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OJ Tops Osama in Nielson's Most Memorable TV Moments

The three most memorable TV moments of the last 50 years according to a research poll conducted by TV researcher Nielsen and Sony Electronics:

1. The 9/11 Attacks
2. Hurricane Catrina
3. The O.J. Simpson Verdict

The killing of Osama bin Laden was number 5, after the Challenger space shuttle disaster.

Princess Diana’s funeral, the Columbine HS shootings in Colorado, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the 2010 earthquake and tsunami in Japan also scored in the top 10. The sudden death of Whitney Houston made the cut, but the death of Michael Jackson did not.

Here's the top 20. [More...]

OJ really scored: The verdict was #3 and the car chase #6. (I think the car chase was more memorable than the verdict.)

The capture of Saddam Hussein was #12. I'm surprised the final assault on Waco didn't make the top 20. And that Casey Anthony's verdict and Prince William's wedding did.

What do you think should have been included in the top 20 but wasn't?

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  • Display: Sort:
    Oddly missing.... (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by EL seattle on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:04:35 AM EST
    • The first Moon Landing

    • Richard Nixon's resignation speech

    • Jonestown

    • Iraq's invsion of Kuwait

    • 1972 Munich Olympics terrorism/tragedy

    I think that the point of this survey was to determine what 'type' of event was the most memorable, so the list of choices might have been intentionally limited:

    The participants were given a list of choices selected by media experts that ranged from news coverage, such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, to pop-culture events such as the airing of final episodes of "Friends," "Seinfeld" and "Cheers."

    Still, the absence of the first moon landing is pretty suprising to me.

    For me, (5.00 / 2) (#5)
    by lentinel on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:26:20 AM EST
    watching the "hanging chads" in 2000 was a riveting experience - watching the methodical takeover of our government by a military-industrial-fascist coup.

    Parent
    Probably (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:27:05 AM EST
    A younger crowd responding to the survey.

    Parent
    Clarence Thomas confirmation hrgs, (5.00 / 2) (#41)
    by oculus on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:10:24 PM EST
    Tienanmen Square,Cuban Missile Crisis,dissolution of Soviet Union, and fall of the Berlin Wall.

    Parent
    El Seattle (none / 0) (#2)
    by LeaNder on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:51:03 AM EST
    Agreed, it's always interesting to look at the study design.

    I had to look up the "White Chevy Case". But interestingly that is the only one that was unfamiliar to me.

    Neither the execution of Osama bin Laden nor of Saddam Hussein would have made it on my list.

    911, by the way, has been declared the biggest piece of artwork ever over here in the arts field. The late composer Karl-Heinz Stockhausen started it, Anselm Kiefer and media theoretician Boris Groys followed.

    One of these days, I have to check if professional translation programs are as bad in translating German into English as Google translate.

    Parent

    Was the final episode of MASH on the list? (none / 0) (#11)
    by nycstray on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:38:18 AM EST
    Seems to me, that was the first of  big final episodes . . .

    Parent
    The biggest finale ever (none / 0) (#12)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:41:35 AM EST
    I wasn't sure if it still was (none / 0) (#13)
    by nycstray on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:45:41 AM EST
    thanks for clarifying (just starting first cuppa joe :) )

    Parent
    Excellent EL (none / 0) (#107)
    by cal1942 on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:33:41 PM EST
    Moon landing, Nixon resignation speech certainly should have made the list.

    But, I have to remember my age whenever I see lists like this.

    It would be interesting to know the age demographics of this survey.

    Parent

    The results (5.00 / 4) (#4)
    by lentinel on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:22:50 AM EST
    are already suspect when I read that,
    The participants were given a list of choices selected by media experts.

    What, may I ask is a "media expert"?
    And why should this group determine our range of choices?

    I would rather have a list, if one is necessary, made up by bartenders or cabdrivers. You know, people who live in the real world.

    As for 9/11, at the time, I lived uncomfortably close to the event.
    The air was foul. The street lights didn't work. Cell phones didn't work. There were no police to be seen. We, as citizens, were on our own.

    And the media were telling us about Rudy, the leader, the savior, "America's mayor". It was to wretch.

    The Hucksters were in full swing. Yeah.
    Really memorable tv.

    Y'know...Maybe instead of all these debates and primaries, we should just have a panel of "political experts" give us a few candidates from which to choose on election day.

    Oh - I forgot. We already have that.

    No sports moments? (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by kdog on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 08:36:57 AM EST
    It's most memorable, not most important...

    Feb. 22 1980..."Do you believe in miracles?"

    Or my personal fave, Oct. 25 1986..."A little roller up along first; behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!


    I can't believe the first (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:33:46 AM EST
    Woman's World Cup victory, or the hockey 1980 miracle didn't make it.

    Or Charles Barkley, for just being Charles!

    Obvious age bias showing (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by unitron on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:48:43 AM EST
    And I mean bias in the statistics and science and research sense.

    I'd wager most of the people involved in selecting the events to be voted on, as well as those who did the voting, haven't been around for the full 50 years.

    Not to mention, the most memorable TV moments, or the most memorable TV here in the US moments?

    Definitely looks like (5.00 / 2) (#15)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 10:25:50 AM EST
    a poll heavily skewed by younger age of those allegedly polled.

    The JFK assassination should rate way up there top two or three. The Moon landing, ditto.  And the Beatles Feb 1964 first appearance on Sullivan, a huge cultural moment in American history.

    The 1983 anti nuke movie for tv The Day After seen by an estimated 100 million viewers.

    Parent

    Exactly. First on my list would be Jack Ruby (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:06:14 AM EST
    shooting Lee Harvey Oswald at the Dallas Police Station. That footage is running in my mind's eye as I type this. Those four days in 1963 (Friday-Monday) are fixed in my memory, but Jack Ruby stands out because I saw it in real time, unlike the assassination which occurred when i was at school.

    Next for me would be the moon landing in 1969. And Alan Shepherd's first launch, for which my parents woke my sister and me up very early, would be on my list somewhere.

    Also high on my list are the horrific events of 1968: Dr. King's shooting and Bobby Kennedy's shooting.

    Can you tell I am a baby boomer?

    Parent

    Let me add Prague Spring in '68 and (5.00 / 2) (#25)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:41:08 AM EST
    the Soviet tanks moving into that lovely city as Czech protestors threw molotov cocktails at the tanks. Also, of course, Chicago in '68. Paris and Rome in '68. And the Tet offensive in '68 and. . .  well, hell, just about everything that happened in 1968 is imprinted in my mind's eye.

    It was a seminal year in the development of my political and philosophical and emotional self.  And, truth be told, I think so much of where we are today, and why, can be traced to the events of 1968.

    Parent

    1968: Don't forget the (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 12:08:21 PM EST
    hugely important Apollo 8 tv event, man's first visit to the Moon (in the modern era)), and the astronauts' dramatic Xmas Eve broadcast as they beamed back the first images of
    the lunar surface then closed by reading the opening verses from Genesis.

    In the US at least it was nearly as big a collective experience event as the later Moon landing. And presumably deliberately timed by NASA for maximum prime time tv viewing.

    Parent

    Also in 1968, I got my drivers license, (none / 0) (#26)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:42:15 AM EST
    at that time a very big deal in every teenagers life.

    Parent
    I remember (none / 0) (#35)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:58:00 AM EST
    the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, by the Soviets.  I would put that on the list, too.

    Parent
    Although, (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:59:08 AM EST
    It was more than 50 years ago, so I guess it doesn't qualify.  I wonder why they stopped at 50 years?  TV news was around longer than 50 years.

    Parent
    Your example shows why ... (5.00 / 3) (#43)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:17:19 PM EST
    ... this polls is nonsense. I was all of 33 months old when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Nov. 1963.

    And honestly, THAT was a watershed moment in American history, because many people who were old enough to remember that day can tell you exactly what they were doing when they first heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot. I can only do so vicariously -- my mother was taking me home from the pediatrician's office (I had German measles) when she heard the announcement on the radio, and instead drove directly to her sister's house one block over. But that's her memory, not mine.

    Can most people say the same thing about O.J.'s acquittal, i.e., what they were doing the moment they heard the news? Unless they were hopeless junkies whose lives revolved around watching every live moment of that fiasco of a trial and were tuned in that day, I don't think so.

    That O.J.'s acquittal is being touted in this silly poll as a more memorable television moment than President Kennedy's assassination goes a long way toward explaining why American news media has lost its way over the last half-century.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Heck, the wedding of Prince William and (5.00 / 3) (#49)
    by Anne on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:57:27 PM EST
    Kate Middleton beat the JFK assassination, which is bad enough, but really - the Casey Anthony trial verdict makes the top 20?

    Fifty years of history being seen on TV, but OJ makes the top ten - twice?

    All I can hope is that the choices were so limited tht it's skewed the results, or that the survey was skewed towards a younger demographic, because overall, I just think this list to be a poignant commentary on both the medium and the - apparently - exquisitely shallow people who watch it.

    Parent

    Low-information voters. (5.00 / 2) (#50)
    by oculus on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:59:42 PM EST
    You nailed it. (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:19:26 PM EST
    In addition to your description of the list as a "poignant commentary," I would only add the words "and pathetic" in between.

    Parent
    OJ acquittal - I was at work (none / 0) (#44)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:30:04 PM EST
    in Conroe, Texas. It was mid-afternoon. I went into the break room as they read the verdict and watched it with about 20 other employees.  Most were disappointed by the verdict and then we left and went back to work.

    Parent
    Same experience except out group of (none / 0) (#45)
    by oculus on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:37:52 PM EST
    watchers included a couple African-Americans, whose reaction to the verdict was happiness, a revelation to the rest of us.  

    Parent
    I was (none / 0) (#47)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:45:20 PM EST
    an assistant manager at a Kmart.  Most people watching were hourly Hispanic (mostly) young people.  I was one of the the few Caucasians in the whole store.

    Parent
    I remember the 1995 freeway chase, ... (none / 0) (#88)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:36:59 PM EST
    ... and that's only because I was really pi$$ed off that NBC pre-empted Game 6 of the 1995 NBA Finals between Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks to show it.

    Parent
    I remember ;) (none / 0) (#48)
    by LeaNder on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:54:49 PM EST
    my mother was taking me home from the pediatrician's office (I had German measles)

    ;)

    ... I was  a German kid with flu, which resulted in something tearlike tripping from my eyes all over the highly elaborate ceremony at my school. Since everybody mistook whatever flowed from my eyes for tears and an expression of deep sorrow, I was very determined to find out more about him and his death then I already knew or heard at that event. In a way I felt sad, but no way would I have shown it,...

    Parent

    Don't know if it's true (none / 0) (#58)
    by unitron on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:33:07 PM EST
    "...because many people who were old enough to remember that day can tell you exactly what they were doing when they first heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot."

    Don't remember exactly where on the internet, but I've seen reports that G.H.W.Bush is supposed to have said later that he doesn't remember where he was when he first heard the news.

    Parent

    Maybe Poppy was doing something ... (5.00 / 1) (#63)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:22:23 PM EST
    ... he shouldn't have been at the time, and didn't want to implicate himself or his Saudi friends. ;-)

    Parent
    More Likely... (none / 0) (#68)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:52:55 PM EST
    ...he didn't know who that was at the time.

    Parent
    I think they're talking about Dad, and ... (none / 0) (#93)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:58:34 PM EST
    ... not Junior. ;-)

    Parent
    I've heard that too about Poppy (none / 0) (#97)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:39:10 PM EST
    I'll try to track it down later.

    Two more who've given, to my recollection, conflicting stories about where they were when they heard about the assassination:  Richard Nixon and CIA operative E Howard Hunt.  Hunt I suspect being involved at least as a mid level on the ground mechanic helping assure certain angles were carried out properly.  Nixon had Mob connections so might have had foreknowledge, but probably no more.

    Parent

    Excellently put. (none / 0) (#61)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:00:35 PM EST
    An additional Q that could be asked:  Does anyone care to read another's personal story about where they were and what they were doing when OJ/Casey Anthony/MASH or Dallas finale etc occurred?

    I don't except for a very few select moments that had huge impacts on the country: JFK assassination, Pearl Harbor, Moon landing, 9-11, Challenger, Beatles on Sullivan.

    Parent

    Since you mentioned Pearl Harbor (none / 0) (#64)
    by NYShooter on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:36:20 PM EST
    It's too bad the survey covered only 50 years because so many, truly momentous events occurred in the several decades after WW2. I'm thinking:

    1. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth
    2. China detonating it's 1'st atomic bomb
    3. Elvis on Ed Sullivan
    4. Maris & Mantle vying for the Babe's records
    5. The Payola scandal
    6. Salk's polio vaccine
    7. The Hula Hoop

    Just to name a few....


    Parent
    Army-McCarthy hearings (5.00 / 1) (#81)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:24:55 PM EST
    was a huge political event carried by most or all networks throughout if my memory reading about it is right.

    I mentioned Pearl above to cite another massively important or impactful event which while not tv is of the kind that easily meets threshold Qs about its significance.  Sorry to have muddled things.

    Parent

    But that was over 50 years ago, so ... (none / 0) (#84)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:30:24 PM EST
    ... it doesn't count.

    Parent
    Peral Harbor (none / 0) (#67)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:45:54 PM EST
    wasn't a TV moment, though.

    Parent
    How About the End of WWII ? (none / 0) (#69)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:54:13 PM EST
    That had to be nutz.

    Parent
    I don't think it was televised, though, (none / 0) (#71)
    by Anne on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:57:22 PM EST
    and this is, apparently, all about Great Moments In Television.

    Parent
    You mean (none / 0) (#73)
    by NYShooter on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:04:06 PM EST
    Tom Hanks preceded television?

    I didn't realize he was that old.

    Parent

    Bosom Buddies (none / 0) (#74)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:12:27 PM EST
    Now THAT should be on the list of great moments in television.

    ;)

    Parent

    Ugh! I'd rank that program ... (none / 0) (#83)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:29:43 PM EST
    ... right up there with John Travolta in Welcome Back, Kotter -- two otherwise forgettable series that are memorable only because they offered two future Oscar contenders their proverbial "big break" in show business.

    Parent
    "Up your nose with a rubber hose" (none / 0) (#86)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:32:40 PM EST
    No, but Pearl Harbor inspired ... (none / 0) (#85)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:32:23 PM EST
    ... a pretty bad movie of the same name 60 years later.

    Parent
    You beat me to the comment (none / 0) (#18)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:10:45 AM EST
    by a few minutes!  
    Let's face it, sweetie, we're getting old.  ;-)

    Parent
    And I feel that age in my joints every (5.00 / 2) (#24)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:35:07 AM EST
    single morning. :-).  How long before I start yelling at kids to get off the lawn?

    Parent
    Do you have a cane? (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:49:16 AM EST
    You have to have a cane to wave around while yelling at them.  I'll loan you one of mine.  ;-)

    Parent
    Don't have the cane yet. Would my hiking (5.00 / 2) (#32)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:53:37 AM EST
    pole work? I do love accessories.

    Parent
    Sure (none / 0) (#34)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:55:09 AM EST
    Why not?

    Parent
    Ha! (none / 0) (#22)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:29:59 AM EST
    My first memories of TV are watching the news at my grandmother's house on the Today show (when they used to do news).  I vaguely remember  reports about Vietnam in the early 70s.  

    Parent
    You're so young! (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:47:34 AM EST
    We didn't even get a TV until I was five years old.  My parents liked to watch Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows."  And also Milton Berle.  I liked "The Howdy Doody Show."
    And television news shows were really, really short back then.  (Heck, I remember John Cameron Swayze, although just barely.)

    Parent
    1969 (none / 0) (#30)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:50:06 AM EST
    But since I was born in early January, Lyndon Johnson was still president (for a few days), so I like to get cred by saying "I was born during the Johnson administration".  :)

    Parent
    I was born (none / 0) (#33)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:54:08 AM EST
    during the Harry Truman administration.  I was in college when you were born.     ;-)

    Parent
    I friend just iPad-ed this to me: (none / 0) (#42)
    by oculus on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:14:39 PM EST
    Heh, my parents used to wake us up (none / 0) (#19)
    by nycstray on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:25:34 AM EST
    also for space stuff :) Sitting in front of the B&W in our jammies!

    Parent
    Getting woken up before dawn, sitting in front (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:32:46 AM EST
    of the TV in our jammies and drinking hot chocolate while my parents mainlined coffee (a practice I would adopt as an adult :-) ), these are the things I remember most about the early days of space flight and the Mercury program.

    Parent
    I feel the urge to find a (none / 0) (#31)
    by nycstray on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:51:54 AM EST
    old B&W tube TV!  :D

    Parent
    Believe me, all over America (none / 0) (#39)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 12:16:10 PM EST
    teachers brought in tv's to the classroom -- and they normally weren't there -- to let everyone watch those historic early space flights, particularly 1962 and Glenn, which is fifty years ago. Another huge omission in that stupid poll.

    Parent
    Husband worked for the (none / 0) (#40)
    by the capstan on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 12:20:12 PM EST
    Jet Propulsion Lab '61-'65.  We'd sit up nites listening for the launch--which failed, as a rule.  I did, by accident, get to see John Glenn's flite, waiting in line to vote.  Heard the first announcement of the JFK shooting and actually saw Ruby shot.

    If you all had been my kids, you'd have watched all major TV events (JFK inauguration, MLK's speech, etc. from your playpens.

    ps--as i have said before, I was an FDR baby.

    Parent

    You had to have been (none / 0) (#59)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:43:47 PM EST
    tuned in to NBC to see the Ruby shooting live.  They were the only network that had the good sense to make sure they were covering the curious and suspicious transfer of Oswald in the police basement live as it happened.

    ABC had cameras there too but apparently didn't want to interrupt one of their talking head reporters who was live in DC or NY giving some historical perspective on assassinations in this country.  Finally when he finished they cut to Dallas but too late to catch the shooting live (the first and only time? a murder has been shown live on national US tv).

    CBS I believe was honoring contractual commitments by showing NFL football at the time, as I recall.

    Parent

    We were a Huntley-Brinkley family. So, our (5.00 / 1) (#99)
    by caseyOR on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 06:03:04 PM EST
    television was tuned to NBC.

    Parent
    Yes. (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Zorba on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:09:19 AM EST
    I would add the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination, Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, the 1968 police riot at the Chicago Democratic National Convention.  They didn't even make the "top 20."  In fact, nothing before 1986 except the JFK assassination and funeral made the "top 20."  Everything on the list except for those two and the Challenger disaster, occurred in 1992 or later.  
    People have very short memories.  Or, as jbindc and you indicated, it was a younger crowd responding to the survey.


    Parent
    Dumb... (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:28:23 AM EST
    ...the 20% of the most memorable moments just happen to occur the past year.

    What they should have called it was, "The most memorable TV moments, most of which were products of the media pumping a barrage of never ending coverage to stuff most people really didn't care about."  Casey Anthony, Whitney Houston, and a fricken wedding ?

    For me, the Sandusky is easily one of the most memorable moments of the past year, not most important, but one I will never forget.  And I think the glove moment in the OJ trial was way memorable then the verdict.  Ditto with the moment the first levee broke in NO and waking up to 'Shock & Awe'.

    For some reason I will never forget the Soviet tanks cruising down a highway into Afghanistan and I was pretty young.  And that reminds me, Tiananmen Square dude playing chicken with a tank.

    The Berlin Wall, Waco, Chernobyl, and while I don't agree, how in the hell did Michael Jackson not make the list.

    Sports... the McGwire/Sosa chase for the HR record and for me the '97 & '10 Super Bowls.  And who will ever forget when Tyson bit Holyfield.  Not sure if this counts, but that shier on the NBC Sports intro who took a dive right before the ramp.

    If we're including sports, then ... (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:17:23 PM EST
    ... I'd offer my six most memorable television sports moments, in chronological order:
    • The tragic terrorist assault on the Israeli Olympic team in Munich at the 1972 Games;
    • The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's 4-3 upset of the mighty Soviet team in the hockey semifinals at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid;
    • Villanova's 66-64 upset of heavily favored Georgetown to win the 1984 NCAA Championship in men's basketball;
    • Injured pinch hitter Kirk Gibson hobbling out of the Dodger dugout with two outs and one on in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series with his team trailing the Oakland A's, 4-3 -- and then hitting an improbable game-winning home run off Oakland's ace reliever Dennis Eckersley with what still has to be the weakest home run swing I ever saw;
    • The powerful 7.1 earthquake that rocked the entire San Francisco Bay Area just prior to the start of Game 3 in the 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and their cross-bay rivals, the Oakland A's, with ABC Sports' Al Michaels rising to the occasion to provide some very compelling coverage of an unfolding disaster; and
    • Brandi Chastain scoring the winning shootout goal for Team USA against China in the 1999 Women's World Cup soccer championships.


    Parent
    This (none / 0) (#56)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:20:04 PM EST
    was a better Kirk Gibson moment, IMO.

    Parent
    You're forgiven for that remark, only ... (none / 0) (#65)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:39:52 PM EST
    ... because you're probably a Tigers fan, while I'm quite obviously a Dodgers fan.

    In my defense, I would offer that the Detroit Tigers were simply awesome over the course of the 1984 season, and were the overwhelming odds-on favorites against the San Diego Padres in the 1984 World Series. Therefore, their ultimate triumph in five games, as satisfying as it might have been in a Tiger fan's eye, was hardly unexpected.

    Whereas in 1988, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the definitive underdog against a very powerful Oakland A's ball club. Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 changed the entire trajectory of the World Series, and ultimately inspired the Dodgers to a most improbable world championship. And truthfully, this was a Dodger team that had clearly played over its collective heads that entire season and post-season, and was really not all that good.

    But then, that's why they play the game on the field and not on paper, isn't it?

    ;-D

    Parent

    Fair enough. :) (none / 0) (#66)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:44:58 PM EST
    Let's throw another moment out there ... (none / 0) (#79)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:19:43 PM EST
    .. for people to consider, which involves neither the Dodgers or the Tigers: the decisive Game 5 of the 1995 AL Division Series between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, won by the Mariners in the bottom of the 11th on a two-run double by Edgar Martinez, with Ken Griffey, Jr. motoring around third and sliding home ahead of the throw to end the game and the series.

    Parent
    Any time (none / 0) (#80)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:20:49 PM EST
    The Yankees lose, that's a good thing. :)

    Parent
    Agreed, wholeheartedly. (none / 0) (#91)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:54:00 PM EST
    I still think of them blowing a 3-0 series lead in the 2004 AL Championship to the Red Sox, and it brings a smile to my face.

    Parent
    No (none / 0) (#108)
    by cal1942 on Fri Jul 13, 2012 at 01:24:08 AM EST
    the best of Kirk Gibson you never saw on television.  As a wide receiver for Michigan State (75-78) he was a man among boys.  Unfortunately State was on probation (76-78) and in those days probation meant no TV.

    So far as the baseball Gibson is concerned you're forgiven because you're a Dodger fan.  I'm with jbindc, the '84 shot is more memorable.

    Parent

    Speaking of Sandusky, and slightly OT, (none / 0) (#38)
    by Anne on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 12:11:14 PM EST
    the Freeh Report on the investigation into Penn State's handling of the Sandusky case has been released, and can be found here.

    It's a pdf, and it's 267 pages long - and Penn State's going to have to go into some kind of nuclear damage control, from the little I've read so far.

    Parent

    it Doesn't Leave Much room... (none / 0) (#46)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 01:41:43 PM EST
    ...for doubt in regards to the 'coverup', and yet JP family can't let it go, and released a statement.
    One great risk in this situation," the Paterno family statement continued, "is a replaying of events from the last 15 years or so in a way that makes it look obvious what everyone must have know and should have done.  The idea that any sane, responsible adult would knowingly cover up for a child predator is impossible to accept.


    Parent
    I'll be charitable, and say that ... (none / 0) (#100)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 06:15:46 PM EST
    ... if this report is accurate, Coach Joe Paterno apparently dissembled to both the grand jury and reporters regarding the intially reported 1998 incident involving Jerry Sandusky, which was investigated by University police and the Centre Country District Attorney's office.

    While Paterno didn't quite lie, he certainly never made any real effort to be thoroughly truthful, either. Whether it was his personal squeamishness over the subject matter of pedophilia, or his own embarrassment and guilt that he could have been so grievously misled by someone he trusted and with whom he had worked so closely, or ultimately his concern over his own reputation, or all of the above, he did nothing at all to distinguish himself in this terribly sorry matter.

    To mix my sports metaphors, at a time when he needed to step up to the plate and swing for the fences, Joe Paterno had the take sign on for all pitches. It was a feckless and pathetic performance on his part, and one which richly deserves censure.

    So, I willingly admit that I was wrong last November. Joe Paterno deserved to be fired. It's a sad day for the Penn State family and the folks in Happy Valley -- and a well-earned one, too.

    Parent

    Granted (none / 0) (#109)
    by cal1942 on Fri Jul 13, 2012 at 01:46:04 AM EST
    it's a sad day for Penn State people but the real concern should be now as it should have been then for the boys whose childhoods were stolen.  

    I can't feel in any way sorry for those people at Penn State who brushed it all under the rug to preserve the Happy Valley myth.  

    The powerful, including and especially Paterno, were cowards of the lowest order.  The lives of those little boys meant nothing to them, they were tossed aside like so much garbage to preserve an idyllic myth.  Despicable.

    Parent

    The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (5.00 / 3) (#21)
    by DFLer on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:29:54 AM EST
    hell , They're still showing it.


    I was a freshman in college (5.00 / 2) (#72)
    by NYShooter on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:57:52 PM EST
    when the British Invasion occurred. All I remember is how all of us macho guys laughed at those Moppet Heads getting off that plane. We were positive they were just enjoying their 15 minutes of fame before being yanked off stage and being replaced by the next fad.

    It was an exact replay of my older cousin's (a few years earlier) laughing their butts off at that squiggly legged "nut case," Elvis Presley (or Elbow Parsley, as they mocked) appeared on Ed Sullivan.

    Funny how things work on you over time. I became the greatest Elvis fan ever, only to be followed by my becoming the greatest Beatles fan ever.

    Parent

    I remember hearing the Beatles on the car radio (none / 0) (#101)
    by DFLer on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 06:52:23 PM EST
    and how different and cool and mysterious it sounded, growing up in Roy Orbison (the greatest) Everly Brothers country.

    Parent
    My son being born is #1 (5.00 / 3) (#27)
    by Dadler on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 11:46:27 AM EST
    Everything else is an opening act.

    I love my trombone playing boy (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by Dadler on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:05:48 PM EST
    They look great. But I'm not getting any (none / 0) (#52)
    by oculus on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:08:24 PM EST
    sound,  

    Parent
    Says a lot about our society that OJ and Casey (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by Angel on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:14:29 PM EST
    Anthony are so high up on the list of most memorable TV events in the past 50 years.  I didn't watch one second of the Casey Anthony saga.  After seeing OJ's placement I half expected to see the crowning of the first Survivor or American Idol a few slots down.    

    One of the few things I'm proud (5.00 / 2) (#76)
    by jondee on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:18:38 PM EST
    of is tuning out that O.J carnival freak show early and resoundingly..

    Nobody really gets away with anything anyway. And no, I don't necessarily "find that thought comforting"..

    Jaques Cousteau going down in the Marianna Trench, seeing creatures never observed before by human eyes and saying "we have no idea what they are.."

    And speaking of otherworldy creatures, how about that Secretariat..?

    Parent

    Ah... Secretariat... (5.00 / 3) (#87)
    by sj on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:34:32 PM EST
    That is all.

    Parent
    Ah...Secretariat...is right (5.00 / 2) (#104)
    by NYShooter on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 07:55:01 PM EST
    You didn't have to know a thing about horse racing to know you were witnessing Greatness when you watched him run. Always coming from the rear with that effortless gait, as if he's saying, "why run the whole race when it's just the last 15 seconds that count."

    That run at the finish at Belmont is burned into my memory as deeply as the picture of "The Kiss," the sailor kissing the girl in the white dress in Times Square at VJ Day.


    Parent

    50 Years Ago (5.00 / 1) (#77)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:19:13 PM EST
    Rolling Stones played their first gig on July 12th, 1962 at London's Marquee Jazz Club.

    I've always found it interesting (none / 0) (#98)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:47:30 PM EST
    that they bombed on their first (1964) US tour, while other Brit Invasion acts were successful, in the wake of the Beatles opening the doors.

    Later that year though they struck paydirt.  Dunno if they got a hit record to precede the tour, or it was their dynamic performance on the nationally "theatercast" TAMI show, or what.

    Parent

    How about (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by jbindc on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:19:26 PM EST
    The LeBron James announcement that he was going to the Miami Heat?

    (ducks from flying objects).

    Or Magic Johnson announcing ... (none / 0) (#90)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:51:11 PM EST
    ... that he was HIV-positive, and retiring from basketball?

    Parent
    Funny... (none / 0) (#3)
    by heidelja on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:22:03 AM EST
    ..that so many remember Hurricane Catrina!  I thought it was Hurricane Katrina! Actually Hurricane Camille striking the Gulf Coast in 1969 did more widespread damage. It simply wiped everything away in its path and left no buildings standing for there to be roofs later for people to be rescued from.

    Camille was a tough one. (none / 0) (#8)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 09:22:10 AM EST
    We were spared its wrath, but got soaking rains, IIRC.

    Parent
    can you remember where you were? (none / 0) (#6)
    by TeresaInPa on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 06:58:40 AM EST
    to me that is always the way to judge what event had impact. Can I picture where I was, who was there, what the surrounding room or street looked like, where I was sitting, standing etc...

    I was in first grade when JFK was assassinated and I remember the day in detail.  It is the same with the moon landing and the death of Diana. Hurricane Andrew was a huge event for me, but it was also personal.  I would not expect that to make the list. The beginning of the first Iraq war also makes my personal list.

    Kirk Gibon's 1988 World Series HR (none / 0) (#53)
    by Dadler on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:14:08 PM EST
    Has to be up there.  Roy Hobbs incarnate. Game 1 versus Dennis Eckersley and the heavily favored A's.  Gibby, the NL MVP that year -- despite only hitting .276 and knocking in less than 80 runs -- is barely able to hobble to the plate on TWO bad hamstrings, but he nonetheless proceeds to forearm and wrist a full-count backdoor slider over the right field wall for a game winning homer that, along with Orel Hershiser's otherworldly pitching (this was the year he broke Drysdale's consecutive scoreless inning streak -- I was at the game in SD when he broke it), propelled the scrappy Dodgers to an unlikely World Series championship.  Hell, in Game 6 when they won it, they had a makeshift lineup that featured an aging Rick Dempsey, Mickey Hatcher, Tracy Woodson, Jeff Hamilton, it was just a ham and eggs lineup for the most part, and had no reason beating the mighty Athletics with Canseco and McGwire and the rest. Goes to show you, pitching is everything in baseball, it really is. (Note, this is how much things have changes since then. I remember the LA Times headline when the Dodgers landed free agent Gibson: Dodger Green Woos Gibson." The deal was for three years, a little under six million...TOTAL.

    Still good money though! (none / 0) (#57)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:32:52 PM EST
    As for that series or game being an all timer, yes, in part because of how often his improbable HR has been replayed on tv.  But at the time as a single tv event in real time? Not sure, have to see the ratings.

    And recall too that by the time he came up to bat, the Dodgers behind by a few runs and very late in the game, probably 15% of the stadium crowd was already out the door on their way to the parking lot or already in their cars. Typical LA sports crowd-- defeatist attitude and a little to eager to beat the freeway traffic.

    I'd mark it as a mid sized major US sports moment, but overall beyond that not that big except for MLB enthusiasts.

    That's my view, I welcome yours.

    Parent

    Dude could barely move (none / 0) (#60)
    by Dadler on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 02:53:54 PM EST
    Watch him try to run out his dribbler foul right before his home run, looked like either hammy was gonna snap at any moment.  His homer swing was literally wrists and forearms and, of course, scout Mel Didier, whom Gibson thanked for remarking to him that, sure and sh*t, Eck would try to sneak in that backdoor slider with a full count. Gibson knew it, thought about it, and hit the crud outta the ball. More than regional, to me anyway, something Homeric, pun intended, about it.

    Parent
    Go back and look at the footage. (none / 0) (#70)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:55:11 PM EST
    Dodger Stadium was at full capacity, and the crowd rose collective on their feet when Gibson came hobbling to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, let out a huge roar, and never let up.

    This was the World Series, after all. While it's true that some Dodger fans will leave a regular season game early to beat the traffic out of Chavez Ravine, they're certainly not going to leave a World Series game in the 9th inning when their team is only down, 4-3.

    Angelenos may be crazy in some people's eyes, but they're not insane.

    Parent

    Hard to tell from my (none / 0) (#92)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:55:20 PM EST
    video, but 15% might be a tad high, sure. Never warmed to the Dodgers, always a Giants fan back when I followed the sport.

    Btw did I ever mention that as a youngster I once helped Vin Scully locate a recently published tome by Wm Manchester at the local Brentwood bookstore. Polite guy, thanked me, and kinda surprised me by his reading selection.

    Parent

    Vin Scully is a class act and ... (none / 0) (#94)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:06:11 PM EST
    ... true gentleman. I once waited on him and his wife in Pasadena during one summer, back when I was in high school and worked part-time in a nothing-fancy restaurant, and he treated me with nothing but respect -- and left me a $10 tip, too.

    Parent
    How did we forget (none / 0) (#75)
    by NYShooter on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:17:40 PM EST
    I saw Liston fight a few (none / 0) (#82)
    by jondee on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:25:38 PM EST
    times..Never even saw him stunned by a glancing blow like that..And Ali was no one-punch-in-the-1st-round guy ever..

    Elijah Muhammed's boys got to Sonny,imho. They didn't like a mean-looking, inarticulate, mob-owned, ex-con as heavyweight champ..And the rest is history..

    Parent

    I don't know, though. (none / 0) (#89)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 04:49:28 PM EST
    Look at Michael Moorer getting dropped by 45-year-old George Foreman in that 1994 heavywieght title bout in what looks to be a glancing blow to the chin, a fight in which Moorer was in control pretty much the whole way until that point.

    And on the other hand, I remember the tremendous punishment Evander Holyfield endured at the hands of Foreman midway through their own title bout only two years earlier, and being amazed that he was still standing and DIDN'T ultimately hit the floor.

    It's like trying to explain Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run on what looks like a weak and reaching swing. Physics is a funny thing. Sometimes, regardless of how it looks to the naked eye, when the right connection is made -- POW!!

    Parent

    You know (none / 0) (#95)
    by NYShooter on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:16:12 PM EST
    I tend to agree with you, and yet, it strangely doesn't matter....to me, anyway.

    Again, I was in college then, and I was always the "lefty" among the bunch of jocks I lived with. We were huddled around a radio, turning and twisting it to try for better reception. I was the only Ali rooter in the room as all those "white boys" considered Liston their "Great White Hope." How their faces drooped after the verdict....as I laughed my way around the room collecting my winnings.

    But, back to Liston's situation for a minute. He was at the end of his career, and it was obvious his heart wasn't in this fight. Any fighter will tell you they can tell very early on whether they can win, or not. (Think Tyson/Holyfield) Coming face to face with Ali in the ring, all that youth and speed, Liston just wanted the fight to be over. It's a fine line between not being able to get up, and not wanting to get up.

    I also think that that fight was the seed that started growing in the Government's Ali-draft dodger vendetta.


    Parent

    Radui, niot TV (none / 0) (#102)
    by the capstan on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 07:23:50 PM EST
    But I had the experience of NOT rooting for whichever current 'Great White Hope' was in the ring with the 'Brown Bomber.'  Got started on the right foot in life, I did..

    Parent
    Radio, not TV (none / 0) (#103)
    by the capstan on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 07:24:48 PM EST
    Eyes betray me sometimes

    Parent
    Let's let Ali/Clay (none / 0) (#111)
    by jondee on Fri Jul 13, 2012 at 11:26:53 AM EST
    have the last word: what's he screaming in the corner? "He laid down! He laid Down!"

    Now, why would he say something like that, if he knew he had just put a hurting on Liston..? I ask you..

    Something was awry in the cosmos and air that night: Robert Goulet even forgot the words to the national anthem..

    Parent

    Inclined to agree with jondee (none / 0) (#96)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 05:19:23 PM EST
    Ali scored KOs by quick combination punches and usually well into the fight after the other fighter had been jabbed and pecked and danced into exhaustion.  This one looks like a 3/4 power punch that might sting or briefly stun, not knock out.

    But what's more suspicious is when Liston tries to get up the first time then collapses in rather dramatic fashion flat on the canvas.  I'd call that overacting.  And we know now he was Mobbed up, one of their street enforcers sent to remind people to pay up.

    And Lewiston, ME?  Looks like someone thought it smart to have it witnessed by as few people as possible.  Curious.
     

    Parent

    Honestly, is Lewiston, ME really any ... (none / 0) (#105)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 07:55:45 PM EST
    ... more remote than Kinshasa, Zaire (which hosted the Oct. 1974 Ali-Foreman title bout)?

    Parent
    Tiny boonies town (none / 0) (#106)
    by brodie on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 10:28:17 PM EST
    where the biggest venue was about for 2,500 spectators. Dunno about worldwide audience figures but I suspect they seriously underperformed compared to what should have been.

    Kinshasha: major African city held at (notorious) stadium where 80-100,000 attended, with worldwide tv/cable/closed circuit theater audience estim 250-300 million (as I recall).

    By far comparing the two Ali-Liston fights, the first in Miami was the larger more impactful event, the second just more controversial. It had massive pre fight publicity owing in major part to the pr talents and colorful character of Ali.  See eg the YT clip of his entertaining pre fight appearance on the popular prime time Jack Paar Show.

    Ali flat out was the most creative and entertaining self promoter in sports history.  And could back up his boasts.

    Parent

    Liston acted like he was shot.. (none / 0) (#112)
    by jondee on Fri Jul 13, 2012 at 11:34:05 AM EST
    his wife hit him harder than that during some of their domestic quarrels..

    Parent
    Age (none / 0) (#110)
    by Lacy on Fri Jul 13, 2012 at 07:20:18 AM EST
    This silly poll merely reflects the age of the respondents and their limited perspectives.  The JFK assassination was equal to the 9-11 attacks, and, as for "Catrina", some don't even recall it starts with a "K". And obviously the moon landing will be the premier achievement of the last 50 years.

    dwindling hope (none / 0) (#113)
    by weltec2 on Sat Jul 14, 2012 at 03:47:28 AM EST
    1. The murder of JFK (I was in my 9th grade History class filled with hope for the future.)

    3 (Part I) The death of Robert Kennedy. (I was in the Army. I felt like all hope had died.)

    3 (Part II) The 2000 election. (I had tried to hope again.)

    2. 9/11 (It was night here in Japan. I was in bed on the 3rd floor. My wife ran up stairs and told me to go down and watch the television. Something horrible had happened.)

    3 (Part III) 2008 -- Hillary vs Obama (I grew embarrassed of my hope.)