Golden ages of sports, if you had a time machine

[Spaceman Spiff]

Alright, if you had a time machine and could go back in history to a time period strictly to watch sports, to what era would you go? You can pick one era for all sports, or break it down sport by sport for different eras...

Football, 1980's: I was born in 81, so my memories of football in the 80's are pretty faint. However, it's a time where the Skins won two superbowls, the Niners were a force, the Giants had some good teams, the 85 Bears.

You had a great cast of players, including all time greats, funny characters and flashes in the pan....

The Hogs

Riggins

LT

Fridge Perry

Marino

Montana

Elway

Rice

Payton

Dickerson

Bo Jackson

I mean, the list could stretch on for quite awhile. There just seemed to be a lot of powerhouse teams and great players.

Baseball, 1920's: Simply because it was a great time to be a baseball fan. IMO, it seems like America cared about baseball back then like Europeans care about soccer right now. There was a huge passion for it and offenses were really starting to get big with the tightly wound ball that was introduced at the start of the decade. Of course it was headed up by Babe Ruth. Perhaps I'd like to go back strictly to see the 1927 Yankees play.

Ty Cobb was on the downside of his career but still an incredible player for the first part of the decade. Rogers Hornsby hit over .400 three times in the decade...while that might not have drawn too much attention in that era, we all know what a feat that is right now. It'd be interesting to go back and watch him do that with that perspective.

Basketball, 1980's: Larry and Magic, the rise of Michael Jordan. Lakers vs. Celtics and Isaiah and the Pistons at the end of the decade.

The rivalries just seemed better. The aforementioned Lakers vs. Celtics but at the end you had Jordan trying to get past the Pistons, Joe Dumars and the Jordan rules. Rockets vs. Celtics and Lakers vs. 76ers, too.

As far as college basketball goes, I'm not sure.

Thoughts?

[DCSaints_fan]

I would probably go back to the late 60s/early 70s - one of the only times one of the teams I rooted for (the Os) actually won championships, plus I am a huge Bobby Orr fan and would liked to have witness him transform the game of hockey, which is why I chose that era over '83 (the last time the Os won the series).

[Special K]

Oh definitely the 1980's. First of all the 80's ROCK. Second of all, I would like to relive and re-burn into my little brain the awesomeness of the Skins through the 80's... although, my little 'Skins cheerleader uniform probably wouldn't fit anymore, but the pom poms will still work.

And 80's with Magic and Larry. Magic Johnson was my sports hero growing up and I would love to rewatch the peak of his career now when I know a lot more about the sport and would be able to retain more of the memories.

So pretty much I want to go back to my childhood and stay there FOREVER...so many good memories of watching my family celebrate Superbowl victories...then going right out and building a fort as that was the most pressing issue in my life. I basically just want to go back to the time before I had to grow up and face the realities of life.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

70s/80s football.

60s/70s baseball.

80s/90s basketball

Now MMA.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Baseball, 1920's: Simply because it was a great time to be a baseball fan. IMO, it seems like America cared about baseball back then like Europeans care about soccer right now. There was a huge passion for it and offenses were really starting to get big with the tightly wound ball that was introduced at the start of the decade. Of course it was headed up by Babe Ruth. Perhaps I'd like to go back strictly to see the 1927 Yankees play.

Ty Cobb was on the downside of his career but still an incredible player for the first part of the decade. Rogers Hornsby hit over .400 three times in the decade...while that might not have drawn too much attention in that era, we all know what a feat that is right now. It'd be interesting to go back and watch him do that with that perspective.

See, I wrote 60's and 70's MOSTLY because it was an incredible era. But the first half of the century was just plain awesome. The only thing that puts the 60's and 70's over the top, for me, is that all ethnicities were becoming established as a regularity in the sport. We saw the best our country had to offer. Otherwise, Joltin' Joe is the one player I'd love to see swing a bat.

[Spaceman Spiff]

See, I wrote 60's and 70's MOSTLY because it was an incredible era. But the first half of the century was just plain awesome. The only thing that puts the 60's and 70's over the top, for me, is that all ethnicities were becoming established as a regularity in the sport. We saw the best our country had to offer. Otherwise, Joltin' Joe is the one player I'd love to see swing a bat.

True, good call.

[Dictator]

although, my little 'Skins cheerleader uniform probably wouldn't fit anymore, but the pom poms will still work.

Are you sure you don't want to try?

[Midnight Judges]

I think for Redskins fans it's gotta be the 80s.

[Zguy28]

I would go back to the 1930's and 40's and watch football.

You'd see where the "wildcat" came from. Get to see some premier Single Wing offenses in action.

[Zguy28]

Oh definitely the 1980's. First of all the 80's ROCK. Second of all, I would like to relive and re-burn into my little brain the awesomeness of the Skins through the 80's... although, my little 'Skins cheerleader uniform probably wouldn't fit anymore, but the pom poms will still work.

And 80's with Magic and Larry. Magic Johnson was my sports hero growing up and I would love to rewatch the peak of his career now when I know a lot more about the sport and would be able to retain more of the memories.

So pretty much I want to go back to my childhood and stay there FOREVER...so many good memories of watching my family celebrate Superbowl victories...then going right out and building a fort as that was the most pressing issue in my life. I basically just want to go back to the time before I had to grow up and face the realities of life.

Do you really want to relive Superbowl 18? Or Phil Simms always seeming to bedevil the Skins?

I kid I kid. :jk:

[Mr. S]

70s/80s football.

60s/70s baseball.

80s/90s basketball

Now MMA.

I think this sounds about right. Those were the primetimes for those sports. No sport has recovered though except football in the 2000s.

[Special K]

Do you really want to relive Superbowl 18? Or Phil Simms always seeming to bedevil the Skins?

I kid I kid. :jk:

Okay smart guy... I would like to relive Superbowl XVII, go into a drug-induced coma for the next 4.5 years, be woken at the beginning of that season, watch it and Superbowl XXII, be induced back into a coma until Superbowl XXVI, watch that, then be put back into a coma for the rest of the 90's and early 2000's.

[BigMike619]

70s/80s football. - Redskins football at its finest.

60s/70s baseball. - Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson, Hammerin Hank and great pure players

80s/90s basketball - MJ, Bird, Magic, Nique, Chuck, Clyde, Hakeem..just too many to name all.

Now MMA. - afreakingmen.

[China]

Ancient Greece to watch the original Olympics.

[Zguy28]

Okay smart guy... I would like to relive Superbowl XVII, go into a drug-induced coma for the next 4.5 years, be woken at the beginning of that season, watch it and Superbowl XXII, be induced back into a coma until Superbowl XXVI, watch that, then be put back into a coma for the rest of the 90's and early 2000's.

I SAID I was kidding chica.

[Koolblue13]

I'd probably want to go back to the time of Jim Thorpe and see his performance in the Olympics and then watch him almost single handedly carry the pro football league to it's inception.

Then I would buy a team and invest in the league and ride it to greatness.

[Zguy28]

Ancient Greece to watch the original Olympics.

You like watching naked guys run?

[Koolblue13]

You like watching naked guys run?

Do you like when your dog rubs against your leg?

Ever seen a grown man naked?

[BigMike619]

Do you like when your dog rubs against your leg?

Ever seen a grown man naked?

do you like gladiator movies, timmy?

[Zguy28]

Ever been in a turkish prison?

[BigMike619]

ever been in a turkish prison?

you tell your dad to try and drag walton up and down the court for 48 minutes!!

[Seabee1973]

Id make sure id tell myself who to bet on

[EersSkins05]

The 20's in baseball would be weird b/c of segregation.

College basketball would definitely be the 80's for Cinderellas like NC State and Villanova and true superstar teams like the Jordan/Worthy/Perkins/Kenny Smith UNC teams, Georgetown, and Phi Slamma Jamma.

College football wouldn't count because they still don't have a championship.

Boxing, now that's an interesting debate. I think you'd have to say the 70's if you were a heavyweight fan, with Frazier, Ali, Foreman all in their primes.

NFL wouldn't be the 80's b/c of multiple strikes- I think it would have to be the 70's with the runs by the Dolphins, Raiders, and Steelers.

NBA would probably be the 80's, but I preferred the 90's with Jordan and Pippen and the emergence of Shaq and Duncan.

[BigMike619]

Eers, what about the 80s for boxing?

you had tyson, ray leonard, hagler, hearns, duran...

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Eers, what about the 80s for boxing?

you had tyson, ray leonard, hagler, hearns, duran...

The 80's had Tyson, and a sick welterweight division. Kinda like how we have Fedor and a sick light heavyweight division. The 80's also had a douchebag promoter, Don King. We have a good promoter, that acts like a douchebag, Dana White.

The 70's had a very, very deep heavyweight division. Deeper than anything boxing or MMA has ever had to offer. Roberto Duran kept the LW belt for almost the entire 70's decade before he simply left the division to find bigger fish, and Carlos Monzon defended the MW title 14 times in a row. 70's boxing wasn't as flashy as 80's boxing, but it had more dominance, and the deepest division ever.