Letters

Thanks for making me realize that the best games aren't decided
by points scored but by the lives changed after the games end.
BRIAN MEIERHOFF, Lake Bluff, Ill.

BETTER THAN ANY SCRIPT

The 1982 San Diego Chargers-Miami Dolphins playoff was a great
pick for your favorite game, and Rick Reilly captured the
essence of that inspiring showdown (Life and Sudden Death, Oct.
25). The thrilling end of the first half was unmatched: the
hook-and-ladder play; the bewildered leading team; the
celebrating trailing team; and the screaming fans anticipating
what was to follow. After that, wild horses couldn't have
dragged me away from the screen.
RANDY NICKEL, Portland

People ask me why I'm such a rabid Dolphins fan when I haven't
lived in Miami for nearly 20 years. Are you kidding? I was at
the Game, man!
LADD BIRO, Fairfax, Va.

I remember babysitting during the game. The two boys were
supposed to be in bed, but I was too transfixed to move. Their
father was angry when he came home just before overtime. Our
explanation of what had already happened must have been good:
The four of us were glued to the set through overtime.
CLIFF POSEL, Toronto

It was touching to see the parallels between Rolf Benirschke's
second chance in the game and his second chance in life, and how
the idea of a second chance was extended to his adopted sons.
The game was a microcosm of life's struggles.
MIKE LEWIS, San Diego

MISSING IN ACTION

How can you leave out Game 1 of the 1988 World Series (Our
Favorite Games, Oct. 25)? Kirk Gibson hit the first
bottom-of-the-ninth, come-from-behind, game-winning homer in
World Series history. And he could barely walk.
KURT GRAHAM, Lucerne, Ind.

Nobody remembers where he was when McEnroe beat Borg. Who knew?
Who cared? But 48 years after the fact, millions can tell you
where they were and what they were doing when they heard on the
radio Giant Bobby Thomson's ninth-inning home run that beat the
Dodgers in the final game of the 1951 National League playoff.
JARED LEBOW, New York City

The 1984 Orange Bowl game in which Miami beat undefeated
Nebraska 31-30 for its first national championship. If this game
had been included, the Orange Bowl would have been the site of
four of your 20 favorite games.
JEFFREY D. SEGAL, Marietta, Ga.

The Giants' defeat of the Bills by the narrowest margin of
victory in a Super Bowl game, 20-19, on Jan. 27, 1991.
DOV ABRAMOWITZ, Brooklyn

Nebraska 35, Oklahoma 31 on Thanksgiving Day 1971. Not only did
No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Oklahoma match touchdowns in "an
unending fury of offense from both teams" (SI, Dec. 6, 1971), it
was also a contest that fulfilled the pregame hype of being the
game of the decade.
PAUL GOLASHESKY, Williston Park, N.Y.

Jim Valvano and North Carolina State in the 1983 NCAA
Championship game. The Wolfpack's 54-52 win over Houston was one
of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history and arguably
had the most memorable ending. Who can forget Lorenzo Charles
putting in Dereck Whittenburg's air ball with one second
remaining and then watching Valvano run around the court looking
for someone to hug?
STEVE ANDREWS, Bentonville, Ark.

No Ice Bowl, Dec. 31, 1967?
DON MCCALLUM, Loves Park, Ill.

You had the wrong Mets Game 6 of 1986. The sixth game of the
National League playoffs against the Astros was far superior to
that of the World Series.
RICHARD A. SAMUELSON, Charlottesville, Va.

My list would certainly include Game 7 of the 1960 World Series,
in which Bill Mazeroski of the Pirates hit his celebrated
ninth-inning home run to beat the Yankees 10-9.
RON ANDREWS, Rochester, N.Y.

SENDOFF TO HOOPS HEAVEN

With no disrespect toward the baseball players on your Oct. 25
cover and no matter how many stories and photos you have of him
inside your magazine, Wilt Chamberlain, the greatest offensive
force in basketball history, should have graced the cover of SI
one last time.
SAM GREENFIELD, New York City

COLOR PHOTO: HEINZ KLUETMEIER

ESSENCE OF EUPHORIA

Omission of the Century: United States 4, Soviet Union 3 at Lake
Placid in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
IAN ALLAN, Bothell, Wash.