Billy Quinn
L.A.
Lunz
20 April 2018
Football and Basketball During the 1990’s
There were many sports taking place during the 90’s with some of them being baseball, hockey, golf, and rugby. But there are two sports that really stood out. They are football and basketball. These were amazing teams which had some of best games and the best players who’ve ever played professional sports. This time held some of the best players of all time including Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, Bo Jackson, Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice. Football and basketball during the 1990’s was the greatest because of the dominant teams, the incredible players that carried, the great comebacks, and the memorable championships.
The many teams that were in the leagues of the NBA and the NFL were great. The amount of talent and dedication was unparalleled to any other country in the world. There are those teams, though, whose ability to play is even more impressive and dominant. Some of those teams were Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Hakeem Olajuwon’s Rockets. “The Houston Rockets were great. They had great chemistry, unbelievable determination, and an innumerable amount of talent” (Rockets Team of the 90’s 4). The Houston Rockets were phenomenal. They held weekly workouts and practices to improve their skill. Also, they had team building exercises to help build chemistry. The Bulls, however, won six championships while the Rockets won two. “The Bulls were works of art, but they were all about the art of the work” (Johnson 6). The Chicago bulls were an amazing team. They had one of the worlds greatest players and one of the best offenses in the history of the NBA. They were amazing teams to watch, and better teams to play for.
The teams of football that absolutely dominated in the 90’s were the Washington Redskins, the Dallas Cowboys, and the San Francisco 49ers. The teams were on a whole other level. “The Dallas ‘Wowboys’ were the most fundamentally sound team in the NFL. They had a great defence which could rip an offence in two” (Taihier 3). The Dallas “Wow-boys” had an unstoppable defence with hardly no competition to play with them. The 49ers had the best quarterback wide receiver duo in the history of football, Jerry Rice and Steve Young. They are both Super Bowl Champions and Hall of Famers. It was immaculate to witness the pass and catch. The Washington Redskins were they greatest fundamental team to ever play. The Redskins would come up with plays that would confuse the defence even before the snap. They are also responsible for, in 1991, outscoring their opponents 485-224.
The players that made these teams great were something else. Michael Jordan seemed to never miss a shot when they needed it, and was the hardest practicer ever. In practice, when the Bulls would scrimmage, Jordan’s team would be up by a lot.hen coach would put him on the losing team. He would then play as hard as he would in the game to retake the lead. He is no doubt in the race for best player ever. Hakeem Olajuwon was tall, fast, and aggressive. He would get every rebound he could reach then put it right back up. They were great players who many people wish they could’ve seen in person.
The best football players of the nineties were separated by good, great,and the best. Then there was Jerry Rice and Bo Jackson. They were the best players in the decade. Jerry Rice was six foot two inches and was fast as lightning. “ … Drafted in the first round to the 49ers, Jerry Rice won Rookie of the Year, thirteen Pro-Bowl selections, and he won three Super-Bowl rings with one M.V.P.” (Rice 193). The other ruler of The 90’s was Bo Jackson. He was the hardest performer to take part in the game of football. “I didn’t always have time to workout so mine was running down the field, and making other players miss” (Jackson 109). This man was unreal with the way he could break tackles. He would stiff arm, spin, then have the speed to truck someone over. They left every defence in confusion with all the tricks up their pads. Not many people could cover these two superstar athletes, and even less could keep stop them from dominating the field.
Some of the best moments in sports aren't the last second scores, or the long plays, but the exponential comebacks that occur at the end of a game. The Chicago Bulls vs. the Portland Trail Blazers was one of the best comebacks in N.B.A. history. The Bulls trailed thirteen points in the start of the fourth quarter. Jordan was on the
There seemed to be no stopping the Bulls on their way to victory and their will to continue in the playoffs.
The biggest all time comeback in professional football history was the San Francisco 49ers vs. the New Orleans Saints. The Saints were up by twenty-eight at the end of the first half. When it seemed like all was lost Jerry Rice and Joe Montana moved to a whole other level. Jerry didn’t drop a ball in the second half, And Montana threw some of the most perfect passes in his entire career. The end score was thirty-eight to thirty-five in favor of the 49ers. Wersching, of the 49ers, kicked a thirty six yard field goal to take the lead in overtime. When the defence stopped the Saints, the 49ers made history.