The title alone should be enough to generate discussion and even a heated debate. However, it is specifically written here as the title of a new book by well known sports commentator Len Berman. Berman has been involved in the world of sports for quite a few decades, probably more than he is willing to admit. Throughout it all, his depth of experience and knowledge is as broad as anyone during this span of time. His book, "The Greatest Moment in Sports," details the top moments in the history of sports all aorund the world in every genre.
I was contacted to by his public relations representative to gauge my interest in reading and reviewing the book, as well as the opportunity to ask him a question as a semi-formal interview. Clcik on the 'Jump' to see my comments and question on what I perceive the "Greatest Moment in Sports" to be and his surprising response. Coincidently, Baltimore has a bunch of tie-ins to some of the events that were in the running for his #1 moment.
Here is my "side" of the debate on what I believe is the "Greatest Moment in Sports:"
While I write online about the NFL, which certainly has seen it's share of great moments in football history, it is still mostly an American game. I thought Olympic swimmer (and fellow Baltimore native) Michael Phelps had the best Olympics ever, but there wasn't one single moment that stood out as the greatest ever. The biggest single moment that shook the world in sports history has to be the USA's ice hockey victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics. It had the entire world watching to see if the young American kids could dethrone the big, bad so-called "invincible" Red Army, which they did. As the seconds ticked off the clock to end the game, the feeling of pride for our country swelled up in all Americans but also showed the entire world that anything was possible and we all could answer "yes" to Al Michaels question, "Do you believe in miracles?"
-Bruce Raffel
Here is author Len Berman's response:
Hi Bruce.....
Baltimore was well represented in my book "The Greatest Moments in Sports." Michael Phelps and the '58 Colts (The Greatest Game Ever Played) were among the 25 moments we chose. However I picked as # 1 the Miracle on Ice. So we're in agreement. Since the book's been published, I've found that everyone remembers where he/she was that night. One guy told me he was at a Sha Na Na concert at Madison Square Garden. The opening act was Jay and the Americans. Jay announced to the Garden crowd that he was going to sing Only in America, which he rarely did, because "We beat the F-in Russians." (Lovely, eh?) The crowd started chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A."
Best regards,
Len Berman