Most Iconic Sports Moments of the Decade

It became known as the “Minneapolis Miracle,” and it is one of the greatest moments in Vikings history. There were 10 seconds left in the 2017 NFL Divisional Round playoff game, and the Vikings trailed the New Orleans Saints by one point. Viking wide receiver Stefon Diggs caught a pass down the sideline from quarterback Casey Keenum. The Saints safety whiffed on the tackle, so Diggs raced 61 yards to score the winning touchdown as time expired.

Former baseball player David Ortiz helped the Boston Red Sox win three world championships, and throughout his time with the team, he had many big moments. But perhaps his biggest was the time he held a microphone instead of a bat. Five days after the Boston Marathon was rocked by a terrorist bomb that killed three people, Ortiz walked on to the Fenway Park field and told the Red Sox faithful: “All right, Boston. This jersey that we wear today, it doesn’t say ‘Red Sox.’ It says ‘Boston.'” Then he brought the house down by adding, “This is our f——- city. And nobody’s going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.”

Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard became an instant icon in Toronto sports history this past spring. With four seconds remaining in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal against the Philadelphia 76ers, and the score tied at 90-90, Leonard launched a jump shot that bounced on the rim four times before falling through the basket to give Toronto the victory as time ran out. The Raptors would go on to win their first NBA championship.

The 2017 college football national championship came down to one play, and a walk-on wide receiver would make it. Clemson trailed Alabama 31-28 and drove to the Crimson Tide 2-yard line with four seconds remaining. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow ran to the corner of the end zone, and quarterback Deshaun Watson hit him with a pass in the end zone to give the Tigers the lead with one second left. Clemson would go on to win its first national football championship since 1981.

It looked like the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to burnish their storied history with a Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins and overcome a 3-1 series deficit in a National Hockey League opening round series in 2013. It was not to be. The Leafs, leading 4-1 going into the third period, yielded three goals to force overtime, and Boston won it when Patrice Bergeron scored at 6:05 of extra time to win the series.

On a Sunday night in November of 2014, Odell Beckham Jr. made a catch that must have seemed like an optical illusion. Giants quarterback Eli Manning rolled out to his right and threw to rookie wideout Beckham near the end zone. Beckham pulled free from cornerback Brandon Carr, extended his right arm, and snagged the ball. It was a catch many observers have called the greatest ever.

The Washington Nationals have known only heartbreak in the postseason, but that all changed in 2019. Utility player Howie Kendrick was already a postseason hero for hitting the 10th-inning grand slam that sent the Nats to the NLCS. Kendrick came up huge again in game seven of the World Series, when he hit an opposite-field two-run shot off reliever Will Harris in the 7th inning that clanged into the foul pole. The homer turned Washington’s 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead — a lead they would not relinquish on their way to the franchise’s first title.

Mario Goetze scored what was called the “goal of the century” in extra time of the 2014 World Cup Final in Rio de Janeiro, as his score defeated Argentina, 1-0, to give Germany its fourth World Cup title. Goetze, a 22-year-old midfielder, took a crossing pass from André Schürrle off his chest, transferred the ball to his left foot, and volleyed it into the net past Argentinian goaltender Sergio Romero.

The Dallas Mavericks won their lone NBA championship in 2011 by defeating the Miami Heat in six games. The Mavericks, led by power forward Dirk Nowitzki, the MVP of the Finals, overcame the hype surrounding a Heat team featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, and in the process avenged a loss to the Heat in the NBA Finals five years earlier. The Mavericks joined the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets as Texas teams that have won NBA championships.

Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams in straight sets to win the U.S. Open in September of 2018, becoming the first Japanese tennis player to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The match was noteworthy in that it marked a generational shift in the tennis world, as the 20-year-old Osaka denied Williams, 36, her 24th Grand Slam championship. The final was also known for Williams’ explosive reaction for being penalized by a referee for receiving coaching.

The Indianapolis Colts trailed the New Orleans Saints 24-17 with just over three minutes to play in Super Bowl XLIV, but the Colts had the ball on the Saints’ 31-yard line, and quarterback Peyton Manning was poised to work his late-minute magic. Then Tracy Porter intervened. The Saints cornerback intercepted a Manning pass and returned it for a touchdown that secured the Saints’ first Super Bowl victory.

The Texas Rangers were one strike away from winning their first World Series in 2011, as they held a 7-5 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6. With two runners on, David Freese stepped to the plate and hit a two-run triple over the head of right fielder Nelson Cruz. The game went into extra innings — and Freese was not finished with his heroics. He led off the bottom of the 11th with a walk off home run that forced a Game 7, won by the Cardinals behind a two-run double by, you guessed it, Freese.

Over the course of an 18-year career, Ray Allen had his share of big shots, but none was bigger than the three-pointer he made in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. With San Antonio leading 95-92, Miami’s LeBron James missed a three-point shot from the left wing. Heat center Chris Bosh grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Ray Allen, who backpedaled to the right corner beyond the three-point line and hit the shot to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Heat won Game 6 and would go on to take Game 7 for their second straight NBA title.

Simone Biles is the preeminent superstar in gymnastics. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she won three individual gold medals in the vault and floor exercise events, as well as the all-around and team gold, not to mention a bronze medal on the balance beam. Those four golds tied the record for a female gymnast in a single Olympic Games. This past summer, Biles did something no other gymnast has done. She completed a triple-double, meaning she did a double backflip with three twists — a move known as the Biles II — enroute to winning her sixth women’s title at the United States Gymnastics Championships.

Just when it looked like the Seattle Seahawks were going beat the New England Patriots with a last-minute touchdown in Super Bowl XLIX, Malcolm Butler denied the Seahawks the victory. The Seahawks, trailing 28-24, drove to the Patriot one-yard line with 26 seconds left. On second down, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson tried to connect with wide receiver Ricardo Lockette on a quick slant pattern, but Butler cut in front of Lockette and picked off the pass, securing New England’s fourth Super Bowl win.

There are few college football rivalries fiercer than Auburn and Alabama, where gridiron allegiances divide the state of Alabama along county, town, and even family lines. The two schools have played many memorable Iron Bowl games, which pair Auburn and Alabama toward the end of the college season, but no game was more memorable than the 2013 contest. The Tigers knocked off top-ranked Alabama, 34-28, when Chris Davis returned Adam Griffith’s failed 57-yard field-goal attempt 109 yards for a touchdown as time expired.

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps capped the greatest career in Olympic history by winning his 23rd and final gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Phelps won 28 total Olympics medals. In his final Olympic race, Phelps swam the butterfly leg of the men’s 4x100m medley relay, which the United States won. He won five gold medals and one silver in his final Olympics at age 31. Phelps competed in four Olympiads, starting with the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.

The Washington Capitals overcame 43 years of frustration by winning their first Stanley Cup in 2018, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. It was also an uplifting moment for left wing and perennial all-star Alex Ovechkin, who joined the Caps in 2005 and was able to shed the albatross as the best hockey player to never win a championship. Until the Caps hoisted the Cup, Washington’s playoff history had been marred by disappointment. Despite winning their division eight times in 11 seasons, Washington had never advanced past the conference finals in the Ovechkin era.

Southeastern Conference titans Alabama and Georgia met to determine the championship of college football in 2018, and the Crimson Tide won its fifth national title under coach Nick Saban in dramatic fashion. Alabama trailed the Georgia Bulldogs 23-20 with 10 seconds left in overtime, when freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa connected with receiver Devonta Smith for a 41-yard touchdown strike in overtime to win the game for the Crimson Tide. Tagovailoa had entered the game at halftime in place of starting quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was struggling, and threw three touchdown passes.

The Villanova Wildcats won one of the most dramatic national championship basketball games ever in 2016 when junior forward Kris Jenkins hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to defeat North Carolina. The Tar Heels had tied the game at 74-74 with 4.7 seconds left when guard Marcus Paige hit a jumper, leaving enough time for Jenkins’ heroics.

The U.S. Women’s National Team was bold, brash, and by far the best team in the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Perhaps no moment better personified the team’s swagger than when star Alex Morgan scored a sublime header against England in the semi-finals and celebrated by pretending to take a sip of tea. The USWNT would go on to win the Final against the Netherlands, 2-0. The team was unstoppable, outscoring their opponents 26-3 throughout all their World Cup matches.

Tiger Woods overcame years of injuries, multiple surgeries, and the controversy surrounding his personal life to win the 2019 Masters. Until Woods’ triumph at Augusta, he had not won a major since 2008 and had not won the Masters since 2005. With his fifth Masters triumph, the 43-year-old Woods has 15 major victories and trails all-time leader Jack Nicklaus by three. Unlike his prior 14 major wins, Woods’ victory at the Masters was the first time he had to rally to win a major. Previously, Woods was either tied or ahead going into the last round.

LeBron James put the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back and willed them to the NBA championship, the first title for the city of Cleveland since 1964. No play summed up James’ drive to win more than a crucial play against the Golden State Warriors late in Game 7. With the game tied at 89-89, and less than two minutes left, the Warriors rebounded a Cavs’ missed shot and started a fastbreak. Steph Curry found Andre Iguodala with a bounce pass, and as he went up for a layup, James streaked across the lane and rejected the shot. The Cavaliers got possession of the ball and would go on to defeat the Warriors for their first NBA championship.

The Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in seven games in the 2016 World Series, ending the Cubs’ 108-year-old championship drought. Game 7 has been called by some baseball writers and historians as the greatest World Series game ever. They may have a point. The Cubs won 8-7 in 10 innings, but not before the Indians overcame Chicago leads of 5-1 and 6-3. The Indians tied the game in the last of the eighth on Rajai Davis’ two-run homer off Cub closer Aroldis Chapman. A 17-minute rain delay after the ninth inning only raised the tension. The Cubs rallied for two runs in the 10th and held off the Indians to win the World Series.

It took a gadget play that will forever be known to Eagles fans as the “Philly Special” to help bring the Super Bowl victory to the Philadelphia Eagles over the New England Patriots in 2018. The Eagles pulled off the trick play with 38 seconds left in the first half. Philadelphia faced a fourth and goal from the Patriots one-yard line when quarterback Nick Foles suggested the play to coach Doug Pederson, who agreed to run it. Foles walked up behind center Jason Kelce, shifted to the right. Running back Corey Clement received the snap, then tossed the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who threw a pass to Foles who had circled out of the backfield and into the end zone, giving the Eagles a 22-12 lead.