The greatest bit of sports commentary ever,

October 7, 2002 10:56 AM

The greatest bit of sports commentary ever, according to the Guardian, is Norwegian TV's Bjørge Lillelien's response to Norway beating England 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Sept 1981: "Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! Maggie Thatcher - can you hear me, Maggie Thatcher! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys took one hell of a beating!" (Listen to it as Windows Media Audio) Is your favorite on the list, and if not, what is it?
posted by dagny (37 comments total)

I have two, niether of them on that list:

Do you believe in miracles?. Al Michaels, Winter Olympics, the US hockey team. My all time favorite. And a sentimental one:

Tonelli to Nystrom.......scoRE! from my youth. I'll leave it obscure and see if anyone else recognizes it ;-)
posted by Tempus67 at 11:04 AM on October 7, 2002

"The Giants win the pennant!"
posted by ZachsMind at 11:10 AM on October 7, 2002

Is your favorite on the list, and if not, what is it?

*ahem*

......
posted by jonmc at 11:11 AM on October 7, 2002

Damn you zach :)
posted by jonmc at 11:12 AM on October 7, 2002

"É TETRA, É TETRA, É TETRA, É TETRA" Galvão Bueno, World Cup 1994 Finals.
posted by falameufilho at 11:14 AM on October 7, 2002

Bob: Yuskevich steps over the blue line and rips one.
Harry: Boy, he really let one go...

--The nearly incomprehensible tandem of Bob Cole and Harry Neale, Hockey Night In Canada.
posted by Fabulon7 at 11:14 AM on October 7, 2002

I was expecting a tired rehash of the same old tired "ESPN classic" "moments"... but It was refreshing to see sports commentary highlights from a European standpoint.

(That being said, the best announcing, ever, was Jack Buck, 1985 NLCS... "Go crazy folks, go crazy...")
posted by cadastral at 11:16 AM on October 7, 2002

Well, shit. Speaking of ESPN classic moments:

"Bird stole the ball! Bird stole the ball!"
posted by yhbc at 11:19 AM on October 7, 2002

I don't really have a favorite, but I usually get a big laugh out of the dopey sportscaster comments highlighted here.
posted by MrBaliHai at 11:20 AM on October 7, 2002

"I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world."
posted by hilker at 11:22 AM on October 7, 2002

The stretch call for Secretariat's win in the Belmont Stakes, as the stunned announcer switches from lengths to miles...
posted by thomas j wise at 11:24 AM on October 7, 2002

I don't even like sports, but the "Giants" sports commentary from that 1951 showdown gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. If it can do that to people who don't like sports, it's transcendant commentary.

Oh. And I love you too, Jon. =)
posted by ZachsMind at 11:25 AM on October 7, 2002

Sadly, I only have an affinity for all of Bob Uecker's commentary in the movie Major League.
posted by Stan Chin at 11:26 AM on October 7, 2002

Go crazy, folks! go crazy! (audio link)
posted by cadastral at 11:29 AM on October 7, 2002

The Play -- Cal vs. Stanford, 11/20/1982:

Alright here we go with the kick-off. Harmon will probably try to squib it and he does. Ball comes loose and the Bears have to get out of bounds. Rogers along the sideline, another one... they're still in deep trouble at midfield, they tried to do a couple of... the ball is still loose as they get it to Rogers. They get it back to the 30, they're down to the 20... Oh the band is out on the field!! He's gonna go into the endzone!!! He got into the endzone!!... (...) AND THE BEARS!!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!! Oh my God, the most amazing, sensational, traumatic, heart rending... exciting thrilling finish in the history of college football! California has won... the Big Game...over Stanford!

posted by padjet1 at 11:48 AM on October 7, 2002

Henderson has scored for Canada.
posted by Grum at 11:49 AM on October 7, 2002

Boy, I miss Jack Buck (I'm a St. Louis native). It's good to see the Cardinals doing so well this year after losing both Buck and Darryl Kile.
posted by UKnowForKids at 11:49 AM on October 7, 2002

Here's a classic cricket quote for you:

"There's Graham Gooch.... with his legs apart, waiting for a tickle." - Brian Johnstone [!!]

Johnners was famous for cracking up during his commentarys, I'm surprised he managed to get to the end of that sentence....
posted by dash_slot- at 11:59 AM on October 7, 2002

"Bradford have hit the fifty point mark, and Leeds have got BIG, BIG problems in Super League."

Eddie Hemmings of Sky Sports commenting on Bradford Bulls handing out the now traditional annual spanking to Leeds Rhinos in 1996.
posted by vbfg at 12:01 PM on October 7, 2002

"He's running over people. Oh you Herschel Walker. My God Almighty, he ran right through two men. He ran right over two men. They had him dead away inside the 9. He drove right over orange shirts, just driving and running with those big thighs. My God, a freshman."

Larry Munson - Go Dawgs!
posted by oh posey at 1:23 PM on October 7, 2002

"Look at the enthusiasm on that horse's face"

So said the egregious Jim McKay during a 1984 Olympic equestrian event. That line has stuck with me, and I think of it whenever sports announcers impute portent and sentimental motive to athletes' feats, viz I think of it all the time.
posted by dfowler at 1:36 PM on October 7, 2002

C'mon people..

"They think it's all over.... IT IS NOW!!"
posted by wackybrit at 1:40 PM on October 7, 2002

Pretty well anything Murray Walker said, including:

"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."

and

"Tambay's hopes , which were nil before, are absolutely zero now."

(Fabulon7 : I far prefer the Harry Neale/Joe Bowen Leafs hockey commentaries. Bob Cole's so far behind the play he always sounds like he's watching a different game than the one I am, and as such he infuriates me)
posted by biscotti at 1:59 PM on October 7, 2002

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 2:00 PM on October 7, 2002

Harry Carey was my favorite. Old, drunk, senile, and terribly entertaining. His finest moment: Barry Bonds' first visit to Wrigley as a Giant. Late in the game Barry smacked a towering home run to beat the Cubs. Harry's call: "Oh crap..."
posted by herc at 2:15 PM on October 7, 2002

Slow roller to first, behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Knight scores and the Mets win it!
posted by PrinceValium at 2:18 PM on October 7, 2002

Oh, Prince. Oh, oh, oh.

Now that you've softened us up, just bring up 1918, "No, No Nanette" and Bucky Fucking Dent to complete the killing, why dont'cha?
posted by yhbc at 2:21 PM on October 7, 2002

What wackybrit said (and it's a haiku, too!)
posted by rbrwr at 2:32 PM on October 7, 2002

yhbc, I'm sitting in Boston myself at the moment. But Scully's call of Tim Teufel booting the game-winning grounder in Game 2 just wasn't as memorable. Sorry.
posted by PrinceValium at 3:22 PM on October 7, 2002

"And Wales have beaten England by 32 points to 31..."

*cries*
posted by ceiriog at 4:01 PM on October 7, 2002

Sorry, got you all beat:

"That's Tom Glavine's sixth strikeout, for those of you scoring at home; or even if you're alone."
--Keith Olbermann
posted by Hildago at 4:20 PM on October 7, 2002

i have newfound respect for keith olbermann. hildago wins.
posted by escher at 5:03 PM on October 7, 2002

The Prince beat me to the '86 call, but what about the unforgettable Kirk Gibson home run in the '88 Series: "I don't believe... what I... just... saw." Nobody did.
posted by languagehat at 8:03 PM on October 7, 2002

I like the baseball commentary on 'Paradise by the dashboard light' by MeatLoaf. I don't know what the score was, because they cut it short just as the batter was getting close to 4th base. Anyone know how it turned out? ; )
posted by muckybob at 11:53 PM on October 7, 2002

Some choice GAA commentary http://myhome.iolfree.ie/~eddiemoroney/
or http://myhome.iolfree.ie/~eddiemoroney/faq.htm to see what it's all about (may make no sense whatsoever to anyone outside Ireland, or outside Tipperary for that matter)
posted by kersplunk at 5:05 AM on October 8, 2002

What I would have given to heard this the first time...

"Now then, ....the referee looks at his watch, any second now. And here comes..., some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over, it is now. Ten seconds to go , .... has scored a hatrick. It is all over, England are the world champions, and Bobby Moore comes up to receive the .... trophy for England. It's only twelve inches high, solid gold and it means England are the world champions."
posted by dmt at 6:02 AM on October 8, 2002

I think this was Ned Martin. A fan ran out onto the field during a Red Sox game and all he said was:

"The sun may be shining, but there's a full moon over second base."
posted by MarkAnd at 12:31 PM on October 8, 2002