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Five for Friday: Great moments in Canadian sports

To coincide with Canada Day, we look at five iconic moments in Canadian sports history
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Over the past few weeks Canada has seen some ups and downs in the world of sport, including an historic win that captivated the country, along with a heartbreaking loss at the Women’s World Cup. 

Canada has no shortage of memorable sports moments, including Mike Weir winning the Masters in 2003, the 2014 Canadian women’s hockey team winning its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in overtime, Saskatchewan’s own Sandra Schmirler winning the gold medal in curling at the 1998 Olympics, the women’s soccer team winning bronze at the 2016 Olympics, and countless others.

This week, to coincide with Canada Day, we are focusing on five great moments in Canadian sports history.

“Henderson has scored for Canada!”

Even if you weren’t alive to hear Foster Hewitt’s memorable call, you no doubt have it ingrained in your memory. 

Thanks to Paul Henderson’s goal, Canada won Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series by a score of 6-5. The series featured Canada going head-to-head with the Soviets in a battle for hockey supremacy in the midst of the Cold War. It was a hard-fought series that culminated in one of hockey’s most memorable moments.

There are plenty of iconic Canadian goals — including the tic-tac-toe passing between Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux at the 1987 Canada Cup or Sidney Crosby’s “golden goal” at the 2010 Olympics — but these moments will forever pale in comparison to Henderson’s goal, in terms of cultural impact.

Back-to-Back Champions

“Touch ‘em all Joe!” That was the call from legendary Jays announcer Tom Cheek as Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run in Game 6 to win the 1993 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was the second straight World Series victory for Toronto. They were the first team since to win back-to-back championships since the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. 

They Jays previously beat the Atlanta Braves in the 1992 series. That marked the first time the World Series was played outside of the U.S. 

Until the Toronto Raptors’ win earlier this month, the Jays’ 1993 victory marked the last time a Canadian team won a major North American championship (Montreal won the Stanley Cup earlier in ‘93, the last Canadian team to do so).   

For those two seasons the Toronto Blue Jays might have been the most popular team in Canada. Names like Carter, John Olerud, Roberto Alomar, Pat Hentgen, and Paul Molitor became household names. 

Unfortunately, a player’s strike in 1994 ended a potential dream World Series matchup between the Jays and the Expos. Still, Canadian fans will never forget the ‘92 and ’93 Blue Jays.

The Fastest Man Alive

Usain Bolt might be the fastest man alive these days, but for a while that title belonged to Canada’s Donovan Bailey. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, Bailey won the 100m race with a record-setting time of 9.84 seconds. Bailey came from behind to win the race, showcasing his top speed. He would then go on to guide Canada to gold in the 4x100m relay as well.

Bailey’s victory was a great moment, especially since many Canadians could still remember the scandal from the 1988 Seoul Olympics when Ben Johnson was disqualified for doping. 

Bailey would go on to a race for the title of “fastest man alive” against American Michael Johnson, who had won the 200 and 400m. The two would go head-to-head in a much hyped 150m race. Johnson would injure his quad and Bailey would go on to easily win the race with a time of 14.99 seconds. 

A golden farewell

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir went into the 2018 Olympics knowing it would be their last. The pair, had previously won gold in 2010 and silver in 2014. They came out of retirement to compete, hoping to put an exclamation mark on their extraordinary careers. They delivered.

In a memorable performance, Virtue and Moir danced to Moulin Rouge. They earned the ice dancing gold medal and ended up setting a new world record for overall score.

The pair also helped Canada win gold in the team event in Pyeongchang. 

With the ice dancing victory, the two became the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history (three gold, two silver). 

We the North

You couldn’t make this list without the most recent moment in Canadian sports. This win united a country and will likely result in a major uptick in Canadian kids playing basketball.

Kawhi Leonard delivered a performance for the ages. He was named the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP for the second time in his career. The only other players who have accomplished this feat with two different franchises include LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Statistically, Leonard had an all-time great playoff run. https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/6/14/18679089/kawhi-leonard-toronto-raptors-playoff-statistics-historical-context And, like Joe Carters’s homerun, Kawhi’s Game 7 buzzer beater against the Philadelphia 76ers will likely be replayed for decades to come.

Whether Kawhi re-signs with Raptors or not, there is no denying he delivered one of the most memorable moments in Canadian sports history.

Happy Canada Day! 

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