FanPost

Capturing Emotion: Sports Greatest Pictures

One of my favorite things about sports is the emotion captured through pictures. The ability a shot has of recreating a moment and passing it on for generations has been as big to a part in generating America's interest in sports as the game itself. My favorite part of these shots is your ability to look at them and feel the emotion of the game being played. Some of the greatest shots can make you sad, excited, or even angry. For anyone interested in sports ability to capture emotion, this is for you.

After the jump, well look at some of my personal favorites. Feel free to add any of your own.

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Y.A. Tittles Bloody Endzone Shot - I'm honestly not sure what the "true" name of this shot is, but its a legend. Giants HoF QB Y.A. Tittle was in the last season of his career in 1964 (Giants finished 2-10-2). In this game the Giants played the Pittsburgh Steelers and Y.A. Tittle had just been hit hard and sent to the ground mid-throw. The throw was an INT return for a TD. Tittle sustained a concussion and a cracked sternum because of the hit. In this photo he sits dazed, bloodied and beaten in his own endzone. The picture captures the struggle and end of once legendary QB as well as the disappointment of the Giants season. On the back of Tittles biography, the picture is shown.

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Ali downs Sonny Liston - Again not sure of the proper title but this is another good one. Muhammad Ali stands over Sonny Liston after Ali "KO's" him with the world famous "phantom punch". The fight, photo, and controversy surrounding the fight have led to it being an all time great. If you haven't heard, watched, or read about the fight and its aftermath, you should. For me, this picture captures two things. 1. The dominance of Muhammad Ali in boxing 2. Alis famous "swagger" and confidence during his time in boxing.

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Donovan McNabb Post-SB 39 - Not nearly as famous as the other two, but one that stands out for me. This picture captures Philadelphia sports. Getting so tantalizingly close and falling short. The struggle, fight and fall from glory. Few fan bases are as tortured as Philadelphia, and this picture gets it.

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LeBron leaves, Cleveland cries - Not a famous picture at all, but a good one. I talked about Philly sports. One area CAN say they're more tortured: Cleveland. No sports fanbase is more tortured. Fact. This picture is of Cleveland fans following LeBrons decision to take his talents to South Beach. The picture captures all the emotion of being a Cleveland fan. The plague of sadness that surrounds them might suck, but it makes a damn good shot.

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The Shrug - During the 1992 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan shrugged as he hit his record sixth-three pointer of the game enroute to scoring a record 35 pts in the first half of Game 1 against the Portland Trail Blazers. Marv Albert later stated that Jordans shrug seemed like his way of saying "I can't believe I'm doing this". Neither could we Jordan, neither could we.

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Jordan Sobs - This is a picture of MJ crying as he held onto his first of six NBA Championships. It symbolizes his career and helps foreshadow the struggles Jordan would overcome later in his career (his fathers death being a huge one)

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The Tackle - Personally, this is my favorite sports shot of all time. Super Bowl 34: Rams vs. Titans. Three games after the "Music City Miracle" against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card playoffs. Kevin Dyson (who scored in the MCM) catches a pass from Steve "Air" McNair at about the 5 yard line and attempts to score a TD and seemingly send the first SB into overtime. Rams linebacker Mike Jones however, caught Dyson's legs at the last second. As both men rolled, Dyson (shown on top of Jones at the moment) began stretching his arm with the ball, attempting fruitlessly to break the plane and tie the game 23-23. Dyson was One Yard Short (another famous name for the play) and the Rams won the SB by a TD.

I have a lot to say about this picture. First it depicts the fight for every yard in the NFL. Dyson fought harder for that last yard then a lot of players fight for in an entire season. Every yard counts and that SB showed the world just how important that last yard is. Second it shows the determination of two athletes. Dyson's determination to score and Jones determination to keep Dyson out of the endzone. It also helps depict the height of the "Best Show on Turf" and Kurt Warners rise to national fame due to his rags to riches storyline.

As you can tell there are hundreds more photos. I avoided using most NY pictures for this thread. Hopefully more to come sometime.

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