Magic moments in sports (warning: complete randomness ;))

Oh, what a great game! Indianapolis Colts beating the New England Patriots (oh, I hate them so much) after a marvelous comeback during the second half of the AFC finals to advance to the Super Bowl! It was one of those magic moments in sports when you regret not being there, live in the stadium. I was sitting in front of the tv until 5a.m., unable to watch away, unwilling to miss even a single second of the stuff happening. 15 seconds to go, 40 or 50 yard line (can't remember), Colts leading by 4, Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady, known for his "nerves of steel" 4th quarter drives, throws an interception. It's done, the Colts beat the Patriots and I have a hard time stopping myself from shouting and screaming at 5.a.m. Football is arguably one of the most fascinating sports and it's a pitty that it is not more popular in Europe.

So, after sitting there, knowing that I had to get up again in less than 4 hours, I suddenly started to think about other "magic moments in sports". Roger Federer winning his first grand slam tournament, Manchester United beating Bayern München in the Champion's League final 98/99, Hicham El Guerrouj finally winning his olympic gold medal, watching Jewgeni Plushenko's figure skating skills, Phil "The Power" Taylors first 9-dart finish live on tv, watching Ronaldinho playing soccer...and so on. But if I had to pick only one moment, my all time favorite moment in sports ever, it would be this one:




Ronnie O'Sullivan playing the fastest maximum break in snooker history! Surpirised? Snooker is probably my favorite sport to watch and to play aswell. Everyone who ever stood next to a snooker table or even tried to play him- or herself will agree, that what this guy achieved here, required almost superhuman skills and talent. As a spectator, you can't deny (and everyone who still does has no clue what he's talking about ;) ) that snooker has unique aesthetics, it's at least as thrilling as american football and the fact that the mind is the most important factor in this game, makes it even more amazing.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is arguably the best player ever....when he manages to fully call-up the talent his been blessed with. This is where the mind comes in. Being a professional since the age of 16, always being toled to be blessed with extraordinary talent, Ronnie often finds himself struggeling with the pressure he puts on himself. An example would be the pullout during a game against Steven Hendry (the most successful player in history) at the score of 0-3 in a best of 9 game a few weeks ago. He later stated that "everyone who knows me will understand how much it bugs me when I get the feeling that I don't play the way I could. It was very painful for me and that's why I quit. I'm truly sorry for all the people who came here to see me" (or something along the lines).
This struggle has led to a serious alcohol addiction in the past, which he was able to overcome though. Following his career, you will find many of those moments when Ronnie was at his worst (Another example would be the uninspired and unmotivated 0-6 loss against Graeme Dott last year.). On the other hand, when he is at his best, you really feel that there's something unique going on. The video is one example. To someone who is not familiar with snooker, this might seem rather unspectacular, but again, try it yourself for once and I'm sure your opinion will change.

I'm not sure why I'm writing this, maybe it's just boredom, maybe it's to clear my head a bit (I need to finish a paper by tomorrow) or maybe it's just...well, I don't know ;).