Contest: Win a free Raghib "Rocket" Ismail autographed card, a Notre Dame legend WINNER RA

thenavarro

I'm having a private signing with Raghib "Rocket" Ismail on May 30, or May 31. All proceeds from the signing will go to the Ellis County Children's Advocacy Center, Inc. You can find details here:

My upcoming private signing with Notre Dame legend Raghib Rocket Ismail



Doran (Heritage Addict) was kind enough to pay the fee for an autographed card, and asked for it to be given away via a contest. Hopefully this can be an uplifting and fun thread. If you'd like to win the autographed card, please post your favorite memories/moments of a sporting event, and why it's your favorite and explain any special meaning it had to you. I will let the contest run for a week, and will pick the winner on Thursday night May 19, 2011 and post it on this thread. Winner will be picked anytime after 7 PM CST that night.

If you are the winner, you can have your choice of one of the cards below, and I'll have it signed and sent to you, or you can send in your own trading card and your signing fee/return shipping will be waived.

Sean1125

several years ago I was at a game, my neighbor at the time was "carlos" he was some bench guy on a team, he told me when he was talking that he was a bench guy for the giants,,, i (not knowing anything about sports, not watching sports at the time) showed him my one card which happened to be a Bobby Bonds rookie, and asked if he could get barry bonds signature on a ball for me so I could put it up with the rookie and have it look nice...

He told me to get a sack of baseballs that he would have multiple team members sign the balls...


So I go to the game and I'm just above the dugout looking for him no where to be found,,, I whistled at one of the guys who was sitting at the time to come over and he did.



I explained the situation to him that carlos had told me to bring a bag of balls that he could get me some signatures and might even be able to get barry bonds' signature

He said "You don't know a damn thing about baseball do you",,, I told him no and he said to throw him the sack of balls.

I threw it to him and he proceeded to sign one while I was telling him no no I needed barry bonds to sign it.

He threw the ball to me and guess who signed it



This event pretty much got me started into sports and that is why it is special!

thenavarro

Bump for the weekend crowd

goose3

Most of my favorites involve our kids so I will use one of those.

For our opening day game of the 2009 LL season I was pretty confident in our son's pitching ability since we had literally spent 2 and 3 nights per week ALL winter pitching indoors. He had just turned 11 and even though we had 4-5 12 year olds on the team that pitched, our son was the "ace" and had earned it during the practices and scrimmages leading up to that day.

I don't recall all of the particulars but do know that the game only went 4.5 innings (Run Ruled them) and that our son threw a NO NO shutout with 13 K's. The other team only had 2 base runners that got on due to 2 errors.

Was quite an accomplishment even at that level! The photo is from after the NO NO. His team went on to win the city championship that year and he won that game too!



Last year in his last in LL he played some weekend ball as well as LL. He had some No No's going and even 2 Perfectos but per travel league rules had to be pulled after 3 innings. I think his most impressive game last year was for our city tournament. We had to win our first game and needed him for the 2nd, assuming we won the first........so we had to use him for 35 pitches and pull him (per pitch count rules) if we wished to use him 2 days later.

In his 35 pitches he went 3 complete Perfect innings with 2 groundouts and 7 K's. He was hesitantly pulled and we won which was what we were after as a TEAM but it sure would have been nice to let him go for perfection.

gregm13

My favorite moment of a sporting event was opening day of the 1994 NFL season. Dan Marino came back from a season ending achille's heal injury in 1993 and many questioned whether he would be able to return. Marino hobbled onto the field to a standing ovation. Marino responded by throwing for 473 yards and 5 touchdowns. The highlight of the game, and one of the greatest plays that I've seen, happened with ~ 3 minutes left in the game. It was 4th and 5 from the Patriots 35 yard line and the Dolphins were down 35-32. The ball was snapped, Marino took several steps back and rifled the ball down the right sideline and hit Irving Fryar in stride for a touchdown. The Dolphins went up 39-35 and held on for the victory.

I have the game saved on my DVR and I still get a tear in my eye when I watch that play....

Rgs,

Greg M.

jimmyg

The little girl in this story became a semi-famous actress: AJ Langer. She married into royalty and lives in a castle in England. But for a spell, she was mine. (This is kind of cheating as it's an excerpt from a blog post).

I cried when my mom took me to my first practice because I didn't want to meet any new kids. We were late, so the kids were on the field already. The coach ran over and said, "Hi Jimmy, I'm Coach Jim, go stand out in the outfield and throw the ball in when it comes to you." I looked around, trying to figure out where the outfield was. And there she was. Allison. My face turned red. My stomach fluttered. I walked out and stood next to her. I didn't say a word. I turned around and got in the ready position my dad showed me the night before: face forward, hands on my knees, ready for the ball.

"Jimmy," Coach Jim said, "that's pitcher, outfield is out there." He pointed to a spot where a kid was building a dirt pile. I looked at Allison out of the corner of my eye, dropped my head, and ran toward the other kid.

I got out there and got in the ready position. I counted. There were fourteen kids on my team. The coach hit two or three balls to each kid. They picked up the ball and threw it to Allison. Then I just watched Allison. She was good. And pretty. I waited for my turn. The ball just didn't come to me. I started playing with an all white butterfly. I chased it around. I ran into the other kid's dirt pile.

Coach Jim yelled, "Jimmy!" I turned around, hands on knees. The ball stopped in front of me. I picked it up, and threw it to Allison. I smiled at her after I threw. She didn't notice. The ball didn't go near her.

The kids took turns batting. I was too far away for any of them to hit to me. I didn't want a turn. All the other kids could hit the ball. As each kid went up, I hoped that he wouldn't be able to hit the ball, so I wouldn't be the only one. I knew it was getting closer and closer to my turn. One after the other, the kids were called in to hit and each one was able to hit the ball. After thirteen kids hit, I knew it had to be my turn. Then Coach Jim said, "Ok everybody, bring it in."

I exhaled.

We all ran in. The coach said, "Ok team, our next practice is Thursday. We're going to be the Angels! We'll have uniforms for you..."

"Wait," Allison said, "Jimmy didn't get to hit."

I turned numb all over. She knew my name.

"Oh, that's right," said Coach Jim, "everybody back out to the field."

I was all nerves. Every other kid on the team could hit the ball. I grabbed a helmet and a bat. Coach Jim placed the ball on the tee. I measured it twice and swung. And missed.

I tried again. Measure. Measure. Swing.

Miss.

I looked at Allison. She was the closest to me; in the ready position.

I measured lower. Swung. And hit the tee. The ball dribbled off. I looked at Allison and waited for her to run and get the ball, but she didn't move.

Coach Jim walked over and picked up the ball. "Look at the ball, Jimmy." He set it on the tee again.

I swung and missed again. Coach Jim raised the tee because I had been swinging over the ball. I swung and hit the tee. I could tell that Allison wasn't impressed.

Coach Jim put the ball back on the tee. "Two more tries, Jimmy."

The pressure was on. I had two shots at impressing Allison. I decided to measure the ball three times. I swung again and missed.

"Ok, Jimmy, whether you hit the ball or not this time, I want you to run to first base."

This was my last shot. I looked at the bat. I looked at the ball. I looked at Allison. I swung. And I nicked the ball. It rolled about half way to Allison. She ran, picked up the ball, and tagged me with the ball and glove.

"Jimmy, you would be out if this was a game because you didn't run. When you hit the ball, you have to run to first base."

I nodded at the coach, but didn't really hear.

She had touched me.

And so started my love affair.

With baseball.

HeritageAddict

Great stories guys, keep them coming!

raiderguy10

My favorite sports moment had nothing to do with professional athletes. My dad and a buddy of his from work coached a flag football team. It was in 5th grade, and I had no interest in it. I wanted to play my sega genesis and be lazy. One day, my dad convinced me to help out with the first practice when his friend got called into work. Little did I know the effect it'd have....

So we got to practice and it started with me throwing to the backs and receivers to warm up. Well, one of the receivers broke thier ankles on the dirt infield running into a base (it was a combined baseball/football field). From then on out, I was the receiver on the team. I'd always been good at sports, but liked it for enjoyment and didn't want to be on organized teams (too much like work, not fun). The first practice I made a couple of diving catches and I got excited when my teammates got excited I was there.

So we made our way through the season. The entire year I dropped one ball and scored 14 defensive and offensive TDs (not that I was counting). We made it to the championship game, and our running back Lee Boehm scored a TD. On the two point conversion, coach called my favorite play - 34 counter option - which was basically a 5 yard out along the sidelines to me. I ran my route and caught the ball with my tippy-toes in bounds ala Cris Carter. Even the ref couldn't believe it and ran by my dad (assistant coach) and coach and said, "That was the best damn catch I've ever seen."

We went on to win the championship game, and on the ride home my dad said he was proud of me. THis was coming from the man who always expected more and was the man I wanted to grow up to be one day. From that point on, I was hooked. He was a lifelong Raiders fan, and that day I did too. He took me to a Raiders/Vikings game at the Metrodome 3 weeks later, and that was it. Now, every Sunday my son, daughter, and I head 25 miles out of our way to watch the Raiders with my dad on NFL Sunday Ticket. We cheer, the kids play, and we enjoy each other. And it all started from that one day in 5th grade and will last (hopefully) our entire lives.

Maverick11

I got a bj at a Royals game a few years ago. Thankfully, the Royals weren't the only ones there that sucked.

daveverdo

Yankee Stadium - June 8, 1969

Mel Allen made the introduction (not an exact quote) "Ladies and gentlemen, a great Yankee, number seven, Mickey Mantle"

The crowd stood and applauded for over ten minutes.

I was 11 years old, I had only seen him play in his later years, never in his prime. He was still a hero and already a legend. His number was being retired when it really meant something. He was joining Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio with the only retired Yankee numbers. I can't remember who they played or if they won but I remember the crowd. Men and women crying. It left an impression.

I have been to many sporting events, Ranger-Islander playoff games at the Garden, Yankee World Series victories, All-Star Games, Penn State Bowl games, The Belmot Stakes. None compare to the way I felt that day, the goose bumps, the tears. A bittersweet end to an era.

David

HeritageAddict

Great story David!

thenavarro

Sorry guys, been busy, will extend until Sunday night and will pick a winner tomorrow night. Let's see some more stories.


Mike

thenavarro

We have a winner. I like the story from raiderguy10 the best.

raiderguy10, please PM your address and which signed card from above that you'd like, or if you'd like my address to send me one of your own to get signed, PM me as well.

Thanks,

Mike

HeritageAddict

Congrats raiderguy!

Sean1125

Everyone is a winner here!

raiderguy10

Thank you very much for the contest! If you don't mind I'll PM you so I can get one in a Raiders uniform

goraiders

Well I hope this is the start to something good for us Raider fans!
Great story!