Posted on by

Creating a sporting moment and why it matters

Creating a sporting moment and why it matters

SALT LAKE CITY – In the spring of 1998, the University of Utah men’s basketball team played in its first national championship game in 54 years.

You lost.

It was heartbreaking.

But it was also so magical that I was doing something I had never done before – or since. I made congratulatory posters with my then four-year-old daughter, and we stood in a crowd of fans on the streets of downtown Salt Lake City to cheer on our second-place team. I remember she was wearing her favorite Utah t-shirt and her white fringed cowboy boots. She screamed and screamed and we had so much fun celebrating someone else’s achievement, that’s something I’ll always remember.

I thought about this moment a lot as I watched Real Salt Lake’s 2021 playoff run. I never intended to do more than just a short podcast about an improbable playoff run. But when I started talking to those involved, I felt again the connection that comes from the success of a team.


So why is it part of being a fan to feel like what a team does – or doesn’t do – belongs to you? It’s a question I’ve thought about often in my 20-year career as a sports journalist. When my daughter and I attended the Utah men’s basketball team parade, I simply hoped to give her an experience she would remember.

I’ve done it a few times.

That’s why we bought tickets to an Olympic hockey game in 2002. And might I add that the top row of the Maverick Center is still a great seat! That’s why we sat for hours in the freezing weather just to catch a glimpse of the 2002 Olympic torch relay.

That’s why I took her to Taylorsville City Hall in 2000, where she met Olympic gold medalist Natalie Williams. That’s why I took her to gymnastics championships, bought season tickets to the WNBA, and made sure she got the chance to see an Ohio State-Michigan game in person.

All of these trips were my attempt to connect her to a collective experience. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a journalist, it’s that there are sports moments that go beyond a game.

Something about them – their hope, their possibilities, their joy – goes far beyond the confines of a field, the walls of a stadium and even the experience of these die-hard fans.

My kids didn’t love sports as much as I did. For me, the games were a reprieve, a teacher, a reason to do everything I hated. It was my own sports experiences, especially the failures, that brought a question to the forefront of almost every major story I covered.

What is it about some people that when they fail, when they are rejected, when their heart is broken, they double down on their dreams?

I’ve learned so many valuable lessons in sports, but perhaps the most important is that disappointments don’t last. To be honest, that doesn’t apply to success either.

That’s the gift – and the cruelty.

The games simply take one of life’s harshest realities and distill it in a way that feels hopeful. The games don’t stop before your broken heart – and neither does life.

So enjoy the good things, shake off the pain, and keep showing up. And if you’re lucky, maybe, like Real Salt Lake in 2021, you’ll experience a moment that’s magical for more than just the team.

It’s magical for anyone who takes a minute to stop and watch. Somehow a game connects us to both a harsh reality and a hopeful truth.

Life is made up of moments.

You may not be able to decide how they come to you, but you can decide how you show up. And when I saw the 2021 team show up in Seattle, I had to try to tell their story. This is how “Making of a Moment” began. And the more I talked about this playoff run and the season before it, the more I realized there was another question on my mind. What if we understood more about what led to these moments – the messy, complicated realities? Would it change their meaning to us? Would it make them more magical – or less?

These questions are why I’ve been pushing to do this podcast for almost three years. I’m not sure the answers will be the same for everyone. But I think it makes sense not to reduce our favorite sports moments to clichés.

In addition to euphoria or a punch in the gut, these moments can also provide us with valuable lessons about ourselves.

Making of a Moment: The RSL Story officially launches on October 23, 2024. You can watch the show now so you don’t miss a single episode, including on our website makingofamomentpod.com.