July 9, 2001
8:18 AM   Subscribe

Anyone agree that the Wimbledon Men's final that just finished was just about the best sporting event ever on TV? If you're waiting to watch this later, don't click here.
posted by davehat (33 comments total)
 
It was no rugby match, or sumo basho, but I guess it was okay.

Now, if they allowed full contact tennis, that'd be interesting.
posted by dwivian at 8:23 AM on July 9, 2001


dwivian: What, like a Vince McMahon's Xtreme Lawn Tennis Association? They could like, put mics on the balls or something.... get the ball girls to flash cleavage........ decide line calls with fights..... Hmmm, could be good.

OK, I should have said on the front page post "tennis match" not "sporting event".

But if not a tennis match, what was the greatest televised sporting event?
posted by davehat at 8:32 AM on July 9, 2001


> full contact tennis

Me and Anna the K.
posted by jfuller at 8:36 AM on July 9, 2001


davehat rocks for not spoiling the outcome.
posted by allaboutgeorge at 8:40 AM on July 9, 2001


Right I'm off to bed. I'll be getting specific about the match when I wake up in about 7 hours. See you all later.

Or not, if no one bites this thread.
posted by davehat at 8:46 AM on July 9, 2001


> what was the greatest televised sporting event?

Ali regaining the heavyweight title from Foreman would be it if it had been televised but I think it was only pay-per-view closed circuit in theaters.

Otherwise I pick the Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 Wimbledon Final.
posted by jfuller at 8:51 AM on July 9, 2001


Speaking of Ali v. Foreman, if anyone hasn't seen When We Were Kings, the story of the "Rumble in the Jungle", you simply must. To use a hackneyed expression, it's absolutely awe-inspiring.
posted by jpoulos at 9:02 AM on July 9, 2001


Speaking of Ali v. Foreman, if anyone hasn't seen When We Were Kings, the story of the "Rumble in the Jungle", you simply must. To use a hackneyed expression, it's absolutely awe-inspiring.
posted by jpoulos at 9:02 AM on July 9, 2001


You can say that again.
posted by techgnollogic at 9:12 AM on July 9, 2001


And why does it take weather-delayed finals to prove to the All-England Club that the best atmosphere comes when you let in the real fans?

My call: Headingley 1981.
posted by holgate at 9:24 AM on July 9, 2001


davehat -- I thought it was fantastic. I was near tears when it finally ended (and my guy won! hurrah!).

It was the best tennis final I've seen in a long time; the one that comes to mind as being remotely near as exciting was the first time Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario faced off for the Wimbledon title. That was the best women's tennis game ever, I think. This was the best tennis game I've ever seen. Excellent play from both Rafter and Ivanisevic.
posted by lia at 9:26 AM on July 9, 2001


Anyone agree that the Wimbledon Men's final that just finished was just about the best sporting event ever on TV?

Sorry...but for most sports fans, no tennis match will ever be ranked as the best sporting event ever on TV.
posted by Reggie452 at 9:34 AM on July 9, 2001


Did anyone find it odd that NBC was heavily promoting NASCAR during tennis? I didn't think the same people who watch tennis are the same who would tune in for NASCAR.
posted by fresh-n-minty at 9:51 AM on July 9, 2001


Reggie452: Oh well. I heard plenty of people calling Tiger Woods the greatest athlete ever, of all time, that has ever been born, that will ever be. Usually these were golf fans or golfers. No reason to be snooty.
posted by raysmj at 9:53 AM on July 9, 2001


fresh-n-minty: I think they are promoting it EVERYWHERE. At mid-season in NASCAR, the broadcast rights switched from Fox to NBC/TNT, so there is a big need to make everyone aware to tune in to the right place.
posted by machaus at 9:58 AM on July 9, 2001


Back on topic, I can't believe that no one has mentioned the gold medal hockey game in the 1980 Winter Olympics. A fist-clenching, breath-holding, nail-biting, nerve-wracking (in the good sense) display of solid athleticism and sheer force of will from both teams with only pure luck as the difference between the winning and losing teams. Good, good stuff.
posted by Dreama at 10:35 AM on July 9, 2001


Silly people. The greatest sporting event happens every January. :)
posted by owillis at 11:17 AM on July 9, 2001


I dunno... the waves looked kinda flat to me.
posted by fluxcreative at 11:22 AM on July 9, 2001


The superbowl is never ever ever the best event of the year. ever ever ever.


...ever.
posted by jpoulos at 11:37 AM on July 9, 2001


I can't believe that no one has mentioned the gold medal hockey game in the 1980 Winter Olympics.

i can't believe there's nothing about tennis in this thread, or maybe not so unbelieveable.

i watched and enjoyed the match, btw, esp. when ivanisevic threw his racket down amid jumping for joy. solo sports promote sportsmanship. i mean, you watch these sports comedies, and they're all about vengeance and hatred for your opponents, but you look at these guys, and they can't win before having sufficient personal integrity.

heh, the superbowl is so anticlimatic, but in the face of world cup anticlimativity, it's a bit abject.
posted by elle at 1:26 PM on July 9, 2001


Watched the last hour on videotape later here -- or rather, hour and a half or something. The best part was Ivanisevic walking up a whole deck and hugging his dad, just after the falling down part. That was just outright freakin' sweet. Then he was humble, and dedicated the win to the late leader of the Croatian basketball team. Wow. I know he threw down a racket and cursed a ref at one point. Still, you gotta wonder if someone is going to take him aside and explain the whole professional sports thing to him at some point.

Meantime, a guy who bet on the above wild card is feeling happy.
posted by raysmj at 2:32 PM on July 9, 2001


No. Greg Lemond beating Laurent Fignon in the 1989 Tour de France was the most amazing sporting event ever. It was like a team scoring six runs in the bottom of the Ninth Inning of Game Seven of the World Series in the visiting ballpark with two out to win.
posted by ParisParamus at 2:36 PM on July 9, 2001


Paris: the Wimbledon win was like that. The winner only got into the tourney as a wild card, was a 150 to 1 longshot, failed to qualify for the Australian open, didn't bother with the French, and last year was ranked 65th in the world. He'd gone that far down from No. 2 in 1998, before being knocked down by Sampras at Wimbledon. Also, this was the longest anyone's gone in extra sets in the tourney's history. Also, the game was played on a Monday, which was peculiar enough to begin with.
posted by raysmj at 2:53 PM on July 9, 2001



I find tennis to be too artificial a construct to ever be that exciting; it's ultimately a finessse game rather than one where speed or distance decides who wins. But it does sound like I would have liked to watch the match.

And as long as you don't think football (soccer) or basketball is exciting, I respect your opinion!

posted by ParisParamus at 3:05 PM on July 9, 2001


Oh, I love basketball, but only college basketball.
posted by raysmj at 3:09 PM on July 9, 2001


Do you consider frisbee freestyling a sport?

I liked how Ivanisevic kept asking for the return of the "good" balls and kicked away the bad ones.
posted by gluechunk at 4:41 PM on July 9, 2001


The best sporting event ever on TV was an NFL playoff game years ago where Kellen Winslow blocked like three field goal attempts in a row in sudden-death overtime.
posted by rodii at 5:41 PM on July 9, 2001


I liked Laettner's buzzer-beating 3 to win the NCAA Championship a few years ago.
posted by Kevs at 7:42 PM on July 9, 2001


Well, its good to be able to talk about the match now, though most of the salient points have been covered.

Ivanesavic was incredible. I wanted him to win the tournament from near the outset, even though I'm a Brit and I'm "supposed" to support Henman and that Canadian guy. It really was incredible. The last game, where he looked as if all of a sudden he had forgotten how to serve was excruciating, I found myself yelling at the TV for the whole game.

What I really liked about this win was that everyone wrote Goran off three years ago when he choked against Sampras. A certain famous left handed American tennis player has now been forced to eat his words of the day before, having written the guy off as a player with a big serve but no other facets to his game.

Go Goran is all I can say, you've provided one of the most enjoyable and exciting sporting events I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

It was all the more enjoyable as, being a Brit in Australia, it was nice to see the Aussies lose for once (they just kicked Brit & Irish ass in the Rugby and England's in the cricket in the last few days). Having said that, he played real well and must have been totally gutted. Maybe he'll win it third time round if he doesn't retire
posted by davehat at 8:23 PM on July 9, 2001


Kevs, wasn't that in the national semi-finals or the regional final? That was a great game. I caught most of it on radio, as we were out shopping, but I do remember catching the last few minutes on TV.

College basketball in the NCAA tournament has to be the greatest 3 weeks in the year for most sports fans in the U.S. I shudder to think what I'll have to do once I get a real job and not able to skip class like high school and college.
posted by gyc at 8:28 PM on July 9, 2001


Hmmm...best televised sporting moment? I'm too young to remember 1966, when England won the world cup, which I bet would have been my choice. There's nothing that really stands out for me. I don't like cricket, so I can't go for Botham's exploits at Headingly in 1981. Maybe I'd have to go for the England-Argentina world cup game of 1986, even though England lost. Two moments that are talked about to this day- Maradona's "Hand of God", and then, while we were all raging about the injustice, he score the greatest world cup goal of them all. This was the first time England had played Argentina since the Falklands War in 1982 so there was a political element to the match as well.
posted by salmacis at 1:01 AM on July 10, 2001


To be a bit nationalistic, any win by Wales over England in any sport..... ever.

To be a sports fan, Frans Klammer coming over the hill in the '76 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck. (the noise)

Man Utd scoring two goals in injury time to win the treble. (I am standing up)

The Fignon/LeMond battle (over 2,000 KM and he won by eight seconds), staying with the TDF, Delgado racing away in the mountains and Steven Roche appearing out of the mist behind him.
posted by fullerine at 2:49 AM on July 10, 2001


it's ultimately a finessse game rather than one where speed or distance decides who wins

Paris, have you ever seen Venus Williams or Goran Ivanisevic serve? Speed is a deciding factor, believe me. As for distance -- well, duh. No kidding. So what?
posted by lia at 6:12 AM on July 10, 2001


« Older Those darn airmen in their flying contraptions...   |   Douglas Rushkoff Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments