The Malice at the Palace was insane, but also blew the last legitimate shot for the Pacers to win an NBA Title. That team was stacked. I went from rooting for one of the 3 best teams in the league to a sad sack franchise that barely had enough players active to play.

I was so fired up for that season and it was over after a month. Fucking Artest.

I had the Malice At The Palace at #4. Fights in all major sports were not all that uncommon. But I had never seen a fight spill into the stands like that before. Crazy scene. Definitely shocking.

Also, fuck the Pacers. Then. Now. Forever. Yeah, I'm still not over Indiana and that damn Reggie Miller knocking my beloved Knicks out of the playoffs all those times back in the 90s.

Mar 27, 2020 19:00:24 GMT CM Punk'd said:

Mar 27, 2020 18:19:07 GMT Shootist said:

And the Mike Milbury incident that I mentioned for posterity:



I did have a huge hockey brawl on my list but it happened in junior.

Would it be the Pierstany Brawl at the '87 World Junior Champioships?

3. 1993 Michael Jordan Retirement 

I didn't really start watching basketball until right after this when the Magic and Rockets and such took stage because of Jordans departure so I couldn't vote for it. I get it though and reading the stories as to why and such is insane. The gambling debts , the mystery surrounding his fathers death - just crazy.

I honestly thought this one was going to finish #1. I think I know the next two but I’m not going to spoil it. I will say one is NBA and one MLB for my guess.

But MJ retiring was wild but to be honest, this mini retirement and going to baseball is probably what helped make MJ the GOAT that he is. It happens with musicians too. Actors as well. Sometimes they keep trying to ride a momentum where it gets stale and people stop losing respect. Think about Tom Brady. 6 Super Bowl wins. Yet people still debate if he is truly the GOAT. Why? Because he just kept doing it and doing it.

MJ left at the top and when he came back, he literally went right to the top again. It was sort of like he was letting someone else win it all and then came back and just took the throne. This retirement, as shocking as it was at the time was definitely a big shaping of his legacy in a positive way. Plus Space Jam.

bodyslam, 0-10

This was my #1.

I was 9 years old, so right at the peak of my childhood sports fandom. I had spent the past 3 years rooting for the Bulls, and like almost every other 90s kid my life revolved around Saturday morning cartoons and wanting to Be Like Mike.

Then the fucker retired and crushed the souls of millions of kids around the world. Just out of nowhere. 3 championships, right in his prime, and he QUITS!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MERCH MY PARENTS BOUGHT!?

There’s a very good chance I was wearing a Bulls hat and t-shirt when this news broke.

I didn’t learn about the theories about his retirement and father’s death until much later, but that didn’t help. I was devastated. I just wanted MJ back. The night he returned was a party in my house. My mom went out and got Wendy’s and I was wearing Air Jordan’s in my living room.

Mar 28, 2020 15:55:36 GMT 🤯 said:

bodyslam , 0-10

it happens to the best of us

This didn't make my list either due to my rules but is still a more than worthy addition. That entire summer was a shocker with his father's death piling on to his sudden departure.

Due to my oddball more niche choices at best I'll be 4 for 10.

I had Jordan's first retirement at #2.

It was shocking to see a young guy in his prime retire outta nowhere. Jordan was the most popular athlete in America and had just threepeated. I don't recall his retirement ever being rumored or hinted at. Then BAM! Jordan calls it quits.

Like RT I didn't learn about the theories until many years later. Unlike RT, I was a Bulls hater (they always won! BORING!) who was thrilled because my beloved Knicks finally had a good shot to win the East (they did!), and then the NBA Championship (they didn't ).

The name of this list should have been "Most shocking sports moments since 1990" Gretzky is the only one that precedes that.

Mar 28, 2020 23:22:11 GMT thereallt said:

The name of this list should have been "Most shocking sports moments since 1990" Gretzky is the only one that precedes that.

Or "Most Shocking Moments Related To But Not Directly In Sports"

2. Tyson Bites Holyfield 

Mar 28, 2020 23:42:18 GMT 🤯 said:

Mar 28, 2020 23:22:11 GMT thereallt said:

The name of this list should have been "Most shocking sports moments since 1990" Gretzky is the only one that precedes that.

Or "Most Shocking Moments Related To But Not Directly In Sports"

Stahp. Did it get immense coverage in the sports world? Did it have an impact on sports going forward? It counts. I get what LT is saying and it's not getting any better but also not surprising , especially in this topic where it's hard to place ourselves in things that happened before we could be shocked by them in the moment. 


Anyways Tyson biting Holyfield was bizarre , another thing I remember seeing the night it happened. I put it on my list because not only was it insane but it also led to the WWF getting Tyson and turning the tables in the attitude era. This was such a huge moment not only in sports but in wrestling as well and changed the face of the industry. 

And looking back at Tyson even before this , the shit he said in interviews and him being batshit crazy from the start - is it really that shocking he bit someone? In the moment for sure but in hindsight I can kind of say "yeah that makes sense". 

Hey, bodyslam, I'm finally on the board!

This moment terrified me as a youngster. I didn't see it, just heard about it, and imagined the goriest scene imaginable. I was instantly afraid of and so angry at Mike Tyson. I was Team Holyfield all the way because of this.

Funnily enough, I was never more into boxing than I was at this time because of this.

Then years later I grow up, learn more, see the vid/pics, and realize Mike at the time was unstable enough that antics like this shouldn't have been all that surprising, that it wasn't half as gory as some of the worst shit I'd seen in MMA by that point, and also Mike had redeemed himself between his WWF appearances and finally Hangover.

Also, I'm blanking now, but... Didn't Holyfield get his vengeance by winning a rematch?

Oh fuck yes!

Another one I totally forgot! Actually glad I do isn’t make a list because I would’ve forgot this and Malice. This was a HUGE moment and still is. One of the craziest things to ever happen in sports and #2 is worthy.

I watched this at my cousins house with my parents. My dad and my cousins dad were huge Tyson fans so when this happened everyone was stunned. I remember being confused too and pissed that Tyson got disqualified. At that age I figured you could fight with one ear.

I had Tyson biting Holyfield's ear at #7 and looking back I probably should have ranked it higher. I actually watched this happen live at a party and was a huge holy shit moment for everyone.

I watched it live too. My uncle is a sports nut and pretty big into gambling (story for another time). Anyway he had the fight and invited anyone in the family over that wanted to watch it.

My mom wasn’t interested but any excuse to hang out with her brother’s wife and ignore us for a few hours. My sisters played with our cousins while my uncle and I were the only ones in the living room watching the fight.

When it happened I had walked to the kitchen to get pop (grape Crush, only thing my uncle drank) and I can vividly remember my uncle shouting “HE BIT HIM! HE FUCKING BIT HIM!” Ran back into the living room and we just sat there in stunned silence.

My uncle bet on Holyfield so I guess he won? :lol:

I had this at #6 and it should have been higher too. Again I overrated Kobe’s death.

Mar 29, 2020 18:10:40 GMT RT said:

I watched it live too. My uncle is a sports nut and pretty big into gambling (story for another time). Anyway he had the fight and invited anyone in the family over that wanted to watch it.

My mom wasn’t interested but any excuse to hang out with her brother’s wife and ignore us for a few hours. My sisters played with our cousins while my uncle and I were the only ones in the living room watching the fight.

When it happened I had walked to the kitchen to get pop (grape Crush, only thing my uncle drank) and I can vividly remember my uncle shouting “HE BIT HIM! HE FUCKING BIT HIM!” Ran back into the living room and we just sat there in stunned silence.

My uncle bet on Holyfield so I guess he won?

Probably why he was screaming HE BIT HIM! He wanted the fight over with and money in his pocket lol. 

I didn't vote for Holyfield/Tyson because it effected the result of the fight. And I thought those weren't allowed for the list.

Mar 29, 2020 19:32:50 GMT CM Punk'd said:

I didn't vote for Holyfield/Tyson because it effected the result of the fight. And I thought those weren't allowed for the list.

Well it wasn’t like a upset KO or something. He literally chewed on another person.

My number 2, even before that with the Holyfield headbutts and Tyson having two go's at Holyfield's ear, one of the more bizarre events I've ever watched. This was actually the rematch 🤯 after Holyfield got him by TKO about 6 months before.

I had Tyson bites Holyfield's ear at #5. It's a man taking a bite out of another man's ear in the middle of a boxing match. Definitely shocking. Though in hindsight I agree with some of you in that we shouldn't have been shocked by ANYTHING Mike Tyson did.

I know I did not see this live. The way I remember it, I heard about it on a bus in the Maryland beach resort of Ocean City. Yet I do not remember taking a summer vacation that year. The fight took place in late June. We usually took our family vacation in mid July. Nor do I recall going to "the Ocean" with any friends or relatives. Yet hearing about Tyson biting Holyfield's ear on the OC bus is a distinct memory. Weird.

1. Dale Earnhardt Dies in a Crash 

I was shocked to not only see this take first place , but the fact that it was a landslide victory on PW. Not that it wasn't shocking but I didn't think it would resonate on this board as much because I rarely see Nascar brought up.

I was never super into Nascar but I had family that was , particularly one aunt who was obsessed with it and as with most at that time , Dale Earnhardt was far and away her favorite and you would have thought a member of her family died. I know it was a big deal and he was the biggest star in that sport - it would have been akin to seeing Jordan die on the court.

I remember watching the video then and now too and thinking the crash itself never looked that bad compared to other Nascar wrecks where people walk away fine. I imagine that adds to the shock factor.

Well forgot about this too. Thought Magic Johnson getting AIDS was going to win it. Also thought “Today I consider myself the luckiest man in the world” speech was going to make it.

Definitely one of the worst things to ever happen in sports though. A worthy #1.

1. The Marshall Tragedy (1970)
2.1972 Munich Massacre(1972 Olympics)
3.Muhammad Ali refusing to be drafted into the US Army
4.Tommie Smith and John Carlos Black power salute (1968 Olympics)
5.Nancy Kerrigan assaulted with a crowbar
6.Roy Jones Jr. cheated out of gold medal (1988 Olympics)
7.Tyson bites Holyfield's ear
8.Dale Earnhardt killed in final lap of Daytona 500
9.Randy Johnson hits bird with a fastball
10.Music City Miracle.

I had Earnhardt's death ranked at #8. Nascar is dangerous and that risk is always there, but you never thought it would happen to a driver of his caliber, a guy that was in the short running for GOAT of his chosen sport.

The first 4 on my list IMO are easily the most shocking moments in sports history.

I forget the timing, but #3 dying is somehow kinda linked with 9/11 in my head in terms of real time memories and reactions.

My dad had always been big into racing, raced himself, and had even done an event on Daytona maybe a handful of years prior to this. Made it all the more surreal and impactful.