Being raised in Brooklyn, I grew up a New York sports fan. I’ve seen all of my favorite teams win at least one championship in my lifetime, except the New York Knicks. Since I was born in 1977, I’ve seen the following titles:

-New York Mets (1986)
-New York Giants (1986, 1990, 2007, 2011)
-New York Rangers (1994)

It’s been quite a while for the Mets and Rangers, so thankfully Eli Manning came into Giants fans lives to provide some “recent” championships but even THAT is becoming too long ago. At least there is some promise with the new regime now controlling the Giants.

The Mets squandered a great opportunity this year (2022) by failing to hold the NL East division they were on top of all season long and falling in the Wild Card round to the San Diego Padres. It’s been 36 long painful years since their last World Series, including losses to the Yankees in 2000 and the Royals in 2015. Mets fans can only hope that they’ll build on their successful regular season next year.

The Rangers tore everything down over the last 3 years following some awful seasons. They seem to be headed in the right direction after rebuilding the roster which saw a visit to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They look ahead of schedule with the rebuild and again the hope to build on a disappointing (albeit, unexpected) playoff finish last season will propel them further in the summer of 2023.

The Knicks…well, yeah. Let’s get to my (obviously) biased list of Top 5 sports moments I’ve experienced so far.

• #5 - Endy Chavez makes "The Catch"

  Endy Chavez makes this catch in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals which robbed Scott Rolen of a home run that would have given them a 3-1 lead in the 6th inning. The Mets would eventually lose this game and fail to make the World Series when Carlos Beltran watched a called strike 3 following the Cards scoring 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning.

• #4 - New York Giants Win Super Bowl XLVI

  The Giants would play the New England Patriots for the second time in four years and the result was the same as Super Bowl XLVI. The same type of game was played with high tension and close plays, but Eli Manning would win his second MVP and championship with the Giants in 2011.

• #3 - New York Mets Win 1986 World Series

  I was turning 9 years old in 1986, but I vividly remember where I was, who I was with and the sound in the house that night. This was my first taste of sports championships and the Mets are yet to win a second title in my lifetime after squandering two World Series appearances in 2000 (New York Yankees) and 2015 (Kansas City Royals.)

• #2 - New York Giants Win Super Bowl XLII

  The most improbable Super Bowl win as the Giants faced the 18-0 New England Patriots, looking to complete a perfect season. The Giants were a 12-point underdog and were fully expected to get blown out, but that’s why they play the game! David Tyree’s “helmet catch”, Plaxico Burress securing the game-winning touchdown and Eli Manning’s first of two MVP awards gave the Giants their third of four Super Bowl titles.

• #1 - New York Rangers Win 1994 Stanley Cup

  This moment broke a 54-year curse as the New York Rangers hadn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1940. When the clock hit 0:00 on Game 7 at Madison Square Garden against the Vancouver Canucks in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, MSG play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen exclaimed “…and this one will last a lifetime!” Sure enough, it’s been 28 years since that moment, but what a moment it was as I celebrated in my parents living room with nearly 20 friends.

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