots at the time, 14-10, the Giants had little room for error. And, when Eli Manning looked all but sacked on the key third-down play late, New York’s bid for a championship seemed unlikely at best.
Of course, in the end Manning somehow eluded New England’s pressure and, in the process, floated a football-like prayer 32 yards downfield where Tyree was waiting to make “The Helmet Catch.”
With the use of his right hand and helmet, Tyree managed to miraculously haul in Manning’s pass, keeping New York’s drive and title hopes alive.
Four plays later, Manning hit Plaxico Burress for a game-winning score, but Tyree’s reception remains the most memorable play of the game.
The catch earned the New Jersey product a 2008 ESPY for Play of the Year, but it was also his last in a six-year career.
Jeremy Lin
10 of 10
When the New York Knicks claimed Jeremy Lin off waivers in December of 2011, he had appeared in just 29 NBA games. While suiting up for Golden State in 2010, the Harvard grad averaged only 2.6 points in 9.8 MPG.
As a result, few in New York gave Lin a second thought, and it showed: He played a measly 55 minutes through the Knicks’ first 23 games of the season.
But, as then-coach Mike D’Antoni describes it, Lin got lucky on February 4.
"He got lucky because we were playing so bad," said D’Antoni, who inserted the point guard into his rotation for a game against the Nets.
Of course, as most know by now, Lin was an instant sensation for the 8-15 Knicks, contributing 25 points, five rebounds and seven assists—all career highs—to the winning effort.
In his second outing, Lin was again sensational, this time torching the Jazz for 28 points and eight assists in yet another New York victory. Keeping with the theme, the overnight star went for 23 and 10 in his next outing and followed that up with 38 and seven the game after that, both New York wins.
For his first-week efforts—which saw him average 27.3 points and 8.3 assists—Lin was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. More importantly, America was infected with Linsanity.
In equally unbelievable fashion, Lin managed to continue his out-of-this-world play. In his 12 starts prior to the All-Star break, he averaged an amazing 22.5 points and 8.7 assists while leading New York to a 9-3 record.
In fact, only season-ending knee surgery in late March could derail what Lin had going—during his 26-game stretch as an everyday player, the second-year standout averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists per game.
Since then, Lin has remained a productive NBA guard, spending two seasons in Houston before moving to LA in 2014. His contributions, however—12.5 PPG to go along with 5.1 APG—have fallen well shy of the out-of-nowhere numbers with which he once electrified a nation.
Follow Janovitz on Twitter @BrainTrain9
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
