Sometimes sports can be more than just a game. Sometimes it can transcend into something that is very emotional, special, and lasting. And while we here at Pyle of List often like to take the low road and just make dick jokes about things, this time of year gets to us. Even we must stand up and salute the flag and eat hot dogs and cheer when they explode different colors into the night sky. So with that in mind, we look down memory lane at the most patriotic moments in USA sports history. Enjoy!
US rejects silver medals (1972 Olympics)
The 1972 Olympic games are better known for the hostage crisis and massacre, which makes this patriotic moment underrated and overlooked. Let me give you a quick recap of the incident: with the 3 seconds left in the Gold Medal game, after a phantom time out, The Soviet Union team gets 3 chances to inbound the ball and beat the USA due to biased and/or incompetent officiating on a level far beyond the current NBA. On the third chance they finally succeed, snapping our 63-game winning streak in international competition and pulling off a huge upset. Instead of validating this obvious screw-job that would make Vince McMahon blush, the team refused to come out for the medal ceremony and accept their silver medals. 36 years later we still haven't claimed the medals that currently sit in a Munich vault. Some say this was poor sportsmanship, but I say its a perfect example of standing up for what you believe and not turning a blind eye to corruption.
First MLB game after 9/11
We all remember where we were when the planes hit the towers. I was in bed, still a week away from moving away to college when my step dad ran in and turned on my TV and walked out without saying a word. He's a veteran so I don't think he was in much shape to discuss this type of thing with me. Our country had been attacked and things would never be the same. The city of New York was down for the count and needed someone to lift it off the mat. Then MLB stepped up to the plate. Hallowed announcer Jack Buck read a patriotic poem before the game that left not one eye dry in the entire place. My favorite part: "I don't know about you, but as for me, the question has already been answered: Should we be here? Yes!" a line directed at critics who claimed MLB came back too soon. Baseball, the American past time, was back.
The Miracle on Ice
In anytime after the Second World War there was no other group of people more hated or feared then the evil Soviets. Their insistence on converting the world to their own "perfect" form of government ran completely counter to America's desire that all people choose democracy. For 50 years the US and Soviets stared each other down and, much like the villainous henchmen in James Bond movies, never fired a meaningful shot. With all the tension mounting the sports world and the Olympics became the best possible battlefield for these two powerhouses. In 1980, at the Lake Placid games all eyes focused on a strong Soviet hockey team that seemed destine to take the gold. Most of the Soviets, while officially being labeled amateurs, trained with and played against professional players. The US team had already been massacred by the Reds in exhibition play. The Soviets even decided to rest players before the games against the US while the American coach Herb Brooks kept up his team on the same rigorous training pace he had become known for. And it paid off in miraculous fashion. The US upset the Russians and rode the victory to a gold medal. And a defeat that undoubtedly worked a slowly into the minds of the Communist as just 11 short years later the Berlin wall came down.
Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics
At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin Jesse Owens showed the world that "Aryan superiority" was merely the bigoted sputterings of a sick and evil dictator. In the calm before the storm of WWII, Owens won a then record of four gold medals during the Berlin games. The sad part of the story that you don't hear as much is the fact that the White House never acknowledged Owens' accomplishments until 1955 when Ike name him an "Ambassador of Sports". The president of the time, FDR, never congratulated Mr. Owens for his amazing feat in the face of such hostile opposition.
Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in baseball
On April 15, 1967 Jackie Robinson became the first African-American Major League Baseball player. The game was America's past time, but up until that point it was not for all Americans to play. Mr. Robinson's breakthrough laid the foundation for so much more than just black baseball players. I cannot do justice here in this space to the ripple effect this moment had on the civil rights movement. Things are still far from perfect here in the U.S. as we approach the country's 232nd birthday. I don't know if everything will ever be perfectly equal in America, but people like Jackie Robinson engender hope that someday we will get there together.
Super Bowl XXXVI: Rams v. Patriots
There are 2 events that will cause a rift in the calendar of American history since 1950. The first is JFK's assassination on November 22, 1963 and the second is the attacks of September 11, 2001. The latter caused the NFL to rework it's entire schedule including moving the Super Bowl back a week. And in the Superdome on the February Sunday, America celebrated its freedom and patriotism and remembered the fallen as the "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams were heavily favored over the upstart New England Patriots with a young and virtually unknown Tom Brady at QB. The pre-game music was largely patriotic, former President George H.W. Bush appeared on field for the coin toss and the NFL produced a moving video of the reading of the Declaration of Independence by various players, military personal and other notable Americans. When the New England Patriots demanded to take the field as a team (now that common practice for Super Bowl teams) instead of individuals the NFL would balk at first but eventually allow it. They also came out of the tunnel led by the American Flag. During U2's halftime show the names of victims of the 9/11 attacks where projected above the band as they sang, "Where the Streets Have No Names." And in the end the teamwork of the New England Patriots along with Adam Vinatieri's 48 yard field goal as time expired capped off a fitting victory as the Patriots claimed the World Championship, 20-17.
Vince Carter toasts Frenchman
There are no plays in sports more 'Merican than the slam dunk and home run. Except for a dunk with your crotch going into, and then over, the face of another countries center. Check that: another countries SEVEN FOOT center. Yeah, our economy may be floundering, and our foreign policy may be questionable, but watch out, World, because America is jumping over your ass! Note: This was also the play that let Shawn Bradley off the hook for Worst Job Defending the Dunk by a White Guy.
Keri Strug
Never has a tiny teenage girl with a squeeky voice inspired more patriotism than the star of the 1996 Olympics, Keri Strug. In case you lived under a rock or are too young to remember, Strug dramatically gutted out an ankle injury and stuck her vault which propelled the US Women to Gymnastics gold on our home soil. Not only were we underdogs, the Russians were considered so invincible that you would've had to place a bet on the field to wager against them. In that one vault, she said more about America's grit and determination than a thousand speeches from politicians. The famous image of her being carried off the mat by Coach Bela Karolyi after the winning vault will be forever entrenched in Olympic lore as a representation of one of America's greatest triumphs.
Rick Monday saves the flag
A lot of the patriotic moments on this list are here because of what the accomplishments represented to America. But, Rick Monday's contribution was far from theoretical as he saved the American flag from being burned at Dodger Stadium in 1976. No matter how you feel about flag burning from a legal standpoint, this was a special act of patriotism that meant a whole lot to a country in turmoil. In fact the crowd was so moved by Monday's actions they broke into an impromtu chorus of God Bless America. After all, if the Ol' Stars and Stripes can be torched on the field during America's favorite pastime (with Vin Scully calling the action, no less), where is it safe?
1992 Dream Team Destroys World
Other countries like to personify Americans by our desire for big guns, big cars, and big bellies. So what do we do? We decide to send some of our best athletes over to remind them that we are better than them. As if getting punked by some of basketball's all-time greats wasn't bad enough (Jordan, Bird, Magic) we also sent Charles Barkley and Christian Laettner over just to taunt them. I mean, the least number points we won by was 32, and we went the entire tournament without calling a time out! If there was ever a moment of us flexing our sports muscle for the rest of the world, it was here.
Rocky beating the crap out of Drago
We know it's fictional, but there may be no better moment to some up Patriotism as the Stars and Stripes clad "Italian Stallion" battling and beating the killing machine Ivan Drago. Remember, this guy killed Apollo Creed in the ring during an exhibition match. And then stepped out of the ring and simply said, "If he dies, he dies." Forget challenging him to another boxing match, I was prepared to find the General Lee and He-man's Power Sword and take care of him myself. (I was 5, that's how my mind worked.) But Rocky takes the former route and ends up getting prepared to fight Drago in the Soviet Union by chopping wood and training in the tundra. Every once and a while he would jog to the top of a mountain and yell out Drago's name, just for motivation. As he stands in the ring and Drago tells him "I must break you", Rocky sets his jaw and goes to work. Throughout the grueling fight Rocky slowly wins over the Russian crowd as he continues to stand up to their champion. When Rocky finally wins, as America always does, he speaks a message of hope for the Soviet crowd. "During this fight, I've seen a lot of changing, in the way you feel about me, and in the way I feel about you. In here, there were two guys killing each other, but I guess that's better than twenty million. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!"
Lance Armstrong winning a French bicycle race 7 years in a row
Everyone red-blooded American loves to see the French lose. We love it even more when they lose at the hands of Texan with a single testicle. He may not have all his equipment anymore, but his heart is 30% larger than average and his muscles accumulate lactic acid at a much lower rate than mere mortals (Frenchmen). No one really cared that much about the Tour de France before he started collecting first place trophies like a true American collecting too many earthly possessions. And now that he has retired, no one really cares about the race anymore either. It takes a real American to bring relevance to such a sissy affair.
US rejects silver medals (1972 Olympics)
The 1972 Olympic games are better known for the hostage crisis and massacre, which makes this patriotic moment underrated and overlooked. Let me give you a quick recap of the incident: with the 3 seconds left in the Gold Medal game, after a phantom time out, The Soviet Union team gets 3 chances to inbound the ball and beat the USA due to biased and/or incompetent officiating on a level far beyond the current NBA. On the third chance they finally succeed, snapping our 63-game winning streak in international competition and pulling off a huge upset. Instead of validating this obvious screw-job that would make Vince McMahon blush, the team refused to come out for the medal ceremony and accept their silver medals. 36 years later we still haven't claimed the medals that currently sit in a Munich vault. Some say this was poor sportsmanship, but I say its a perfect example of standing up for what you believe and not turning a blind eye to corruption.
First MLB game after 9/11
We all remember where we were when the planes hit the towers. I was in bed, still a week away from moving away to college when my step dad ran in and turned on my TV and walked out without saying a word. He's a veteran so I don't think he was in much shape to discuss this type of thing with me. Our country had been attacked and things would never be the same. The city of New York was down for the count and needed someone to lift it off the mat. Then MLB stepped up to the plate. Hallowed announcer Jack Buck read a patriotic poem before the game that left not one eye dry in the entire place. My favorite part: "I don't know about you, but as for me, the question has already been answered: Should we be here? Yes!" a line directed at critics who claimed MLB came back too soon. Baseball, the American past time, was back.
The Miracle on Ice
In anytime after the Second World War there was no other group of people more hated or feared then the evil Soviets. Their insistence on converting the world to their own "perfect" form of government ran completely counter to America's desire that all people choose democracy. For 50 years the US and Soviets stared each other down and, much like the villainous henchmen in James Bond movies, never fired a meaningful shot. With all the tension mounting the sports world and the Olympics became the best possible battlefield for these two powerhouses. In 1980, at the Lake Placid games all eyes focused on a strong Soviet hockey team that seemed destine to take the gold. Most of the Soviets, while officially being labeled amateurs, trained with and played against professional players. The US team had already been massacred by the Reds in exhibition play. The Soviets even decided to rest players before the games against the US while the American coach Herb Brooks kept up his team on the same rigorous training pace he had become known for. And it paid off in miraculous fashion. The US upset the Russians and rode the victory to a gold medal. And a defeat that undoubtedly worked a slowly into the minds of the Communist as just 11 short years later the Berlin wall came down.
Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics
At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin Jesse Owens showed the world that "Aryan superiority" was merely the bigoted sputterings of a sick and evil dictator. In the calm before the storm of WWII, Owens won a then record of four gold medals during the Berlin games. The sad part of the story that you don't hear as much is the fact that the White House never acknowledged Owens' accomplishments until 1955 when Ike name him an "Ambassador of Sports". The president of the time, FDR, never congratulated Mr. Owens for his amazing feat in the face of such hostile opposition.
Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in baseball
On April 15, 1967 Jackie Robinson became the first African-American Major League Baseball player. The game was America's past time, but up until that point it was not for all Americans to play. Mr. Robinson's breakthrough laid the foundation for so much more than just black baseball players. I cannot do justice here in this space to the ripple effect this moment had on the civil rights movement. Things are still far from perfect here in the U.S. as we approach the country's 232nd birthday. I don't know if everything will ever be perfectly equal in America, but people like Jackie Robinson engender hope that someday we will get there together.
Super Bowl XXXVI: Rams v. Patriots
There are 2 events that will cause a rift in the calendar of American history since 1950. The first is JFK's assassination on November 22, 1963 and the second is the attacks of September 11, 2001. The latter caused the NFL to rework it's entire schedule including moving the Super Bowl back a week. And in the Superdome on the February Sunday, America celebrated its freedom and patriotism and remembered the fallen as the "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams were heavily favored over the upstart New England Patriots with a young and virtually unknown Tom Brady at QB. The pre-game music was largely patriotic, former President George H.W. Bush appeared on field for the coin toss and the NFL produced a moving video of the reading of the Declaration of Independence by various players, military personal and other notable Americans. When the New England Patriots demanded to take the field as a team (now that common practice for Super Bowl teams) instead of individuals the NFL would balk at first but eventually allow it. They also came out of the tunnel led by the American Flag. During U2's halftime show the names of victims of the 9/11 attacks where projected above the band as they sang, "Where the Streets Have No Names." And in the end the teamwork of the New England Patriots along with Adam Vinatieri's 48 yard field goal as time expired capped off a fitting victory as the Patriots claimed the World Championship, 20-17.
Vince Carter toasts Frenchman
There are no plays in sports more 'Merican than the slam dunk and home run. Except for a dunk with your crotch going into, and then over, the face of another countries center. Check that: another countries SEVEN FOOT center. Yeah, our economy may be floundering, and our foreign policy may be questionable, but watch out, World, because America is jumping over your ass! Note: This was also the play that let Shawn Bradley off the hook for Worst Job Defending the Dunk by a White Guy.
Keri Strug
Never has a tiny teenage girl with a squeeky voice inspired more patriotism than the star of the 1996 Olympics, Keri Strug. In case you lived under a rock or are too young to remember, Strug dramatically gutted out an ankle injury and stuck her vault which propelled the US Women to Gymnastics gold on our home soil. Not only were we underdogs, the Russians were considered so invincible that you would've had to place a bet on the field to wager against them. In that one vault, she said more about America's grit and determination than a thousand speeches from politicians. The famous image of her being carried off the mat by Coach Bela Karolyi after the winning vault will be forever entrenched in Olympic lore as a representation of one of America's greatest triumphs.
Rick Monday saves the flag
A lot of the patriotic moments on this list are here because of what the accomplishments represented to America. But, Rick Monday's contribution was far from theoretical as he saved the American flag from being burned at Dodger Stadium in 1976. No matter how you feel about flag burning from a legal standpoint, this was a special act of patriotism that meant a whole lot to a country in turmoil. In fact the crowd was so moved by Monday's actions they broke into an impromtu chorus of God Bless America. After all, if the Ol' Stars and Stripes can be torched on the field during America's favorite pastime (with Vin Scully calling the action, no less), where is it safe?
1992 Dream Team Destroys World
Other countries like to personify Americans by our desire for big guns, big cars, and big bellies. So what do we do? We decide to send some of our best athletes over to remind them that we are better than them. As if getting punked by some of basketball's all-time greats wasn't bad enough (Jordan, Bird, Magic) we also sent Charles Barkley and Christian Laettner over just to taunt them. I mean, the least number points we won by was 32, and we went the entire tournament without calling a time out! If there was ever a moment of us flexing our sports muscle for the rest of the world, it was here.
Rocky beating the crap out of Drago
We know it's fictional, but there may be no better moment to some up Patriotism as the Stars and Stripes clad "Italian Stallion" battling and beating the killing machine Ivan Drago. Remember, this guy killed Apollo Creed in the ring during an exhibition match. And then stepped out of the ring and simply said, "If he dies, he dies." Forget challenging him to another boxing match, I was prepared to find the General Lee and He-man's Power Sword and take care of him myself. (I was 5, that's how my mind worked.) But Rocky takes the former route and ends up getting prepared to fight Drago in the Soviet Union by chopping wood and training in the tundra. Every once and a while he would jog to the top of a mountain and yell out Drago's name, just for motivation. As he stands in the ring and Drago tells him "I must break you", Rocky sets his jaw and goes to work. Throughout the grueling fight Rocky slowly wins over the Russian crowd as he continues to stand up to their champion. When Rocky finally wins, as America always does, he speaks a message of hope for the Soviet crowd. "During this fight, I've seen a lot of changing, in the way you feel about me, and in the way I feel about you. In here, there were two guys killing each other, but I guess that's better than twenty million. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!"
Lance Armstrong winning a French bicycle race 7 years in a row
Everyone red-blooded American loves to see the French lose. We love it even more when they lose at the hands of Texan with a single testicle. He may not have all his equipment anymore, but his heart is 30% larger than average and his muscles accumulate lactic acid at a much lower rate than mere mortals (Frenchmen). No one really cared that much about the Tour de France before he started collecting first place trophies like a true American collecting too many earthly possessions. And now that he has retired, no one really cares about the race anymore either. It takes a real American to bring relevance to such a sissy affair.
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