These are the sports showdowns that captured the cultural zeitgeist. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most exciting matches in the history of sport!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most exciting matches
00:08in the history of sport.
00:1110.
00:20Liverpool FC vs AC Milan
00:23The UEFA Championship match would decide if Liverpool or Milan would be crowned as the
00:27greatest football team of 2005.
00:40Milan immediately made it clear why they were favored, scoring in under a minute.
00:44They dominated, and at halftime were up 3-0.
00:47Seemingly just to keep things interesting, captain Steven Gerrard put Liverpool on the
00:51board a few minutes into the second half.
00:58Two minutes later, they scored again, but they weren't done.
01:00A third goal in six minutes tied the match.
01:03Through the rest of regulation and extra time, neither side could break through, and the
01:07match went to a shootout.
01:08In penalties, it all came down to one shot, and when Liverpool's Jersey Dudek blocked
01:12Milan's Andrey Shevchenko, they completed a spectacular comeback.
01:199.
01:23The Shot
01:24As the 80s came to a close, two division rivals, the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers,
01:29each seemed poised to become a dominant force in the upcoming decade.
01:38Meeting in the first round of the 1989 playoffs, they split the first two games in the best
01:43of five series.
01:44In the climactic Game 5, the contest stayed close, and with only six seconds remaining,
01:47Michael Jordan hit a dagger to take a one-point lead.
01:55Craig Elo wasted no time hitting a shot of his own, putting the Cavs up a point.
01:58The Bulls inbounded, and the ball went to who else but Michael, who pulled up for a
02:02jumper over Elo as time expired.
02:11The ball sailed in, and a legend was born.
02:138.
02:14The Shot Heard Round the World
02:15In 1951, the Giants and Dodgers were crosstown rivals in New York.
02:26Thanks to a historic end to the season, the Giants rallied from 13 games back to tie the
02:30Dodgers, necessitating a three-game series for the National League pennant.
02:34During the first two, everything came down to Game 3.
02:44Through eight innings, the Dodgers had managed four runs, but when the Giants took the field
02:48in the bottom of the inning, they sat at only one.
02:50The Giants made another score and managed two others on base when Bobby Thompson stepped
02:54to the plate and made history.
02:56High and to the left, the ball soared into the stands.
02:58A three-run walk-off home run which completed the comeback saga.
03:087.
03:12Thrilla in Manila
03:13When Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali first faced off in 1971 for the Heavyweight Championship,
03:18each had a legitimate title claim and undefeated records.
03:25The highly publicized event was named the Fight of the Century, and Frazier claimed
03:29victory in 15 rounds.
03:30In 1974, Ali would take his title back, this time from the heavily favored George Foreman
03:35in a bout dubbed the Rumble in the Jungle.
03:44This all led to a final showdown between Ali and Frazier to break their tie, and crown
03:48the undisputed champ in the Thrilla in Manila.
03:51The two men laid into each other in a bloody battle hailed as one of the best fights ever,
03:55with Ali coming out on top.
04:026.
04:032006 Rose Bowl
04:04When the only two unbeaten teams of the season, USC and Texas, faced off in the National Championship,
04:09it was one of the most anticipated college football matches of all time.
04:16Collegiate legends including Vince Young, Matt Leinart, and Reggie Bush stepped onto
04:20the gridiron.
04:22The back-and-forth battle saw fourth-down conversions, close calls, five lead changes,
04:26and a nail-biting ending.
04:32With less than five minutes left to play and trailing by 12, Texas made it a one-score
04:36game.
04:37After Texas' defense's fourth-down hold, Young marched the ball down the field.
04:41However, he faced his own fourth down, needing a touchdown with only 26 seconds on the clock.
04:45Seeing a blitz, Young sprinted into the end zone and claimed victory.
04:525.
04:562009 Wimbledon – Men's Singles Final
05:05Titans clashed in the 2008 Wimbledon final, where after a long match, Rafael Nadal defeated
05:11rival Roger Federer.
05:19A year later, Nadal was out due to injury and a rather unexpected rival for Federer
05:23was in his place.
05:24Andy Roddick, who had previously been felled by the Swiss in the 2004 and 2005 finals,
05:28shockingly returned and even began to outplay the presumed champ.
05:40Roddick broke Fed in the first and fourth sets, but after losing two tie breaks, it
05:43was to be settled in a fifth.
05:45The final frame lasted for a record-breaking 30 games, until finally, after four hours,
05:49Federer broke Roddick.
05:51With that, Federer took home his 15th Grand Slam, setting the record for most of all time.
06:024.
06:04Kobe's Final Game
06:06After a season-long farewell tour with an atrocious team, Kobe Bryant, whose final years
06:10had been plagued by injury, stepped onto the court one last time.
06:25And no one expected what would come next.
06:27With no reason left to hold back, Kobe did what he loved best – shoot.
06:31Time after time, Kobe put up the ball in a Herculean effort, but with just over three
06:34minutes, the Lakers trailed by 10.
06:49But Kobe just wouldn't accept defeat.
06:50He ripped off even more shots, scoring 12 unanswered points by himself, including an
06:55epic jumper to take the lead.
06:56When the score was tallied, the 37-year-old had outscored the opposing Jazz in the final
07:00quarter on his way to a 60-point winning effort.
07:123.
07:16Manchester United vs Bayern Munich
07:18Both sides were attempting to achieve the all-too-rare treble when they met in the UEFA
07:22Champions League final in 1999.
07:30After an early goal by Bayern Munich, the points dried up as neither side could pull
07:34the ball in the net, although both came close several times.
07:36When the clock struck 90, only three minutes were added for stoppage time, and despite
07:40furiously attacking all game, it seemed over for the English side.
07:56Spectacularly, in stoppage time, United finally struck pay-dirt on a perfectly-placed shot
08:00from Teddy Scheringham.
08:02While the game now seemed destined for extra time, Man U had other plans and in the third
08:06minute scored again, turning what seemed like certain defeat just moments prior into sweet
08:11victory.
08:202.
08:23Super Bowl XLII
08:24After going 16-0 in the regular season and defeating them in the season finale, it was
08:28a foregone conclusion that the Patriots would claim victory when they played the wildcard
08:31Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
08:41Fans and sportcasters were already proclaiming that going a perfect 19-0 would make them
08:45the greatest team to ever play the game, but that's why you play the game.
08:56After trading leads all day with a minute 15 left, Giants QB Eli Manning had one last
09:01chance.
09:02During that now-legendary drive, Eli escaped the grasp of three Patriot defenders and chucked
09:07a bomb caught by receiver David Tyree with the aid of his helmet.
09:11A few plays later, a touchdown completed the upset and demolished perfection once and
09:15for all.
09:22Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:261995 Rugby World Cup Final
09:28Nelson Mandela looked on as a newly united South Africa won an overtime battle.
09:46Italy vs. West Germany
09:48Rivals met for a match with five goals in extra time.
10:03La remontada Barcelona overcame the four-goal deficit from
10:06the prior game to take home the title.
10:19The greatest game ever played.
10:21The original overtime championship that made football into America's favorite sport.
10:37Isner Mahou, the tennis match that wouldn't end.
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11:14The Miracle on Ice
11:15The U.S. currently enjoys a friendly hockey rivalry with Canada, with the overtime thriller
11:19between the teams in the 2010 gold medal game being one for the ages.
11:33Their rivalry with the Soviet Union was much less friendly.
11:36The Cold War became literal in the 1980 Olympics when a team of American college kids faced
11:41off against the four-time defending champs, the USSR.
11:51The Soviets scored first, but the U.S. refused to go away, tying the game up again and again,
11:56including a last-second first-period buzzer-beater.
11:58Playing from behind in the final period, the U.S. scored two quick goals, taking their
12:02first lead 4-3.
12:04For an intense final 10 minutes, that score would hold, proving miracles do happen.
12:14What sporting events got your heart racing?
12:16Let us know in the comments below!
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