I'm not in this pass, but have been following it. But, I will toot in and give you my greatest moment as a sports fan.
I'm a Washington sports fan residing nearby in Maryland. I grew up as a Baltimore Orioles fan, however, even though they were 1 city away. Football (NFL) is by far my favorite sport. But I cannot define 1 football moment that was a greater moment (banner falling) on me than Cal Ripken breaking the consecutive games streak on September 6, 1995. Although I did not attend the record breaking game in person, I did attend the a game in the previous home series so I was right there at the time, and of course watched the game live. I was an impressionable 12 years old. Cal Ripken was and continues to be a living legend Maryland. He is what Larry Bird is to Boston. He is what Mike Ditka is to Chicago. Adding to Cal's legend he was born and raised in Maryland as well. When leaving Maryland towards Pennsylvania on 95N to Philadelphia / NYC, all you will see are baseball stadiums bearing his name in the image of Camden Yards.
I guess my point in the backstory is this. Although, I consider myself a Washingtonian, I am a Baltimore Orioles fan who grew up following an athlete that we can all look up to with pride. He is a man who works a lot for the young people of the community, who never cheated, and just went in every day doing his job the best he could. His work off the field rivals that which he did on the field, and in this era of sports (nay, in this era that which we live in today) sincerely needs more athletes (nay, people) like him.
Now I'll let wikipedia describe that night.
On September 6, 1995, many baseball fans within and out of the United States tuned in to cable TV network ESPN to watch Ripken surpass Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old record for consecutive games played. The event still ranks as one of the network's most watched baseball games ever. Cal's children, Rachel and Ryan, threw out the ceremonial first balls. When the game became official in the bottom of the fifth inning, the numerical banners that displayed Ripken's streak on the wall of the B&O Warehouse outside the stadium's right field wall changed from 2130 to 2131. Everyone attending (including the opposing Angels and all four umpires) erupted with a standing ovation lasting over 22 minutes, one of the longest standing ovations for any athlete. During the ovation, Cal also did a lap around the entire Camden Yards warning track to shake hands and give high-fives to the fans. ESPN never went to a commercial break during the entire ovation. In the game, Ripken went 2 for 4, hitting a home run and a double in the game. Mike Mussina recorded the win. Ripken's home run was hit to a seat (now marked in the stadium) in his 2130th consecutive game. He had previously hit a home-run in 1993 to the exact same seat to break Ernie Banks' record for most home-runs by a shortstop.[8]
So he broke the record. The banner fell, which gives me goosebumps, and is precisely the greatest sports moment of my life.
The 22 minute ovation was spontaneous and unplanned, and included President Clinton and VP Gore. It was unreal to watch - I can only imagine being there - because a few games earlier the excitement and cheers of the crowd was impressive enough.
He hit a homerun in the record tying and breaking game.
I guess instead of explaining it all I'll just show you this swing during that game...