Top Ten Sports Events

Sports and learning...
Yesterday, I mentioned that Michael Phelps' 7th gold was one of the 10 most thrilling sporting events I've ever witnessed (on TV).

That got me thinking. What are my top ten?
And what did I learn from them?
In no particular order, let's see...

• 2008 - Michael Phelps' 7th gold
  Lesson? Never, ever, ever, ever give up! And never ever, ever, ever coast that last meter...
  
• 2008 - Super Bowl, NY Giants over NE Patriots
  Lessons? Addition by subtraction... the loss of Tiki Barber and then Jeremy Shockey produces a champion. And... you can teach an old dog (Coach Tom Coughlin) new tricks.
• 1988 - Kirk Gibson's World Series pinch hit, walk-off home run 
  Lesson? One flap of a butterfly's wings can lead to an improbable victory.
• 1980 - Miracle on Ice, USA over Russia in Olympic Hockey 
  Lesson? Team... team... team.
• 1990 - Super Bowl XXV, NY Giants over Buffalo Bills 
  Lesson? Trust your players. In order to counter the Bills 'no-huddle' offense, Bill Belichick let Everson Walls call all the defensive plays. Delegation to the max!
• 2001 - Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, and Derek Jeter hit late home runs to win games 4 and 5 for the NY Yankees against the Arizona Diamondbacks 
  Lesson? Never underestimate the power of environment. There is/was magic in Yankee Stadium. Will the Yankees suffer a move to a new stadium? We'll see...
• 1976 - Nadia Comaneci, Gold Medal Olympic Gymnast 
  Lesson? Sometimes you tip your hat to the enemy. Grace and beauty is grace and beauty... no matter what flag it wears. (see also, Olga Korbut)
• 1979 - NY Yankee Bobby Murcer buries teammate Thurman Munson, then drives in 5 runs to win the game that night, collapsing in the arms of Lou Pinella -Lesson? There are vast, untapped reseviors of energy in all of us that surface when least expected - and most needed.
• 2003 - The 'flip' from Derek Jeter to Jorge Posada of the NY Yankees to win Game 3 of the American League Playoffs 
  Lesson? Luck is the residue of talent and effort.
• 1972 - Not exactly thrilling, but I'll never forget the 1972 Munich Olympics and Jim McKay.
  Lesson? George Bernard Shaw wrote, "Life does not cease to be funny when someone dies, as it does not cease to be serious when people laugh." Sports is just sports, but it shows us much more. And life continues, win or lose...

If this list seems a little New York-centric, well, I'm from New York...