Read on Twitter
Inspired by @MichaelStubel, I'm going to relive some joy and share my 10 favorite sports memories.
Is it weird to start with a loss?
10. Following UCF's first NCAA tournament win, the Knights took #1 Duke down to the wire. My alma mater led future NBA superstar Zion Williamson by three with 15 seconds to play.
10. Following UCF's first NCAA tournament win, the Knights took #1 Duke down to the wire. My alma mater led future NBA superstar Zion Williamson by three with 15 seconds to play.
9. The '03/04 Carolina Panthers had to make the list.
In a divisional playoff game, Steve Smith scores a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of double overtime to upset the St. Louis Rams.
In a divisional playoff game, Steve Smith scores a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of double overtime to upset the St. Louis Rams.
8. Liverpool, seeking its first domestic title in 30 years, had a pivotal matchup against back-to-back reigning champion Manchester City in November 2019. The result? Utter destruction. Liverpool is currently two wins from clinching the Premier League.
7. Growing up an Ohio State fan, beating M*chigan mattered more than any bowl game. The Game is rarely competitive anymore, but Ohio State won the first-ever OT battle between the sides in a 2016 thriller. The Buckeyes were down 10 with 16 minutes to play.
6. Well, almost any bowl game. Ohio State got the proverbial SEC monkey off its back with a win against Alabama in the first-ever college football playoff. Ezekiel Elliott sealed the game with an electrifying run.
5. My favorite professional football memory came in January 2016. The Panthers obliterated the Cardinals in an NFC Championship Game that I thought would decide the Super Bowl champ (it didn't!). Still, Cam Newton was extraordinary and I was beside myself.
4. No game on this list is quite as much of an emotional roller coaster as UCF's 2017 matchup against USF. The rivalry's best game was a 49-42 shootout with a go-ahead kick return TD.
3. Liverpool outplayed Barcelona in the first leg of last year's Champions League semi-final. They still lost 3-0. Coming back to Anfield, they needed to beat Messi's Barça squad 4-0 without Mo Salah. They did just that. "CORNER TAKEN QUICKLY, ORIGI!"
2. UCF, robbed of a shot at the college football playoff, faced Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2018. Auburn, the only team to defeat eventual-playoff-winner Alabama, couldn't beat the Knights. UCF AD Danny White named the team National Champions.
1. What else could it be? Down 3-1, my favorite athlete put a team (and a city) on his back to steal a title from one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Game 7. The Block. The Shot. An iconic game and a historic series.
