Often times, there are discussions about who the most exciting player is in their particular sport.  In basketball, it was Michael Jordan, and now it’s LeBron or Kobe or Kevin Garnett.  In baseball, it has to be Pujols.  Michael Vick used to be the guy in football before something happened to him.  But what about the single most exciting general plays in sports? 

I am sure I am missing something, but here you go. 
7. World Cup blocked penalty kicks

These are amazing not only because should they seemingly never happen (200 mph kick from ten feet away blocked?), but you can just picture one entire country screaming with joy, and another ready to gauge their eyes out with a small knife, which is only a slight exaggeration.



6. NCAA Tournament buzzer beaters

If this were only “buzzer beaters that allow a high seed to beat a low seed or ones that allowed your pool team to survive,” it would be much higher.  Seeing a 10-seed battle a 2 all the way to the end, only to have the 2 win at the buzzer, is almost a bit of a letdown.  But ones like Bryce Drew’s in 1998 can still give one chills almost ten years later.



5. Jumping off the top rope

This used to be a much bigger deal.  When Superfly Snuka or Macho Man headed to the top rope, the entire arena got to its feet and screamed.  Thanks to the WWF/ECW/WCW of the late 90s and early 00s, crowds now clamor for guys to go past the top rope to the top of a cage, do a triple somersault, and land on a chair.



4. Returning a kick for a touchdown

People who saw the Bears game last week got a taste of it twice, as Devin Hester juked, ran, and jumped over people as he scored two more run-backs.  This play probably gets more “Oh my God—that’s unbelievable!” reactions than anything else.



3. Balks

There is no other single play in sports where the official/referee/umpire screams the call at their top of their lungs, while most people look around wondering what in the world happened.  Also, probably less than 50% of fans understand what a balk is, making it even more exciting when it actually happens.  Learn to appreciate the balk.

2. Destroying a home run

Probably the most memorable home run of this generation that was simply annihilated was Jose Canseco’s 1989 blast at SkyDome in Toronto during the ALCS, where he hit it in the very top of what seemed like 17 decks.  Albert Pujols’s shot in the 2005 NLCS was quite a bomb too.  What’s strange about home runs that travel insane distances is that sometimes the farthest ones do not even seem like they are hit with effort.  Mark McGwire consistently hit further homers than anyone, but they looked nothing like the ones that someone like Eric Davis hit.

1. Dunking on someone

Michael Jordan spinning three Knicks out of the way and dunking on Patrick Ewing.  Scottie Pippen dunking on Patrick Ewing and throwing him to the floor.  Actually, there are several other examples of guys dunking on Ewing.  Or Shawn Bradley.  There isn’t quite anything else that can get fans hyped more than seeing someone dunk right on top of someone else, especially when they look like they are pissed off as they do it.  Charles Barkley was the king of this.  You may have been too on your 8 foot 6 inch rim in your front yard, which is probably why this one is at the top.  A lot of us can relate, albeit on a much smaller scale.



The Top 7 is written by Jason Major.  He enjoys dunking Oreo Cookies in his milk and sodies.  Email him at jason@joesportsfan.com

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