2014’s sporting moments in which the unbelievable became unforgettable

Our ability to immediately revisit the highlights enhances our memories of the glories of stars from Stanislas Wawrinka to James Rodríguez and Rory McIlroy to Gareth Bale

Great sport enjoys two lives, one ephemeral, the other enduring. The first comes at the moment of inception in a flash of drama or inventiveness. This is the original, pure experience, uncorrupted by memory or replays, description or analysis. But it’s not enough. And it has never been enough. Because, like all the best things in life, sport demands reflection. It’s emotion recollected not in tranquillity but sentimentality.

I first became aware of this when I was a child and, having been to watch a Spurs game, I would eagerly await the Match of the Day highlights of what I’d already seen, and then consume the Sunday paper match reports of a game that, by then, I’d watched live and in an edited TV version. I would also scour the Monday papers for any additional information or, failing that, a recapitulation of old information.

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from Football | The Guardian http://feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663845/s/41d03292/sc/13/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Csport0Cblog0C20A140Cdec0C270Creview0E20A140Estanislas0Ewawrinka0Egareth0Ebale0Eworld0Ecup0E20A140Ejames0Erodriguez0Erory0Emcilroy/story01.htm