Sporting Moments of the Year Part 1

By many

2024 has been another massive year for sport. Here at Sportsfreak Towers, we’ve each come up with our Sporting Moment of the Year (or four if your name is Ryan Nixon), written in our own words.

Aiden McLaughlin (@womble101)

Has there been a bigger turnaround in fortunes than the White Ferns this year?

They had just two competitive wins from 19 games before they turned up in the UAE, following the T20 World Cup’s move from original host country, Bangladesh.

Sick of the sight of England and Australia, they knew beating India in their opening match would open the door to a potential semi-final spot.

Suddenly the draw opened up for them and instead of England in the last four it was the West Indies and instead of Australia in the final, it was South Africa.

T20 can be a fickle format for sure, but when some of the modern greats such as Devine and Bates got their golden moment, I shed more than a few tears.

Benji Crossley (@bopman1)

In general, the Crusaders absolutely disastrous Super Rugby season. Was beautiful to watch. But particularly when the Blues belted them at Eden Park and they slipped to 0 and 5. Just glorious stuff.

Hat tip to being in the Fever Zone when Oskar Zawada scored in the 99th minute of the semi-final and spending the next 90 seconds screaming at my best mate “what just happened” while he chose that moment to tell me that he and his partner were expecting their first child.

Marty Hearnden (@marty_57)

FA Cup Final – Manchester United 2 Manchester City 1. This was supposed to be a formality, so much so that this United fan, despite being in Europe, made no attempt to watch the match fearing a humiliation. What followed was astonishing as United, playing their very best under Erik Ten Hag, bolted to a 2-0 lead at HT, it could easily have been more.

City managed to regain their composure after the break but apart from a late consolation never really threatened. The red half of the city and unusually, most of the neutrals, celebrated a famous win. Ten Hag kept his job, at least until November and City? Did this result foreshadow what was to be a pretty desperate start to the 24/25 season?

Kiwi Kali (@kiwi_kali)

Simone Biles was the story of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021), for all the wrong reasons, developing “the twisties” and withdrawing from competition, in an unexpected positive move opening up a conversation about mental health in athletes. Paris 2024 was billed as Biles’ redemption, and she more than lived up to it, winning three gold and one silver medal, for a total Olympics tally of 11 medals, 7 of which are gold. In case you missed the hype, there is the obligatory Netflix series to document it all for posterity.

Graeme Woolf (@gcwoolf)

The Sporting Moment of the Year for me is the Blackcaps beating India in India 3-0.  I love Test Cricket, and the timings were perfect for TV viewing, so I watched a good chunk of the series.  I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing for the most part, and as it was becoming apparent that history was upon us, the smile couldn’t’ be wiped off my face.  With India chasing only 147 to win the 3^rd Test, it was anyone’s game.  Some teams would’ve called it and been happy with a 2-1 series win, but not this Blackcaps Team.  We kept fighting and when that last wicket fell, I jumped off my chair in pure excitement.  What a time to be alive!

Hamish Girvan (@girvana)

 Superbowl Sunday (or Monday in NZ): The Kansas City Chiefs defeating the San Francisco 49ers and going back-to-back champions kicked off 2024 well. The first team to go back-to-back since the New England Patriots 20 years beforehand in 2004. A historical threepeat is on the cards too.

Hayden Wilde – Olympic Triathlon: I have never really been invested in watching triathlons but this one in Paris was compelling. Wilde finished with a silver after being chased down in the last throes however the tension of it all was must watch viewing

The Wellington Axemen: Grass roots club rugby still exists in this world of corporatised Super and All Black rugby. Like the 2011 RWC final this was tension to behold for the team’s first victory in 43 matches.

Andrew McGoff (@kloppgoff)

I’m sure this piece will be filled with some amazing, unforgettable moments, that the NZ sporting public can relate to. Mine is a bit more personal. In October I got to fulfil a dream, which was taking my 2 sons to watch Liverpool play at Anfield.

My earliest Liverpool memory was watching Liverpool beat Everton 3-1 in the 1986 FA Cup final. Since then, I’ve been hooked. When living in the UK I was lucky enough to get to a few games, and since moving home, and having kids, one of my biggest dreams has been to take them to Anfield.

My mate Sam, passed me on his, and his friend’s tickets, and we sat in the famous Kop as Liverpool played Bologna in the Champions League. We had tears in our eyes as You’ll Never Walk Alone was sung, embraced as Salah scored in front of us, and sat there in awe, not wanting to leave, when the fulltime whistle sounded. Unforgettable.

The Boss (@sportsfreakconz)
From all accounts there are good psychedelic trips and there are bad ones.

For most of the year the Black Caps were on a downer, but for three extraordinary weeks in October and November it was Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds; it was Woodstock; it was Echoes in Pompeii.

The first innings in Bengalaru lasted about as long as Echoes.  New Zealand skittled the unbeatable side at home for 46 via some great bowling and even better catching.

The purple haze continued in Pune.  Mitch Santner 13 wickets.

Time to get onto Cricinfo to check this stuff actually happened.  Yes, it really did.

Then to Mumbai.  Surely, they’ve got a mind-altered brain already on the plane home?  Ajaz Patel had been quiet, so just the 11 wickets here.

The overlapping White Ferns coming off 10 straight defeats to win the ICC T20 World Cup added an extra layer.

Time to get onto Cricinfo to check this stuff actually happened.  Yes, it really did.  Both of them did.