I’ve gotten the chance to attend 225 major sporting events over the course of my lifetime thus far – here are the games that stick out the most.
As a lifelong sports fan, my definition of going out to have a good time essentially always involves a sporting event of some sort.
Whether it’s planning evenings around watching games at home or preparing to head to the arena or stadium to take in the game myself, there’s a level of daily anticipation to each game that makes being a sports fan so great – and also gives myself and many others something to always look forward to.
Live sporting events have been a part of my life for nearly a quarter-century now, as I can confirm that I’ve attended at least 225 major sporting events since my first NHL game in March 2002.
Beneath a slew of Cubs, White Sox and Blackhawks games that are mostly forgotten and have flown under the radar in the years since are a handful of games that I’ve maintained an excellent memory of over the years – sporting events that exemplify why this has always been such a big part of my life.
While most of the events I hold in this high regard were postseason games and therefore had much higher stakes by default, one of the true beauties of sports is you really never know what you’re going to see on a given night.
Though these games certainly didn’t make my list, I think of getting to see emergency backup goaltender and accountant-by-day Scott Foster closing out a Blackhawks win in March 2018, or getting to see the Cubs score 20 runs at Wrigley Field in August 2023 as proof of the beauty live sports offer on a nightly basis.
While this list is all about the loudest sporting events I’ve attended, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the loudest atmosphere I’ve ever experienced – which was undoubtedly when Oasis took the stage in Manchester’s Heaton Park last summer for their first show in their home city in 16 years, with over 80,000 people erupting in a truly deafening roar that will forever be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
As for the games that I remember the best and look back on the most, here’s a look at the first part of this list:
12. 2017 Western Conference First Round Game 4: Spurs @ Grizzlies, April 22, 2017
My first-ever playoff basketball game, I got the chance to attend this game with two friends on a weekend trip to Tennessee during my junior year of college – with this game coming just two days after we saw the Nashville Predators eliminate the Chicago Blackhawks over 200 miles to the northeast.
Pitting the heavily favored Kawhi Leonard-led Spurs against the last of the Grit-and-Grind Grizzlies teams, Memphis battled back in front of a raucous home crowd, trading blows with Leonard in what was one of his signature performances.
Though Memphis held an 83-73 advantage with under eight minutes left in regulation, Leonard and the Spurs embarked on a feverish rally to tie the game – with Leonard, for lack of a better word, looking like Michael Jordan on both ends of the floor to keep the Spurs neck-and-neck with Memphis.
After Leonard hit what appeared to be a possible game-winning jumper with 16 seconds left, Memphis icon Mike Conley responded seven seconds later, scoring two of his team-high 35 points to send the game to overtime.
After a tense few opening minutes to overtime, a chase-down block by Andrew Harrison flipped the momentum back in Memphis’ favor – though it wouldn’t come without Leonard finding a way to sink two more three-point jumpers to tie the game near the end of overtime.
On their final possession, Memphis got the ball to Marc Gasol in the paint who converted on a short jumpshot to put the Grizzlies up 2 with just one second remaining – sealing an epic 110-108 win.
While the arena didn’t get as loud as I’ve heard other venues get in intense moments, that purely had to do with how intense this game was – all leading up to an earth-shattering roar when Gasol connected on his game-winning jumper.
11. 2025 Subway Series: Yankees @ Mets, July 6, 2025
Though this game didn’t feature the singular loud moment that the Spurs-Grizzlies did upon the final shot, it’s hard to think of a game, especially a regular season game, that had this much energy and animosity in the stands.
A lifelong bucketlist item, I attended this game with my wife and college roommate ahead of a trip to the U.K., taking in perhaps the sport’s fiercest interleague rivalry in swampy 87-degree temperatures with both teams holding title hopes at the time.
A crowd that felt pretty damn close to 50-50 in terms of fan allegiance, it was immediately clear that this intracity rivalry is simply built different – making the Cubs/White Sox games that I’ve attended look like toddler playdates in comparison.
It was the Yankees to leap out to an early, comfortable lead in this game, with Austin Wells and Aaron Judge home runs helping the Bronx Bombers build a 5-0 lead. The Mets battled back in the following innings thanks to a 2-run single from Francisco Lindor and a couple runs produced by some small ball in the sixth inning, getting the Mets back to within a run.
After the Yankees added an insurance run in the seventh inning, what looked to be a rally starter for the Mets turned into what was arguably a season killer when a possible base hit from Juan Soto turned into a fly ball double play – with a review upholding the call.
This was perhaps the moment that exemplified the crowd dynamic the best, with around half of the crowd erupting while the other half was subject to loud heckling while watching their team in their own ballpark.
Though we didn’t witness any physical confrontations between fans, the environment was decidedly on-edge throughout, with combative chants and chirping lasting from first pitch through the exit of the stadium – though New Yorkers did unite on a ever-so-predictable “fuck Trae Young” chant while exiting the Citi Field concourse.
The Yankees went on to win the game and cruise to the postseason, eventually losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS. The Mets, who held a 52-38 record entering play on July 6, finished 31-41 throughout the rest of the season and missed the playoffs.
10. 2009 Western Conference Finals Game 3: Red Wings @ Blackhawks, May 22, 2009
Coming towards the end of what was a magical season at Madison and Damen, with the Blackhawks making it to their first conference final since 1995 – and they were appropriately greeted by the archrival Detroit Red Wings.
The defending Stanley Cup champions who had dominated the league for much of the previous 15 years, the Blackhawks were a young, rising team with a remarkable core of young talent, having taken down the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks en route to their meeting with Detroit.
The Red Wings took care of business in Detroit, winning the first two games, both of which saw the Blackhawks score the first goal. Entering Game 3, I was simply hoping for the Hawks to avoid the sweep and send home their fans happy for what could be the final time of the year.
I was in seventh grade at the time, and have vivid memories of being picked up from school before meeting up with two of my dad’s colleagues to attend the game. I immediately noticed upon entering the United Center that while there was still a solid presence of Red Wings fans, it looked nothing like the Detroit takeovers that were commonplace in the years prior.
Building off of crowd energy, the Blackhawks scored the first three goals of the game, with the third coming just after the start of the second period as it looked like Chicago was on their way to a blowout victory.
Surely enough, Detroit began to fight back nearly 15 minutes into the second period, quickly scoring three goals over the frame’s final six minutes to tie the game – and to make matters worse, Chicago’s starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was then removed due to an injury, with backup Cristobal Huet in to replace him.
Following a tense, penalty-free first period, the Blackhawks sent over 22,000 fans home quickly in overtime, with Patrick Sharp burying a picture-perfect pass from center Samuel Pahlsson to get Chicago back into the series.
Sharp’s game-winning goal was the loudest I had ever heard the United Center up until that point, with an anxious crowd anticipating the worst getting to explode in jubilation after what was a typically stressful playoff hockey game.
Detroit went on to win Games 4 & 5 to head to the Stanley Cup Final for a second consecutive season, in which they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.
9. 2018 Eastern Conference First Round, Game 3: Cavaliers @ Pacers, April 20, 2018
It was my senior year of college at the University of Missouri, and I was determined to make my way to a playoff game as the postseason approached – specifically wanting to see LeBron James play in the playoffs.
While I was a solid 5 hours and 15 minutes away from Indianapolis in Missouri, I arranged with my dad, who had never been to an NBA game before, let alone a playoff game, to meet up with me in Indianapolis to watch Game 3 of what was a riveting Cavaliers-Pacers series.
Although Cleveland remained a heavy favorite due to simply having LeBron James, this series was much different than the series between the two teams the year prior, which ended in a sweep in favor of Cleveland. Serving as the 4 vs. 5 seed matchup in 2018, the Victor Oladipo-led Pacers appeared to be much more of a match.
Entering the game with the series tied, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse was filled to the brim with fans donning gold t-shirts, creating an incredibly lively atmosphere that immediately made it clear that you were in the state of Hoosier hysteria, where basketball just means more to the average person.
The strident energy from the crowd manifested itself as anxiety and uneasiness after the Cavaliers left the locker room swinging, jumping out to a 17-point halftime lead that sent the Pacers back to the locker room under a chorus of boos.
On the other end of halftime, the crowd was quickly revived as the Pacers started drilling shots from long range – with the most notable contributor being Bojan Bogdanović, who went on to hit seven of his nine three-point attempts, four of which came in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers had worked their way to a 69-63 deficit by the time the fourth quarter began, with a significant percentage of the 17,923 fans in attendance spending the entire final frame on their feet.
The climax of crowd energy arguably came with just over two minutes left in the game, when Bogdanović turned a two-point lead into a five-point advantage with a ridiculously deep 30-foot three-point shot, sending the building into true mayhem.
While late three-pointers from LeBron and Kevin Love put the Cavs back within a point with less than 10 seconds left, the Pacers found a way to hold on as J.R. Smith’s buzzer-beater attempt did not connect – giving Indiana a 92-90 win and a 2-1 series lead.
The jovial atmosphere continued outside the arena, with fans sniffing what would have been a monumental first-round upset over the rival Cavaliers. Cleveland did eventually prevail in the series in seven games en route to their fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, where they were swept by the Golden State Warriors.
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