{"id":69933,"date":"2021-04-09T18:39:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T18:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscroll.com\/?p=69933"},"modified":"2024-04-15T14:26:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T14:26:15","slug":"fans-share-the-iconic-sports-plays-that-blew-their-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.sportscroll.com\/fans-share-the-iconic-sports-plays-that-blew-their-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans Share The Iconic Sports Plays That Blew Their Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"
There’s nothing sports fans<\/a> love to discuss more than an iconic play. What makes a play iconic? Often it’s because of the magnitude of the occasion and the composure of the athlete in clutch situations. But sometimes it’s because of a unique piece of improvisation and individual brilliance.<\/p>\n These plays come in all kinds of sports. Today we’ll take a look at everything from NFL to NBA<\/a>. We chronicled iconic moments from professional sports as well as college games. They’re all brilliant and entertaining. Check out the list below via Reddit<\/a> and Bleacher Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Larry Johnson’s 4-point play for the win in the playoffs against the Pacers was the greatest sporting moment I have witnessed,” SheepishEffect<\/a> wrote. New York Knicks fans haven’t had a lot to celebrate over the decades, but this was definitely an iconic moment. It occurred in 1999 against the Indiana Pacers in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals.<\/p>\n Depleted after losing Patrick Ewing to injury in the previous game, the Knicks were up against it. But Larry Johnson turned it on and entered Knicks folklore with a stellar three-pointer while being fouled at the same time. Somehow, he held his nerve to score the game-winning free throw under pressure. All of this sent the crowd into a frenzy, which only added to the intensity of the moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “The craziest I’ve seen is the ending to the Iron Bowl (Auburn vs. Alabama football game) in 2013. I’m a hardcore Alabama fan but it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen,” Connor44533<\/a> revealed on Reddit. This was a glorious way for one of college football’s most iconic games to end. The kick-six was one of those plays that occur so rarely but is sensational to watch when it does.<\/p>\n Auburn came from behind twice to tie the game but it looked like Alabama was finally going to win with a field goal. But the 57-yard-kick was short and Auburn star Chris Davis ran the entire length of the field through players of both teams to score the most unlikely touchdown. Many believe that this is the greatest play in college football history and it’s definitely up there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I’m about to relive this <\/span>Liverpool<\/span> Barcelona<\/span> game. “<\/span>Corner<\/span> taken quickly”. It gets better every time,” <\/span>@MoReeza_Khan<\/span><\/a> tweeted. Those three words refer to Liverpool’s fourth goal in the second leg of their Champion’s League semi-final against Barcelona. After they lost the first game 3-0, they knew that they needed to score at least three at home to send the tie to extra time. But instead, they scored four to win outright.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 2014, Yoenis Cespedes pulled off the throw of the year against the Los Angeles Angels. The Oakland Athletics star wiped out Howie Kendrick with this ridiculous throw Picture this: bottom of the eighth, scored tied at 1-1, and Cespedes lunges after Mike Trout’s liner into foul territory. But he recovered and unleashed a 300-foot heave that stunned the entire arena.<\/p>\n “As an Angels fan, this was one of those plays where when I saw it happen on TV I was on the floor groaning in despair and at the same time thinking “HOLY. CRAP. THAT WAS AWESOME,” Thorlolita<\/a> wrote on Reddit. It was easier for the Angels to stomach because they won the game 2-1. However, it was still an iconic moment and a stellar piece of skill from Cespedes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Titans stopped at the one yard. I was salty after losing 3 times in one season to them but that made up for it,” Conbon7<\/a> wrote on Reddit. Football fans are a vengeful bunch but this was definitely a palate cleanser for the Rams fans. St. Louis met the Titans in Super Bowl<\/a> XXXIV in Atlanta. After falling behind, a magnificent Kurt Warner pass brought the Rams back into the game.<\/p>\n But the Titans weren’t finished. They surged upfield and it looked as though they were about to score. However, they didn’t count on the presence of one man. Mike Jones took out Kevin Dyson just one-yard short of the endzone to save the day for his team. It was the wildest ending to the game and also heartbreaking for Tennessee. They came so near but in the end, were really so far away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ray Allen’s three-pointer in 2013 is one of the wildest NBA Finals moments ever. The Miami Heat star tied the game against the San Antonio Spurs in the most clutch of circumstances. He didn’t win the MVP award but deserved it for this moment alone. That’s because it sent the series to overtime and allowed the Heat to win that elusive Championship. If it wasn’t for Allen they would have fallen short again.<\/p>\n “What’s remarkable about the play is how quickly Allen measures the distance to ensure he’s shooting from deep,” a fan wrote on Reddit. “You can imagine a lot of players sensing a double-team closeout, panicking, and either shooting too close, passing or stepping out-of-bounds. Allen was born to make that shot.” In sum, he’s totally right because this was a career-defining play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n “It’s not the greatest, but Devin Hester’s opening return was awesome,” asheridan33<\/a> wrote on Reddit. “I remember watching and it seemed like everyone knew what was going to happen.” Of course, he referred to the Chicago Bears’ lone bright spot in their Super Bowl<\/a> defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. It was a bad day for Chicago but Hester started the game off so well for them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n This was one of the wildest openings to any Super Bowl<\/a>. He returned the opening kickoff for a 92-yard touchdown. It all went downhill from there for Hester and co, but at least they had that one bright moment. Meanwhile, Hester earned a reputation as the best return man of all time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Has to be this, considering it was a key play that led to Cleveland winning their first championship, and it was against the 73 win Warriors, and it was game 7, and they came back from being down 3-1,” Chunxxxx<\/a> wrote. This was the most important moment in Cleveland Cavaliers history and a career-defining moment for the greatest player<\/a> of the 21st century.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In short, his wildest play came late in the fourth quarter in the most clutch of circumstances. With less than two minutes left in the final game of the Championship series, LeBron produced when it was most needed. He blocked Andre Iguodala’s effort to set up and shot to keep the team’s level. Meanwhile, James was the series’ MVP after putting on the greatest NBA Finals performance ever.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “To this day I still get goosebumps watching the <\/span>Aguero<\/span> goal vs <\/span>QPR<\/span> even though I’ve watched it 97868685858 times,” <\/span><\/span>@safaa631<\/span><\/a> tweeted. “One of the most ICONIC goals in Premier League<\/a> history.” In 2012, nouveau-riche Manchester City was in pursuit of their first Premier League title. They knew that a win would see them over the line. Anything less could see Manchester United snatch it from their grasp.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Jordan’s final minute with Chicago is perfect basketball,” Klawbaka<\/a> wrote on Reddit. “Two clutch free-throws, quick layup through a double-team to cut the deficit to 1, expert leak-out to force the turnover on Malone, excellent clock management, sneaky push-off to create space on a fake-out drive, buries the jumper. He essentially erased Utah’s three-point lead by himself.”<\/p>\n He is absolutely correct because Jordan went out on a high. Of course, this wasn’t officially the end of his NBA career<\/a> because he also played for the Washington Wizards. But it definitely felt like it. Anyway, he reminded all of the league’s fans of his abilities and bowed out of the Windy City with a performance befitting a champion. Nobody is quite like him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “The beast quake run was one of the best runs I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Cunhabear<\/a> wrote. This was when Marshawn Lynch was the most ferocious running back in the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks played the Saints in an NFC Wild Card Game in 2010. The stakes were high but nobody expected one of the most scintillating moments of play of the entire season.<\/p>\n Lynch went on the wildest run of his career. He broke nine tackles on his way to the endzone because he was like a battering ram. Finally, his 67-yard touchdown secured the win for the Seahawks. It marked the revitalization of Lynch’s career after arriving that season from the Bills. Furthermore, the ‘quake’ aspect of this run was literal because the Seattle fans celebrated so hard it triggered a seismograph reading.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I’d say the Butler Interception, the momentum was all Seahawks at that moment, and it felt like the dynasty was about to be cemented,” BungoPlease<\/a> wrote on Reddit. “And then wham Malcolm Butler knocks the air out of the whole franchise.” From one iconic Seahawks moment to another, unfortunately, this one isn’t good for the franchise at all. However, for the rest of the NFL, it’s one of the wildest Super Bowl<\/a> moments ever.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n “Tyson Fury<\/span> getting back up from that <\/span>knockdown<\/span> vs <\/span>Wilder<\/span> could be the greatest sports moment of my life,” Tony Watt<\/a> wrote. After outclassing Deontay Wilder for most of their first fight, the Bronze Bomber finally caught Fury with a massive right hand. Fury was unconscious. But somehow, like Lazarus, he rose from the dead and even fought back to win the remainder of the round. <\/span><\/p>\n ‘When I said five his eyes popped open like I startled him’ referee Jack Weiss revealed. It was the wildest boxing moment of the decade because Fury was out cold before suddenly snapping back to full alertness. The fact that he dominated Wilder for the remainder of the fight was almost equally incredible. Meanwhile, Wilder’s face after Fury rose to his feet was a sight to behold. Fury then defeated Wilder in a one-sided rematch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Definitely the helmet catch, it was by far the biggest play of that game, if not the season. If that play isn’t made, do the Patriots go 19-0?” NFLer247<\/a> wrote on Reddit. “If the Patriots won the Super Bowl that year then Tom Brady may have retired.” This is a fantastic point and all the more crazy in hindsight after Brady won his seventh Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n This was one of the wildest moments in Super Bowl history<\/a>. In 2008, the New York Giants played the Patriots and produced one of the craziest game-winning plays ever. Eli Manning threw to David Tyree who secured the pass by pressing the ball against his helmet, giving the play its famous moniker. Meanwhile, it ended the Pats’ hopes of finishing the season with a perfect record.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Julio Jones sideline catch to end the game was the greatest play I ever saw,” rahimmoore26<\/a> wrote on Reddit. Of course, this is subjective but it definitely was a fantastic moment of athleticism by the Falcons’ wide receiver. This wildest of catches came against the New England Patriots in 2017. Jones produced the poise of a ballet dancer as he defied the laws of physics and gravity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n DC United played Orlando in 2018 with the scores tied at 2-2. D.C needed a win but wasted a corner late in the game. Orlando surged upfield with a foot race between their striker and DC’s iconic striker Wayne Rooney. The veteran forward charged back and made a crunching tackle to save his team from conceding another goal. Then, he picked out the perfect pass to assist the winning goal.<\/p>\n It was a testament to his quality and desire that he was able to find the legs to get back and then make the pass. “One of the best plays in football ever,” bratmojmojbrat<\/span><\/a> commented on YouTube. “I’m not even prisoner of the moment this is just something you think you are never going to see.” This comment encapsulate’s Rooney’s hunger for soccer because he gave everything.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “James Harrison running 101 yards and Larry Fitzgerald running 102 yards to just miss running him down,” NoleJawn<\/a> wrote on Reddit. This iconic moment was one of the most scintillating in Super Bowl history. In short, it’s exactly as the fan described<\/a>. Pittsburgh’s Harrison surged upfield and scored the touchdown as Fitzgerald fell agonizingly short of preventing him.<\/p>\n Harrison required oxygen after the run because he poured so much energy and exertion into it. The big linebacker spent 14 seasons with the Steelers but he didn’t end his career there. He finally left Soldier’s Field for the New England Patriots. Then, many Pittsburgh fans burnt their jerseys. However, this incredible play deserves respect because it was so exciting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Off the top of my head, I think it’d be The Flip. Like, say what you will about Jeter and all, but that was some 200+ Baseball IQ s**t right there,” Mozilla_Fennekin<\/a> wrote. This iconic play was one of the best of the decade and a highlight moment of Jeter’s career. The Yankees were in big trouble against the Oakland Athletics but nobody counted on Jeter’s ability to change the momentum of the game<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Oakland’s Giambi approached third base, it looked like the game was leaving the Yankees behind. But Jeter nipped in to pick up the ball and flip it to Posada in style. It totally reversed the outcome of the game and the Yankees went on to win. The intelligence of Jeter’s movement and the pass itself were both things of beauty for MLB fans to behold.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “My fav is Kobe game-winner on DWade on one leg,” sirfartsalot10<\/a> wrote. This is definitely an iconic play because it perfectly encapsulates Bryant’s ability in the clinch. The Lakers played the Miami Heat in 2009. The Heat were leading with less than four seconds left on the clock. It looked like Dwayne Wade was too much for Bryant on the day, but the Black Mamba stepped up to the plate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n “One of my favorite highlights of all time!” @eighthokage8<\/a> tweeted. “A struggling Fernando <\/span>Torres<\/span> scoring a crucial goal against one of the best <\/span>Barcelona<\/span> teams to send Chelsea to the final of the Champions League and ended up winning the whole thing against Bayern in their own backyard in Germany.” To sum up, this wildest of moments sealed Torres’s unlikely place in Chelsea folklore for eternity. <\/span><\/p>\n The Spaniard was magnificent for Liverpool but failed to win any trophies during his time on Merseyside. Then he left the Reds for Chelsea after the Blues paid $55 million for his services. Injuries took their toll and he failed to deliver the goals the team expected. However, this goal in 2012 instantly earned him the status of a cult hero. Nobody can take that away from him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conor McGregor’s destruction of Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds was one of the wildest moments in combat sports history. Sure, it’s not exactly a play like the NFL, but in terms of opportunism in the clutch, this is up there. In short, after months of receiving ferocious antagonism, Aldo waded forward toward the Irishman. But the Notorious caught him with an iconic left hand and finished his foe with some unneeded ground and pound.<\/p>\n This was one of the most anticipated MMA fights of all time because McGregor’s rise was unprecedented. Meanwhile, Aldo was one of the top fighters<\/a> in the world up until that point. “Seems <\/span>McGregor<\/span> brought about the end of <\/span>Aldo<\/span>‘s prime,” @SpankDrDeerheim<\/a> tweeted. “Got in his head, destroyed him, and he was never the same afterward. Still an all-time great, but <\/span>McGregor<\/span> subverted his reign.”<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “The bomb from Vick to Jackson on the first play from scrimmage starting the Monday Night Massacre was unbelievable,” JeddHampton<\/a> wrote on Reddit. The Monday Night Massacre took place in 2010 and was Michael Vick’s single best performance as a quarterback. Andy Reid got the best out of him that season but it culminated in an iconic display on the road against the Redskins.<\/p>\n He threw six touchdown passes on the night, but the first was the best. It was a phenomenal 88-yard touchdown pass that saw Vick throw the ball through the eye of a needle. Meanwhile, it was one of the best games by an Eagles quarterback<\/a> in franchise history. Even though he endured mixed fortunes during his time in Philadelphia, Vick was glorious in this game.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Big Ben to Santonio Holmes in the corner over 3 guys with only his toenails touching in bounds. For the W,” kander12<\/a> wrote on Reddit. This moment came in the culmination of the 2008 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers played the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl<\/a> but the game was in the balance. That was until the Steelers quarterback combined with Holmes for an iconic moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n30. The 4-Point Play<\/h3>\n
29. The Kick-Six<\/h3>\n
28. Corner Taken Quickly<\/h3>\n
27. Cespedes 2014<\/h3>\n
26. The Block<\/h3>\n
25. Back Out to Allen!<\/h3>\n
24. Opening Return<\/h3>\n
23. Blocked by James!<\/h3>\n
22. The 94th Minute<\/h3>\n
21. The Last Goodbye<\/h3>\n
20. Beast Quake<\/h3>\n
19. The Interception<\/h3>\n
18. Lazarus<\/h3>\n
17. The Helmet Catch<\/h3>\n
16. The Sideline Catch<\/h3>\n
15. Tackle and Assist<\/h3>\n
14. Harrison’s Run<\/h3>\n
13. The Flip<\/h3>\n
12. Clutch Points<\/h3>\n
11. TORRES!!!<\/h3>\n
10. 13 Seconds<\/h3>\n
9. Monday Night Massacre<\/h3>\n
8. Super Bowl XLIII<\/h3>\n
7. The Philly Special<\/h3>\n