Sports are some of the most inspiring and thrilling moments that millions of fans capture every day. While they might be exhilarating to watch, there are also a few moments that have left us scratching our heads as to what happened. These moments make us wonder what we just witnessed and how it happened.
These historic sporting moments may have even shaped the history and the legacy of every sport that we enjoy today. In this list, we gather some of the most historic yet strange sports moments in the past few years.
Parachute Guy Drops In Mid-Match
In sports, you can always expect a few mishaps here and there, but none could have ever imagined that it would be this far out.
In 1993, when Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield were about to take on each other in a historic match, an uninvited guest suddenly came crashing from the ceiling with a parachute.
The man was known as Fan Man or James Miller, where he parachuted inside the event and landed on several audience. A scuffle soon followed that led to a lot of confusion while the fighters were inside the ring, doing everything they could to win the battle.
It took officials and security to tear James Miller away from the crowd, and after a lengthy break, the fight resumed, but the entire event was already marred with the fiasco.
The Battle of the Sexes
The Battle of the Sexes came to a head when tennis players Bille Jean King and Bobby Riggs got into an argument about female empowerment in the field of tennis against male chauvinism within the sport.
Both athletes were so impassioned by their stance that everyone wanted them to settle it within the tennis court as the match of the century.
This became what is now known as the Battle of the Sexes, where it was only one of the few times a male tennis player would play against a female player.
Riggs even mentioned that he would beat any female player at the time, and on September 20, 1973, he would fold over to King, thus proving her point that Riggs was wrong. This ended the debate about gender issues in tennis and ultimately led to gender equality within the sport.
Ghost Goals
Football fans probably know this controversial take that happened during the 1966 World Cup final and in 2005's English Premier League.
During the time, England was up against West Germany for the cup, where Geoff Hurst went for the score but ultimately hit the crossbar and bounced into the goal line.
A commotion happened claiming there was no goal, but after a few consultations, the referee awarded the point to England. England would then win their only World Cup, which many people thought was very controversial.
This happened again in 2005 when the ball crossed the line, but the goal was not awarded to the team that made it.
Dog Makes a Save
In Argentina, you would never believe that a dog came in at a very crucial moment of a football match just to make a historic appearance in the sport.
When a player from the attacking team tried to make a good move, the dog suddenly came out of nowhere and caught the ball before it could hit the goal by diving directly for the ball.
This was captured on television and people were in awe at how the dog was able to do such a feat. The entire goal-saving fiasco immediately went viral and caught the eyes of many football fans all over the world.
What Happens When You Don't Have Enough Players Left?
Many team-based sports often have a specific number of players allowed to play. But what happens when there are not enough players left to play the rest of the game?
This happened in a basketball game where the Los Angeles Lakers were up against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The usual 14 players of the LA Lakers were whittled down to just four players left.
This happened when Nick Young got taken out by an injury, Jordan Farmar suffered cramps, and Chris Kaman was ejected from the court due to a foul. The last player that compromised the five-starting lineup was also in trouble of getting ejected from the court. So, what happens now?
The rules mentioned that no team can play with only four members, so the fifth member must continue to play even with violations. The amazing surprise in the end was that the Lakers also won this game.
The Football Player Who Went Against the Nazis
Known as the Paper Man due to his lighter build, Matthias Sindelar is one of the only brave people to ever go against the Nazis and Hitler.
He was an Austrian football player at the time when Germany was about to annex Austria, his home country, in the 1938 World Cup.
At the time, Austria was allowed to play one last football match against Germany before they were incorporated into the German team.
There were rumors that they were intended to lose the match against Germany, but Sindelar made it upon himself that Austria were to win. Not less than a year later, Sindelar was found dead due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Time Michael Jordan Retired
Michael Jordan was at the height of his career when he was at the age of 29. People and many other players were in awe of his skills and talent on the court.
It comes as a surprise that he decided to retire following the death of his father just before they were about to train for the next season. Every player and organization within the basketball world was caught off guard by his decision.
It left a very large void in the sport knowing how Jordan defined modern basketball. The world stopped on the day Michael decided to retire, but he was later well-received by many when he decided to take on baseball instead.
Conclusion
These are just some of the strange sports moments that left us all speechless while others were amused or outraged. These incidents have become part of the sporting history and may have influenced a lot of the rules and regulations of the game today.
