If you’ve been spending some time on social media lately, you’ve probably seen this viral tweet:
The post, which has now had 1.4 billion views and counting, was meant to evoke famous battles like Napoleon at Waterloo, but quickly became an inspiration for memes related to famous duels from all facets of life – many first-class ones sports examples .
Here at FOX Sports we decided to join in the fun and compile a list of what we believe to be the 10 greatest sporting battles in modern history. These aren’t necessarily fabled rivalries or famous games per se, but rather some epic esports battles that – like the tweet above – have provided plenty of internet content material over the years.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into our list of the 10 most notable historical sporting battles!
10 Harry Kane vs. An empty trophy cabinet
Harry Kane is one of the greatest English footballers of all time, having been the longtime captain and all-time top scorer of both his country’s men’s national team and storied London club Tottenham Hotspur. However, both England and Tottenham have notoriously failed to lift a major trophy during Kane’s tenure, despite consistently ranking among the top in the FIFA World Rankings and Premier League.
9. The Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the month of October
The Dodgers have had a long string of heartbreaking postseason games in their recent history, having played 10 straight MLB postseasons — including four in which they had the league’s best regular-season record — but only one in the pandemic-hit 2020 World Series titles brought season to show.
8. The Dallas Cowboys vs. the month of January
Like the Dodgers, the Cowboys are a storied franchise with a massive fan base that regularly field some of the best teams in their league. And just like the Dodgers, the Cowboys haven’t won a championship (in a normal season) in the current century. Dallas has since winning the Super Bowl
[Cowboys defeat ‘blue jersey curse’ with playoff victory over Buccanneers]
7. Scottie Pippen vs. “The Last Dance”
The second episode of “The Last Dance,” a ten-part documentary about the Chicago Bulls’ final championship season of 1997-98, delved deeply into the life story of the versatile forward who became the superstar sidekick of the greatest players of all time, Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen, who gave interviews on the series, seemed ok with the documentary when it aired in 2020. In his 2021 memoir, he revealed that he felt “humiliated” and “disrespected.” in terms of how Jordan was glorified while belittling in his eyes the performances of Pippen and the rest of the Bulls team. “How dare Michael treat us like this after everything we’ve done for him and his precious brand,” Pippen wrote.
6. Pete Carroll versus the 1-yard line in championship games
Apologies in advance, Seahawks fans. You know where this is going.
Additional apologies to USC fans for reminding the Pete Carroll-led Trojans needed just one yard to thwart the 2006 BCS championship game and thwart Vince Young’s epic comeback in Texas, but Carroll sent running back Lendale White – and not incumbent Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush – to win that court. (Spoiler alert: He didn’t.)
5. The Los Angeles Rams And Phoenix Suns vs. draft picks
Rams general manager Les Snead went viral during the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl run when he embraced the meme saying “F—the-picks” after receiving a bevy of draft had traded selections for established veterans to help his team make it’s first championship since returning to LA in 2016. But the Suns have accomplished quite a bit under general manager James Jones and more recently new owner Mat Ishbia have adopted the NSFW phrase as their motto.
4. Aaron Rodgers vs. modern western medicine
Aaron Rodgers is a big advocate of alternative health practices — from “immunizing” (instead of vaccination) against the coronavirus to his infamous “retreat into darkness” before forcing a switch from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets. Most recently, he traveled to Denver to campaign for the legalization of psychedelics, speaking about his own experiences with such drugs, particularly ayahuasca, as he prepares for a highly anticipated season in New York.
3. Nikola Jokic vs. championship celebrations
After pulling off one of the most dominant singles runs in NBA playoff history, Jokić was stunned to win his first championship and NBA Finals MVP. “The job is done, we can go home now,” he said after the game. He later learned, to his dismay, that he had to stay in Denver a few more days for the Nuggets’ title celebration. Luckily for us, Jokić let off steam at these events and delivered some phenomenal content.
2. Hero of the Revolutionary War Alex Morgan and their tea-drinking against all England
As the USA women’s national team won their second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup title in 2019, star striker Alex Morgan fueled international tensions between USA and Great Britain when she scored her decisive goal from a tee in the semi-final match against England celebrated sipping celebration that went viral. Morgan’s explanationclaiming it was just conjuring up the common motto ‘And this is the tea’ did not satisfy many England fans.
1. Most Popular Instagram Egg vs. Lionel Messi and the World Cup
You thought Messi’s greatest triumph was leading Argentina to a dramatic FIFA Men’s World Cup title in 2022? think again He had one big challenge ahead of him: making a celebratory post to remove the caption of the most-liked Instagram photo from a picture of an egg. (Yes, you read that right.) Of course, Messi succeeded.
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