Sports fans across the planet remain stuck at home with plenty of free time in their schedules ever since the coronavirus shutdown the sports world last month. While this time has certainly been difficult and boring, us Chicagoans can’t help but miss our favorite teams this time of year. Normally, we’d have both the Cubs and White Sox playing with the start of the MLB season, as well as some Chicago Blackhawks hockey. But things have changed. Luckily, we took the time to find some of the best throwback games and highlights from Chicago sports history to help with your sports needs!
It might be one of the oldest games on this list, but for those of us who weren’t around to see it live, this is a must-watch. This highlight in Chicago sports history takes us all the way back to the 1985 SuperBowl, where our Bears faced the New England Patriots. Nowadays, a box score of 46-10 would make you think the Patriots ran away with this game. But that wasn’t the case here. In this dominating performance, this Bears team featuring players like Walter Payton, Richard Dent, Jim McMahon, Dan Hampton, and William “The Refrigerator” Perry beat the Patriots in SuperBowl XX.
Honorable Mention: 2010 – Week 3: Bears Shutout the Green Bay Packers
Next up on this list is game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals. This game capped off the first 3-peat for the Chicago Bulls in the decade and Jordan received his 3rd Finals MVP in the series. While he would go on to retire the following season, there’s something to be said about never needing a game 7 in the Finals. Out of all the championship games he played, this is one of the most exciting ones that comes down to the final seconds against the Portland Trailblazers.
Honorable Mentions: Michael Jordan Flu Game & Game 3 Eastern Conference Semis (D. Rose Game Winning Shot)
Keeping with the basketball trend, the Chicago Sky are up next on our list of Chicago sports highlights. In this overtime victory, the Chicago Sky take down the Atlanta Dream with a final score of 100-96. One of the biggest highlights from this game comes from former Sky, Elena Delle Donne who put up a whopping 45 points against the Dream. Talk about a baller!
It wasn’t hard deciding on the best throwback game for the Chicago Cubs. While this is one of the more recent games on this list, it’s definitely one that every Chicago sports fan could rewatch. In Game 7 of the World Series, the Chicago Cubs would take the Cleveland Indians to extra innings as they finally ended their century-long championship drought. Even Sox fans couldn’t root against Cubs in this one. That last out by Kris Bryant still gives us chills.
Honorable mentions: Jake Arrieta No Hitter (2015) & Carlos Zambrano No Hitter (2008)
Chicago is the city of championships, and it’d be foolish not to include the White Sox championship here. The White Sox don’t get a lot of respect from baseball fanatics, especially from Cubs fans. But they were the first team in the city to win the pennant this century. And it only took them four games. That being said, South Side fans are in for a treat with this White Sox throwback!
Honorable mentions: Mark Buehrle Perfect Game
While Chicago loves its baseball, our professional softball team, the Chicago Bandits, have been tearing up the league in recent years with three championships in the past decade. It was difficult to find the full game replays from their championships, but that didn’t stop us. In this highlight game, the Bandits shutout the USSSA 2-0, a team they frequently face in the NPF Championship.
The Chicago Fire FC haven’t found much success in recent years, but things weren’t always that way. Back in 1998, the Chicago Fire were founded and joined Major League Soccer. During their first year, the team went on to win the MLS Cup against DC United and shocked the league. Hopefully, the team will regain that winning spirit in the next couple of years.
Chicago hockey fans will never forget when the Blackhawks tore up the league in the early 2010s. One of our favorite highlights from the Chicago Blackhawks comes from game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals. Up 3-2 in the series, the Blackhawks were looking at a game 7 back home as they were down 2-1 late in the 3rd period. But, as we all know, they never needed it. The Blackhawks would score twice in a period of 17 seconds to come back and hoist their second trophy of the decade.
Honorable mention: 2010 Stanley Cup Game 6 OT Winner
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