Top 10 Sports Moments of the Decade

By: Jordan Rowe

Like any other decade, the 2000s brought their fair share of exciting shots, kicks, passes, and hits. I'm talking about sports here. It's hard to even begin to fathom the greatest sporting achievement of this past decade. But, I love a challenge. So straight from your humble correspondent, here are the Top 10 Sports Moments of the 2000s:

#10. Texas Defeats USC in Rose Bowl (2006)-Texas Quarterback Vince Young will live in the minds of Longhorns fans forever for his 8 yard touchdown run on 4th Down with 19 seconds remaining. Texas followed with a succesful two-point conversion and defeated USC in their backyard...41-38. USC had been heavily favored in the game, entering with a 34 game win streak.

#9. Div. I-AA Appalachian State Defeats #5 Michigan (2007)-In a page right out of the epic David defeats Goliath book, Div I-AA Appalachian State defeated 5th ranked Michigan at the Big House, 34-32. Michigan still hasn't reclaimed its former glory since this defeat.

#8. #11 George Mason Reaches Final Four (2006)-They were America's Cinderella Story in 2006. George Mason went through Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State, and Connecticut to become only the second double digit seed to reach the Men's Basketball Final Four. Many analysts consider George Mason's run to be the best by a mid-major school in history.

#7. USA Men B-Ball Reclaim Gold (2008)-Determined to put an end to their failure for Gold in 2004, the USA men's basketball team soundly defeated their opponents in the 2008 Beijing Olympics to reclaim the Gold Medal.

#6. Bonds Hits #756 (2007)-Considered by many to be the greatest record in all of sports, Hank Aaron's Home Run Record was broken on August 8, 2007 by a man named Barry Bonds. Looked at my many as a fake, Bonds endured criticism and hate on the way to passing Aaron. Many in baseball still refuse to acknowledge the new home run King, but no doubt it caused shockwaves throughout the sporting world.

#5. Lance Armstrong Wins 7th Tour De France (2007)-If biking were a more popular sport, Lance Armostrong would be higher on this list. Because the cancer survivor's 7th straight Tour De France win is among the most spectacular sports triumphs in history. We continued to be amazed by Armstrong as he, year after year, continued to win a race that's more than 2,000 miles long and lasts three weeks. Even more amazing is the fact that he was able to return this year and finish third in the race after taking a year off.

#4. Tiger Wins U.S. Open on One Leg (2008)-It's probably my favorite sports moment of the past decade. Limping down the fairway, Tiger Woods was forced to play 91 holes to win the U.S. Open over Rocco Mediate in 2008. He called it his best win ever. Forced to play on a bad knee he would later have surgery on, Woods had to play a 19 hole playoff to stave off Mediate at Torre Pines.

#3. Phelps Wins 8 Golds in Beijing Olympics (2008)-Average humans watched in awe as freak of nature Michael Phelps swam for 8 Gold Medals in Beijing. I can still see the Sports Illustrated cover with Phelps and his 8 Golds now. Mark Spitz had won 7 Golds in the pool in the early 70s, but Phelps seemed to have a demeanor that Spitz never possessed. In two races, Phelps was lucky to get out alive. In the Men's 4x100 Meter Relay, fellow temmate Justin Lezak chased down France's Alan Bernard on the anchor leg (insert image of Phelps flexing). Phelps' second nail-bitter came a few nights later, when he touched the wall ahead of Milorad Cavic by one-hundreth of a second. Talk about calling it close...

#2. Red Sox Break Curse (2004)-The Boston Red Sox hadn't won a World Series since 1918, no other franchise has had that long of a drought except the Chicago Cubs (who will never win another World Series). But, the Red Sox seemed to have magic on their side in the 04 playoffs. Down 3 games to none against the NY Yankees, the Red Sox rallied back winning four straight games to win the AL pennant. They then proceeded to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the world series. Many Sox fans thought they'd never see the Sox win a World Series. But, the Curse was broken 5 years ago...

#1. NY Giants Defeat New Englad Patriots in Super Bowl (2007)-They ruined perfection. The New England Patriots entered the Super Bowl as possibly the greatest football team to ever play the game at 18-0. But, left Arizona that night feeling like just another good team. The Giants came into the game as 14 point underdogs. But became the first NFC wild card team to win the Super Bowl by edging the Patriots 17-14. Eli Manning's pass to David Tyree might be the greatest play of the decade. Tyree was able to keep the Giants drive alive by catching the ball in the air and pressing it against his helmet as he fell to the ground (see picture above). Just as it was the greatest Super Bowl upset in history...it is the greatest sports moment of the decade.

Did I miss anything?