Arena [Tournament] The Arena's Favorite/Best Iconic Image in Sports

Certain images in sports stay in our minds seemingly forever. They stand the test of time, and prove nearly immortal. They inspire us, remind us of why we love (and hate), and keep us coming back for more.

I'm certain, if you close your eyes, you'll have little trouble thinking of iconic images that mean a lot (both positive and negative) in your personal fan experience.

An exhausted player leaving the field victoriously.
An improbable catch to seal a championship.
A blown call that seemed so obvious at home.
A score in the final moments to rescue victory.
An amazing shot to send your team home.
A coach, hoisted on shoulders, leaving the field victorious.
A golfer going crazy over a shot.
A moment showing the healing power of sports to bring a country/city/state together.

And that list could go on and on and on.

And, what we want to do is celebrate these moments. And crown a champion. Something the Arena can call the "Most Iconic Image in Sports".

This will happen in two phases.

Phase one, you will post nominations. You can post three nominations at a time. Please, don't simply describe the moment. Take the time to find the image and post it (or link to it). If it's that iconic, it's going to be on the internet. You can post a small description to go along with the image, if you'd like. You can nominate more than once, just keep these simple rule in mind: allow either 12 hours to pass or three others posters to post nomination before you post again.

Nominations will be kept open for approximately two weeks, depending on volume. Then, we will move on to phase two.

Here, the images will be randomly drawn into a tournament bracket, and be pitted against one-another until one image emerges victorious and takes the title of "The Arena's Most Iconic Image in Sports".


So, how should you choose what to nominate and what to vote for? That's up to you. It can be a favorite personal memory. It can be a sport-altering performance. It can be a moment of agony for you personally. Only you can decide what you like best, find the most appealing, and judge to be the most iconic.

But, let's get the nominations going.

 

My first three nominations come from what I like to call the "happy part" of Inty's sports memories. It's a very small section.

Landon Donovan Scores Against Algeria

[image=http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2010/06/23/PH2010062303710.jpg]

Who didn't see that one coming from me? The moment that turned me, and many, many others, into Soccer watching Americans, and inspired YouTube videos showing the celebration across the USA. The moment to captivate and inspire a generation. The moment to one day tell your children/grandchildren "I remember exactly where I was when ..."

Joe Carter Walk-Off Home Run to win the World Series

[image=http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/joe-carter.jpg]

That it's a walk-off homerun to win the World Series is enough to make this list. That it comes from a guy who I grew up cheering for and loved makes it a no-brainer to have me nominate it as early as possible. The combination of clutch, skill, and joy are never quite captured as much as they are in this moment.

Kerri Strug, Injured, Vaults America to Gold

[image=http://www.scandigital.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/kerri-strug-8.6.jpg]

I have many, many strong memories from Olympic games, and there are many, many iconic moments. This one stands out to me. A true American triumph. A true Olympic story. A young girl in one moment becoming a household name, and American hero, and a gold medalist.

 

Paul Henderson, 1972 Summit Series, series winning goal

In the final minutes of the eighth game, the score was tied. The series was tied at 3-3-1, and the Soviets had just informed the Canadian officials that if this game was tied, the Soviets would claim victory on goal differential. With 34 seconds left in the game, Paul Henderson scored on Vladislav Tretiak, giving Canada the lead.

[image=http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2010/05/26/henderson-paul-720928.jpg]

Being able to correctly identity this moment is a requirement for Canadian citizenship.

 

The year was 2003, I was 14, and the first season of the NFL I had ever heavily followed was coming to an end.

About a year previous, my father had taken me to an Eagles at Niners game near the end of the '01 season. The Eagles had always been my nominal favorite NFL team but I had just never really much of a sports fan in general. That all changed that day. I was hooked. The Eagles lost the game, but over the next few weeks I joined their message board, watched tons of videos of them online, and learned tons about their history and became a true, die-hard fan. The Eagles ended up making a miracle run to the NFC Championship Game that season, coming a lot closer to beating the invincible St. Louis Rams than people remember. (That loss made me hate the Rams with every fiber of my being, which is actually why I still like the Patriots and Tom Brady so much today, as well)

That spring and summer, the Eagles and the NFL in general became my life. I bought books, magazines, videos and spent almost every waking hour with them. More importantly, me (and all other Eagles fans) knew the Eagles were going to win the Super Bowl next year. After what seemed like an eternity, the season finally arrived. The St. Louis Rams came out of the gate with a stunning 0-5 start, and the Eagles were crowned the NFC favorites. They eventually earned the #1 seed and home field advantage, then dispatched the Falcons in a fairly easy divisional round game.

So, the stage was set. It was really going to happen. The last game ever at Veteran's Stadium, against a team we absolutely owned, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom we had beaten yet again earlier that season. Not only that, my dad was going to take me to the Super Bowl(this wasn't a "maybe" or "probably" thing either; it was literally a done deal)

The game started off with Brian Mitchell returning the opening kickoff to the Tampa Bay 25. On first down, McNabb threw underneath to Staley for a 5 yard gain. On second and five, Staley ran in virtually untouched for a touchdown. 7-0 Philadelphia, game over.

--------------------------

The Buccaneers absolutely dominated the Eagles over the next 58 minutes of football, with the Eagles mustering all of 3 points offensively. The dagger, of course, was a Ronde Barber interception return of a foolish McNabb pass.

[image=http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00042/C4S_eagles102108_42822c.jpeg]

I turned off the TV almost instantly. I've still never seen Ronde Barber cross the goal line. More importantly, my parents went through a particularly nasty divorce that year, and the Eagles had been my crutch all season long. Suddenly, it was over. My heart was almost literally ripped out by this loss, and I went into a deep state of what was, in retrospect, clinical depression, that I wouldn't come out of until 2008. (Again, not because of this loss, but because my escape from the troubles of my real life suddenly evaporated)

I've still never really cared as much as I did that season, and never will.

---------------

Obviously, I don't think this is any way the "most iconic" image in sports history, but since this seems to be about moments that are personally significant to us, that's my contribution.

 

[image=http://www.onemanfastbreak.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/michael_jordan.jpg]

Michael Jordan has many, many quintessential moments that will nominated (Leaning on Pippen during the flu Game, the Shot, the first finals after his dad died...), but I'll start the ball rolling with this one. Should have been our final memory of him.

[image=http://readandreact.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/david-tyree-catch.jpg]


Posting this to remove the pleasure of someone else discussing their memory of it. Yes I'm that petty.

[image=http://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/catImages/vinatieri02pf-1.jpg]

Vinatieri in the Snowbowl/Tuck Rule game. If he misses one of those two kicks, who knows how the last 10 years of the NFL would have gone? Would the Patriots have kept Brady at QB? But he made it. Personally, it was the first *big* moment I really remember for my teams (my mom foolishly didn't let me and my bro stay up to watch UConn-Duke in 1999, though we taped it and watched it the next morning). It also kicked off an absurdly successful decade for Boston/UConn.

 

[image=http://www.digitalbusstop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Secretariat-Wins-by-31-Lengths.jpg]

Jockey Ron Turcotte looks back to see how far the field is behind Secretariat as he wins the Belmont by 31 lengths to seal the Triple Crown victory and be the only non-human athlete that appears on the list of the top 100 athletes in the 20th century.

[image=http://www.themoviemind.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/michael-phelps-2.jpg] [image=http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/olympics/phelpscavic533.jpg]
I can't decide on a Phelps image.

[image=http://www.pyleoflist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/tyson-holyfield1.jpg]
Mike Tyson bites Holyfield's ear.

 

The Miracle on Ice

Ali beats Frazier

Cal-Stanford: The play to beat the band

 

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/Orr.jpg]

Bobby Orr's 1970 Stanley Cup winning goal.

[image=http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1520/aliliston372.jpg]

Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston.

 

RX, please post images and/or links to images, and not links to videos.


And, for my second round of nominations, I present entries from hell:

[image=http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/the-shot-michael-jordan.jpg]

The first bad memory I have in sports. Everyone knows "the shot", I don't need to give the backstory.

[image=http://jacksonville.com/sites/default/files/editorial/images/files/editorial/images/lynn/jacksonville/mdControlled/cms/2008/12/29/21794509.jpg]

Why, yes, that is Woody Hayes sucker punching a Clemson player. The end of his era at Ohio State, and perhaps the craziest a coach ever went while still on the sidelines.

[image=http://www.opposingviews.com/attachments/0007/0803/cavaliers-fans-burn-lebron-james-jersey-d2938d31f250f9b5_large.jpg]

Fans burn Lebron jerseys after "The Decision". Man, that night sucked.

 

Awesome idea!



[image=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/06/20/article-1193973-007E735900000258-97_233x311.jpg]
Iconic image of Bjorn Borg after he defeated John McEnroe in one of the two best finals ever played. Every tennis player nowadays emulates the falling the the knees routine.

[image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0706/gallery.numbers.part3/images/87.clark.jpg]
Classic

[image=http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/clem/sports/m-footbl/100-years/catch2-lg.jpg]
Homer pick. Rod Gardner's improbable cath to best SC in 2000. Gamecock fans know it as the push-off

 

When I googled "Great Moments in Sports" that was the first image listed. Also, Chrome's build in spell-check doesn't recognize "googled" as a word.


Googling "Greatest Moments in Sports" showed me this:
[image=http://www.theblazingcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/catch.jpg]

"Montana lines up at the five...and on third-down-and-three he rolls right, looking to throw...looking to throw...and he throws into the end zone...Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown, San Francisco, by Dwight Clark!"
-Jack Buck

It says a lot that in a sport where 25-75 catches are made every game, if you mention "the Catch" most football fans know exactly what catch you're talking about.



The Gold Medal winning goal of Sidney Crosby:
[image=http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/03/01/1225835/503777-dtstory-sidney-crosby.jpg]

If he hadn't scored that goal, the resulting riot would have destroyed most of Vancouver. Really, he probably saved the lives of every member of the US Olympic Hockey team.

 

[image=http://www.minnesotafunfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/MiracleOnIce_Team-300x218.jpg] - The Miracle on Ice

[image=http://thelasthonestman.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ali-frazier1.jpg] - ALi vs. Frazier in The Thrilla in Manila

[image=http://images.dawgsports.com/images/admin/Cal_Stanford_band_play.jpg] - Cal-Stanford: The Play to Beat the Band

 

[image=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/02/article-0-005258E300000258-27_468x390.jpg]
nanoseconds after Roberto Carlos makes contact with the greatest free kick ever struck. The ball will take on a life of its own in mid air and whirl into the back of the net. (1997 Brazil vs France)

[image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/1006/soccer.world.cup.top20.moments.history/images/diego-maradona-hand-of-god.jpg]
This photographer captures one of the largest referee mistakes of all time. English fans curse the Hand of God to this day(1986 world cup Argentina vs England)

 

And now for a few favorites from the NFL that have no personal connection to me:

[image=http://media.mlive.com/sagsports_impact/photo/super-bowl-bears-85-footbaljpg-3f7ed543d876dc24_large.jpg]

I know, everyone does the "coach on the shoulders" thing, but for some reason, I've always loved Ditka's best.

[image=http://www.glorifythepast.com/forums/uploads/6d1ee6631468a9a9d6c3ca476e6fae2b.jpg]

Kellen Winslow needs helped off the field after the longest NFL game in history.

[image=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NBVb0UJ_h9o/TGHbz6_WoNI/AAAAAAAAAKs/N0uTRJ4BYXk/s1600/thei01.jpg]

Not a "favorite" in the true sense of the word, but it sure is iconic. Lawrence Taylor breaks Joe Theisman's leg. Perhaps the most gruesome injury in NFL history, and perhaps the most well known injury, as well.

 

Objectively speaking, this is probably the most iconic image in NFL history

[image=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Y8u09A7q7DU/TCDJLrjKxmI/AAAAAAAAFLE/iSm-a0RtmPM/s1600/namath_sb_iii1.jpg]

 

[image=http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2008/08/20/alg_giants.jpg]

This is a favorite of mine; Brett Favre's last pass in a Green Bay uniform. Sweet, sweet vindication after years spent arguing with family and friends that Favre was the most overrated QB in NFL history and would always find a way to blow it.

Incredibly, this turned out to not even be the last time he'd blow an NFC Championship Game with an awful interception.

 

Many of the iconic shots that I would think of have been posted, so i give you one that a little more personal to me. This is how I choose to remember Brett Favre, running off the field after throwing the opening play TD pass to Andre Rison in Super Bowl XXXI.

[image=http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/9773/340xh.jpg]

 

The Tyree catch is way overrated...the throw was a complete duck and the catch was as much luck as anything else. More importantly, though, it's not even a decisive play. In fact, it's the only play in this entire thread so far that isn't.

 

[image=http://dodgerfan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Gibson-Final-e1289749916765.jpg]

Kirk Gibson making his way around the bases, seconds after hitting his famous walk off home (off of Dennis Eckersley) to win game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Not only is this one of the most unforgettable moments in baseball/Dodger history, the date of the home run is quite meaningful for me............October 15th, 1988. That was my 2nd birthday. There is a picture in a old photo album of my 2nd birthday party, with the game on in the background. According to my parents, when Gibson hit the home run, the whole place went bat **** crazy. Also, in attendance at the game were the parents of one of my best pal's and 2 family friends who chose to go the game instead of my party.

They beat Boston!: 2009-2010 L.A. Lakers: Back-to-Back World Champions

 

I'm more intrigued by what jerk would ask Theismann to sign that picture.

I came in here to post that Favre/Rison image, though I meant this one.
[image=http://i51.tinypic.com/21b3tjn.jpg]
It's easy to forget just how good Favre was at that time because of the last 5 years or so.

I also love this one.
[image=http://www.manlyweb.com/sports/injuries/yatittle.jpg]

 

[image=http://boston.sportsthenandnow.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/raymond-bourque.jpg]

Ray Bourque lifts the Stanley Cup.

 

Too many North American photos.

Two of the most epic marks in AFL history:
[image=http://optics.michaelwyres.com/mg/l/mg000004.jpg]
[image=http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2010/08/17/1225906/481894-brett-burton.jpg]

But this one in a grand final to inspire his team to turn around a massive deficit to win the game is all time great, and a better picture.
[image=http://www-static.sportingpulse.com/pics/00/00/15/61/156165_1_O.jpg]

On a less spectacular but equally memorable note, the crowd reaction when Tony Lockett broke the all time goalscoring record (stood for 60 years, and will never again be challenged).
[image=http://images.slatterymedia.com/images/thumbs/450/1999/06/06/138800.jpg]

 

[image=http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/07/04/sports/04wimbledonch_8/04wimbledonch_8-blogSpan.jpg]
Every epic tennis match in the past few years has ended with Rafa Nadal on the ground in celebration. This was the ultimate one after defeating Federer 9-7 in the 5th in the 2008 Wimbledon final.

[image=http://www.sportsnet.ca/gallery/2009/11/16/mcenroe_gal_640.jpg]
perfect image to define one of sports' all time most memorable personalities

 

I was looking for something from the 2008 Wimbledon but couldn't find anything good. Love that one.

 

I have 2 more from that final

[image=http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/CG_Brouwer/RogerFederer/light.jpg]
Beautifully captured moment. Federer with dissapointment dripping from his face, waits to congratulate Nadal on his victory.

[image=http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/07/sports/07wimbledon.xlarge4x.jpg]
This is one of my favorite shots. I think the perspective, lighting, the row of heads, the whole set-up just captures a bit of the dramatic feel of the moment. I also like the little visual treats like how the shadow of his legs could be making an upside-down W and how his knee tape seems to run in line with the chalk. The feel of the pic is that the whole world is watching.