IBC

Stealing this idea from a recent Joe Posnanski blog

What is the first sports memory you can remember. Concretely remember, not vague recollections of things

as a spectator or participant?

Spectator

SJ Sharks versus the Dallas Stars like the first or second year the shark tank was open when I was 7 or 8, have been hooked on hockey ever since....I miss hockey this year.

Or age 3 and the A's/Giant's WS, but that wasn't so much me watching the game on TV as it was the whole earthquake shaking the bay area to bits and me standing in the doorway of my grandparents house.

I'm another Hockey guy. Long suffering Islander fan. I remember the 1987 Playoffs Game 7. The Easter Epic where Pat Lafontaine scored in the 4th OT. Kelly Hrudey stood on his head and faced more than 70 shots.

I was 7 then, and actually vaguely remember the cup years. Little did I know that the Islanders would fall off shortly after the Easter epic and I would be waiting to this day for the Isles to return to prominence.

My first sports memory is the 1992 World Series. I can vaguely recall Tim Wakefield in the NLCS that year, but I have a vivid memory of "Oh Canada!" before every game and remember Otis Nixon bunting to Mike Timlin for the final out of Game 6.

My first NFL memory is the 1992 NFC title game and crying because the 49ers were going to lose (me crying will become a recurring theme here)

My first Cardinals memory is the 1996 NLCS. I had a class of 16 in 5th grade, all my friends were Braves fans. I ran my mouth so much about how we were wiping the floor with them. Then we lost the last 3 games by a score of like, 32-1. Lots of tears then.

My first Colts memory is the 1995 playoff run. I can remember vaguely a couple of comebacks in the regular season, but I remember Harbaugh patting Seau on the helmet walking off the field after winning in SD. I remember Lin Elliott missing the winning field goal in Arrowhead to pull off the shocker there. And I remember the first time I was ever grounded, the hail mary in Pittsburgh that I was convinced was caught by Aaron Bailey until a couple years ago. I was sure the refs blew the call (just like they missed Kordell Stewart running 3 yards out of bounds on a touchdown catch in the first half) to keep the Colts out of the Super Bowl (and we all know from having eyes that the Steelers get every call possible in the playoffs per NFL rules), first time I ever swore, and I cussed that TV up and down.

Reggie Miller's 8 points in 9 seconds is my first Pacers memory

I think my first sports memory was being so excited that my dad was taking me to my first Red Sox game only to realize, upon pulling into the parking lot (first clue) that he was trying to go cheap and instead had taken us to a New Britain Red Sox game. I only remember complaining that Wade Boggs wouldn't be there.
My first full sports memory was the first time dad took me to the actual Fenway Park (not sure if it was the same year or next year after the New Britain incident). 1988. Red Sox vs. Orioles. I remember walking in the streets outside the park, a warm summer day. I got some baseball cards outside from a vendor (when they used to have vendors outside) and dad got an italian sausage. We walked inside and I remember seeing the old brick and green columns. And I remember walking up the ramp and seeing the Monster in person for the first time. No net and seats above it, just a massive green wall. I watched Cal Ripken, Ellis Burks and, of course, Wade Boggs. I still have the program.

From the time I was born my dad took me to Stanford baseball games so my first memory if I could place it would be at one of those games. The first distinct sports memory I have was watching Nolan Ryan's last no-hitter on TV with my dad. Later that year I got to my first MLB game in my memory, Red Sox vs. A's at the Oakland Coliseum. I remember Wade Boggs got pulled for Scott Cooper and I didn't understand why, plus we were way up top, it seemed so far away!