Francisco Cabrera alert........

Which is the greatest Game 7 pitching duel in World Series history.

 

Of course, it loses a little luster since they, um, didn't win the World Series that year.....

 

No it doesn't.

 

I remember watching that game.
When Lind booted the ball I knew it was over.

Fate had fucked us over.

 

That throw by Justice was, I thought, the biggest play of the game. Without it, Frankie don't matter.

As for how players look, I caught something on the MLB network the other day about Game 7 of the 1991 WS, and kept marveling at how skinny everyone was. Even Ron Gant, who was ripped for his time, looked diminutive by today's standards.

 

Cabrera was also about six inches away from winning Game 6 of the World Series that year - I still think if Candy Maldonado doesn't leap and make that catch in the 9th, the Braves win it all.

 

Yes, I think it does.

Would "the catch" still be as revered as it was if they didn't go on and win the Super Bowl? How about a few years ago the Colts 18-point comeback -- had they lost to the Bears would it be as legendary as it is?

That's why I think the Immaculate Reception is somewhat overrated when we talk about the greatest moments in sports history -- yeah it was a brilliant and exciting finish -- but that Steelers team didn't go on to win a championship as a result of it. Had it preserved a Super Bowl run -- it would be that much more special.

It was a great moment for the moment but as time passes on it is not nearly as legendary - outside of two cities -- as it could be had they went on to win the World Series.

 

Speak for yourself. I'm from Georgia; it hasn't lost any luster for me.

 

And Harris didn't actually catch the ball in the air anyway. Never should have counted.

 

Yes, he did, but it should have been ruled incomplete because Fuqua touched the ball (strange rule quirk at the time).

Zag, I think you are missing the point on that moment and Cabrera's hit. They transcend the actual result for that season. It's not rational, but it is true in the minds of many people.

Perhaps buckweaver can explain what Cabrera's hit means to a Braves fan. As I explained above, to me, it was an ending for the Pirates. The run they had as contenders ended that moment and they haven't been anywhere close to that since.

For many people, the Immaculate Reception was the real beginning of the Steelers' dynasty in the '70s. I'm too young to remember it. I wasn't even a year old at the time, but I have heard others put it in those terms. It was the first sign that perhaps the Steelers were finally building to something rather than another fleeting moment in contention that would quickly be squashed.

You have to remember the history involved. The Steelers had never won a championship and were rearely contenders from the time they were founded until the '70s. That was the highest moment in franchise history to that point, not to mention a hell of an interesting play. It was also the beginning of the rivalry with the Raiders, which was something special in the '70s.

It was also a hell of an interesting play, not to mention the controversy.

 

It's still a special moment, simply because that marked the beginning of the Steelers' dynasty that decade. No, they didn't win the Super Bowl that season (lost 21-17 to the unbeaten Dolphins in the AFC championship game). But given how the Steelers had winning records in only nine of their first 40 seasons, and that the Immaculate Reception gave the Steelers their first postseason victory, it cannot be understated.

 

Madden actually said after the game that the ball did hit Tatum, which would make it a legal catch.

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/12.23.html