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8 Miraculous Moments In Sports History

By Daniel Friedman
» More Columns

In honor of Chanukah, we bring to you eight miraculous moments in the history of sports:

8. Appalachian State Defeats Michigan (2007)

Appalachian v Michigan
Appalachian State Mountaineers mascot Yosef (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

The 34-32 win over the fifth-ranked Wolverines was improbable, if not impossible. Still, it happened.

7. Bill Buckner Game (1986)

The Mets were one out away from losing the World Series. One play changed everything. "A little roller up along first... behind the bag!"

6. Giants Defeat Patriots In Super Bowl XLII (2008)

David Tyree Super Bowl catch
David Tyree hauls in "The Catch" during Super Bowl XLII. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Everyone, and I mean everyone, had the previously undefeated Pats winning this one.

5. Miracle Mets (1969)

Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets
Yogi Berra, Nolan Ryan, Jerry Grote, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Duffy Dyer pose for a photo during a presentation commemorating the New York Mets' 40th anniversary of the 1969 World Championship team on August 22, 2009. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The Orioles were a strong pitching team, while the Mets had never been a strong anything team until '69.

4. Villanova Over Georgetown (1985)

What was supposed to be a relatively easy win for Patrick Ewing & Co. wound up being a nightmarish defeat.

3. Super Bowl III (1969)

Not only were the Jets considered to be inferior -- they were under pressure to win thanks to Joe Namath's guarantee. But they took the field that day and the rest is history.

2. Red Sox Come Back From 3-0 Series Deficit (2004)

Red Sox Fans Celebrate Series Win Over Yankees
Red Sox fans celebrate after beating the Yankees in Game 7, coming all the way back from a 3-0 series deficit in the 2004 ALCS. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

It's happened a few times throughout pro sports, but it's rare. It had never, ever happened before in baseball. The Red Sox, with their penchant for falling short of championship aspirations, were the last team you'd have expected to pull off the feat -- especially against the big, bad Yankees.

1. Miracle On Ice (1980)


OLY USA celebrates

To this day, it remains the greatest moment in sports history. You know the story -- a group of college kids takes on the Soviet Union, a team that had won Olympic gold every year since the Americans' last one in 1960. A team that had beaten the NHL's best a short while before Lake Placid, and that had beaten USA 10-3 a few weeks before the games. Led by coach Herb Brooks, they took down the international hockey superpower.

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