10. Fail Mary
Also known as GoldenGate. Here, an NFL replacement referee incorrectly awarded a game-winning touchdown to Seattle's Golden Tate on the final play of a Monday Night Football game between the Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers. The play launched the star of super rookie Russell Wilson, who threw the pass, ended the NFL's feud with its refs (the league gave in to their union days later) and, with both teams now chasing playoff spots, may have determined who will play in the Super Bowl.
9. Manchester United Wins, and Then Doesn't
In the wildest two minutes in English soccer history, Manchester United finished an easy win at Sunderland at 4:55 p.m. on the final day of the English Premier League season and celebrated as league champs. But at 4:56, Manchester City completed an unthinkable two-goal comeback in the last two minutes of their game to steal the title. As United's players collapsed, City's players lost their minds.
8. Lacrosse Teams Launch "Call Me Maybe" Craze
In early March, the women's lacrosse teams at North Carolina and Duke made Spring Break videos patterned on Justin Beiber's cover of Carly Rae Jepson's song and launched 2012's best viral sports craze. By the end of April, dozens of other college teams had responded with "Call Me Maybe" videos and the craze went national when Harvard's baseball team (16 million views) and the U.S. Olympic swim team (10 million) got in on the act.
7. LeBron James Gets His Ring
It took him 9 years, a painfully botched team switch, the help of former rival Dwayne Wade and a season compressed by a lockout, but LeBron James finally led the Miami Heat to the NBA title and claimed his place as the premier basketball player of the 21st century. He followed it up with Olympic gold. Not a bad 2012 for King James.
6. Andy Murray Redeemed at Wimbledon
With the heart of Great Britain on his sleeve, tennis player Murray faced Roger Federer for Olympic gold. Though he'd just recently lost to Federer in the finals at Wimbledon, Murray never blinked in front of Roger the Great, taking straight sets on the same court, and giving the host nation its biggest win of the Games.
5. Duke Shoots 3-Point Buzzer-Beater Against UNC
Duke's Austin Rivers capped a furious final-minute comeback over arch-rival North Carolina with a picture-perfect three-pointer at the buzzer, an instantly iconic moment in the sports' best rivalry.
4. USA Beats Canada For Women’s Soccer Gold
Our pick for 2012's Game Of The Year was the fiery, controversial, 123-minute classic that sent the United States on to the gold medal. Three times Canada's Christine Sinclair put her team ahead, three times the U.S. came back, finally forcing extra time, before Alex Morgan scored on the game's final play.
3. Felix Baumgartner Jumps From Space
He was four times higher than Mt. Everest, three times higher than an airliner. As he fell, he went faster than the speed of sound. In the year the Space Shuttle was retired, the adrenaline junkie who skydived to Earth from the edge of space reminded us how important it is to shoot for the moon.
2. David Beckham Drives a Boat
Much was made of the royal cameo to open the London Olympics, but for neutron-level sex appeal and swag, nothing in London—or in 2012 for that matter—topped Beckham roaring up the Thames on the Max Power mega-speed boat to deliver the Olympic Torch. Anyone wondering why Becks remains the most glamorous athlete on Earth need only check out the black suit, skinny tie, hair in the wind and that it's-good-to-be-the-king grin.
1. Colts Coach Chuck Pagano Speaks From the Heart
No one saw it coming, it only lasted 73 seconds and just one TV camera was there to record it. But the runaway sports feel-good moment of 2012 came when Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, days after completing chemotherapy for leukemia, spoke to his team about living life with a vision: "I'm dancing in two more weddings, and we're hoisting that trophy together."