The best sports calls of the 21st century

Behind every great call is, of course, a great play, and there are few college football plays greater than the 2013 Iron Bowl Kick Six. The voice of Auburn radio, Rod Bramblett, unable to contain his excitement, counted Chris Davis’ improbable path back down the field on the last play of the game as he returned a short Alabama field goal, and with the crowd roaring in the background, he gave the iconic call: “Auburn’s gonna win the football game! They’re not gonna keep ‘em off the field tonight!”

Bramblett’s call defines that moment, nearly a decade old now. He passed away in a tragic accident only three years ago, but he’s immortalized on that tear-jerking call.

As Tiger Woods was headed for the Tiger Slam, just one future Masters win away from holding the titles of all four major tournaments for the first time in the history of the sport during those dominant early years, he took to the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass at the so-called fifth major, the Players Championship.

As the putt started to roll down one of the most infamous greens in golf, headed downhill for 60 feet, Gary Koch called it early — “better than most.” And it was, in fact, better than most — better than just about all, as Woods himself was. As it sank in, accompanied by a classic Tiger fist pump, Koch called it again, cementing himself in the history books alongside Woods.

In what was probably the best NCAA championship game of the last decade, Villanova and UNC were toe-to-toe, perfectly matched in a dogfight to the end. If this last play doesn’t happen, Marcus Paige’s off-balance three to tie the game would have gone down in history. But lost to the annals of NCAA history (aside from the memories of those of us with an unhealthy obsession with March Madness), Kris Jenkins rewrote the story with the help of Jim Nantz on a perfectly-timed call.

As Jenkins got fed the ball with under two seconds and released it on a wing and a prayer with less than a second to go, Nantz made the call — “Jenkins — for the championship — yes!” the end cut off by his cracking voice and the crowd going crazy as streamers shot from the ceiling. What a game, what a shot, what a call.

Back in LeBron’s first stint with the Cavaliers, he laid down an absolutely disrespectful dunk on the Celtics’ Kevin Garnett during that year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. Though the Cavs would go on to lose the series, the call for that dunk lives on — as James sprinted back down the court to the Cavs’ bench, Kevin Harlan gave us the iconic line: “LeBron James, with no regard for human life!”

This is one of those moments where the play wouldn’t be nearly as memorable without the accompanying call — lucky we had Harlan on the mic that night.

There were, by some miracle, no flags on the field, which Mike Keith let the world know as the Titans did the impossible and took down the Bills during a 2000 wild card playoff game. A 16-15 score with 16 seconds left, a fielded kick to a handoff to a lateral pass to Kevin Dyson, who ran it all the way back down for a bona fide miracle. Watch the video here.

How Stefon Diggs stayed on his feet and in-bounds after that catch is a question that even the greatest minds in the world may never be able to answer. Ten seconds left in the game and down one against the Saints, Diggs, against all odds, brought down the ball, found turf, and took off down the field for a walk-off TD.

Meanwhile, KFAN broadcasters Paul Allen and Pete Bercich were screaming incomprehensibly in the booth. Allen made the call — “it’s a Minneapolis Miracle!” Miraculous indeed — and those home radio game broadcasts always hit differently in moments like these.

Watch the video here.

Come on, we’ve got to include this one, guys. It’s a defining cultural phrase at this point, a watershed moment, an all-encompassing, impossible-to-escape, never-not-funny line. In the middle of apologizing for using a homophobic slur on air, Thom Brennaman, telling us how sorry he was and how ashamed he felt, delivered the line: “I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith, as there’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos and that’ll be a home run. And so that’ll make it a 4-0 ballgame.”

It (and the thousands of times it’s now been used) pretty much speaks for itself. Like a lot of these guys, Brennaman is immortalized — in infamy this time, which is not always the most desirable path you want to go down. But to not include this in the greatest calls of this century would be a disservice to all of you.