Sports are a way for people to escape the real world, and forget about any harsh realities that will come back once they make it to the parking lot. But what happens when sports are taken away from us, while the world sits on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some great sports moments that you just have to rewatch over and over again, like Eli Manning's amazing run to upset the New England Patriots in 2007, Vilanova pulling off a miracle in the National Championship, Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff going head to head on Monday Night Football. Or the beginning of "Philly Special". or even the only way that a legend like Derek Jeter could say goodbye.
Super Bowl XLII
David vs Goliath, after sneaking into the playoffs as #6 seed Wild Card team, the New York Giants were expected to get the brakes beat off of them in the first round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they won, then they beat divisional foe Dallas Cowboys, then, against all in odds, in Green Bay, they shocked the Green Bay Packers and advanced to Super Bowl XLII, who would they play? The dream team, 16-0 New England Patriots who crushed everyone in their way on their way to 18-0, one win away from becoming the second team in history to have a perfect season. As the game went on, the Giants were able to hold on and hang with the Patriots, fortunately for the Giants, this game wasn't a track meet, with the score being 14-10 with just 2 minutes remaining. Then on 3rd and 5, with 1:15 left, the Patriots sent the house, somehow, Eli Manning escaped the sack and threw that sucker as far as he could. If there weren't enough miracles, David Tyree was standing 32 yards down the field and caught the ball of his helmet. Then the Giants would score with less than a minute left in the game. Eli Manning and the New York Giants stunned the New England Patriots. This game has everything you want in a football game, a great story, good football being played, a historic catch, and the Patriots walking off the field losing a Super Bowl, what more can you ask for?
2016 NCAA March Madness National Championship
Every kid has stood in their driveway, or at the YMCA and sat there for 20 minutes pretending they were throwing up a Hail Mary shot as the clock ticked down, and win the National Championship, but what happens when the whole world is watching you take that shot? In the 2016 National Championship game, the Vilanova Wildcats would take on the North Carolina Tar Heels, and while most people remember the shot, many people forget that North Carolina was having their clock cleaned by Vilanova in the second half, and it took a miraculous comeback, and a Hail Mary shot of their own to make the game 74-74 with 4.7 seconds left in the game. After Marcus Paige sunk an unthinkable shot for North Carolina, Ryan Arcidianco took the ball up the floor, and turned his back to the goal, and gave the ball up to Kris Jenkins, then Jenkins channeled his inner 6-year old on the driveway, and the rest is history.
2018 Los Angeles Rams vs Kansas City Chiefs
Over the years. ESPN's Monday Night Football has lost its luster, whether its different faces every year calling the game, matchups that weren't exciting, or some other third thing. When the 2018 NFL schedule was released, the Monday before Thanksgiving, the Los Angeles Rams were planned to take on a Kansas City Chiefs team in Mexico City led by some first-year quarterback named Patrick Mahomes. After pollution led to the game being moved to Los Angeles, that Mahomes guy ending up having an MVP-like season up to this game. The game started and both teams were fighting for the lead, whether it would belong touchdown passes or defensive touchdowns. Unlike the aforementioned Super Bowl XLII, this game was in fact a track meet. The Rams would hang on for the lead most of the game, but after Patrick Mahomes threw for his 6th touchdown, the Chiefs had the lead 51-47. Then with less than 2 minutes in the game, Jared Goff found Gerald Everett down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown, giving the Rams a 54-51 lead. Following a Patrick Mahomes interception, the Rams would hang on to win by that score. This game had even more important for the Rams, as it was coming in the middle of the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
Super Bowl LII
So, you just watched Super Bowl XLII, but want to see the Patriots lose again, well then turn on Super Bowl LII, where an unexpected hero, Big Richard Nick would lead the Philadelphia Eagles against the New England Patriots. Nick Foles took the reins for the Eagles following Carson Wentz tearing his ACL during an MVP caliber season. As the game started, the Eagles and Patriots would trade the lead back and forth, but to end the first half, the Eagles had a fourth and goal and were looking to take the lead into halftime, where the Patriots would receive the kickoff, and Eagles head coach, Doug Peterson, called "Philly Special" where Foles would flip the pass to Zach Ertz, and Ertz passed the ball back to Foles leading to an Eagles touchdown. After the Eagles took a 38-33 lead, Tom Brady was hoping to lead his Patriots back to the endzone and win a 6th Super Bowl, but with less then 3 minutes in the game, Brady had the ball stripped from his hands, and the Eagles would recover. The Eagles would kick a field goal, going up 41-33, and after a failed Hail Mary by the Patriots, win by that score. The highlight of the game is watching journeymen backup Nick Foles win Super Bowl LII MVP.
2014 New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles
The main reason to watch this game is the fact that Derek Jeter just got voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame for the class of 2020*. In 2014, it was announced that this would Jeter's last season in the MLB, meaning his 18-year career with the New York Yankees would come to an end. As the game got started Jeter had a good game, but nothing spectacular. One thing to know about Jeter is he has a flair for the dramatic, in 2011 Jeter's 3000th hit came off a bullet line-drive home run against David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. Going into the 9th inning, the Orioles were down 2-5 and it looked like a calm win for the Yankees to send off Jeter at Yankee Stadium. After the Orioles clawed back to tie the game at 5-5, Jeter was the third batter due up in the bottom of 9th. After a single, and sacrifice bunt, pinch runner, Antoan Richardson, was on second base, and Derek Jeter's name was called for possible the final time at Yankee Stadium. On the first pitch, Jeter drove the ball out to the right field, where Richardson raced home, a late throw by Nick Markakis allowed Richardson to be safe, and Derek Jeter finished his career at Yankee Stadium being mobbed by his teammates for winning the game, in the bottom of the 9th, storybook.