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derFunkenstein
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Sports heroes

Thu Apr 19, 2018 9:38 pm

A Twitter thread took me back tonight. Thinking about growing up in the 80s and early 90s, who were my favorite athletes. Doesn't matter the sport, really, but for me the only sport has almost always been baseball. I was 7 when Don Denkinger won the World Series, but the Cardinals teams of the 80s had lots of favorites: Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith (my absolute favorite at the time), Vince Coleman, Jack Clark, John Tudor. When I got a little older, it was some very dry years in St. Louis but Ray Lankford was definitely worth watching.

Then in 1993, we got cable and could watch all the games for the Cubs, White Sox, and Cardinals on TV and I just adored Frank Thomas. I was a lot shorter than him and obvi nowhere near as strong, but I tried to model my swing after the Big Hurt. And it was cool to watch ESPN and see the crazy catches and sweet swing of Junior Griffey.

So it's a fun walk down memory lane. Who are YOUR sports heroes, favorite athletes, and nostalgic memories?
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G8torbyte
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:45 am

Growing up in rural north FL neither of my parents were huge sports fans but my mother would get into baseball during the world series time and watch it on TV each year. I never had patience to sit and watch it on screen. My mom later told me when she was younger she went to a Braves game and saw Hank Aaron knock it out the park for a home run. It was probably quite an experience to see that and it made an impact on her. I've never been to a major league game but now living near Philadelphia I should try and go to a Phillies game with my kids. I did enjoy playing Little League as a kid and I had a Reggie Jackson glove.
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RickyTick
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:33 am

G8torbyte wrote:
Growing up in rural north FL neither of my parents were huge sports fans but my mother would get into baseball during the world series time and watch it on TV each year. I never had patience to sit and watch it on screen. My mom later told me when she was younger she went to a Braves game and saw Hank Aaron knock it out the park for a home run. It was probably quite an experience to see that and it made an impact on her. I've never been to a major league game but now living near Philadelphia I should try and go to a Phillies game with my kids. I did enjoy playing Little League as a kid and I had a Reggie Jackson glove.


He's wasn't necessarily my hero, but I witnessed Hank Aaron hit a home run when I was a kid. Something I'll never forget.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:37 am

Without a doubt, my favorite athlete of all time was/is Bo Jackson. NFL statistics might not show it, but he was the greatest running back of all time. What incredible speed and strength rolled into a single package.

BTW, "hero" is not a term I associate with sports figures or celebrities.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:34 pm

RickyTick wrote:
BTW, "hero" is not a term I associate with sports figures or celebrities.


Similarly I would say I admire Sports Professionals but would not consider them heroes.
I admire Nick Foles for the adversity, criticisms and challenges he overcome to enable the Eagles to victory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZeAcWhCrls
Plus his trick play and showing Brady how to catch was nice :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKcKo9FtxBA
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:40 pm

As a kid in rural VT, our tiny cable network had WPIX-11 out of NYC, so it was a constant diet of Yankees games for me listening to Phil Rizzuto and Bill White. I did manage to see Hank Aaron hit #715 on live TV, I of course watched The Miracle On Ice, and will never forget the night Reggie became Mr. October.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 20, 2018 4:41 pm

Plenty of Colts players. Maybe not "hero" level the way I've been inspired by my Dad, Grandpa, or teachers, but I grew up watching the Colts and have admired many players over the years (and Tony Dungy deserves a direct mention).

I'm also a big fan of good NFL stories, too. You have to admire guys like Nick Foles, who happened to be the perfect guy to "save" the strongest underdog ever. Gotta love how Tony Romo found his calling in broadcasting, too. (I think his ability to read offense and defense is a great addition.)
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:51 pm

Michael Jordan - the Bulls glory years was an unforgettable experience. To a lesser degree, from those years, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman. I remember seeing Rodman guarding Shaquille O'Neal in '96, was amazing.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Sports heroes

Sat Apr 21, 2018 10:28 pm

RickyTick wrote:
Without a doubt, my favorite athlete of all time was/is Bo Jackson. NFL statistics might not show it, but he was the greatest running back of all time. What incredible speed and strength rolled into a single package.

BTW, "hero" is not a term I associate with sports figures or celebrities.

I was trying to avoid the word “idol” but maybe I should hav e entitled the thread “favorite athletes”. But as a kid the guys I mentioned were heroes to me.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 27, 2018 8:07 am

Ryne Sandberg and Larry Bird
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 27, 2018 8:38 am

Reggie White/Favre. It wasn't just TV and sports during that era, it was culture and a way of life.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 27, 2018 9:27 am

RickyTick wrote:
Without a doubt, my favorite athlete of all time was/is Bo Jackson. NFL statistics might not show it, but he was the greatest running back of all time. What incredible speed and strength rolled into a single package.

BTW, "hero" is not a term I associate with sports figures or celebrities.

Ugh I still remember that injury. "I'll be back next week." Even walked off the field. Nope, football career over.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:24 am

kvndoom wrote:
Ugh I still remember that injury. "I'll be back next week." Even walked off the field. Nope, football career over.


I never understood why Bo Jackson in particular just HAD to play football. As a RB, he's gonna take a lot more hits than say Dieon Sanders. Much higher injury risk. He could have been a perennial all star for 15 years, and retired mostly healthy. Instead he just had to go play football and ended up limping through a couple more baseball seasons and now walks like a 90 year old.
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RickyTick
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri May 18, 2018 10:43 am

idchafee wrote:
kvndoom wrote:
Ugh I still remember that injury. "I'll be back next week." Even walked off the field. Nope, football career over.


I never understood why Bo Jackson in particular just HAD to play football. As a RB, he's gonna take a lot more hits than say Dieon Sanders. Much higher injury risk. He could have been a perennial all star for 15 years, and retired mostly healthy. Instead he just had to go play football and ended up limping through a couple more baseball seasons and now walks like a 90 year old.


There's a long story about Bo playing football. His true love was baseball and he really didn't want to play football. In fact, he had already decided to retire from football after the 1990 season.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/m ... /96492338/
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri May 18, 2018 11:10 am

Most of my sports heroes are from baseball:
Mark McGuire (true it was the Steroid Era but 1998 was the most exciting year for hitting in baseball, got to see him hit #62 at Busch Stadium on 9/8/98, crazy times!)
Tony LaRussa
Albert Pujols
Yadier Molina
Clayton Kershaw (fun to watch him pitch even if he's an opponent; Cards have often annihilated him anyway:-)
Adam Wainwright
Ozzie Smith
Willie McGee
Announcers Mike Shannon, Vin Scully (I'd listen to the Dodgers' broadcast when they played the Cards so I could listen to him)
Never got to see them play live but Stan the Man, Bob Gibson

From other sports:

Secretariat (fun watching his old wins)
American Pharoah (the only Triple Crown Winner of my lifetime so far, though Justify sure looks special)
Greg Norman (I wore a Shark hat when I was playing golf in middle and high school)
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri May 18, 2018 11:57 am

Cal Ripken Jr.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri May 18, 2018 2:48 pm

Ken Griffey Jr, Edgar Martinez (Better get in the HoF next year!), and for announcers, Dave Niehaus.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri May 18, 2018 4:33 pm

Edgar Martinez. A top 5 greatest right handed hitters ever. Just wow. What he could do with pitches was bizarre. Griffey's swing was amazing, but oh those injuries.
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri May 18, 2018 5:51 pm

Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Nick Lidstrom, Mario Lemieux.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Sports heroes

Fri May 18, 2018 6:03 pm

adampk17 wrote:
Ken Griffey Jr, Edgar Martinez (Better get in the HoF next year!), and for announcers, Dave Niehaus.

Dave Niehaus was pretty great. I only got to listen to him on occasion when Fox Sports Midwest would sometimes carry out-of-market games in the early 2000s. Back when RSNs weren't all about the $$$ and before MLB.tv was a thing, they'd sometimes carry games from other markets to fill the air. My oh my!
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Re: Sports heroes

Sun May 20, 2018 10:39 pm

Senna

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