My Decade's Top Ten Sports Moments

The best part of sports in my opinion is that it is something where everyone has their own teams and their own sports that they enjoy following. Everyone has that one player they like that no one else can stand or that team that virtually no one likes or talks about yet loved by a group of people. This is what makes sports great because that alone generates so much discussion and banter that individual sports have their own television networks to talk about their sport 24/7/365. With that in mind here are my top ten sports moments from the past decade:

10. 2009 Confederations Cup: This makes my list because of the effect it had on the United States as a country. The U.S. team's performance brought what I think is an increased interest in Soccer to Americans. If soccer takes off in America, I like to think that it will be because of the Confederations Cup this past summer.

9. Nadal V. Federer: This Wimbledon Men's Final was spectacular. I'm not someone who enjoys tennis, but this was a match I didn't want to end. The longest match in Wimbledon history was also arguably the best.

8. Tiger Woods' 14th Major at U.S. Open: This could have been the defining moment for Tiger Woods until this whole scandal broke, but this will certainly be his defining moment in terms of what he's done on the golf course. Watching Tiger compete on essentially one leg and still have the ability to win a Major Championship just furthered the argument of him being the greatest golfer ever and one of the best athletes ever. Here's hoping he takes care of his family business and comes back to golf course more determined and focus.

7. Syracuse - UCONN 6 OTs: There's nothing much more exciting than college basketball in March, but when you throw 6 overtimes into the mix, there is just that can describe that game with. This game had everything, 100+ points in overtime alone, six double doubles, and eight players fouling out. The only thing this game lacked was a little Gus Johnson.

6. 2001 World Series: I'm going to remember this World Series for more than just a series of baseball games, it really signified America starting to get over the tragedy of September 11th. It was fitting having the Yankees playing in the World Series that year. But beyond what it meant for Americans, it was just a great series that the Diamondbacks were able to win behind the arms of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.

5. 2008 Summer Olympics: The Olympics are usually a great sporting event because it brings countries together and stands for everything sports is meant to be. 2008 happened to be even more memorable for the Olympics, you had Usain Bolt running around like he had a jet pack on his back and you had Michael Phelps winning 8 Gold Medals and having Americans come together amidst disagreements.

4. Boise State - Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl: This was one of the best bowl games to ever be played. The little school that could in Boise State pulled out all the tricks in the bag to beat the Sooners. The Hook and Ladder and Statue of Liberty were plays that were only seen in the backyard, that was until the Broncos whipped them out in the biggest game of their school's existence. This game proved to be bitter sweet because now we have Boise State and other smaller schools believing they deserve to play with the power conferences every year.

3. Blackhawks - Canucks Game 6: Last year's NHL playoffs officially brought hockey back to Chicago when the Blackhawks made it to the Western Conference Finals. They would have never made it that far if it wasn't for their effort in the clinching game against the Vancouver Canucks. The final period alone had enough scoring for the entire game, 6 goals and Patrick Kane registered his first hat trick. All of this brought Hockey to the forefront of Chicago sports.

2. 2004 ALCS: When the playoffs come, we are constantly bombarded with statistics like no team has ever come back down three games to zero. Well that stat was officially thrown out when the 2004 Boston Red Sox defeated the odds and came back to beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. That alone was great to see but the games within the series provided a lot of entertainment, Schilling's bloody sock, Big Papi's walkoffs, and Game 7 alone were all great moments within this series.

1. 2005 White Sox: Getting back to what I wrote in the beginning, the White Sox are my favorite team from my favorite sport so being able to watch the 2005 season is the greatest moment of the decade for me and will likely be my favorite moment for my entire life. That team played baseball the way it was supposed to be played, pitching, defense, and timely hitting. The team was in first place from Opening Day until October 26, 2005 (the last game of the World Series). What they did in the playoffs was nothing short of remarkable, 11-1 with 4 straight complete games from Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia, and Jose Contreras highlight the playoffs for the greatest sports moment of my decade.

Those are my top ten moments from the 2000s, here's hoping that we experience similar moments in the next decade.