Greatest Sport Comebacks

There is nothing better than watching a team come back from certain defeat to clinch a victory on the final siren. 

The Australian Mens 4x100m Relay team at the Sydney 2000 Olympics … they were the underdogs coming into the event, up against the unbeatable USA who had as part of their team the water sprinter, Gary Hall Jnr.  The Americans kept up with Australia who led early, and then coming into the last leg, Hall had a strong first 50m and took the lead over Ian Thorpe.

The final leg is what legends are made of with, Thorpe fighting back with 20m to go to overcome Hall and win the event by a hand-length.  It was an amazing finish and watching this was truly an exciting experience.

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, Russia had the strongest ice hockey team for several decades.  They had won the gold medal five times out of the last six Olympics.  They dominated the sport and were the red hot favourites to win Gold at the Lake Placid Games.  Team USA, an inexperienced team chosen specifically for their positions and teamwork, were keen to perform well at the Games and hoping to spoil the Soviet Union’s party.

USA drew their first match against Sweden and then had an upset victory over Czechoslovakia.  They then had to play the Soviets in the first game of the medal round.  The first period was tied at 2-2, with USA holding strong in defence against the Soviets.  Then, with the Soviets taking a 3-2 lead, the US team needed to score quickly and they did exactly that.  They scored two amazing goals and for the first time in the game, were leading coming into the final period.  The pressure mounted and with wave after attacking wave, the Soviets pushed the USA goal, trying to score the equaliser.  With the famous (and very excited) call by Al Michaels for ABC in the final seconds of the game, he declared, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!!” and USA held on to win one of the best sporting moments ever!  They then went on to beat Finland in the Final, coming from behind again, to win the Gold medal.

Of course we also have the amazing story of Michael Jordan.  After winning the NBA Championship three years straight with the Chicago Bulls, his father passed away so Jordan decided to leave to pursue a career in baseball. 

He did not excel as planned in this new chapter of his life, so returned to the NBA in 1995 and did the unthinkable … helped the Bulls to win the Championship again from 1996-1998.  To come back like he did was phenomenal.

What amazing comeback stories do we have at our school?

Comebacks do not necessarily mean that it ends in victory.  It means that you keep trying and finish as strong as ever.  You may win, you may not, but the effort to get there is important.

What about the time when the U15 Boys Soccer team travelled to Tamworth last year to compete at the Zone Soccer Gala Day?  With only 10 boys in the team and no subs, they had a big mountain to climb if they wanted to perform well. With excellent performances in the round games (two wins and a draw), they qualified for the Semi Final and thanks to a magnificent kick by Luke Batey, won in the dying seconds to then progress through to the Grand Final.  Against Carinya, and still with only 10 men, the scores were locked at 1-1 until Luke R put through the perfect ball to Luke B again who put it beyond doubt, slotting in the winning goal and giving GPCC the Zone Champions' Trophy.  To go through the entire day undefeated, with only 10 men, and to eventually win the carnival, is a comeback story to remember.

Another great story of comebacks is our Senior Primary Girls Basketball team.  Up against some of the strongest basketball teams in NSW, they went into their second match unsure as they were up against Oxford Falls, who were exceptionally experienced and skilled.  With superb defence in marking and strong offence, the girls won this match convincingly.  Winning their remaining matches and the Semi Final, the girls progressed to the Final against Northern Beaches.  With such focus and perseverance, our girls fought hard to the final whistle, with the scores locked at 6-6.  Extra time saw both teams providrf with scoring chances.  Northern Beaches snuck ahead on the scoreboard and eventually won 9-6, but the efforts of our girls to make it so far and to just miss out on winning the Championship, is a story of true grit and determination.

Then there is the Senior Primary Boys Cricket Team.  In the CSSA State Cricket Championships in 2015, the boys progressed through the round matches to qualify for the Final.  This game was against one of the toughest teams in NSW and after a solid batting effort, had put themselves in a good position to win.  Our team had some experienced cricket players in it, such as Isaiah B, Michael D, Arden C, David S, Keegan H, Ronan C and Jesse D.  Eventually, and with one over to go, our boys pulled off a phenomenal team effort to clinch victory on the last ball and win the State Championships.  Amazingly, leading up to this momentous final game, these boys won the Semi Final against Northern Beaches on the last ball.  It just goes to show how determined they were to win.

There are so many more amazing stories at our school, of our students fighting to the very end, to that final siren, even when the odds were against them.

We are definitely a school that has many amazing sport achievements and sensational sport comebacks.  I am looking forward to our future sport adventures and the many more exciting stories that we will be able to share.