Top 10 sporting moments of the Year(part 1)

cooker3

As we reach the end of the calendar year, this is usually the time to look back through the year and review all that has happened and being the sports fan that I am, I am going to review the sporting year and more the 10 best sporting moments of 2004, so it this calendar year only. I base this on best achievement, most exciting event and most memorable moments from throughout 2004. Tell me if you agree or not always interested in hearing other opinions. Note if you think I am explaining things that everybody knows, well I am writing this on assumption that person reading it will not know anything about that event, as there will always be someone who doesn’t know

10 New England patriots Win Superbowl for 2nd time in 3 years and break unbeaten streak
Not the catchiest of headlines but well it was a combination of all these that made me choose this. Any non American football fans may not understand how competitive the NFL is, its very hard to win 1 championship, its not just the same 2 or 3 teams every year, literally year from year you can never really tell who will win so for the New England Patriots to win a 2nd title in 3 years is quite a feet and it was a hard fought victory against Carolina. In a fantastic match, one of the best and most exciting superbowls ever Adam Vinatieri kicked the wining the field goal which just 3 seconds to go to win it for the Patriots. The Patriots where in the mood to break records as this season they broke the record for most consecutive wins which they set at 21 victories. They are also 1 of the favourites this season to lift the crown so it maybe 3 in 4 years and you would never bet against the Patriots.

9 Roger Federer wins 3 Grand Slams
John McEnroe said about Roger Federer that he may turn out to be the greatest tennis player ever, this is quite a claim but after the year Federer had a lot of people are starting to agree. Quite simply he was by far and away the best player this year. He became the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win 3 grand slams in the 1 year and to watch him you could understand why. He made shots that seemed impossible looked easy, he could play shots nobody else could and also invented shots of his own. I could watch him play all day because he is that damn good. He also finished at world number 1, won a record amount of tournaments in a year and didn’t lose a single final and finished of the year by winning season ending Masters Cup, if he can stay motivated and fit then he could go for Sampras Grand Slam record and some say do the grand slam in the 1 calendar year and if he does that then McEnroe will be proved right.

8 Michael Phelps wins 6 golds in Athens
There was no doubting the star of the 2004 Olympic Games. Phelps said he wanted to win 8 golds to beat Spitz record of 7 golds set in 72 games. This was a lot to ask and in the end he won 6 golds and 2 bronzes but it was still an incredible achievement, the fact he is only 19 years old makes it all the more staggering. He lit the first week of the games alight, as it concentrates on the pool and made himself a superstar. He was also involved in what was titled as race of the century where he faced Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and Peter van den Hoogenband in what was a who’s who of swimming, he came third in that particular race which is still quite a achievement as it was his least favourite event and he was very tired but he was still up for the challenge. What he will do in 4 years will be something to see but it will be very hard to top his achievement in Athens.
7 Arsenal win premiership unbeaten
Arsenal had a lot to prove going into 03-04 season, they had led the league by 8 points in previous season but had royally bottled it and handed the title to Manchester United. A lot of people doubted they could recover from that and with Chelsea going on biggest spending spree ever and Arsenal not buying any new players apart from 1 dodgy goalkeeper things didn’t look good but 1 game changed everything and it was the so called battle of old Trafford when they faced United. It was a fairly dull game really until last 15 minutes when Vieira got sent off and then a United got a very disputed penalty in 90th minute as the United Fanzone commentator said “this penalty for the title” and how right he was as Van Niestelrooy missed and a mass brawl ensued, this caused a lot of Arsenal players to be suspended and fined but it bonded the team together and was the catalyst for there incredible run, from that point on they never looked back and won the title in April playing some incredible football, there last game against bottom team Leicester at home looked a formality but they went 1-0 down which would have been a huge shock but they came back and won 2-1 and became the first team since Preston North End in 1889 which was first year in league to go unbeaten an incredible feat in modern era.

6 Greece wins Euro 2004
Well I doubt any single person outside the Greek camp and maybe within it would have ever doubt of what occurred in Euro 2004. It was the one of the biggest shocks in history of football. Greece had never won a game in a major tournament before and where in a tough group against hosts and favourites Portugal and perennial underachievers Spain. The first match of the tournament was against Portugal that was expected to be a walkover but it wasn’t to be as Greece won 2-1, then against Spain they struggled a bit and Spain went 1-0 ahead and everything seemed normal but they got the equaliser a very important one as it turned out. There last match against Russia was there easiest on paper but they went on to lose that as the pressure told on them and they where very close to going out as Russia nearly scored in 90th minute which would have knocked them out as they only got through because of goal difference but the main this is they got through. They face France in the quarters which France where expected to win easily but again they overcome all the odds to beat them 1-0 and knock out the pre-tournament favourites, then it was the semi against new favourites Czech republic and well again they rip up form book and beat them 1-0 in extra time. The final was all set up the home team and the team everybody wanted to win going for revenge for defeat in first match of tournament, surely Greece couldn’t overcome the odds but as they proved time and time again they could and won 1-0 with a Angelos Charisteas header in 57th minute. The result shocked the football word to its foundations and has left people wondering about whether small nations are taking over and as Irish person, lets hope so.

Due to 10000 character limit I have to do this in 2 parts, so part 2 should be just above

Pherekydes

cooker3 wrote:

10 New England patriots Win Superbowl for 2nd time in 3 years and break unbeaten streak

Great choice. Definitely in my top ten.

9 Roger Federer wins 3 Grand Slams

Federer hasn't won any grand slams. A grand slam is when you win the big four, Wimbledon, Australian Open, French Open and US Open, in the same year.

celticfc

Slow coach wrote:

Federer hasn't won any grand slams. A grand slam is when you win the big four, Wimbledon, Australian Open, French Open and US Open, in the same year.

He has, in tennis the four major tournaments (as named above) are known/classed as the grand slams. (Just like calling them majors in golf.)

If you were to win all four in a season, it would be the grand slam of grand slams.

Pherekydes

celticfc wrote:

He has, in tennis the four major tournaments (as named above) are known/classed as the grand slams. (Just like calling them majors in golf.)

They are the grand slam events or tournaments. All together is one grand slam.

If you were to win all four in a season, it would be the grand slam of grand slams.

If you were to win all four in a season, it would be a grand slam.

Check here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/tennis/jargon_guide/default.stm

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