Sports Illustrated brings us an archive of some of it’s best writers answering the question, what was the best game you have ever seen?
Alan Muir writes about one of mine, the 1987 Canada Cup.
What set Game 2 apart from every other I’ve seen was the pace. Every game has a natural rhythm, with inevitable ebbs. Not this one. You know that frantic, all-hands-on-deck action when a team is desperately trying to tie it up in the dying moments? That was this game — for 60 minutes of regulation and another 30 of overtime. End-to-end assaults launched by both sides led to 11 goals and at least twice as many more exceptional scoring opportunities. It was exhausting just to watch.
Even now, there is an emotion and pride that rises to the surface when I recall what I felt when watching this game. All Canadians felt it, and I know the Russians did too. It’s trite to say, by the sport was the winner on the day.
My other great game was in a different sport, Tennis. This was marked not by it’s competitive balance, but the sheer brilliance of one man, John McEnroe. He defeated Jimmy Connors in a very one sided three set final (YouTube link) that was incredible to watch. It wasn’t that Connors was bad on the day; The Brat was just at his supreme best, slicing and dicing Jimbo to pieces. It was a grass court lesson and McEnroe walked away with the trophy 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. That day I was genuinely loved McEnroe for showing us how that game can and should be played.
Over to you.
