My Sports Moment of the Year

I am an American.  I love sports.  Rooting for United States Men's National Team (USMNT) is natural.  Next to rooting for Michigan, it's the only thing I feel that I was born into.  Supporting the United States soccer team is different from supporting the U.S. in the Olympics.  Outside of US Men's hockey, the Olympics rarely suffice when because they don't seem competitive and they are largely individual.  You know Michael Phelps is going to dominate before you watch.  The US Softball team will destroy teams, and the medal count feels like a forced tally that largely people don't care about.  The US Men's basketball team is so good but they rarely bring their best players and anything less than Gold is unacceptable.  This is why I enjoy US Soccer so much.  The team is good, but rooting for them doesn't feel like jumping on the bandwagon.  I'll rock a Claudio Reyna or Clint Dempsey jersey any day of the week and scoff at Americans that wear a jersey of a country they have never been to.

The USMNT is America in its infancy.  They haven't quite reached world dominance but you want to be there when they do.  It will probably feel something like the 1980 US Hockey team defeating USSR in the Olympics.  I want to be there to watch the team grow into that and deliver a moment we will never forget.  2010 South Africa was a start.

The team was minutes away from heading out of the World Cup in what would have been failure.  Then suddenly, it's Howard to Donovan to Altidore to Dempsey, and Donovan for the goal.  Success, jjubilation, relief, top of the group.  It was ugly, but it was done the American way with hard work, belief, and desire.    For me, this was the sports moment of the year and well worth scheduling a "doctors appointment" months in advance to watch this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbn3rOPmR9w  US Reaction
http://mgoblog.com/content/get-kids   The Goal

What was you favorite sports moment of the year?  Roy Halladay no hitter in playoffs? Eagles score 28 points in 7 minutes to beat Giants? The Flyers chase for the cup? Auburn's comeback against Bama? Something else?