Wins

Written on 2021/03/17 09:39 (metric, UTC-5) for Consciousness Prints Blog

Given that I've shared some of my most saddest memories from my sports-watching career (see Loss and Royals) here are some of the moments that I've watched over many times to give myself joy, whether it be thrilling wins by my favourite teams or "can-you-believe-what-we-just-saw" moments.

Probably my favourite all-time work of commentating by one of my favourite all-time commentators (Peter Loubardius, who I've met but was sadly fired by Sportsnet in 2012) and since he was working with Ray Ferraro, it makes it my favourite all-time commentating duo. I don't care about either of these teams but such a ridiculous turn of events:

Two more Peter Loubardius-commentated clips in the Memorial Cup with my top two CHL teams pulling off victories (unfortunately it was just the semi-final for Kitchener though):

The only moment of joyous celebration for residents of Kitchener-Waterloo on May 25, 2008 as the Rangers opened the scoring and it looked as if this was the start of another stellar performance that would win them the national championship (go to 00:17:04 of following video to see Brandon Mashinter's goal, the lone goal for the Kitchener Rangers in the 2008 Memorial Cup Championship Game in their home arena, the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium):

Even experiencing the united celebration and the goal horn and chant that follow a regular season goal at Kitchener Rangers games can be a thrill:

The two best Toronto Blue Jays moments in my lifetime. Both of them I watched in a full lounge with friends at Conrad Grebel University College residence which made these moments even more special and thrilling:

Lame way to win championship TBH (I think the NBA wanted it to be a bad ending because bad for TV ratings for Canadian team to win), but still exciting to have the Raptors win their first championship. Too bad Game 7 of Round 2's finish wasn't in Game 6 vs. Golden State:

Lots of well-known and big moments for Canadian hockey at the international level:

It was unfortunate to have a colour commentator trying to make the moment about himself by answering the dramatic rhetroical question but still amazing:

So to reflect back on what I said in Loss maybe it's the expectations, the marketing of the event, our own emotional investment, that creates the illusion that there are "once-in-a-lifetime" celebrations and opportunities missed. For me seeing my Kitchener Rangers win the Memorial Cup on home ice or the Vancouver Canucks win the Stanley Cup on home ice seems like the best things that could possibly happen but a lot of the moments displayed in this post were amazing and could be enjoyed even if they weren't the "ultimate" victories.

What other kinds of moments in life do we not appreciate enough because they aren't the "ultimate" victories?

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse