Personal Magic Sports Moments

[hustleplays]

Dear Sister and Fellow DBR friends,

In the thanksgiving spirit of the holidays [whether it be Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas or...], I invite you to share one or more of your special personal sports moments. I know that I'm not the only one for whom sports have played and continue to play such a central, deep part of my life. When I was about seven years old, I remember going to Briggs Stadium [Detroit Tigers' stadium] to see Al Kaline, Hoot Evers, Vic Wertz, Virgil Trucks, Al Newhouser, George Kell, et al, and I was in magic land. When about seven years old, I wore a [kinda] bona fide Tigers uniform to school. We had to iron on the logos. Envy of my classmates.

Many years later, when I had a bout of lymphoma, my first reaction was sadness that I may never be able to play catch again with my then very young sons. Happy to say that remission ensued, along with many, many sports activities together.

I have countless stories of sports' magical moments in my life. I will finish with this scenario: For many years, my sons and I would go to "Spring Training." That is, we would head to FL in March, to watch the Spring games; play baseball, basketball, tennis and football; rent power boats and do some fishing; watch the ACC tourney games while feasting on room service -- a total guys heaven and marvelous bonding experience between a dad and his boys.

First several years, we went to Vero Beach to see the Dodgers. Things were more informal then. After games, we could go out on the field, and I would hit grounders to my guys, who would alternatively field and run the bases. I had a Major League bat we called "Big Thunder," and I solemnly swear that I connected with one fungo hit that reached the warning track. [Major sports accomplishment of my life...sad, I suppose, but still brings a smile]

After several years, we stayed in Clearwater Beach, to watch the Phillies, Blue Jays and Pirates.

Two memories from those Clearwater days:

1] We were shooting hoops together in a public park, and a trio of local young teens challenged us to a game. They were uber confident, understandably so. I was no longer that young, don't have an imposing athletic physique, and one of my guys was about 9 years old. One of the locals looked at me with poorly disguised condescension and said, I guess we need to make this half court. We said, oh no, let's do full court. [I had converted a barn on our farm in PA to a full court basketball court, and we were used to running and running.] The first fun moment was when they graciously gave us the ball, we went down court, and my 9 y/o, Dan, calmly sank a long shot. I looked at the locals and they showed a little surprise. What was most fun for me as a dad was that we went into a variation of match-up zone and shut down their defense. My older son was becoming a decent HS baller, and we knew the fundamentals. We worked to cut off their passing lanes, we boxed out, we denied the lane, etc. And on a rebound, we made a quick outlet pass and put on the jets. I used to run every day, and we were in good shape. After a while, I said to them, would you like to do half court, and let's switch a player. You guys take my older son, and we'll have a good game. We did have a good game, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Obviously, we were not playing against highly skilled and well coached teens. The fun of this for me was playing with my sons, and using our limited skills to their fullest extent by playing sound team basketball.

2] The most poignant memory from those times was our playing baseball together at a small public park right next to the Phillies Clearwater stadium. We would park close to the stadium and play for an hour or so before the game started. That way, we got good parking spots and another chance to play some baseball. After several minutes, one of the local young boys shyly came to us and asked if he could join. Of course! He said he wanted to get some friends. Quickly, a number of neighborhood boys joined our game. As an experienced Little League manager, I had the drill down, and we had an immensely fun game. My guys enjoyed getting to know the local boys. We said that we would be back the next home game, and we were greeted by a group of eager neighborhood boys. The poignant part for me, which I will never forget, was when I had to announce to the local boys that this was our last game, because we were heading back home to PA. One of the boys came up to me and said, "Why? Why won't you be back?" We held hands, and I said, "I'm really sorry, we need to go back to our home." I will never forget his disappointment. I hope that he has had many positive moments in his life, that others have shown him guidance and kindness. It was one of those indelible experiences that show how important sports are to us, young and old.

I know that this is not a typical DBR Forum topic. It just sprang from my heart as I thought about how much I was looking forward to the next Duke b-ball game and then reflecting on why in the world do these games mean so much to me and others. Nietzsche once said that "Without music, life would be a mistake." Fair enough, but the same goes for sports.

I am eager to hear your stories of sports' magical moments in your lives.

Go Duke! Happy Holidays everybody!

hustleplays

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Good thread and nice stories. Probably will get moved to the Off Topic board by the mods. I’ll have to think about my moment and will get back to you. LGD GTHc!

[hustleplays]

Good thread and nice stories. Probably will get moved to the Off Topic board by the mods. I’ll have to think about my moment and will get back to you. LGD GTHc!

Thanks for your comments, Ozzie.

Minor edit: In my first Clearwater story, it should have read "shut down their offense."

Have a great day, everyone!

[budwom]

well, perhaps this qualifies...In the late 1970s a friend and I went to Florida, these were the pre 9/11 days when security and excessive security were rarely encountered. We went to Sea World (yeah, I know) and just spent a lot of time wandering around. At one point we came upon the sizeable dolphin pool with stadium seats around it, but there was no show for the next few hours, so it was completely empty.
No people, no security...we thought we were alone until we noted a splash and seconds later a nice big rubber ball shot at me chest high...I made the catch, and for the next half hour, completely unobserved by anyone, we played catch with several dolphins who seemed very much into the action... amazing how far they could toss the ball, NEVER an errant throw. Fun.

[hustleplays]

well, perhaps this qualifies...In the late 1970s a friend and I went to Florida, these were the pre 9/11 days when security and excessive security were rarely encountered. We went to Sea World (yeah, I know) and just spent a lot of time wandering around. At one point we came upon the sizeable dolphin pool with stadium seats around it, but there was no show for the next few hours, so it was completely empty.
No people, no security...we thought we were alone until we noted a splash and seconds later a nice big rubber ball shot at me chest high...I made the catch, and for the next half hour, completely unobserved by anyone, we played catch with several dolphins who seemed very much into the action... amazing how far they could toss the ball, NEVER an errant throw. Fun.

Budwom, You just expanded my horizons...here I was anthropomorphically restricting magic sports moments to humans. That's wonderful, dolphins who just liked to play catch and were great at it. Wonder what the NCAA qualifications are regarding water polo or water volleyball.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

In 2005, during a strike year in the NHL, we realized that Peter Lavoilette Jr was on my son's hockey, and then later, little league baseball team. They were neighbors we found out, and we became carpool partners and friends. He and his wife are awesome.

Then the next season, the Canes come out and have a great season, and win the Stanley Cup, in Raleigh. So there I was, a long time season ticket holder, sitting just a few rows behind Gary Bettman, and his special guest, Cuba Gooding Jr, for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals...in my hometown...

That was an awesome season and experience.

[EKU1969]

Growing up in NJ in the ‘50’s...saw so many Future Hall of Fame baseball players at Ebbetts Field, Yankee Stadium, and the Polo Grounds! We went to Yankee Stadium for July 4th double headers and Ebbetts Field for Twi-night double headers...I am so fortunate to have seen them all...all eight teams from both the American and National League (personally, I grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan). Also went to a Princeton-Dartmouth football game and some Seton Hall basketball games. Not a bad childhood.

[budwom]

Growing up in NJ in the ‘50’s...saw so many Future Hall of Fame baseball players at Ebbetts Field, Yankee Stadium, and the Polo Grounds! We went to Yankee Stadium for July 4th double headers and Ebbetts Field for Twi-night double headers...I am so fortunate to have seen them all...all eight teams from both the American and National League (personally, I grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan). Also went to a Princeton-Dartmouth football game and some Seton Hall basketball games. Not a bad childhood.

I used to do the same things...doubleheaders were fantastic, extremely routine...loved to see the poor vending guys hauling around big metal tanks of orange soda on their backs. Does anyone even schedule doubleheaders any more?

[Stray Gator]

I used to do the same things...doubleheaders were fantastic, extremely routine...loved to see the poor vending guys hauling around big metal tanks of orange soda on their backs. Does anyone even schedule doubleheaders any more?

Sad to say, I believe doubleheaders at the ballpark went the way of double features at the cinema . . .

[AZLA]

Dear Sister and Fellow DBR friends,

In the thanksgiving spirit of the holidays [whether it be Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas or...], I invite you to share one or more of your special personal sports moments. I know that I'm not the only one for whom sports have played and continue to play such a central, deep part of my life. When I was about seven years old, I remember going to Briggs Stadium [Detroit Tigers' stadium] to see Al Kaline, Hoot Evers, Vic Wertz, Virgil Trucks, Al Newhouser, George Kell, et al, and I was in magic land. When about seven years old, I wore a [kinda] bona fide Tigers uniform to school. We had to iron on the logos. Envy of my classmates.

Many years later, when I had a bout of lymphoma, my first reaction was sadness that I may never be able to play catch again with my then very young sons. Happy to say that remission ensued, along with many, many sports activities together.

I have countless stories of sports' magical moments in my life. I will finish with this scenario: For many years, my sons and I would go to "Spring Training." That is, we would head to FL in March, to watch the Spring games; play baseball, basketball, tennis and football; rent power boats and do some fishing; watch the ACC tourney games while feasting on room service -- a total guys heaven and marvelous bonding experience between a dad and his boys.

First several years, we went to Vero Beach to see the Dodgers. Things were more informal then. After games, we could go out on the field, and I would hit grounders to my guys, who would alternatively field and run the bases. I had a Major League bat we called "Big Thunder," and I solemnly swear that I connected with one fungo hit that reached the warning track. [Major sports accomplishment of my life...sad, I suppose, but still brings a smile]

After several years, we stayed in Clearwater Beach, to watch the Phillies, Blue Jays and Pirates.

Two memories from those Clearwater days:

1] We were shooting hoops together in a public park, and a trio of local young teens challenged us to a game. They were uber confident, understandably so. I was no longer that young, don't have an imposing athletic physique, and one of my guys was about 9 years old. One of the locals looked at me with poorly disguised condescension and said, I guess we need to make this half court. We said, oh no, let's do full court. [I had converted a barn on our farm in PA to a full court basketball court, and we were used to running and running.] The first fun moment was when they graciously gave us the ball, we went down court, and my 9 y/o, Dan, calmly sank a long shot. I looked at the locals and they showed a little surprise. What was most fun for me as a dad was that we went into a variation of match-up zone and shut down their defense. My older son was becoming a decent HS baller, and we knew the fundamentals. We worked to cut off their passing lanes, we boxed out, we denied the lane, etc. And on a rebound, we made a quick outlet pass and put on the jets. I used to run every day, and we were in good shape. After a while, I said to them, would you like to do half court, and let's switch a player. You guys take my older son, and we'll have a good game. We did have a good game, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Obviously, we were not playing against highly skilled and well coached teens. The fun of this for me was playing with my sons, and using our limited skills to their fullest extent by playing sound team basketball.

2] The most poignant memory from those times was our playing baseball together at a small public park right next to the Phillies Clearwater stadium. We would park close to the stadium and play for an hour or so before the game started. That way, we got good parking spots and another chance to play some baseball. After several minutes, one of the local young boys shyly came to us and asked if he could join. Of course! He said he wanted to get some friends. Quickly, a number of neighborhood boys joined our game. As an experienced Little League manager, I had the drill down, and we had an immensely fun game. My guys enjoyed getting to know the local boys. We said that we would be back the next home game, and we were greeted by a group of eager neighborhood boys. The poignant part for me, which I will never forget, was when I had to announce to the local boys that this was our last game, because we were heading back home to PA. One of the boys came up to me and said, "Why? Why won't you be back?" We held hands, and I said, "I'm really sorry, we need to go back to our home." I will never forget his disappointment. I hope that he has had many positive moments in his life, that others have shown him guidance and kindness. It was one of those indelible experiences that show how important sports are to us, young and old.

I know that this is not a typical DBR Forum topic. It just sprang from my heart as I thought about how much I was looking forward to the next Duke b-ball game and then reflecting on why in the world do these games mean so much to me and others. Nietzsche once said that "Without music, life would be a mistake." Fair enough, but the same goes for sports.

I am eager to hear your stories of sports' magical moments in your lives.

Go Duke! Happy Holidays everybody!

hustleplays

Great read, thanks for sharing. That boy you played baseball with was a cool story -- and no doubt, though initially disappointed, he took what he learned and organized neighborhood games or at a minimum found a new appreciation for the sport.

Further in this thread -- the Dolphin story is so great. It's amazing how humans (dogs and sea mammals) can come together when a ball enters the picture. Introducing a ball (or fruit) into any situation, overcomes any language barrier (one of my favorite scenes from Good Morning Vietnam: https://youtu.be/IT5ZWbgP7_k

[wncgrad]

Great read, thanks for sharing. That boy you played baseball with was a cool story -- and no doubt, though initially disappointed, he took what he learned and organized neighborhood games or at a minimum found a new appreciation for the sport.

Further in this thread -- the Dolphin story is so great. It's amazing how humans (dogs and sea mammals) can come together when a ball enters the picture. Introducing a ball (or fruit) into any situation, overcomes any language barrier (one of my favorite scenes from Good Morning Vietnam: https://youtu.be/IT5ZWbgP7_k

This is what it is like growing up near Chapel Hill. About forty years ago my son who was in his preteens was assigned to a basketball team in the YMCA/church league. His team was dominated by one overly large kid for his age and his friends, and coached by the big kids father. It was ALL Carolina blue and any instructions were prefaced constantly by "this is the way Dean Smith does it." Non friends were excluded and since team play was not part of the equation they lost almost all of their games. But no substitutions or change occurred even when the close knit group left for a weekend of skiing and those left to play actually won their game. At the last game of the season I had had enough and as the second half began with them losing by a large margin went to the coach, reminded him of the league rules on participation, and asked that he substitute some members who never got to play. He turned red in the face, put me in my place by subbing everyone except by son, and at conclusion ran to me in the stands and asked me to meet him outside.
All this is preliminary to the "magic moment" when as my son and I were walking through the parking lot one of the younger kids on the team who was subbed in came by jumping up and down with excitement with his Dad congratulating him on scoring two points. The kid was in another world and I heard him name my son and say "his father got me in the game."

[howardlander]

Here's mine: My 20th birthday was February 24, 1979. I went to the Duke/Carolina game with some of my buddies, This was the famous 7 -0/Airball game. I think this counts...

[fuse]

You are never too young, or too old, to create great sports memories.

My most recent was winning our fall adult rec soccer championship this year.

I gave up playing soccer shortly after college, and picked it up again about five years ago after a 20ish year hiatus.

I play goalie because I “have to”, not necessarily because I enjoy it, or am all that good at it. “Have to” meaning no one else on the team is willing to play goalie, so it falls to me.

We went down 0-1 in the first half, and manage to tie with just a few minutes left in the second. Extra time ends with the score still tied 1-1.

I stop the first penalty kick, and we win 5-3 on PKs.

Looking forward to spring season already.

[WV_Iron_Duke]

My first sports event that I remember was the 1955 Orange Bowl. By car from the Eastern Panhandle of WV, I remember the fort at St. Augustine and Ripley's Believe It or Not, and the alligator farm. Was too little to see much of the parade the night before. The game day was warm and mostly remember the balloons being released at halftime. Of course Duke beat Nebraska 34-7 and I still have the pennant. Oklahoma couldn't go bowling 2 years in a row then. Fortunately, I knew all about football so I really enjoyed the game.

[Indoor66]

My first sports event that I remember was the 1955 Orange Bowl. By car from the Eastern Panhandle of WV, I remember the fort at St. Augustine and Ripley's Believe It or Not, and the alligator farm. Was too little to see much of the parade the night before. The game day was warm and mostly remember the balloons being released at halftime. Of course Duke beat Nebraska 34-7 and I still have the pennant. Oklahoma couldn't go bowling 2 years in a row then. Fortunately, I knew all about football so I really enjoyed the game.

I was at that game. I don't remember seeing you but the Orange Bowl was a pretty big place. 😂😎

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Maybe this qualifies. I went to a freshman football game in our stadium. I was wearing my freshman bow as all of us freshmen on East Campus did back then. My big sister in the dorm had assigned me to get a particular basketball player’s autograph.

As you’d expect, there were almost no fans watching the game. After a while I noticed two guys a couple of rows behind me. I realized that the basketball star I was looking for was one of the guys. So I walked up and explained to Jeff Mullins what my assignment was. He signed an autograph to Margie and surprised me by signing my bow. He also signed my program “to the flower of Giles.”

That’s how I met Jeff Mullins and the late Ted Mann, Jr.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

A few other memories from my undergrad years:
Duke played Michigan with Oliver Darden, Cazzie Russell, and Bill Buntin in Durham. I had snagged a seat in the front row of bleachers the south end zone. That’s where I was when a sweaty Cazzie Russell landed beside me when he ran after the ball.

Soon after the Michigan game, Duke played UCLA twice, first in Durham, then in Greensboro. Duke played quite a game in Durham. This weeknight game was exciting and close. I was again seated in the first row bleacher of the south end zone. At one point I looked up at the bleachers in the other end where more undergraduates were seated. About two thirds of the way up who should I see, but
my daddy (T’33), the school principal! I had no idea he was there! It was a wonderful night to be a Duke family!

[hustleplays]

You are never too young, or too old, to create great sports memories.

My most recent was winning our fall adult rec soccer championship this year.

I gave up playing soccer shortly after college, and picked it up again about five years ago after a 20ish year hiatus.

I play goalie because I “have to”, not necessarily because I enjoy it, or am all that good at it. “Have to” meaning no one else on the team is willing to play goalie, so it falls to me.

We went down 0-1 in the first half, and manage to tie with just a few minutes left in the second. Extra time ends with the score still tied 1-1.

I stop the first penalty kick, and we win 5-3 on PKs.

Looking forward to spring season already.

Fuse, I love your story! We may not have as many in the stands, and as many Twitter followers, but we lay it all on the line, and it is just as intense.

My most memorable HS football story [okay, guys, I'm sorry, I love stories]: Was playing for Salida HS, and we were good, relatively speaking. Playing against Fountain HS. We were up by a touchdown, but they had 1st and goal at about the 3. I was D Captain and middle LB. I rallied the troops as though we were the Alamo being stormed by General Santa Anna. I remember literally kicking some guys in the butt to gently remind them that Failure Is Not An Option! [this is now called "Servant Leadership"] We held all four downs, demoralized them, won the game, lost only one more time, in a close game, in the semi-finals to the eventual State champ. But that's another story...

Guys, more stories please!

[hustleplays]

This is what it is like growing up near Chapel Hill. About forty years ago my son who was in his preteens was assigned to a basketball team in the YMCA/church league. His team was dominated by one overly large kid for his age and his friends, and coached by the big kids father. It was ALL Carolina blue and any instructions were prefaced constantly by "this is the way Dean Smith does it." Non friends were excluded and since team play was not part of the equation they lost almost all of their games. But no substitutions or change occurred even when the close knit group left for a weekend of skiing and those left to play actually won their game. At the last game of the season I had had enough and as the second half began with them losing by a large margin went to the coach, reminded him of the league rules on participation, and asked that he substitute some members who never got to play. He turned red in the face, put me in my place by subbing everyone except by son, and at conclusion ran to me in the stands and asked me to meet him outside.
All this is preliminary to the "magic moment" when as my son and I were walking through the parking lot one of the younger kids on the team who was subbed in came by jumping up and down with excitement with his Dad congratulating him on scoring two points. The kid was in another world and I heard him name my son and say "his father got me in the game."

wncgrad, Thank you for telling us this story. Sad that some dad managers don't value the well-being of the kids they manage. Your move was right and courageous, and I bet that your son and other players and parents were positively influenced as well.

[hustleplays]

Here's mine: My 20th birthday was February 24, 1979. I went to the Duke/Carolina game with some of my buddies, This was the famous 7 -0/Airball game. I think this counts...

Dear howardlander, Your story counts! I notice that a number of reply posters have said something like, "I hope this qualifies." I haven't set any qualification criteria other than what is a magical sports moment for you. Magic doesn't like metrics.