There are moments that define sports history at large.
Spectacles such as the recent Mayweather-McGregor boxing match that, according to UFC president Dana White, sold 6.5 million pay-per-views — which would make it the most sold pay-per-view event of all time — and put on a 10-round show, that saw Floyd Mayweather win via TKO over the young-gun Conor McGregor.
In another case, there was one of the most famous Finals appearances, that saw Michael Jordan — who many consider the greatest basektball player of all time — while experiencing flu like symptoms, push his way to a 38-point performance to grab a 3-2 lead over the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals.
These are just two sporting events that are engraved in the minds of widespread sports fans. But there are also those moments in sports that smaller communities have engraved into their memories too.
For UNM fans, there are some games that may come to mind, in a variety of different sports. Some of those moments include the game that took place at the Pit on January 2, 1998 when the Lobos men’s basketball team defeated then-No. 1-ranked Arizona, 61-59, in a game that saw the Lobos jump out to a 16-point lead in the first 10 minutes of play, before the Wildcats made a near comeback in the second half. However, UNM stood its ground and shocked the world of college basketball, marking the Lobos’ only win over a No. 1 opponent.
Then-Lobo player Jimmy Rogers willed his way to 15 points during that game, and former Lobo coach Gary Colson had a nice touch of words for Rogers’ game-changing performance.
“It was a great finish,” Colson said, according to a Los Angeles Times article. “I just couldn’t believe it. Everyone was great, but he (Rogers) was key to the ball game.”
Little did coach Colson know, this game, in the minds of many Lobo fans, would stick around and age like fine wine. But here, nearly 30 years later, that game is a spectacle in its own right for Lobo fans.
But for those fans who might pay closer attention to the history of Lobo football, a game as recent as 2015 at Boise State — by many, considered a Mountain West powerhouse — was a game that marked a turning point in the football program. On Nov. 14, 2015, UNM — a 30 ½ point underdog, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein — willed their way to a 31-24 win on the Broncos’ blue turf.
In particular, though, one play stands out more than most in that game for Lobos fans: the game-saving tackle, courtesy of then-safety Markel Byrd, which saw him make the final tackle on the Lobos’ four yard line, after Boise State used a lateral play to try to save its chances.
After the game, Lobo football coach Bob Davie said it might be “the biggest win in New Mexico football,” according to a quote in the Albuquerque Journal.
Another moment in Lobo sports history came when the UNM ski team was the first team sport to win an NCAA championship.
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In 2004, when the UNM ski team defeated runner-up and former NCAA champion Utah, 623 points to 581, the feeling of University pride was at a high point for many.
George Brooks, Lobo ski team coach at the time, all but expressed his sentiment of home-state and University pride in a quote from 2004.
“I was born in New Mexico, skied in New Mexico and am proud to bring home the first national championship to the University of New Mexico,” Brooks said in a 2004 UNM release. “Our coaching staff and student-athletes did an outstanding job this season. I am still collecting my thoughts, so I don’t have anything intelligent to say, but it is great to be first.”
For Lobo fans, these sporting moments mean more than the moment itself — these moments in Lobo history are tattooed in the minds of fans, as constant reminders of some of the sample-sized luxuries they’ve witnessed over the years.
Matthew Narvaiz is a senior sports reporter. He primarily covers baseball and men’s and women’s basketball, but also contributes content for football. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
