Top 5 Memorial sporting moments ever......

[a massive zebra]

A couple of ridiculously great sporting achievements for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.olympic.org/common/asp/launchvideo.asp?name=pomex_johnson_highlight96_real100-500.rm

http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/pool/normal_videos/new/NVA-19_rocket147_1997_bb.ram

 

[Somerset]

I know most of these are before I was born, but anyway:

1.Peter Snell, Olympics
2.John Walker, Olympics
3.New Zealand, Soccer World Cup 1982
4.New Zealand, Rugby World Cup 1987
5.New Zealand in Australia, Cricket Test Series and VB Series, 2001

 

[Craig]

Jesse Owens winning gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, take that Hitler.

Greece winning the 2004 European Championships in Portugal, key players for them like Dellas and Karagounis were and still are bit players for their clubs in Italy.

Lance Armstrong winning the 1999 Tour de France, 18 months after nearly dying from cancer, Armstrong came out and won the Le Tour. Cofidis' decision to sack him when he was sick (he signed a two-year contract worth $2.5m contract for the season of 1997 and 1998) goes down as one of the dumbest decision's in the history of sport. Now look where they are

 

[andyc]

3.New Zealand, Soccer World Cup 1982

what happened there? my soccer history is virtually non-existent

 

[_Ed_]

We qualified for it. Haha. Was a brilliant achievement though, by a team of our low status in international football. Good stuff.

 

[Somerset]

what happened there? my soccer history is virtually non-existent

As Ed said, we qualified. Lost all three matches there but it was a fantastic achievement just to qualify. Our road to the World Cup was extremely tough as I can remember reading that we had a huge number of matches to get there but for a country that has tasted very little footballing success that side will go down as our best of all-time.

 

[Smudge]

As Ed said, we qualified. Lost all three matches there but it was a fantastic achievement just to qualify. Our road to the World Cup was extremely tough as I can remember reading that we had a huge number of matches to get there but for a country that has tasted very little footballing success that side will go down as our best of all-time.

We had to beat Saudi Arabia (I think) by five goals in our final qualifying match. And, against all odds, we did.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

We had to beat Saudi Arabia (I think) by five goals in our final qualifying match. And, against all odds, we did.

This is the moment where a football geek goes to RSSSF to find out whether memory's correct.

Amazingly, it was - only it was worse than you thought. New Zealand needed a 5-0 win in Riyadh to get a play-off with China - a 6-0 win would send them through outright - but they only managed 5-0, so a play-off was arranged in Singapore a month later.

Never mind that the Kiwis ended up with 2-12 goal difference and lost to Scotland.

 

[Craig]

Still the most recent team from this rag-dog region of Oceania who FIFA don't give a flying f**k about to make the World Cup.

 

[marc71178]

Sorry, but why should FIFA give a much to a region with 1 semi-decent side, one side worse than that and a load of islands where the only qualification for national selection seems to be the ability to walk with the aid of a zimmerframe?

 

[Craig]

And that is hardly our fault is it?

But how much creditbility does it give to FIFA to go back on a decision because of South American pressure?

 

[marc71178]

The decision was wrong in the first place.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Meh, we'll choke again this qualification, and then get nowhere near qualifying in the Asian region.

 

[aussie]

well lets see:

1. David Beckham's Goal againts Greece that secured ENG place in the 2002 WC

2. Johnny Wilkinson's goal that crowned ENG has rugby world champs. Even though i'm not a rugby fan, its was great to see ENG being recognised has the best in a sport.

3. Australia's World Cup 2003 win

4. the 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions league quarter-final between Real Madrid & Manchester United. Even though Manchester lost, i got see some of the great stars of world football in a wonderful atmosphere at the old trafford stadium

5. Harmison superb spell of 7-12 againts WI in Jamaica last year, this was memorable because i was right their in Jamaica & to see an english bowler be so destructive & see the shock on those people's faces was just a delight.