Never before have I envied those that aren’t sports fans, those that have found contentment in life without vehemently lauding or loathing other grown men and women for running around a court, pitch, or track.
Yet that is the position I’ve found myself in during the past few months. As the Coronavirus pandemic brought all facets of normal life to an abrupt halt, it was live sport that I found myself longing for the most.
The NFL Draft, the return of the Bundesliga, and Netflix’s smash-hit docuseries, The Last Dance, which follows Michael Jordan’s 1998 season with the Chicago Bulls, have done what they can to whet my appetite.. but Jesus Christ, I miss sports.
So, whilst we await the return of normality, I’ve decided to put together a list of the top 10 sporting moments of the 21st Century. At this point I’d point out that these are my top sporting moments, not necessarily those of general consensus. There could well be some glaring omissions from the list, and if you feel that strongly about it you can send me a message that I absolutely *will not* ignore.
Without further ado, we’ll crack on with the list.
10. Van Gerwen’s Perfect 17 Darts
Atmosphere alone propels this one into my top ten.
But first, allow me to lay down some background for those disinterested in darts. Each player starts a leg on 501, and they are aiming to ‘check it out’ in as few darts as possible. The minimum amounts of darts a player must throw in order to check out 501, is 9.
There are 3,944 ways to check out a leg in 9 darts, which sounds like quite a lot, doesn’t it? But those are just the mathematically possible variations. A number which might put the scale of a nine dart finish in better perspective, is 315. That is the number of nine dart finishes in PDC history since 1999. Only 315.
To further illustrate the difficulty of a 9 dart finish, they are often compared to a 147 break in snooker, and sometimes even to a hole in one in golf; two of the most difficult feats in sport. All three require absolute perfection, there is no room for error.
Now, in the semi-final of the PDC 2013 World Championship, Michael Van Gerwen was pitted against James Wade, two of darts’ biggest names. Van Gerwen found himself 3 sets to 1 up against Wade, but 2 legs down in the 5th set. I implore you to watch the video below to watch what happened next.
Absolute ecstasy. Darts fans may never see a 9 dart finish in their entire life, and the patrons of the packed Alexandra Palace in London were millimetres away from seeing two in consecutive legs.
P.S. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better piece of commentary than that.
9. Aguero’s League Winner
A painful one for me to admit.. but the sheer and utter elation that erupted across the Etihad when Sergio Aguero hammered home the winner against QPR on the final day of the season is what sport is all about.
This moment will be immortalised in Premier League folklore, and rightly so. For the first time in 44 years, Manchester City were League Champions, finally overcoming their dominant city rivals, United.
The manner in which this season’s title race was decided will live long in the memories of football fans up and down the country. With only a win good enough for City, wave after wave of their attacks broke against the stubborn QPR defence, until, with what was likely to be one of the last kicks of the game, Sergio Aguero thumped home the game – and league – winner, sending the Etihad into rapturous celebrations.
Furthermore, very few commentators would have been able to accurately capture and convey the feelings of football fans in this moment the way Martin Tyler did.
8. Stefon Diggs Calls Game
A personal favourite, this one will stick with me for a long time, given the circumstances in which, and the people with whom, I saw it.
Allow me to set the scene; The dying moments of the NFC Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. Vikings are down by 1. It’s 3rd and 10 with just 10 seconds left on the game clock.
The Vikings have time to run two plays; one to get them within field goal range, and another to kick what would likely be the game winning field goal. It sounds simple when you break it down into layman’s terms, but believe me, every betting man in the country would have backed the Saints to hold them at bay.
What happened next is why the sports broadcasting market is worth over $22 billion in the US alone.
Vikings quarterback, Case Keenum, drops back into the pocket and surveys his options. He fires the ball deep towards wide receiver Stefon Diggs on the touchline. Diggs *just* has to catch it and get out of bounds, stopping the clock, and allowing the special teams unit to step up and kick the clutch field goal.
That alone would be an incredible finish to the game, but of course it doesn’t play out like that. As Diggs reels in the catch, every Vikings coach, player, and fan across the country were screaming at him to get out of bounds before being tackled. Diggs however had other ideas. He had the presence of mind to realise that a Saints defender had made a crucial missed tackle, giving him a free run to the endzone; an opportunity to win it, there and then.
The stadium erupts, Joe Buck – the commentator – loses his mind, and Diggs removes his helmet, revealing the face of the most composed man in the stadium.
Moments like these are why sport is such an infectious and addictive pastime for people across the world. The opportunity to overcome the impossible. To be able to be a part of that, to have even been able to see it? Priceless.
7. Barcelona’s Impossible Comeback
Paris St. Germain fans will look back at this moment through their fingers, as they try to come to terms with what happened at the Nou Camp in March of 2017.
The most prestigious of club competitions in world football, the Champion’s League had seen some of the greatest moments in footballing history. The second leg of the round of 16 would provide what might be the most spectacular.
Having been soundly thrashed 4-0 in Paris, Barcelona were all but out of the competition. A disappointing early exit beckoned, with the second leg being seen by many as little more than a formality.
The Blaugrana had other ideas. Owing to perhaps the most deadly attacking trio world football has ever seen, Neymar, Suárez, and the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi, Barcelona summoned one of the most improbable performances ever seen to progress to the quarter finals.
An early goal from Luis Suárez gave the home side a glimmer of hope, and at 3-0 after 50 minutes, they were well and truly in the game. However, when PSG’s Edinson Cavani thumped the ball into the back of the net in the 62nd minute, all optimism within the Nou Camp evaporated.
With under 30 minutes remaining, and needing three goals to progress owing to the away goals rule, Barcelona’s valiant efforts appeared to be for nought.
A sublime free kick from Neymar in the 88th minute looked to be little more than a consolation, but when he tucked home a penalty in the first minute of stoppage time, the stadium erupted as the fans begged their team to produce one last moment of brilliance.
Five minutes of injury time were to be played. Ample time for a team of Barcelona’s calibre to produce just one opportunity, one half chance that might send them through. The seconds ticked by, and as the eleventh hour arrived, Sergi Roberto, an unlikely hero, arrived to prod home a hopeful ball.
Comebacks can happen often in football. It’s a sport that lends itself to immediate instances of change and opportunity. Rarely however does it produce comebacks of this proportion. Becoming the first team to overturn a 4-0 first leg deficit in Europe since 1955, Barcelona offered us a reminder that impossible is little more than a word.
6. Usain Bolt’s Olympic Dominance
When Jamaica’s Usain Bolt strolled across the 100m finish line in Beijing’s Birds Nest Stadium at the 2008 Olympics, he announced himself to the world as the fastest man on the planet. Setting a then world record pace of 9.69 seconds, the world didn’t wonder how he ran so fast, they wondered how fast could he go?
You see, at 80 metres, Bolt knew he had won. Lengths ahead of the competition, he could afford to look to either side, and outstretch his arms in celebration. He was actually slowing down before he had crossed the line.
Coming away with the top prize in all three of the major track sprints (100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay) in 2008, athletics had found an icon. Not only had he shown his class on the track, but he had won the hearts and minds of fans across the world with his personality and infectious smile.
Having set a new world record of 9.58 seconds earlier in the year, the London 2012 games saw Bolt presented with an opportunity, not only to defend his three titles, but to distribute what many might have called justice to America’s Justin Gatlin, as he returned from his second ban for doping. Gatlin entered the Olympics in red hot form, and many feared that he would take home the gold in the 100m event.
Bolt remained the coolest man on the planet however, as he took his place in the starting blocks. 9.63 seconds later he had dispensed with Gatlin and his compatriot Yohan Blake, claiming his second Olympic 100m gold medal in as many attempts. Success in the 200m and 4x100m relay would see all three of his titles defended.
Well and truly an international superstar, Bolt had entered the twilight of his career as he arrived at the Rio 2016 games. There was no question that this would be his last Olympics, but at the wrong end of 29, could he still compete with the rising stars of international sprinting?
Justin Gatlin too was hoping to improve on his 3rd place finish four years earlier, and with an electric start, it looked like he would finish atop the podium. With 50 metres to go however, Bolt powered into the lead, leaving Gatlin and the rest of the competition in the dust for the final time.
The first athlete to win three successive Olympic titles in the 100m event, as well as two more successive wins in the 200m and 4x100m relay, Usain Bolt completed an historic ‘treble treble’. Unfortunately, this accolade would be tarnished and removed by the retrospective ban of his 2008 relay teammate Nestor Carter, resulting in the Jamaican team being stripped of their gold medal.
Usain Bolt will be remembered as one of the greatest athletes of all time. His incredible speed was matched only by his captivating personality, and I suspect it will be a long time before the most exhilarating event in all of athletics meets a character as impressive or as likeable as Bolt.
5. Andy Murray Winning Wimbledon
For years Andy Murray had been seen as this emotionless figure, a man whose grumpy demeanour seemed to alienate a lot of people. British fans wanted someone they didn’t just have to support through patriotic fervour, they wanted someone they could like. Murray struggled to fit this bill for many people.
It was in 2012, at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, that this perspective of Murray was changed. Having fallen agonisingly short in three previous Grand Slam finals, Murray desperately hoped that this, his fourth, would be the moment he became Britain’s first Grand Slam winner since Virginia Wade in 1977.
Once again, Murray would fall at the final hurdle. Facing the great Roger Federer, he lost in four sets. It was in the moments afterwards however, that the tennis world would bear witness to a side of Murray that hadn’t been seen before.
As he struggled through one of the most emotional interviews of his life, there was a clear shift in attitude towards Murray. Here was one of Britain’s greatest athletes, a man playing at the highest level of the game, stripping himself bare for the world to see. He had come so close so many times, and still he had not succeeded.
In his failure, and in his response to that failure, Andy Murray offered a rare opportunity for people around the world not to sympathise with him, but to empathise. We have all tried and failed. Each and every one of us knows how it feels to fall short of something we desperately want. In that moment, as he shed tears for all to see, we felt we had something in common with Andy Murray.
Little did he know just how soon his efforts would pay off. Returning to Wimbledon that same summer, Murray took home a gold medal from the London 2012 Olympic Games. Just over five weeks later, he defeated Novak Djokovic in 5 sets to win his first ever Grand Slam, the 2012 US Open.
The following summer, Murray was presented with an opportunity to dispel his Wimbledon demons of the year before. Facing Djokovic once again, the same opponent he overcame at Flushing Meadows, there was a clear bias amongst the 15,000 Centre Court fans.
A straight sets win seemed almost to do the moment an injustice, but in just over three hours, Murray wrote himself into the history books as the first British man to win at Wimbledon since Fred Perry 77 years earlier.
Through his failures, Murray proved himself a far more complex and far more human character than anyone had imagined, and his eventual success at the US Open and Wimbledon marked some of most deserving moments of a sporting career that I can remember.
4. Iliud Kipchoge’s sub 2 hour marathon
“He had pace setters”, “It was on perfectly flat ground”, “He was wearing trampolines on his feet”, “The record doesn’t actually count”.
You could say literally anything to try and diminish the fact a man ran a sub 2 hour marathon, and I honestly couldn’t care less. Ok, maybe if you’d told me he’d pumped himself full of PEDs that would change things, but you know what I mean.
On the 12th of October, 2019, Kenyan long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge took to the streets of Vienna in a bid to become the first man to run a marathon in under 2 hours, a feat that had eluded him for over 8 years.
His attempt took place in Austria during the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, an event designed specifically for Kipchoge’s effort. Many of the variables that could affect his time were assessed and controlled as much as possible to give him the best chance of succeeding, including the terrain, the time of year, and the air quality. In addition to this, Kipchoge ran behind a pace setting car that beamed a green laser beam on the floor, as well as being joined by a team of 42 world class calibre pace setters over the course of the 26.2 miles.
A quite simply insane required pace of 2 minutes and 51 seconds per kilometre was matched by Kipchoge throughout, with his slowest kilometre clocking in just one second slower at 2 minutes and 52 seconds. For those that operate in imperials, he maintained a pace of sub 4 minutes and 34 seconds per mile.
To truly appreciate the speed of this pace, I recommend you watch the video below, posted by YouTuber Mike Boyd, as he and a few other average runners attempt to maintain the required pace.
So, as Kipchoge crossed the finish line in Vienna with a time of 1:59:40, he succeeded in shattering the belief held by so many, that such a feat was impossible. Like Sir Roger Bannister 65 years earlier, Kipchoge proved that humans are defined, not by what we are told can be done, but by what we endeavour to do.
Following the race, Kipchoge said that he “can tell people that no human is limited”, a response that inspires and challenges us, not necessarily even to succeed, but simply to try. Without trying, we will never know what we can achieve.
3. Leicester City Win The League
Is this the greatest Cindarella story in world sport? After surviving the relegation battle of the 2014/15 season by the skin of their proverbial teeth, Leicester City pulled off the most unlikely of turnarounds as they were crowned Premier League Champions the very next season.
Heading into the 2015/16 season, The Tinkerman, Claudio Ranieri, was brought in to try and steady the almost sunken ship, a decision that raised a few eyebrows, seeing as he was sacked as head coach of the Greek international team following an embarrassing loss to the Faroe Islands.
At 5000/1, The Foxes were all but written off by the bookmakers at the start of the season, but it wasn’t until the 7th game of the season that they tasted their first league defeat. Instead of rolling over for the traditionally dominant teams at the first sign of trouble, Leicester used this defeat as motivation to improve, rattling off four straight wins as they maintained their excellent start to the season.
This stellar start was due in large part to the imperious form of striker Jamie Vardy, a player who just five years earlier was playing for non-league side, Stocksbridge Park Steels. Scoring in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United, Vardy extended his consecutive goal scoring record to eleven games, breaking former United man Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of ten.
It seemed impossible that Leicester could maintain this form throughout the season, and a run of games in February against Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal would surely prove to be the undoing of Ranieri’s side. However, with wins against Liverpool and City, Leicester sat five points clear of Arsenal before travelling to the Emirates on February 14th.
An agonising last minute defeat to the Gunners saw the gap cut to just two points, but it turned out that Arsenal’s North London rivals, Tottenham, would provide the greatest challenge to Leicester’s title run.
This challenge too came-a-cropper when a stunning solo goal from Chelsea’s Eden Hazard sealed a late draw against Tottenham. Leicester mathematically could not be overtaken. They had succeeded in completing the most remarkable Premier League win in history.
Former Leicester City player Gary Lineker remarked halfway through the season that if Leicester could manage to win the league, he would present Match of the Day in his underwear. It wasn’t just the bookmakers that had to shell out on a few unlikely bets.
2. Tiger’s Comeback
Arguably the greatest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods’ career began to unravel in 2009 when he was accused of having an extra-marital affair, as well as being involved in a car accident outside of his house.
Injuries plagued his career as things went from bad to worse in his personal life, culminating in an infamous DUI charge in 2017 as he failed multiple sobriety tests after having been found asleep at the wheel of his vehicle.
2016 saw Woods fall outside of the world’s top 500, and in 2017 he underwent a fourth surgery on his chronically injured back. The golfing world had moved on from Tiger Woods. The likelihood of any sort of comeback, let alone tournament success, was next to nil.
Then, in 2018, a season which Woods began ranked outside of the world’s top 1000, something remarkable happened. At March’s Valspar Championship, Woods posted his first top-five finish on the PGA Tour since 2013.
As the year went on, he continued to show some semblance of form. Tying for 6th at the Open Championship and finishing second at the PGA Championship, just 2 shots off winner Brooks Koepka, we were beginning to see glimpses of the Tiger Woods of old.
It wasn’t until September 23rd however that the inconceivable comeback really became a reality, as Woods won the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. I will never forget the scenes as thousands upon thousands of fans followed Woods up the 18th fairway to the green, where he made a simple two put to seal his 80th career win.
Woods’ comeback finally reached its zenith in 2019. Going into the final day of The Masters just 2 shots off the lead, golf fans across the world recognised a chance for Woods to seal a momentous win in one of golf’s greatest tournaments.
As the day went on, Woods refused to fall away, staying within touching distance of the lead. Going into the back nine just one shot off leader Francesco Molinari, Woods held a 23.4% chance of winning the Green Jacket.
It wasn’t until the par 3 16th before we really began to believe he might do it. With what might be considered the shot of the tournament given what was at stake, Woods’ tee shot came within inches of rolling in for a hole-in-one.
I remember watching this, feeling the goose bumps on my arms as I realised the enormity of what I was witnessing. Golf’s greatest icon, returning triumphant from purgatory.
Tapping in the final putt on the 18th green to seal one of the greatest comebacks in all of sport, Tiger Woods overcame a plethora of demons. From the lowest ebb to the highest peak, Woods’ rise, fall, and return will be recognised as one of sport’s greatest accomplishments
1. Ben Stokes and Jack Leach
“Cut away! Cut away for four!”
The images are already replaying in your mind aren’t they? The moment one man overcame the impossible.
What Ben Stokes achieved that day transcended the Ashes series and it transcended even cricket. It was one of those rare moments in sport, an act of raw defiance in the face of certain failure.
Hope crept into the hearts and minds of the England fans as Stokes chipped away at the Australian lead, only for it to crash down around them, like Sisyphus and his stone, as batsman after batsman fell afoul of the Aussie attack.
However, as the minutes and the overs ticked agonisingly by, Stokes continued to despatch balls to the boundary in spellbinding fashion. Only a man in imperious form would dare play some of the shots that Stokes did.
But Stokes couldn’t have done it alone. When the chips were down, an unlikely hero emerged. Step forward Jack Leach. As the bespectacled off spinner strode to the crease at number 11, the hopes of the Barmy Army were hanging by a thread.
Still 73 runs shy of surpassing the Australian total, the problem now wasn’t Stokes’ ability to get the runs, but Leach surviving long enough for him to get them. But survive he did. The perfect foil to Stokes, Jack Leach became a brick wall for little over an hour. He saw off every ball he was challenged to face, allowing Stokes to continue dismantling the Australian lead.
With only 2 runs to win however, a breakdown in communication looked certain to lose England the match and the Ashes, as Leach took off down the track for a single only to be turned back by Stokes. Certain to be run out, it can only have been divine intervention that caused Nathan Lyon – Australian off spinner – to mishandle the ball at the stumps, giving Leach time to return safely to his crease.
Then, incredibly, with the very next ball, Nathan Lyon trapped Stokes LBW, only for the emphatic Australian appeals to be dismissed by the umpire. Having wasted their last review not too long before this, the Aussies were understandably distraught.
As Jack Leach turned one round the corner to finally get himself off the mark, all eyes were on Ben Stokes with the scores tied. With one final flourish, he cut away Pat Cummins’ delivery, sealing an unforgettable win for England, and reviving their Ashes hopes.
Who says cricket’s boring, eh?!
(Below I’ve included the full 1 hour long broadcast from the moment Jack Leach joined Stokes at the crease, but for those with less of an inclination, I’ve also included a highlights clip)
Honourable Mentions
Istanbul. Liverpool’s sensational comeback against AC Milan. If I’m being honest, this one deserved to be in the top ten, but I left it out for no other reason than that I didn’t want to have to do research on a Liverpool success. Sue me.
Michael Phelps. Christ, this man can swim! One of the most dominant athletes of all time, Phelps’ 28 Olympic medals, 23 of which are gold, makes him the most successful Olympian ever. I also have an affinity towards him because of his honesty and openness when discussing his struggles with mental health.
Pats’ Bowl Comeback. The New England Patriots were down 28-3 in Super Bowl 51. Outscoring the Atlanta Falcons 31-0 from the 3rd quarter through to overtime, they pulled off a quite simply astonishing comeback. Why is this not in my top ten I hear you cry? Because I turned it off and went to bed when they were 28-3 down. I’m still livid with myself.
P.S. You actually read this far?! Haven’t you got anything better to do?
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