Tuesday, February 11, 2014

So Close - the bravest, craziest, unluckiest defeats in Aussie sport

You probably remember these.  
  • Albert's try against Manly, in the 1997 Grand Final,  (and perhaps too many others by Queenslanders in the 78, 79 or 80th minute)
  • that soccer match at the MCG against Iran.
What they all have in common is that they are some of the memorable moments in Australian sport. The book by Mangan highlights, some of the bravest, craziest, unluckiest defeats in Aussie sport. He argues that in fact sometimes its the defeats that leave the lasting impression in our memory.  Especially seeing as you probably aren't going to see your team win many premierships in your lifetime, its the near misses (and catastrophes which are stay in your mind. I feel very lucky with the Sydney Swans - four GF's in my lifetime for 2 wins and 2 losses.

But think Thomson & Border, Lee & Kasprowicz, Haddin & Pattinson. (Whitney & McDermott, for other reasons).  All of those Cricket Tests are memorable, for the tightness of the result, and the fight & courage showm, by both sides.

The book is a great trip down memory lane (pain street?).

A couple of others - on a global scale which I won't forget are Manchester's win against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League Final, Liverpool's win against AC Milan in 2005, and Oracle's comeback win in the America's Cup last year. 






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