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Retro Stu's avatar

Ok I totally had baby brain and misread the bounty on this one! So, let's try again.

I'm not one for international football, despite the atmosphere at some pubs being incredible it just doesn't excite me as much as club football.

Growing up I saw some incredible games, indeed my sister's first match with us was Arsenal beating Man U 3-0 in 1998 and I'd just purchased my Ljungberg shirt before the game only for him to come off the bench and score the third.

But the best game that stands out is the only North London Derby I went to. I'm not a gambling man but I'd planned on putting a bet on the game, only for us to arrive just before kick off and didn't have time. I told my dad what I thought the score would be and who I thought would score.

So the game begins, Arsenal go 1-0 up, courtesy of Emmanuel Adebayor. Stage one of my prediction complete. Spurs went on to equalise, the usual suspect and thorn in our side at the time, Berbatov getting the equaliser. Stage two complete. Then came the spanner in the works, Arsenal gave away a penalty, I buried my head in my hands, not ready for the taunting that would come my way. The very enthusiastic woman sat next to me grabbed my arm and said "Don't worry love, Almunia's got this, he'll save it, no doubt!" I did not have her confidence, I kept my head buried, listening for the jeers and cheers as the ball would inevitably hit the net. Cue an eruption of sound from the home fans and the woman shaking me saying "I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU DIDN'T I?!". The adrenaline was pumping (as it is reliving this as I type) and my prediction remained intact.

5 Minutes later we look down at the touchline and see the much maligned Nicklas Bendtner warming up. The woman to my left said "oh god don't bring him on, he's useless!" It was my turn to be the football whisperer. I turned to her and said, trying to imitate her London parlance,"Don't worry love, he'll come on, first touch, back of the net" The sound that came from her mouth was "Pffffffffft - yeah right!". Arsenal win a corner, Bendtner is bought on and this happens....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMa4UGXLuQ

The woman to my left is ecstatic, ignoring her husband and hugging me, jumping up and down screaming "WE HAVE TO SIT NEXT TO EACH OTHER EVERY GAME!".

Bendtner scoring to put us 2-1 up, stage 3 of my prediction was complete. Arsenal held on and won that game 2-1, as I thought, and I can't be mad I never got there in time to make a bet. I'm not superstitious, at least, not anymore. Back then? Oh you better believe if I wasn't wearing the right combo of shirt and beanie then Arsenal would be in for a bad day at the office. I often think if I'd got there in time to make that bet, it wouldn't have played out the way it did and I'd have been robbed of one of the best moments I shared with my dad and younger sister.

Boomer's avatar

“WE HAVE TO SIT NEXT TO EACH OTHER EVERY GAME!”.

Ha I love it! I feel like there's a sitcom in there somewhere, with the only shot being a side-by-side of two strangers at a game. 😝

Like a sports show version of a wasgij puzzle!

EveOnlineTutorials's avatar

I don't remember much as I was 10, but I will try my hardest.

I was 19 years old and living in a children's home in the city of Corby. As a surprise for good behavior, five of us were taken to Wembley to watch the Cobblers play, a football match, which I think was a team from Northampton.

But, we were not in the stands, we had what is called a "box" which was this heated room, sorry I'm tearing up writing this, it's one of the few happy memories I have from my childhood, we had these servers on hand, a food buffet and drinks, as a ten-year-old, this was an amazing experience.

I don't think the Cobblers won, but, it was the best and only live match of football I ever saw.

Retro Stu's avatar

Corby?! Not far from me! Small world! Though I'm not originally from the area.

EveOnlineTutorials's avatar

Yeh, I spent a lot of time in the Midlands being moved around in short stay homes and foster care, but I now live in Wiltshire :)

Retro Stu's avatar

I'm originally from Essex but moved up to East mids in 2020.

J

It would have to be Game 7 or the 2016 NBA Finals for me, being a massive Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I skipped school for the game. 3-1 down in the Series and the greatest player of all time with the best block of all time with the game on the line, not to mention my favourite player of all time Kyrie Irving hitting the shot to win it all. Still one of the best days of my life.

LukeH's avatar

I support neither of the teams and it's still one of my favourite games ever! I imagine being a Cleveland fan just amplified that by 100 times!

That being said, I can't imagine it was too great being a GSW fan...

Sturmer's avatar

It's challenging for me to single out one best sports game or event, as each has been remarkable in its own way, filled with unique mini-events and moments. I could probably say something like Tour de France 2004 and Lance Armstrong's finish.

However, if I had to choose the most memorable aspect of sports for me, it's not just watching but participating, especially in cycling. The most remarkable moment is always in the starting corridor, 20 seconds before the race begins. It's a moment of calm and focus, a brief silence before the storm. In those moments, your heart rate is about to soar from 90 to 180 BPM in a few sec, and every decision, every pedal stroke, and every turn for the next few minutes becomes critical and determines the outcome.

The intensity of competing, the feeling of the wind, the sense of achievement in overcoming your limits – these are the experiences that stay with me. From the starting line to the exhausting yet exhilarating finish, cycling races offer a unique blend of physical challenge and mental focus that watching from the sidelines simply can't match.

Boomer's avatar

Cycling sounds like such an intense but freeing sport! What kind of cycling do you prefer and how often are you able to get out?

Sturmer's avatar

Winter - mostly road, at summer MTB. Trying to get at least 6-8 hours in a saddle, weekly.

Dave's avatar

England v Denmark Euro 2020 semi final at Wembley stadium (held in 2021).

https://youtu.be/pwTAeTS_mBU?si=6CZ7mY4L5p2NZRr9

I managed to get tickets for this semi final but England hadn't actually qualified for it yet. There was still the quarter final v Ukraine to get through so I could have ended up with expensive tickets to see Ukraine v Denmark or Chechia. It would still have been ok but it something I would have wanted to spend so much on! This did mean people didn't want to take the gamble though so it was relatively easy to get tickets.

Fortunately the results went out way and it turned out to be the match up that it was. This event was extra special for a number of reasons:

The tournament was one of the first big public sporting event to take place since COVID and it was like a party and massive liberty in itself being set free and allowed to go to a "test event..." of this kind on the way out of COVID restrictions.

I support a local non league football team and have never been to a game even slightly on the scale of this before. My usually experience is 200 people in standing terraces where if you pick the wrong spot you will roped into having to go get the ball from a pile of nettles all game while everyone waits (and shouts) for you to hurry up!

An extremely rare occasion to see the national team on home soil in a major tournament.

We won the game and qualified for a major final for the first time in 55 years.

All of this combined to be the best game I have ever been to. Not necessarily for the quality of the match (although the usual drama was there, with an extra time winner), but the whole experience this was due to all the unique factors at play. This also turned out to be the best game to go to over the final given all the crowd issues that sadly occured in that one. There were no issue like that in this game.

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