Loading...
Winning the championship is easily the most desirable achievement for any player in professional sports. By taking home all the glory, teams and players solidify their legacy in their respective sports. For the fans, these championship moments make for some of the most entertaining viewing experiences in all of sports and is what every supporter hopes to see their favorite team achieve.
While there are plenty of championship-winning moments in professional sports all over the world, only a few make the moments that will last forever in history. Let’s break down the five that made the greatest impact.
Eight years after a devastating defeat in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final to Germany, Argentina would look to make the 2022 World Cup their vengeance tour. Lionel Messi, 35 at the time, was not only the world’s most decorated soccer player but easily the best, although he did not yet have a World Cup to his name. It would take close to 20 years of his career before he’d finally get his hands on the prestigious World Cup trophy, and he’d do it in one of the greatest championship moments in sports history. Facing Kylian Mbappe’s defending 2018 World Cup French team, Argentina and France would contest a thrilling 3-3 tie that would eventually go to extra time and penalties. Argentina would eventually prevail 4-2 in a PK shootout to finally deliver Messi a World Cup.
All you have to do is say “28-3” and any NFL fan will instantly know which game you’re referring to. The New England Patriots would stare defeat in the face before pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in any championship game in any sport. During Super Bowl LI, the Atlanta Falcons held a 28-3 lead in the third quarter against the 14-2 AFC champs, but they would fail to see it out. Somehow, through the end of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to take the game to overtime. The Pats would then emerge victorious 34-28 after James White delivered the game-winning touchdown to overcome seemingly impossible odds.
In this Super Bowl, the Patriots would go toe to toe with the defending Super Bowl champs in the Seattle Seahawks. In the end, the Pats would barely come out victorious, winning 28-24 after some of the biggest twists and turns that have ever occurred in any NFL game. Most notable was when the game stood at 24-14 with just over 2 minutes remaining, before the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler committed arguably the greatest interception of all time on his one-yard line, allowing the Patriots to score 14 points in that two-minute window to win yet another Super Bowl in dramatic circumstances.
The legendary Chicago Bulls and star player Michael Jordan would beat the Utah Jazz 4-2 in the 1998 NBA Finals, but not without one of the most exhilarating Game 6s in the history of basketball. Not only was this game one of the most-viewed in the history of the NBA, but it was also believed to be Jordan’s last game before retirement. Just like a story out of a children’s book, Jordan would hit the game-winning shot over Bryon Russell in the dying moments of the game to secure his sixth NBA ring and close out his career with the Bulls in the most perfect way possible.
The New England Patriots, 18-0, dominated the entire NFL in the 2008 season, and were expected to take the Super Bowl trophy without any fuss. However, the stubborn New York Giants had other ideas. It’s important to note that the Pats were on course to be the second team in NFL history (after the Miami Dolphins) to complete a perfect season and go 19-0 after taking the championship. This, however, was not the case, as New York’s David Tyree would go on to make one of the most clutch catches in history, winning it for the Giants 17-10 and creating one of the greatest championship moments in sports history.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.