Top 20 Iconic Denver Sports Moments

Jan 1, 1970

I would put the last 30 years of Denver sports moments against almost any city. All four major sports have had truly iconic moments, and three of the four teams have moments in championship runs. Before we get to the list, we have to define exactly what an iconic moment is.

1. It's a moment or a play.

It's not a season. It's not a game. It's not even a series of plays. It's a single play or moment in time. That eliminates things like The Drive, which is truly iconic in its own right but is not a singular moment. (I did include the final play of The Drive in the list, however...)

2. The moment needs to have a name.

An actual name like "The Fumble" is best, or you have to be able to describe the moment in three words or less and have it instantly recognized. For example, when I say "Jokic over AD," any true Denver sports fan should immediately see in their mind Jokic's Sombor Shuffle in the series-clinching game against the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. If it has its own Wikipedia entry it's probably an iconic moment. Another good test is to search the phrase on Google or YouTube. If a bunch of results come up, you know you have an iconic moment. When John Mobly knocked down Brett Favre's 4th down pass to clinch the Bronco's first Super Bowl, it was an important moment in Denver's history, but it wasn't iconic in its own right. If you search "mobly knock down" or "mobly break up," you get stock prices or splash pieces on a teen mom's breakup.

3. Trades and signings don't count.

While important, you're probably not looking up and reliving the Manning signing on YouTube or building a statue of Elway's agent on the phone with Baltimore.

To rank all the moments, I came up with a scoring system. Some categories are yes or no (like, was it a home game), but others are a bit subjective, and I've briefly explained those.

What kind of game was It?

Championship Win or a Game Seven Title Win – 11 pts.
Championship Win, but wasn't do or die (like the first Avalanche title) – 8 pts.
Playoff series-clinching game – 5 pts.
Playoff game – 3 pts.

Was the moment against a hated opponent?

Atwater's hit against the Chiefs scores higher than Elam's 63-yarder against Jacksonville.

How amazing was the moment?

How much did you scream or look at your buddy and exclaim, "I can't believe that just happened!" In other words, did it come out of nowhere, or is it extremely rare? Other considerations are how athletic the moment was or the cultural impact.

Did a beloved player participate in the moment?

Ewe Krupp's triple-OT goal was iconic, but were there ever 79 Krupp car dealerships in the Denver area?

How much impact did the moment have on the game?

Terrell Davis hitting 2000 rushing yards was iconic, but Denver was winning that game either way.

What does the moment mean nationally?

Is the moment still talked about by people outside of Colorado and included in regular network montage reals?

YouTube Replayability

If you're watching the clip on YouTube, how many times do you watch it?

Does the moment involve the Broncos?

Love it or hate it, the Broncos rule this town and probably always will. Any moment that involves the Broncos gets an automatic five-point boost.

Does it belong in the Louvre?

Does an iconic photo exist of the moment where, with one glance, you know exactly what the moment is?

How recent was the moment?

To try to eliminate recency bias, moments that happened in the past ten years get one point. Moments that happened between 2004 and 2013 get three points. Anything older than 2004 has passed the test of time and gets five points.

Tiebreakers:

The moment was part of a series or playoff win
The moment that is more nationally relevant

First, the honorable mentions:

23. Prater's 64-Yarder - 21 PTS

Prater's then-record kick has lost a bit of luster since Justin Tucker broke it. And even though it's longer, it's not as iconic as Elam tying the 28-year-old record. Arguably, Prater had more iconic moments bailing out the Bronco's offense during the Tebow run of 2012.

22. Roy vs. Osgood - 22 PTS

While the Claud LeMieux hit on Kris Draper may have sparked the hatred between the Avalanche and the Red Wings, the team brawl culminating in Patrick Roy challenging and then beating Chris Osgood in a fight fanned a hurricane-force wind on the most intense hockey rivalry in the 21st century.

21. EY's Leadoff Homer - 22 PTS

Eric Young only hit 79 home runs in his entire career, but this one to open the book on Major League Baseball in Colorado still gives me chills.

The Twenty Most Iconic Moments In Denver Sports History

20. Murray's 360 Layup - 26 pts

With the Nuggets down 3-1 in their first playoff series in the Bubble, Jamal Murray became "Playoff Murray," scoring 33 of his 42 points in the second half, which included an insane 360-degree twisting layup around the Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

19. Helton's Pennant Celebration - 26 pts

Rocktober had its last great moment when Todd Helton grabbed the final out of the NLCS and lifted his arms high into the air. Because baseball is weird, Pennants are a kind of title, so anything for the Rockies in 2007 gets a slight bump for being in a "championship" year.

18. Mutumbo Clutches Ball - 26 pts.

The clip that is forever played on NBA montage packages is the face of Dikembe Mutombo so, overcome with emotion, clutching a basketball to his chest while lying on the court of the Seattle Supersonics, who would become the first 1 Seed to lose to an 8 Seed.

17. 5th Down - 28 pts

There are a limited number of moments in American sports that most sports fans would instantly recognize with just two words. This is one of them and maybe the most controversial because there is no doubt everyone screwed up that day. I personally don't remember it, but I'm sure I was listening along with my dad in the garage that day. He vividly remembers being extremely upset that Colorado spiked the ball on 4th down, but they did. And because the chain gang didn't change the down marker and the officials didn't notice, Colorado ran a 5th-down play, scored, and won the game.

16. Tulo's Triple Play – 29 Pts.

Troy Tulowitzki's unassisted triple play beats the others for its sheer improbability. It's the rarest thing in baseball, happening only 15 times in Major League history. Tulo's magic also came late in the game, which the Rockies would ultimately win on a walk-off home run.

15. Terrell's 2000 Yards - 30 pts

Terrell Davis and the Broncos were so dominant in the 1998 season one of the only questions left at the end was whether or not he would rush for 2000 yards. Late in the game against the Seattle Seahawks, needing seven yards and with the entire team pulling for him, he rushed around end and became only the fourth player in NFL history to hit the 2000-yard mark.

14. Elway to Jackson - 31 pts

"The Drive" was 98 yards of pure guts and nailbiting moments. Larry Zimmer made the call, "The look, the throw, John Elway has just thrown a touchdown to Mark Jackson!" and ended the most iconic series and comeback in Bronco's history.

13. Elam's 63 Yarder - 33 pts

The record-tying kick edges out the end of The Drive for a few reasons.

The Drive as a whole is more iconic than its final play
Elam's kick came during a championship year
It was an improbable moment, tying a record that had stood for nearly three decades.

12. Christmas Day Dunk - 35 pts

In a nationally televised game on Christmas Day between two title-contending teams, Aaron Gordon threw down one of the nastiest soul-stealing in-game dunks in NBA history. With less than a minute left in the game, the Nuggets had gone up by one point when Gordon grabbed a pass off a rebound and tore down the right side. Landry Shamet took his own life in his hands by sliding in to try and draw a charge. It didn't work.

11. The Fumble - 35 pts

A year after The Drive, it was first and goal, and the Cleveland Browns would find themselves driving for a game-tying touchdown in the AFC Championship. They would suffer again, but this time, it was their own doing. Earnest Byner, with a clear route to the end zone, coughed up the ball on the two-yard line and sealed the victory for Denver, who would return to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.

10. Holiday's 163 Slide - 35 pts

Matt Holiday's game-winning run is a moment that would not only usher in Rocktober but would also be a major factor in instituting replay for Major League games. At the end of the season, the Rockies and Padres found themselves tied and played an extra 163rd game to determine who would go to the NLDS. The game went back and forth into extra innings until Jamie Carrol lined a sacrifice fly to right, and Holiday sprinted home. The controversy came when it appeared that Holiday never touched home but was ruled safe.

9. Krupp's 3OT Shot - 38 pts

I might have manipulated my "three-word rule," but you can't leave out the moment that led to the first major championship in Colorado. The crazy thing is if Joe Sakic or Peter Forsberg take this shot, it has a chance to be in the top three. My main memory was being with my dad at McNichols Arena for this game and going nuts with everyone else when that shot finally went in.

8. Bourque Lifts the Cup - 39 pts

The endearing image of the 2001 Stanly Cup Finals is of Joe Sakic skirting tradition and handing the legend Ray Bourque the Cup to Raise before the captain himself. The circumstances of his journey, the fact that it was a game seven and that it happened at home, elevated this moment to be more iconic than the first championship goal.

7. Bailey Picks Brady - 40 pts

It was only 2005, and everyone already hated Tom Brady and the Patriots. For them to win at our stadium and have a chance to go on to win three Super Bowls in a row would have been devastating. For the majority of the game, it felt like we were just hanging on and waiting for the inevitable Brady comeback. Late in the third quarter, the momentum had completely swung and Brady was controlling the game ready to score. But on that 3rd and goal play, he made the mistake of challenging the purest cover corner of a generation in Champ Bailey, and Bailey made him pay. He stepped in front, intercepted Brady's pass, and returned it 99 yards for the longest interception return that didn't end up in a score. This one play switched the momentum of the entire game, which the Broncos ended up winning 27-13 and gave everyone hope they would finally win a Super Bowl in the post-Elway era.

6. Miracle at Michigan - 41 pts

There have been plenty of Hail Marys throughout the years, but this one is regarded as one of the best. Why?

The stakes of the game. The two teams were always competing for their respective division championships and were both ranked in the top ten in both national polls.
It was a national game and the whole country was watching
The sheer force and power with which Kordell Stewart threw the ball. It's estimated it traveled well over 70 yards in the air. It's possible that this was the longest successful throw not just in college football history, but in all of football.
The deflection to Michael Westbrook was actually a planned play called "Rocket Left." They had tried the same play to end the first half but had resulted in an interception.
The play featured multiple future NFL stars
It had a legendary call by the voice of college football, Keith Jackson who actually showed some emotion and excitement for maybe the first time ever :)

5. Atwater's Hit - 42 pts

Even though the NFL ranks it as one of its top 100 plays of all time, It's hard for a younger generation to understand the gravity of this single moment. The Nigerian Nightmare, Christian Okoye, had perhaps the coolest nickname ever. And it wasn't all hype. The dude was massive and unstoppable. He routinely carried 3 or 4 full-sized NFL players for yards at a time. Yet on one fateful Monday night, a safety for the Denver Broncos with a great nickname of his own, The Smiling Assassin, trained his sights on Okoye. And in a play that would define both of their careers, Atwater took on the 260-pound back at full speed and not only stopped him dead in his tracks but knocked him backward. NFL films had the foresight to mic up Atwater that night, and what they captured will forever go down as one of the greatest moments in Broncos and NFL history.

4. Tebow to DT - 44 pts

If a single moment can be completely unexpected at once and also make you shake your head and say, "I'm actually not surprised," this is that moment. It had been a season of miracles.

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Top 20 Iconic Denver Sports Moments

1. It's a moment or a play.

2. The moment needs to have a name.

3. Trades and signings don't count.

Tiebreakers:

First, the honorable mentions:

The Twenty Most Iconic Moments In Denver Sports History

20. Murray's 360 Layup - 26 pts

19. Helton's Pennant Celebration - 26 pts

18. Mutumbo Clutches Ball - 26 pts.

17. 5th Down - 28 pts

16. Tulo's Triple Play – 29 Pts.

15. Terrell's 2000 Yards - 30 pts

14. Elway to Jackson - 31 pts

13. Elam's 63 Yarder - 33 pts

12. Christmas Day Dunk - 35 pts

11. The Fumble - 35 pts

10. Holiday's 163 Slide - 35 pts

9. Krupp's 3OT Shot - 38 pts

8. Bourque Lifts the Cup - 39 pts

7. Bailey Picks Brady - 40 pts

6. Miracle at Michigan - 41 pts

5. Atwater's Hit - 42 pts

hello@joshbyers.com

hello@joshbyers.com

hello@joshbyers.com