In the first part of this series, I outlined what I felt were the 15th, 14th, and 13th best moments in sports of the 2010s. Now, it’s time to tackle Nos. 12 to 10.
12. The Prayer at Jordan Hare (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkpDz8YyVD8
Everyone forgets that this play existed because of another play that might appear on this list later, but this one was equally miraculous. The seventh-ranked Auburn Tigers trailed the 25th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, 37-38, with under a minute to go. It looked as though Auburn’s hopes of a national championship were gone as they faced a fourth-and-18 with 36 seconds to play.
Nick Marshall stepped up past two Georgia rushers and heaved it deep for sophomore Ricardo Louis. Two Georgia defenders came together to catch the ball, and they collided with each other, popping the ball up into the year and into the arms of the Louis. The receiver wasn’t even looking at the ball when it was tipped; it literally seemed to just fall into his hands. This kept Auburn’s hopes alive and paved the way for their eventual national championship appearance that season.
This would set up another memorable moment higher on this list, but we will save that for another day.
11. Beast Quake (2011)
Perhaps one of the three greatest runs of all time, Marshawn Lynch’s 67-yard rampage almost brought down the roof at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The Seattle Seahawks were NFC West champions despite a 7-9 record, the first team in NFL history to win their division with a losing record.
Their opponent, the New Orleans Saints, were the fifth seed at 11-5. The Saints were favored by 10, but Seattle held a 34-30 lead with just over four minutes left in the game. On second-and-10, Lynch took the handoff for one of the most memorable runs in recent memory.
Lynch took the ball between and tackle and promptly wriggled out of three Saints tacklers. From there, things really got out of hand. Lynch thundered his way past midfield and broke another two tackles as the stadium’s decibel level raised. Lynch crossed the 35 of the Saints and delivered a vicious stiff-arm to Super Bowl 44 hero Tracy Porter and weaved his way into the end zone, grabbing his crotch as the volume ratcheted up yet again.
The run, or as it was dubbed, “Beast Quake,” reportedly caused a nearby seismic station to record a tremor taking place at the stadium because of the fans going nuts. This run set the tone for the Seahawks teams that followed, which reached two straight Super Bowls built around Lynch and won both.
10. Jose Bautista’s Home Run and Bat Flip (2015)
One of the wildest innings of the decade was capped off by a mammoth shot and an even more mammoth celebration. Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays was a tightly-contested affair through the first six innings.
Tied at two in the seventh, a wild throw back to the pitcher hit Shin-Soo Choo’s bat and allowed Rougned Odor to score. In the bottom of the inning, three straight errors by Texas loaded the bases, before an RBI single brought Bautista to the plate with two men on and the score tied. Bautista took Sam Dyson deep before hurling his bat down the first-base line and trotting around the bases as Blue Jays fans lost their minds.
The 53-minute inning ended with the Blue Jays on top, and they went on to win the game and the series. The home run was one of the most dramatic moments of the decade and definitely deserved a spot on this list.
