The Beauty of Sports
Graphic by Téa Sklar
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” “Curry, way downtown..! BANG!”
“There goes Davis! Auburn’s gonna win the football game!” “Oh! Blocked by James!”
“Jeter! Three thousand! History, with an exclamation point!”
“In your LIFE have you ever seen anything like it?!”
“Diggs! Sideline! Touchdown!”
“It’s over! And the Cubs have finally won it all!”
“Get up, Coco Gauff, you just won the US Open!”
These are a few–but not nearly all–of my favorite sports moments that never fail to cover me in chills. I am a huge sports girl: it’s become my biggest hyperfixation, only second to Role Model. Between growing up watching my brothers play baseball for almost a decade, playing soccer for my entire life, and watching it at an ungodly hour, to finally getting into football with the help of my family's love for the Bills and a great football coach, I now feel qualified enough to bitch online about why everyone should love sports and some of the best moments. Get into this list, because it’s gonna be long.
1. Nyheim Hines Kickoff Return TD
Hi. As the most annoying Bills fan of all time, I think of this moment weekly. After Damar Hamlin, #3 and the former starting safety for the Buffalo Bills, collapsed in the middle of the Bengals game and went into cardiac arrest, Nyheim returned the kickoff for a touchdown in the team's first game back against the Patriots. For every person who watches the NFL every Thursday, Sunday, and Monday, it was an extremely emotional moment. Now all we need to do is get to a Super Bowl to make all of our heartache worth it. Get it done, boys!
2. Cubs 2016 World Series
Religious Yankee fan here to say that this was the most well-deserved World Series win I’ve ever seen. The 2016 Cubs had so much heart. After a 106-year drought–the longest a team has ever gone without a title win in history–the Cubs finally secured the ultimately victory against the Cleveland Indians (thankfully, now renamed Cleveland Guardians.) Though the moment might be painful for you Guardians fans, you can’t deny how hard that Cubs team worked for it. I was just lucky enough to be alive for it! Since that day, I have secretly supported Chicago and its baseball endeavors, but you can not tell anybody. That one stays between you and me.
3. Coco Gauff U.S. Open
THIS ONE?! Lost my goddamn mind. September 9th, 2023. A very pivotal moment for women in sports, and one of the best announcer calls I’ve ever gotten the privilege to hear. I don’t even fuck with tennis like that, and it still had me on the verge of tears. Coco was set up in the finals against Sabalenka and kicked her ass, lowkey. 2-6-6 is the record she came out of that game with. One of the greatest tennis players in the world. With the old videos of her being at the US Open as a kid, that then cut to her winning it all? It just ruined me. Coco Gauff, you will always be famous to me.
4. Simone Biles' Entire Legacy
Shut up. Just don’t even attempt to argue with this. Simone Biles, one of the most decorated Olympians in the world and the greatest gymnast to walk the planet. She is truthfully the embodiment of the word ‘GOAT’. Nobody has ever nor will ever do it like Biles. Walking out of the 2024 Summer Olympics with four medals, three gold and one silver, it was the easiest choice for her to retire. She can’t even try to keep outdoing herself. Whoever her loser little husband is, he sure has a lot to look up to!
5. “The Miracle on Ice”
A great movie accompanied by the truest definition of a miracle. 1980 Winter Olympics, the US hosted the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, NY. It was horrendous odds–everyone expected the US would get their asses absolutely whooped. But in true underdog fashion, they make a comeback that can never be outdone. The medal round lit a fire underneath the US team, defeating the U.S.S.R. in a blaze of glory, one that continued to burn bright as they went to win gold against Finland, 4-2. Watch the movie: I can’t do it justice enough in this article.
6. Cooper DeJean’s Super Bowl Pick-Six
“Go Birds!”, they all scream at me in unison. Kudos to my editor for reminding me that this was a thing. Watching the Philadelphia Eagles kick the Chiefs' ass was so goated. And it was made all the more sweet when WBOTY (White Boy of the Year) and birthday boy, Cooper DeJean, brought the house down with a huge pick-six. I hate them more than anything, and even if it didn’t get to be a Bills-bowl like I wanted, it felt good to watch those losers get their ass kicked. I have nothing more to add. Go Bills.
Now, I get that not everybody likes sports. But go through some highlight reels of these teams and their great moments, and try to tell me you didn’t feel anything. I’m a big advocate for the fact that everybody can watch sports and love them. When a man tries to shut you out of a space, you kick him in the nuts and walk right past his weak-ass bouncer arm and be as loud as you can. Sports are for everyone, women's and men's. We all deserve to enjoy the great American pastime of watching sports!