I was there...

[rafletcher]

1993 European Grand Prix at Donington.  Sitting in the infield stands overlooking the Craner Curves and the Old Hairpin, turning to each other after the cars came back into view after the opening lap and asking “What the fuck just happened?”  Answer: a Mr A Senna da Silva of Monaco and Brazil done overtake cars driven by, to be fair, a Mr M Schumacher from the German part of Germany, a Mr K Wendlinger of Austria-on-Danube, a Mr D Hill of the London area of Hampstead and a Mr A Prost of France.  In what, to be fair, the space of two and a half miles.  Possibly because it done be raining*.  Mr Senna da Silva then done proceed to win what, to be fair, was the race from Mr Hill and Mr Prost, who done spend almost as long in the pits as he done on the track.

* My grate frend Parry quickly regretted going to the circuit from our base in Belper on his motorbike

I was sat on the grass at the bottom of Craner Curves fo that one. Stunned. I think that one was where, when asked bout his overtakes afterwards and how he avoided accidenst, Senna said that he decided where he as going to go and it was up to the other to avoid accidents....

[Wowbagger]

Worrying lack of memories of famous cycling people on here.

My joke about beating Mark Cavendish once is wearing a bit thin. (I arrived at a lunch stop about 10 minutes before he did...)

Cycling's quite hard to watch: they flash by and in an instant they are gone. I've never been sufficiently interested in cycle racing to go to a velodrome. I did see David Millar in the TdF when it started in Kent in ... 2010? at the Col de Teston. I think it was a points venue.

The most memorable part was after the cyclists had raced through and one of the crowd decided he wanted a large TdF road sign as a souvenir, stood on the temporary fencing and slipped, landing on the top of the fence, one leg either side...

[matthew]

I was at the Oval for day four of the test against India in 2018 to watch Cook score his last test runs (and a century at that) as well as Root score a century. There were a lot of standing ovations that day, including probably the biggest cheers for Buzzers I have heard as Cook got his century on the over throws.

[fimm]

London 2012 Olympics, men's time trial. We were making a noise for everyone as they came through, of course, but the noise for Bradley Wiggins was something else.
We also saw Michael Phelps win a race.

Commonwealth Games Men's road race, Glasgow. We were stood near a big screen on Montrose Street, in the rain, to watch Geraint Thomas win.

World Championships Road Race, Innsbruck. We were out on the course but found a big screen to watch the finish on.

I think the sense of "I was there" is probably more vivid if you've been sat in a stadium with thousands of others cheering your team on.

[Mr Larrington]

I did stand by the side of the Woodford New Road when the TdF came through in 2014.  Jean-Marc Bideau and Jan Bárta as the day’s statutory hopeless break, followed by a fast-moving pelican.  M Kitteh pwned the stage.

[Wowbagger]

One rugby match I forgot to mention: England v Wales, 1986. Rob Andrew's debut. He broke the world record, previously held by Keith Jarrett, for the most points on debut, kicking 7 penalties to beat Wales 21-19. What made it particularly special for me was that I had, courtesy of a friend, a ticket for the press box. I found myself sitting between reporters for the Western Mail and Thames Valley Radio, neither of whom knew a bugger about rugby and needed me to explain all the refereeing decisions.

This was made all the more difficult because Gerald Davies and John Taylor were a couple of rows behind me and I really wanted to engage them in conversation, but had nothing whatever to talk to them about.

[rr]

I was there for Chris Boardman's superman hour.

[Mr Larrington]

I was there for every HPV Flying 200m World Record since 2002

[Jaded]

Ah, Records.

I was there when Allan Wells got the Scottish 100m record at Meadowbank in 1978.

[Snakehips]

London 2012 Olympics, men's time trial. We were make noise for everyone as they came through, of course, but the noise for Bradley Wiggins was something else.

I was just along the road from Sigma Sports in Hampton Wick. They called it the Hampton Roar. When we first heard it he must have been about halfway across the bridge.

[mike]

When Stuart Pearce shouts 'come on' at the crowd after his penalty, he's shouting right at me and my mate.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFCvTZvH4cI

[citoyen]

Maidstone United beating Telford United 6-0 on the final day of the 1983-84 Alliance Premier League season to seal promotion to the Football League... except that they were denied by the election system that was in place at the time, chiz.

The 11yo me was one of the first to run onto the pitch to mob the team at the end.

They didn't get promoted until 1989, by which time it had been made automatic. But looking back on it, they would probably have been better off staying in non-league football (and not selling their ground without having a new home to go to!)

[citoyen]

Cycling's quite hard to watch: they flash by and in an instant they are gone.

I was in Canterbury about 200m from the finish line to see Cav's Tour de France debut in 2007.

The main peloton did indeed flash by in an instant, but poor Cav, hotly tipped as a stage winner before the start, had a fall a few km before the finish, and limped home very slowly several minutes later, tears streaming down his face. Frankly, I'd rather not have had such a good view of him. 

[Wowbagger]

That must have been the same stage that I was watching I think. Not 2010. Crikey. Long time ago...

[Salvatore]

I was there for Chris Boardman's superman hour.

I was there (Manchester) a week earlier to see his gold medal 4:11.114 in the pursuit.

A  year earlier I'd seen in tiny announcement in Cycling Weekly saying that tickets were now on sale for the world championships. I rang the number given.
Me: I'd like tickets for next year's world championships, all sessions, please.
BC person: Certainly, which seat?
Me: What's available?
BC person: All of them. You're the first person to ring.
Me: Front row, finish line, please.
BC person: Right-oh.

A few months later they contacted me to say the UCI wanted that block of seats for VIPs. [Don't they know who I am!], and I was moved along a little, still front row, but between the sprint finish line and the pursuit start/finish line. Right behind the 'O' of TISSOT.

A very tense first 3km https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86w6Rw9FJ4c

[Peter]

I was there when I scored an elegant Gower-esque (though Gower hadn't been invented at the time) square-cut for 4 against the MCC, if that counts!

[Wowbagger]

I was there when I scored an elegant Gower-esque (though Gower hadn't been invented at the time) square-cut for 4 against the MCC, if that counts!

I'm sure you were dazzling elegance personified!

[IanDG]

I was there:

To see Pele - Villa vs Santos 1972

Watch Wolves stop Leeds getting FA Cup/League double 1972 -  Wolves 2  Leeds 1

and to see Trevor Gadd ride the first UK sub 70 second kilo (1978 national champs, Leicester)

[Peter]

I was there when I scored an elegant Gower-esque (though Gower hadn't been invented at the time) square-cut for 4 against the MCC, if that counts!

I'm sure you were dazzling elegance personified!

I was - but not for long; that was the only scoring stroke I managed that day!

[Wowbagger]

For whom were you playing?

[Peter]

My school team!  The Royal Masonic - a charity school for sons of dead masons.  I don't expect it was the best team that MCC could have called upon but I'm still proud to be able to say it.  It was in the mid-60s.  I don't think we produced any famous cricketers ourselves (apart from me, now!) but we did have at least 3 England hockey internationals.

[IanDG]

I was there when IanDG won the (RTTC) GHS 10 championship in 1976 

[John Stonebridge]

Only two serious claims -

1.  I was at Old Trafford for Shane Warnes "ball of the century".  Slightly hungover but a hotel check in fiasco had seen the duty manager offset our lack of room chagrin by offering a free bar the night before which did the trick.  Duty Manager even joined us in the bar after her shift finished (it had been a bad one for her) so it was yon time by the time we turned in - iirc we were rehoused in the Midland Hotel, which was nice.     

2.  I was at Murrayfield for Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam victory over England (£4 a ticket having queued up at 4am to get tickets from Inter Sport in Hanover Street a few weeks earlier).   A most enjoyable night in Auld Reekie. 

[Wowbagger]

I went to Murrayfield once. 60p at the turnstile to get in. We travelled up and back on consecutive nights from Blackpool, and had a game of rugby at Carlisle bus station at about 3am with a couple of Welsh lads heading to the same match, using a beer can instead of a ball. Scotland won 10 - 9. I went with my pal John - same guy who later sent me the ticket for the press box in Twickenham 1986. This must have been 1973. Two years later, John went back for the repeat fixture and was part of one of the largest rugby crowds ever, estimated to be 104,000. I was quite pleased to give that one a miss.

[Steph]

When I was a SERIOUS sprinter, many years ago. Sitting infield near the finish line at Gateshead stadium as a 100m took place. My great idol Don Quarrie and others were running, along with some Scots bloke I wasn't really aware of. Don launched from the blocks, into that amazingly high knee-lift of his, and was beaten by said Scotsman, a Mr Wells.

That was a hell of a day, infield and on the track among people like Capes, Pascoe, Cram, McLeod, Moorcroft...