‘I was there’ the 2000s edition

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Taking inspiration from Deadspin, I thought I would open an entry for the community to discuss the best sporting events they personally attended this decade.

The following are the categories:

* Best NC State Events
* Best non-NC State Events

In an attempt to limit brain damage and save some time, I am not going to list the events in order right now. Maybe I will have time to come back and clean up the list. I also am not going to list the NC State events yet and will come back to that a little later. Also, you don’t have to list ten events if you do not so choose.

Without giving it much thought, I can’t imagine there being a more significant NC State win for the decade than the 2003 Gator Bowl that saw NC State trounce Notre Dame 28-6.

Non-NC State
(1) 2001 NHL, NY Rangers hockey game in Madison Square Garden (in a special evening of programming honoring NY Police and Firefighters after September 11th)

(2) 2004 NCAA Basketball, Final Four in San Antonio (when both semi-finals were ‘classics’; Georgia Tech vs Oklahoma State and Duke vs UConn).

(3) 2002 NFL Football, Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans (opening night of Texans franchise in Reliant Stadium that saw Texans defeat Cowboys)

(4) 2005 NFL Football, Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers (Monday Night Football)

(5) 2001 US Tennis Open (Andre Agassi and Serena Williams at Centre Court on opening night)

(6) 2009 MLB, Boston Red Sox @ NY Yankees (first season in new Yankees stadium that included a no-hitter through five innings by CC Sabathia)

(7) 2009 College Basketball, North Carolina Tarheels vs Texas Longhorns (first game in Dallas Cowboys Stadium)

(8) 2004 NFL Football, San Diego Chargers @ Houston Texans (in Philip Rivers first NFL game. DNP)

(9) 2001 College Football, Auburn @ LSU (for SEC West Title after game was moved from September to December due to terrorist attacks)

(10) 2008 College Football, Alabama vs Clemson (in Georgia Dome to start season)

As I previously stated…I will come back to this list and make some adjustments as things come to mind.

Final Four

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15 Responses to ‘I was there’ the 2000s edition

  1. dfcf99 12/26/2009 at 11:44 AM #

    I was at the Atlanta Braves-Arizona Diamondbacks game on May 18, 2004 when Randy Johnson pitched his perfect game. Absolutely unbelievable single game performance. Best one I’ve ever witnessed in person.

  2. g6bentgrass 12/26/2009 at 12:13 PM #

    2006- game 7 Hurricanes/Oilers. Best event I’ve ever attended.
    2006-game 2 round 2, Hurricanes/Devils-Staal scores with 1 sec left, win in OT
    2006-game 7 round 3 Hurricanes/Sabres-down 2-1 going to the third. Buffalo fans are wild and crazy. Come back to win 4-2
    2003 Gator Bowl-The 20 other family and friends, along with the win over ND, made the trip awesome.
    2001-NC State at SMU-football-flew to Dallas 10 days after 9/11. Felt like one of the brave ones flying. Friend had us sideline passes.
    2005-NCSU/Wisconsin-Sweet sixteen-Syracuse, NY, brother is UNC grad, we get tix, drive to NY, hoping for a UNC/NCSU game but not to be.
    2003-NCSU/OSU-friend’s parents, who live in Columbus, had a motorhome, which we take to game. Great time, with good friends, and a great ball game to watch.

  3. PackHowler 12/26/2009 at 12:21 PM #

    I was at the 41-10 dismantling of UNC in 2008.

  4. theTHRILL 12/26/2009 at 12:45 PM #

    2001 Fiesta/Sugar/Orange Bowls on back-to-back-to-back nights. A friend of mine won the trip in a contest and invited me and two other friends. None of the actual games were that great, but the experience was unbelievable.

  5. wolfpackdawg 12/26/2009 at 1:59 PM #

    2001…NCSU @ F$U (34-28)….having great seats and beating them to ruin their homecoming.

    2006…..Colorado @ UGA…watching Ralphie the buffalo run in Sanford stadium.

  6. redwolf87 12/26/2009 at 6:12 PM #

    Top non-NCSU events:

    2001 – World Series Game 7 – New York Yankees vs. Arizona. Got to see Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson, and Roger Clemens in the same game, not to mention the D-Backs ripping the hearts out of every Yankees fan in the bottom of the ninth. Greatest baseball memory since the O’s winning in ’83. A lifetime experience.

    2007 – My one and only trip to Texas Stadium. Game not notable as the Cowboys were playing the Rams, but saw one of the most incredible plays ever – Tony Romo chases down a ball snapped over his head on 3rd-and-forever, and instead of falling on it, picks it up and scrambles for the first down. Unbelievable.

    2009 – NHL Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Boston versus Hurricanes, Game 4. 4-1 ‘Canes win. RBC Center was as loud as I’d ever heard it, and made me dream of what it could be like for basketball.

    Best NCSU moment:

    Gator Bowl vs. Notre Dame, hands-down.

    Any football win vs. Florida State during the 2000’s – I was at all of them.

  7. 61Packer 12/26/2009 at 10:09 PM #

    The best non-NC State sporting event I’ve ever attended was App State’s 34-32 win at Michigan on September 1, 2007. I’ve never witnessed in person a Wolfpack win in the past ten years that comes even close to that one in Ann Arbor.

    I was at the 2003 Gator Bowl, and it was a nice win, but it’s not even in the same universe as the State wins in ’74 over Maryland, UCLA and Marquette, the ’83 win over Houston, or the ’67 football win over Houston in the Astrodome. I saw them on tv except for the ’67 game, which was radio only.

    I agree with the writer’s assessment of the 2003 win over Notre Dame being the most significant Wolfpack win of the decade. IT WAS ALSO THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT WOLFPACK WIN OF THAT DECADE OR THE PRIOR DECADE FOR THAT MATTER.

    And as far as placing significance on a UNC-Texas basketball game, even had it been played atop the Empire State Building, I say WTF?

  8. Pack Mentality 12/26/2009 at 10:15 PM #

    My favorite NCSU event was the Notre Dame bowl game and the 2 Carolina victories at Carter Finley (this year and PR’s last year).

    My favorite non NCSU events that I attended was the Tool concert in Chicago after Lateralus and Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule shows. Sorry they’re not sports, but that’s it.

  9. Will NCSU 12/26/2009 at 10:42 PM #

    Gator Bowl

    Hurricanes Stanley Cup

    Next closest thing was the Mars Volta at HoB Myrtle Beach. Its been a weak decade.

  10. CStanley 12/26/2009 at 11:49 PM #

    The Canes ’06 Stanley Cup run might be one of the best things to ever happen in the State of NC, not just this decade. Obviously it’s not as big as any of the Trianle teams’ National Championship runs, but it’s up there. That was a blast.

  11. xphoenix87 12/27/2009 at 10:13 PM #

    The best NC State sporting event I’ve been to, and one of the most exciting atmosphere’s I’ve ever been a part of, is in 2007, the night they named the floor of Reynolds Coliseum “Kay Yow Court”. It’s rare that Reynolds gets packed out for a women’s game, but there was quite a crowd there that night. Yow had missed a bunch of games early in the season due to her cancer resurfacing, but since her return the senior-laden team had reeled off a stream of victories. So, there it was: senior night, naming the court after Kay, and the #2 ranked Tarheels coming to town. Not only did the Pack race out to a huge early lead, but we hung on down the stretch for a 7-point win. They would go on to beat #1 and undefeated Duke in the ACC tournament in a few weeks, but even that didn’t hold a candle to this game. Reynolds was rocking, Carolina was losing, and one of the classiest coaches college basketball has ever seen got honored. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

  12. section2chuck 12/28/2009 at 9:36 AM #

    NC State events in the 2000’s: Rivers 1st home game v. Ark State, Rivers last home game v. Maryland, 2003 Gator Bowl win over ND, just about every home game in Football…

  13. section2chuck 12/28/2009 at 9:37 AM #

    2008 NC State winning the Raleigh Regional over South Carolina and former State coach Ray Tanner…great weekend of College Baseball.

  14. packfanstk 12/28/2009 at 12:25 PM #

    Best NC State moment I attended was undoubtedly this year’s football finale vs Carolina. We had buried my Dad the day before, and I like to think the Pack won that one for Pop. As I’ve said many times since, I don’t know if God cares who wins the State-Carolina game, but I know my Dad does.

    Best Non-NC State moment was watching my daughter’s school, West Virginia take down Dook in the 2008 NCAAs at the Verizon Center in DC.

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