Passion, colorful athletes, 100% effort. The NBA, NFL, MBA, Boxing, practically every sport was better in the 80's.

Short clip of boxing back when boxers tried to win rather than simply not lose.

 

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That is sport! I lost money on that fight.

Those boxers are in the best shape of any athlete

 

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Boxing: Before his life meltdown Mike Tyson was my favorite boxer. Had he not been a complete dumbass he would have gone down in history as the greatest heavyweight ever.

Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran were also awesome. Sugar Ray Leonard is probably my favorite middleweight, though. He's the only fighter I ever saw make Roberto Duran say, "Look, I'm really tired of getting my ass kicked so imma stop now."

Football: San Fran 49ers and Washington Redskins obv

Basketball: Lakers Magic Bird Celtics obv

Baseball: I just remember the Braves sucking the whole decade, didn't actually watch much and didn't really become a true baseball fan until I was in my early 20s (though I played all the way through school)

Hockey: Somehow this is both the most "meh" of the major US sports AND also provided not only the greatest sports moment of the 80s but perhaps the greatest moment of all time

 

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Absolutely agreed. 10 minute recap that does a great job of catching the energy.

 

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I agree 100%.

MLB in the 80s: Baseball players looked like normal people. They didn't all look like WWF wrestlers. Of course what ruined baseball for me was the strike in the 90s.

NFL and NCAA Football in the 80s: They were still allowed to hit each other, but it wasn't as bad because they all didn't look like Lou Ferrigno in his prime. In my opinion, NFL officiating has gotten worse over time. The damned rule changes between seasons sometimes are too many for even the players to keep track of.

NBA and NCAA Hoops in the 80s: The game was still a finesse sport. Travelling was two steps, no 3, 4, 5, or sometimes 12. You pivot foot had to be planted (no moon walking). Contact was a foul on someone. If you put your hand on the side of the ball (let alone under it) and turned it over, it was a carry.

I LOVE watching classic 80s NBA and College games. It was a totally different game than the pile of shit we have to watch today. In my opinion it is the WWF level contact that has reduced the scoring in the NBA so much over the years. I remember growing up watching Dr J, Bird, Johnson, Jabar, etc and seeing it common for games to reach scores of 125 - 120. Basketball died in the mid 90s.

 

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Univ of Miami for college football obv

 

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Futbol is better now than it was in the 80s.


inb4 "still not good!"

Since all the other sports I grew up with kind of suck these days for various reasons (officiating, rule changes, roids, )($#)(#ing commercials) I've gravitated towards Futbol and Hockey. I still watch MMA though because people actually suffer for PEDs. Unlike the NFL where you get a couple game suspension, athletic commissions will put your ass out for 6 - 48 months. In the NFL 6 months is the whole season. We couldn't have that!

 

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The 70's were better for boxing, hockey and baseball, with the '80 hockey olympics noted as an exception although it barely makes it into the '80s.

 

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Toni Kukoc makes 11 out of 12 three pointers vs Larry Brown's Team USA, Bormio 1987

 

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