Wish i was there...

I got the idea about this post last year, while up in the skies on an airplane flying towards Helsinki. It was a September evening and I was proceeding towards the Finnish capital for a meeting the next day and my mind was somewhere else. Not even the cold, dry and tasteless sandwich served aboard the SAS flight could shake my thoughts. And my thoughts were in far away Johannesburg. It was the day of the 20-20 world cup finals. India was taking on Pakistan in cricket’s newest show piece event and I was here in this damned aluminum tube with no freaking way of knowing what was happening in the match. Oh, what I would have given to have been there that evening in Johannesburg to witness the drama unfolding live. A once in a lifetime chance. That got me thinking about some other sports events which I would have loved to have been a part of and witness it real-time. Just a fantasy thought. Since I don’t want to travel too much farther back in the past, I start from the turn of the 90s. And tried to cover as many different sports as possible. Wish i was here..

90- Tokyo. The biggest upset in boxing. The ‘Buster’ing of the Iron Mike. Tyson probably never recovered from this fall.

91– Chicago.His Airness Jordan’s first NBA title with the Bulls. The world’s first sports + commercial superstar?

92- Barcelona. To see archer Antonio Rebollo fire the burning arrow to light the Olympic flame. Tough to match this breathtaking start.

93 - Old Trafford. Manchester. Shane Warne. Ball of the century.

94 - New York, US open tennis. An Unseeded Andre Agassi winning his home slam. Also the last one before he turned bald, en route to being the elder statesman from the rebel.

95 - Melbourne, Australian open QF. Sampras vs. Courier. An epic match: when Sampras won it for Tim.

96 – Atlanta. Michael Johnson’s 200-400m Olympic double. The man with the golden shoes.

97 - Augusta. To see the Tiger roar into the world of professional golf. The man who transcends greatness.

98 – Sharjah. Sachin Tendulkar vs. Australia; the closest that ever came to Bradman. Cricket is my religion. Sachin is my God.

99 - Barbados. Brian Lara 153 no vs. Australia. 3rd Test. Perhaps the greatest innings in Cricket.

00 - Champs Elysees, Paris. Lance Armstrong winning the second of his 7 Tour de France titles. Don’t ask me why specifically 2000, I had to put him somewhere.

01 - Wimbledon. Wildcard Goran Ivanisevic finally winning in his fourth final. A fairytale script if ever there was one.

02 – French Grand prix. Yet another Schumacher special. He completed a hat-trick of titles and equaled Fangio’s record of 5 titles, with 6 races to spare.

03 - Sydney. To see Johnny Wilkinson kick England to the Rugby world cup.

04 - Boston. To see the red sox break the curse of the bambino. A game I don’t follow. But the history of the 86 year curse and it being broken is too interesting to be missed.

05 - Istanbul. Liverpool´s champions league victory - the Reds renaissance. A game I do follow and a team I support. A magical night.

06 – Berlin. The world cup final .Zizou’s last waltz. Yes, the head butt as well.

07 – But of course, Johannesburg, the 20-20 Finals. India – World champions. Happens once in a generation.