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Real Life/Heartwarming/Sports: Difference between revisions
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** Only a few years ago, the team was ranked by ESPN as the worst sports franchise with a notoriously bad owner in William "Dollar Bill" Wirtz. After his death in fall 2007, his son Rocky took over and improved the team exponentially over the next few years.
** Marian Hossa finally got to lift the cup after being on the losing team in the previous two Stanley Cup finals.
** 23 year old Jonathan Toews finished off an amazing year, winning Best Forward and a gold medal with Team Canada in the Olympics followed the Con Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup.
** Some estimates put the number of people attending the victory parade at 2 million.
** TV analyst and former Blackhawk player Jeremy Roenick broke down on the air after the game, saying "For the kid who was there in 1992 who was crying when I came off the ice in after we lost Game 4 at Chicago Stadium — you waited 18 years. I hope you have a big smile on your face. Congratulations."
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** To make the story even more amazing, Western Oregon won that game and ''Sara's homer provided the winning points.'' It knocked CWU out of the playoffs.
* Speaking of sports, the entire Red Sox [[Nakama|team]] forming a gigantic [[Group Hug]] after '''finally''' winning the World Series after all those years.
** Topping that for this Troper was hearing that the first person many of the players called following the final game was former Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, who had long been the subject of ridicule for having made the fielding error which cost the Red Sox their last shot at the World Series in 1986.
*** Not to mention all those accounts of fans across New England leaving 2004 World Series memorabilia at the graves of loved ones who never got to see their beloved Red Sox win a championship.
**** Plus Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon saying that he would have given up Boston's dramatic Game 7 ALCS victory over the Yankees to prevent the death of Victoria Snelgrove, the college student who was killed during the post-game riots.
**** Beautifully, ''wordlessly'' summed up in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2JbRYrmf74 this Nike commercial] which aired immediately following the final game.
***** Let's just put everything about the 2004 Red Sox-heck, maybe the Red Sox in general-in as a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] /CrowningMomentOfAwesome and call it a day.
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** While wearing a shirt that says "Have you hugged your son today?". This troper can't even claim [[Manly Tears]]. They're just... More than that.
*** Um... Hate to break it too you, but that says "Have you hugged your foot today?" Still a teary-worthy moment.
* Donovan Mc Nabb, former quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, recently traded to the Washington Redskins, always had something of a love-hate relationship with fans. When coming back to the Eagles stadium. Anaylsts debated for weeks how Mc Nabb would be received by the tough Philadelphia crowd... most assumed either a mixed reaction or a loud chorus of boos. What did Mc Nabb receive... a standing ovation.
* At a 2003 NBA game between the Portland Trailblazers (home team) and the Dallas Mavericks, 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert was singing the national anthem when she suddenly stopped, having forgotten the words. Trailblazers head coach Maurice "Mo" Cheeks then rushed to the young girl's aid and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxB-k6Vw73E they finished singing the anthem together] (with the crowd helping out as well).
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclassic2009/news/story?id=3991721 Who says no one in America cares about the WBC?]
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* A bunch of volunteers turn a little league baseball game into a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nbkbss7i5s major league event].
* Opening Day is a big deal in major league baseball, but the 2008 Red Sox opening at Fenway Park combines a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] with the [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]]. Walking out of the Green Monster and across left field to the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch was Bill Buckner - long vilified by both the media and fans alike (but especially the media) for his error in the 1986 World Series. His emotional reaction to what happened next clearly says he wasn't expecting to be welcomed by the crowd, because Fenway gave him a long, thunderous ''standing ovation.''
** Also in that season, in a combo of [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] and [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] was Jon Lester's no-hitter. This would be just another no hitter in a lot of cases, however, Lester was less than a year removed from beating non-Hodgkins lymphoma! What makes it go into [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] land was the parade of hugs that Lester had with his teammates, coaches, and other personnel. This Troper, in particular, completely lost her composure when she saw manager Terry Francona (who never went a day without talking to Lester during his treatments) hugging him and hearing him tell Lester in a choked up and muffled voice how proud of him he was.
* In 2008, the Windsor Spitfires captain Mickey Renaud had died of a heart condition. So in the following hockey season, the team ''won the Memorial Cup for the first time''. Not only did they win in the memory of Mickey Renaud and hung his jersey on their bench, the ''entire city'' banded together in supporting and cheering for their team for the whole season. The whole city was suffering from the economic recession and the city was completely transformed by the determination of the Spitfires.
** Just reading [http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Why-the-Windsor-Spitfires-are-hockey-s-most-insp?urn=nhl,165657 this article] about the Spitfires was heartwarming enough.
** Not to mention, as soon as the Spitfires' plane touched down back to Windsor, they were greeted with tremendous roars and cheers of all their fans, wearing red, waving flags and screaming for their team.
* Jason McElwain. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZtU676jA_k Full. Fucking. Stop.]
* AC Milan fans [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFX07w2-4ls singing "You'll Never Walk Alone"] in honor of the 96 who had died in the Hillsborough Disaster. ''During a minute of silence''.
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* On June 2, 2010, Armando Galarraga pitched an incredible game for the Detroit Tigers that would have been not only the 21st perfect game in major league history, but the first one in Tigers history, the third one ''that month'', and the second one ''that week'' - accomplishments that had ''never before'' been made in baseball history. On the 27th out, Jason Donald of the Cleveland Indians grounded between first and second base. Miguel Cabrera fielded, Galarraga ran to the bag, and caught the ball and beat Donald by a full foot for the final out...except the first-base umpire, Jim Joyce, blew it, and called Donald safe. The entire stadium erupted into boos and jeers and Joyce's Wikipedia page was vandalized within seconds. What's so heartwarming about this? Several things:
** First: Mere seconds after making what should have been the final out, after having history and an incredible perfect game stolen away from him...Galarraga ''smiled and walked back to the mound''. Any other player, indeed, the ''entire'' rest of the Tigers would gladly have gotten up in Joyce's face and shouted expletives and threats, and did so after Galarraga recorded the final out. Galarraga ''smiled''. He had history stolen away from him and he took it with possibly the most grace and class any athlete had ever shown in sports.
** Second: after the game, Joyce watched the replay and realized the magnitude of his blown call and how badly he had screwed it up. He asked to see Galarraga and apologized to his face for costing him the perfect game. Galarraga accepted the apology and a hug. "Nobody's perfect," he said.
** Third: The next day, the next time the Tigers and Joyce took the field, Galarraga handed the lineup card to Joyce, who shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder. If these three examples are not some of the greatest examples of sportsmanship and grace in the history of the sport, nothing is. Armando Galarraga missed one part of history, but he and Jim Joyce certainly ended up making it in some fashion. Plus, the Tigers surprised Galarraga with a Corvette out on the field.
*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKAz0fI27Fk Joyce was openly crying at the plate when Galarraga handed him the lineup card]. Even though I hated him about 16 hours previous, I couldn't help but feel bad for him when I saw this on TV today. He handled his job with an amazing amount of dignity and was not afraid to admit that he was wrong, a bit of a plague in baseball umpiring this season. Restores some of the faith I've lost in many sports for being too proud and acting like sportsmanship is a relic of the past.
** [http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/06/02/the-lesson-of-jim-joyce/#more-3523 Joe Posnanski said it best] about the three perfect games (he's counting Galarraga's)
{{quote|"Dallas Braden’s perfect game was thrilling. Roy Halladay’s perfect game was art. But Armando’s Galarraga’s perfect game was a lesson in grace."}}
** Also, Galarraga finished his game off by retiring the first batter after the blown call. You guessed it, people are congratulating him on pitching a ''28-out perfect game''.
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* Over three days, two people by the name of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played tennis at one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, Wimbledon. This game didn't last three days due to bad weather. No, it lasted three days simply because each side didn't want to give up. After a score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, '''68-70''', the match was finally won by Isner, 11 hours of play after it started. The previous record for length was six hours, shattered by the length of the fifth set alone (which was eight hours itself). Both sides played with the up-most respect for the other. However, after it was all said and done, when both men headed for the traditional post game handshake, it never happened. Instead it was a post game hug, a fitting end to the longest match in the history of tennis.
** Near the end of the second day, with both players already exhausted, one of the players lost his grip on his racket in a desperate but spirited attempt to hit the ball. Everybody present - ''including his opponent'' - applauded the effort.
** Even better, the two players met ''again'' in Wimbledon [[Contrived Coincidence|2011]]. Although that time the match went to Isner in straight sets (7-6 [7-4]; 6-2; 7-6 [8-6]), BBC news coverage showed that after the epic match of 2010, the two became [[Fire-Forged Friends|close friends]], and the court that they played on now has a plaque commemorating their historic match.
* On the subject of tennis, the 2009 Wimbledon final award ceremony certainly counts. Andy Roddick had a career record of 2-17 against, arguably, the best tennis player who's ever lived, Roger Federer, and got into the finals on a miracle. Needless to say, the match was expected to be an easy drubbing. However, Roddick played remarkable well, but still lost in an absolute heart-breaker, 7-5, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 14-16, and the win gave Roger Federer the all-time record of 15 grand slam wins. Roddick gracefully accepted the loss, but as he sat down and Federer received his applause, the crowd broke into a "Rodd-ick! Rodd-ick!" chant.
* Then there's the story of the "[[wikipedia:Memorial Day Miracle|Memorial Day Miracle]]", well known in the city of San Antonio as being the turnaround moment for the San Antonio Spurs organization. It was the second game in the Western Conference Finals and the Spurs were down 18 points late in the third quarter. The Spurs rallied to catch up to the Portland Trail Blazers but were still were down one point until Sean Elliott scored a 2-pointer in the final seconds of the game, thus allowing the Spurs to win 86-85. The Spurs eventually swept the Trail Blazers and were able to get to the NBA Finals where they would win their first NBA Championship in franchise history. What was especially awesome about this was that Sean Elliott was secretly battling a serious kidney condition that would eventually require him to get a kidney transplant from his brother. And in spite of the deep passion San Antonians feel for the Spurs, the championship celebrations were surprisingly peaceful, with only a handful of arrests for public drunkenness happening that night. That's right, an entire city celebrated a national championship of some import without rioting, looting, causing any fires, damaging any cars, roughing anybody up, or anything other than clogging up the downtown streets, honking their car horns and cheering as loudly as possible.
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* After a Georgian athlete died in a horrible accident during a training run, when Georgia marched into the 2010 Olympic stadium, they received a standing ovation from the rest of the world.
** AND they threw in a Moment of Silence after the Olympic Flag was brought in. The Olympic Opening Ceremonies are choreographed and timed MONTHS in advance, yet they took the time, money (which they were spending enough of), and resources to add it in AT THE LAST SECOND. As much as the last half of the Ceremonies sucked (especially the flame...), that was truly great.
* Canada celebrating their first Olympic gold medal in the Vancouver Olympics for freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau, who was [[
** Alexandre gets his inspiration from his older brother, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
* Canadian ice skater Joanne Rochette performing a beautiful short program (placing third after the two best figure skaters in the world) just 72 hours after her mother suddenly died of a heart attack. To [[Reverse Funny Aneurysm|make it worse]], earlier she was struggling through practice and eventually left the rink as [[Soundtrack Dissonance|"I'm Gonna Live Forever"]] was blaring.
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