# Who do you wish you could see?



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Let’s play a game.
1) who do you wish you could see play, that you never did?

2)who did you see play that you wish others could have seen?

me: 1) Babe Ruth, followed by rocket richard, prime gordie Howe or Bobby Orr.

2) Mike Tyson. I’ve never seen anyone so dominant in a sport as Mike in his prime.


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

1) Eddie Mercx. Nobody has dominated their sport the way he dominated cycling. Nicklaus would be a close second. (Clearly I disagree with you about Iron Mike.😋)

2) Bryan Fogarty. Not the most successful, but IMHO, the best hockey player to come out of Brantford. Sundin said Fogarty was better drunk than anyone he played with sober. I saw Fogarty play junior, when he was breaking Bobby Orr's records. He was magical on skates.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

1) My mind immediately leapt to prime Gordie, I’m old enough to have seen him play WHA. 

2) The mid-late 70s dominant Canadiens team. I lived in Montreal for 2 years just before they got good. Went to the Forum once, I think Michel Plasse started and it was Bunny Laroque’s rookie year. Anyways, we moved away but I followed them religiously until the Jets hit the NHL. Best d-core ever, almost all HOFers, no wonder Dryden was so good. Lafleur Shutt Lemaire Cournyer PMahovlich etc up front. Scotty Bowman didn‘t just win in Montreal, but he won a lot there. What a team.

Holy cow, this is their _backup_ goalie, lookit the crazy W-L numbers he had too, I don’t remember _that_!





Michel Larocque - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Diablo said:


> Let’s play a game.
> 1) who do you wish you could see play, that you never did?
> 
> 2)who did you see play that you wish others could have seen?
> ...


I saw Babe Ruth in Ottawa at Lansdowne Park. Robert Palmer and Elke Brooks on vocals. Pretty fine band. I think they warmed up for Manfred Mann but it may have been the other way around.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

1) Roy Halladay. My childhood sports here.

2) Jean-Sébastien Giguère. Watched him, Shelley, and Tanguay play street hockey in front of my house when I was a kid. They all played for the local QMJHL team.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

The US/Russia series at Lake Placid.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Paul M said:


> 1) Eddie Mercx. Nobody has dominated their sport the way he dominated cycling. Nicklaus would be a close second. (Clearly I disagree with you about Iron Mike.😋)


we can disagree about iron Mike...esp bc I’ve never heard of Eddie Merckx  as someone who doesn’t follow cycling, the only name I know is, well, you know who...
nicklaus...great golfer...I don’t think of him as being as dominant in his sport (considering Palmer, Woods) the way Mike was, but definitely top 5 of all time.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Diablo said:


> we can disagree about iron Mike...esp bc I’ve never heard of Eddie Merckx  as someone who doesn’t follow cycling, the only name I know is, well, you know who...
> nicklaus...great golfer...I don’t think of him as being as dominant in his sport (considering Palmer, Woods) the way Mike was, but definitely top 5 of all time.


It just didn’t last that long, at least on top. He was a bum for a long time, and not generally considered a top 3-5 all time guy. Go thru Ali Jack Johnson Dempsey Louis, all spent more time on top. But he was a fearsome beast no doubt, I watched him from when he was doing Saturday afternoon network TV fights at I believe 19, there was no one in recent memory who fought like that. I drove 2 hours to Regina with 3 other guys to watch 91 seconds of, was it Spinks or Berbick?


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

1.) Bobby Orr in his prime live at the game. I've seen him play on TV
2.) Freddie Mercury with Queen.
3.) Muhammad Ali (Live)


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

Diablo said:


> we can disagree about iron Mike...esp bc I’ve never heard of Eddie Merckx  as someone who doesn’t follow cycling, the only name I know is, well, you know who...
> nicklaus...great golfer...I don’t think of him as being as dominant in his sport (considering Palmer, Woods) the way Mike was, but definitely top 5 of all time.


Jack won Majors over a 23 year span. From '62 to '80 he was out of the top 5 at the British Open only twice. For Tiger to catch Jack, Tiger needs to have Phil Mickleson's career to date. Roughly Tiger + Phil = Jack. Tyson's career at the top was very high, but short. Tiger had better media coverage than Jack....just products of their times, I suppose.

Foreman and Chivalo are the only two with long and successful careers in boxing that come to mind.

Edwin Moses won 122 consecutive races in 400m hurdles over a 10 year span. In '67 Richard Petty won 27 races, included 10 in a row. Al Oerter won 4 consecutive Olympic gold medals in discus. Swimmer Dara Torres won olympics medals in '84 and '08. She medaled in 5 different games. She didn't dominate like Phelps, but a 24 year winning career in swimming is almost unimaginable. Lots of ways out there to argue most dominant in any field.

It's really hard to compare sports. I'm not a Mike Tyson fan, but he is definitely on the list of people I don't want to get punched by. 

And... not for nothing....this morning I broke my own personal record for consecutive days still alive. I've been on a bit of a hot streak since the mid 60's. I'm not even 1/2 way to the world record. 

Interesting topic....thanks for starting it.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Paul M said:


> 1) Eddie Mercx. Nobody has dominated their sport the way he dominated cycling. Nicklaus would be a close second. (Clearly I disagree with you about Iron Mike.😋)
> 
> 2) * Bryan Fogarty. *Not the most successful, but IMHO, the best hockey player to come out of Brantford. Sundin said Fogarty was better drunk than anyone he played with sober. I saw Fogarty play junior, when he was breaking Bobby Orr's records. He was magical on skates.


Like this comparison taken from wiki



> Fogarty's talent was apparent right away. Brantford Minor Hockey Association coordinator Bob Coyne told reporters that "he was a star. From the time he put skates on, he was better than everyone else. "We had seen Wayne (Gretzky). Wayne had to work at it. His game was outsmarting everybody else. Fogarty's game was outperforming everybody else. That's like comparing a Volkswagen to a Corvette."[3]


Then in an attempt to straighten him out the room him with Kordic? That was doomed to failure.



> The Nordiques knew about his drinking problem and sent him to an alcohol rehab clinic in Minnesota, provided a psychologist, and housed him with a family in Quebec City. They roomed him with another hockey player who was looking to straighten out his life: John Kordic.


Would have been fantastic to see what Fogarty would have been able to become with out the demons.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

keto said:


> It just didn’t last that long, at least on top. He was a bum for a long time, and not generally considered a top 3-5 all time guy. Go thru Ali Jack Johnson Dempsey Louis, all spent more time on top. But he was a fearsome beast no doubt, I watched him from when he was doing Saturday afternoon network TV fights at I believe 19, there was no one in recent memory who fought like that. I drove 2 hours to Regina with 3 other guys to watch 91 seconds of, was it Spinks or Berbick?


oh Mike definitely didnt have a long career the way, frankly many others did. He was a wasted talent due to his personal life.
It was his intensity in his prime that makes me think of him as so dominant, and what sets him apart from the rest. I mean, just lasting a minute in the ring with him was considered an accomplishment. 
But ya, I totally see how hes a controversial pick...but an interesting one bc you can put a layperson in front of tapes of Ali, Foreman etc and Im not sure they would get their greatness. But watch a couple of Mikes fights in his prime and just about anyone would walk away looking like


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Paul M said:


> 1) Eddie Mercx. Nobody has dominated their sport the way he dominated cycling. Nicklaus would be a close second. (Clearly I disagree with you about Iron Mike.😋)
> 
> 2) Bryan Fogarty. Not the most successful, but IMHO, the best hockey player to come out of Brantford. Sundin said Fogarty was better drunk than anyone he played with sober. I saw Fogarty play junior, when he was breaking Bobby Orr's records. He was magical on skates.





guitarman2 said:


> Like this comparison taken from wiki
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thanks for bringing Fogarty into this...I admit, Im not familiar with him.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Paul M said:


> Jack won Majors over a 23 year span. From '62 to '80 he was out of the top 5 at the British Open only twice. For Tiger to catch Jack, Tiger needs to have Phil Mickleson's career to date. Roughly Tiger + Phil = Jack. Tyson's career at the top was very high, but short. Tiger had better media coverage than Jack....just products of their times, I suppose.
> 
> Foreman and Chivalo are the only two with long and successful careers in boxing that come to mind.
> 
> ...


good points.
Just to circle back, this isnt a "who was the best in each sport?" discussion....its who would you most like to see or think others should see. Its about the visual experience, not statistical.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Diablo said:


> good points.
> Just to circle back, this isnt a "who was the best in each sport?" discussion....its who would you most like to see or think others should see. Its about the visual experience, not statistical.


Yeah, in the #2 category, I saw a guy named Kevin Haller with the Regina Pats (played with Mike Sillinger). Now, Haller isn't unknown, he was a 1st rounder and had a 13 year career cut by injury, so he was a legit NHLer. But I've never seen someone so impressive live in a hockey game, he was fast and dominant. Sillinger was more 'be in the right place at the right time', had 3 points that night and seemed to have done nothing. Nobody's putting Haller in any HOF or all timer lists, but for that 1 game, it was WOW. But he wouldn't be that widely known or remembered today.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Interesting question.

1) Howe in his prime (so not WHA)
2) Jim Clark
3) Spartacus

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more.


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

Diablo said:


> good points.
> Just to circle back, this isnt a "who was the best in each sport?" discussion....its who would you most like to see or think others should see. Its about the visual experience, not statistical.


Just to circle back to your original post..... Did you see Tyson fight live? That would be verrrrrrry cool. I'd love to go to the Kentucky Derby some day. Secretariat would have been a horse to see run in person.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Andy Irons.


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## StratCat (Dec 30, 2013)

Every game of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers World Series


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## JHall55 (Dec 6, 2016)

Paul Running said:


> Andy Irons.


Yes!! Definitely on my list for part 2 of the OP’s question...”who did you see play you that you wish others could have seen?”











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

I'd love to sit on a jetski for a day and watch Polakow or any other top windsurfer ride that monster wave at Jaws. A pro windsurfer friend of mine did that (sit on a jetski) and says it is nothing like what you can ever imagine. The roar of zillions of tons of water crashing is out of this world. Imagine riding that tiny piece of laminated stryrofoam on it !


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

JHall55 said:


> ”who did you see play you that you wish others could have seen?”


Most of the surfer's that I have seen live were amateur status and the competitions were as so...other than surfers, mostly junior hockey players, before they played pro. Used to go to 67s games when the Petes played. I always liked Andy Irons style and his attitude towards life in general.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

I'm assuming live in person viewing

1. Kobe Bryant

2. Barry Sanders at the Silverdome. Have you ever heard 80 000 people gasp simultaneously? 
Jack Nicklaus at 1976 Open at Essex GCC. My first glimpse of him, he was simply talking on the putting green with Tom Weiskopf, but his aura mesmerized the fans. I used up all my instamatic camera shots in about 5 minutes.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

leftysg said:


> I'm assuming live in person viewing
> 
> 1. Kobe Bryant
> 
> ...


I agree with Barry. Watched him at the silver dome as a kid almost every Sunday they were home. Unreal to see in Person.

Not an athlete but sports experience is a Saturday at the big house for Michigan vs. Ohio State. Haven’t been as an adult but as a kid it was downright terrifying yet electric and exciting all at the same time.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Diablo said:


> we can disagree about iron Mike...esp bc I’ve never heard of Eddie Merckx  as someone who doesn’t follow cycling, the only name I know is, well, you know who...
> nicklaus...great golfer...I don’t think of him as being as dominant in his sport (considering Palmer, Woods) the way Mike was, but definitely top 5 of all time.


I hope you read a bit about Merckx now.  He's like the Gretzky, Tiger Woods, or Richard Petty of cycling, except bigger. Being a mostly European sport it's not unexpected you hadn't heard of him, and his greatest point in his career was, well, almost 50 years ago. His 1 hour record from Mexico stood for decades.

I would want to see Villeneuve in a race... I watched him on TV as a kid but never saw him in person.
Current sports people... maybe a Penguins game with Crosby. It felt a little bit more normal last Saturday with hockey on.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

tomee2 said:


> I would want to see Villeneuve in a race... I watched him on TV as a kid but never saw him in person.
> Current sports people... maybe a Penguins game with Crosby. It felt a little bit more normal last Saturday with hockey on.


I presume you mean Gilles, not Jacques  but depends on your age.
Great pick. I was a big fan of Gilles when I was a kid...they were different times in racing for sure...just about all those guys were too reckless by todays standards (likely why few of the greats lived to tell about it) but gosh it was entertaining. Unfortunately as a kid seeing almost all my heroes die tragically, put me off the sport for many years.

Crosby IMO is someone who looks better on paper than on the ice. he does all the little things right, works like a MFer and has a great head for the game. but visually hes less spectacular than quite a few players even in his own generation.
I remember seeing Joe Thornton in his prime in one of his first games after being traded to SJ. I won ice level tix at my company. I knew he was good, but I still remember after the puck was dropped, what a beast he was...huge and hungry and simply skating around or through anyone that was in his way to the puck. It was really striking. I dont think ive seen anyone else at an NHL game leave me with as big an impression (except maybe Vasilevskiy). Other players dazzle you with speed or skill...I dont know that Crosby still makes as strong an impression visually, as maybe when he was a kid in "The Q". His game has matured to be somewhat workmanlike. But I hope you fullfill your desire to see him nonetheless. As he'll likely go into the books as one of the all time greats, we all should!

I got to see Luoungo play at a home game in his last year as a Panther...it was fun, not bc he was so amazing (he did have a great game in relief of Reimer while getting manhandled by TB), but the crowd loved him so much and showed it.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

BGood said:


> I'd love to sit on a jetski for a day and watch Polakow or any other top windsurfer ride that monster wave at Jaws. A pro windsurfer friend of mine did that (sit on a jetski) and says it is nothing like what you can ever imagine. The roar of zillions of tons of water crashing is out of this world. Imagine riding that tiny piece of laminated stryrofoam on it !


thanks for posting this...man it brings back memories...I was a huge windsurfing fan in the 90s...robby naish, bjorn dunkerbeck, mark angulo....I gotta google those guys and see whatever happened to them!
I gave it a good shot myself, but I sucked...its hard to improve with SW. ontario's spotty, usually poor conditions.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Paul M said:


> Just to circle back to your original post..... Did you see Tyson fight live? That would be verrrrrrry cool. I'd love to go to the Kentucky Derby some day. Secretariat would have been a horse to see run in person.


I didnt, I wish I did. I was a Toronto high school punk without any means when he was in his prime. I remember one kid at my school had a black satin Tyson Vs Berbick jacket that I presume he got at the fight or his father got him.
it was cool and gay at the same time lol.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

Diablo said:


> thanks for posting this...man it brings back memories...I was a huge windsurfing fan in the 90s...robby naish, bjorn dunkerbeck, mark angulo....I gotta google those guys and see whatever happened to them!
> I gave it a good shot myself, but I sucked...its hard to improve with SW. ontario's spotty, usually poor conditions.


I still windsurf a lot. We have a cottage in the Magdalen Islands, paradise for wind related sports. 68 this year, but I still try to slash everything I can put my fin into. No 70 feet waves though. I have to say. every year my sessions are getting a bit shorter.

Last summer


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

BGood said:


> I still windsurf a lot. We have a cottage in the Magdalen Islands, paradise for wind related sports. 68 this year, but I still try to slash everything I can put my fin into. No 70 feet waves though. I have to say. every year my sessions are getting a bit shorter.
> 
> Last summer
> View attachment 347785​


Nice. I do remember hearing about the Magdalen islands being a good spot. Hopefully you can waterstart instead of uphaul there  Good for you for sticking with it. It was very therapeutic mentally for me. Something about living in the moment.

I sold just about all my gear, but I have 1 board left...an old F2 Sputnik 280 (the one with Gorbachev painted on it)...i'll probably use it as a decoration around our new pool this year  Hard to sell vintage gear.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

Diablo said:


> ... I have 1 board left...an old F2 Sputnik 280 (the one with Gorbachev painted on it)...i'll probably use it as a decoration around our new pool this year  Hard to sell vintage gear.
> View attachment 347807


It's not like guitars is it ? LOL
Technology evolved real fast making 5 year old boards obsolete.
I was lucky I started a windsurfing business early on and when that crapped out, I was picked up by another shop as a team rider. I must have had close to a hundred boards through the years. Only 3 now 

OK, enough of this, back to our regular program.

The Who I never had the chance to see. If we could go back in time, Live At Leeds would be THE show I'd want to go to.


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