Feature STORY
Great Sports Moments
The Gen X Edition
GEN X ISN’T the first generation to grow up loving sports. But we were the first to grow up with ESPN and the internet, where we could follow the exploits of our favorite athletes 24/7. Those goosebump-inducing plays by superstars like Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter and Wayne Gretzky could be watched again and again until they became indistinguishable from our own memories. We witnessed moments in competitions that never before got mass market exposure, like skateboarder Tony Hawk’s X Games 900 and soccer player Brandi Chastain’s dominance at the Women’s World Cup. The world got a little smaller with each exhilarating new discovery.
Here’s a look at some of the most iconic sports moments that every Gen Xer watched (and rewatched) on the edge of our seats, and the athletes who taught us that human beings are capable of remarkable things.
1994
‘THE GREAT ONE’
During two decades in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky broke over 60 records, but his career-defining moment came when he became the NHL’s all-time leading scorer with 802 goals, passing idol and hero Gordie Howe.
1997
A ‘MASTER’ ARRIVES
Tiger Woods didn’t just win his first “major” at the 1997 Masters; he won by 12 strokes, the largest margin in the tournament’s history. His record-breaking victory heralded the arrival of a superstar.
1998
THE LAST SHOT
With just seconds left on the clock, Michael Jordan delivered his final shot as a Chicago Bull, sinking a 20-footer to defeat the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals and securing a sixth championship for MJ. Now, that’s how you say goodbye.
1999
A STAR’S DEBUT
Though the spotlight was on her older sister Venus, 17-year-old Serena Williams seized the moment at the 1999 U.S. Open tennis tournament, winning her first Grand Slam title and becoming the first African American to do so since 1956. It was only the beginning for Serena, whose 27-year career included winning 22 more Grand Slams.
1999
THE ‘900’ THAT DEFINED A SPORT
For Gen X kids, the X Games felt as if the event was uniquely ours. So it was only natural that Xer Tony Hawk would become its first superstar, landing a 900—2.5 360-degree revolutions—and making skateboarding history. That same year, he got his own (wildly popular) video game series, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
1999
A LEGENDARY PENALTY KICK
The 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final was a watershed moment in women’s sports, mainly thanks to Brandi Chastain. After scoring the winning goal in the penalty shootout against China, she celebrated by tearing off her shirt and dropping to her knees. It signaled the accession of America’s women’s soccer team as a world power, and photos of Chastain’s victory lap in her sports bra (which she has framed) graced magazine covers around the globe.
2000
AN EPIC RIDE
It is rare when one event defines a sport for decades, but that’s what happened with American big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton, who rode a seven-story blue beast in Tahiti named the Millennium Wave. It not only pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible in surfing—Hamilton risked serious injury—but it’s also widely considered the greatest single ride in the sport’s history a quarter century later.
2001
MR. NOVEMBER
The U.S. was still reeling from 9/11 during the 2001 World Series, which had been postponed because of the attacks. The score was tied during the 10th inning of Game 4, and at the stroke of midnight on November 1, the New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter hit an astonishing walk-off home run. Though the Arizona Diamondbacks would ultimately take the Series, Jeter had won the hearts of weary Americans everywhere.
2009
THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt wanted to “leave a legacy to prove to people that anything is possible.” He secured that legacy at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, running 100 meters in just 9.58 seconds, a record that nobody has touched since. During that historic race, the aptly named Bolt reached a top speed of 27.5 miles per hour, earning the title of fastest man alive.
2010
THE ‘DOUBLE McTWIST’
Snowboarder Shaun White, also known as The Flying Tomato because of his red hair, seemed to defy gravity during his twisting routine at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, culminating in a 3.5-revolution Double McTwist, which he dubbed the Tomahawk. He won the gold medal in the half-pipe and helped attract a legion of young fans to a sport that had mostly been ignored by older generations.
2012
MOST DOMINANT OLYMPIAN
“I’ve put my mind to doing something that nobody had ever done before,” Michael Phelps once said. He did exactly that during the 2012 Olympics in London, winning the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and earning his 19th Olympic medal, making him the most decorated Olympian of all time.
2017
GREATEST SUPER BOWL COMEBACK
Tom Brady seemed uncharacteristically human as the Atlanta Falcons rolled to a 28–3 lead over the New England Patriots in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI. But Brady had the Falcons right where he wanted them. The Patriots mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally, tying the game in the last minute. The Falcons' collapse made the first Super Bowl overtime almost a formality. Brady would win seven Super Bowls, none more improbable.
2024
REDEMPTION
When Simone Biles bowed out of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, citing mental health concerns, some saw it as a bittersweet ending to a brilliant career. But critics underestimated her iron will and her talent. Four years later, she led the U.S. women’s gymnastics team to Olympic gold in Paris, completing her “redemption tour.”