Time Machine for a Sporting and Historical Event

[iacas]

You have a time machine and you can only go back to one sporting event and one non-sporting historical event. Where do you go and why?

I'm going to take my time before I answer.

[David in FL]

Can you impact the outcome of the event, or are you simply an observer?

[Wally Fairway]

Giving it only a moderate amount of thought, here are my choices:

I would want to go to the 1936 Olympics and watch Jesse Owens (although it would also have been interesting to watch him perform at the 1935 Big Ten championships where he set world records in the , long jump, 200 yard dash, 220 yard low hurdles and tied the world record in the 100 yard dash....all events were completed with a 45 minute time period)

Non Olympic event - to be able to sit in Independence Hall for the culmination of the Second Continental Congress and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence (but then I'm a huge Ben Franklin fan).

[iacas]

36 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Can you impact the outcome of the event, or are you simply an observer?

You're observing. Not saving JFK.

[dennyjones]

Can we place bets on sporting events?   Superbowl 3  with Joe Namath.   That would win a lot of $$.

w/o a bet I'd like to see the 1980 hockey games in the olympics, especially the one with the american team beating the russians.   Sure beats the heck out of the Christians vs. Lions in the Colosseum.

It would have been interesting to see Edison when he invented the light bulb.  

[Wally Fairway]

13 minutes ago, iacas said:

You're observing. Not saving JFK.

maybe he wanted to stop Bartman from catching that foul ball; or he wanted to make sure that Klara Pölzi never meets Alois Hitler.

[JetFan1983]

I think I might book a ticket to the '86 or '97 Masters, assuming this deal comes with VIP passes around Augusta National. They'd be pretty cool to experience in person with all the best vantage points.

 

And wow, since @iacas mentioned JFK, that would be a pretty insane historical event to go back to. Can I bring a camera crew with me? Hehe.

[Marty2019]

I would like to see Joe Louis vs Max Schmeling in Yankee Stadium in 1938.   It was not just a sporting event, it was a very important historical event.  

And I would like to see the Battle of Gaugemela in 331 BC.  I love ancient history and I've read numerous books about Alexander the Great and I have a degree in history. 

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2017 by Marty2019

[Hardspoon]

My sporting event would be Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (Bill Buckner). I actually remember watching it as a 6-year-old, but to be able to enjoy it in person would be spectacular.

Historical event ("Disembodied Observer" category): I'd like to see the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Probably one of the most powerful events in natural history, and - bonus - you get to see a few dinos.

Historical event ("Physically Vulnerable" category): I'd pick something personal rather than something of grand importance. Most likely the construction or grand opening of a historic building I know well and restored.

 

[colin007]

Wow, really good question...ima have to come back to this one.

[jamo]

Sports: I want to watch Willie Mays match the over-the-shoulder catch in center field at the Polo Grounds. Partly because I love the Polo Grounds and really wish I'd gotten to see it in real life, and partly because Willie Mays is amazing. 

Non-sports: still thinking on this one. 

[Jakester23]

Sporting event is really tough but Id have to say being a spectator Pebble when Tiger won by 15 (as long as I could follow him of course). Ive always wanted to see that course its on my bucket list.  What better way then when he brought the course to its knees to start the Tiger Slam.  Watching the GOAT at his peak how cool would that be.  

Historical event would be seeing the first shots fired at Fort Sumter.  My wife and I toured the Fort last summer and it was amazing.  I can't explain the feeling I got seeing/being there. It might sound funny but I was emotional knowing thats where the Civil War started. I know its not a positive event but its significant.  Also no one died even though there was 34 straight hours firing on the fort.

[mcanadiens]

For sports, I'd go with the night Rocket Richard skated through the entire Boston Bruin team to score the game-winner in the 1952 semis after getting knocked unconscious earlier. 

For history, I'm thinking the Battle of Gettysburg as long as I could view it safely. Pickett's Charge was a huge moment in the Civil War and US history.

Edited March 21, 2017 by mcanadiens

[jsgolfer]

1 hour ago, Hardspoon said:

My sporting event would be Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (Bill Buckner). I actually remember watching it as a 6-year-old, but to be able to enjoy it in person would be spectacular.

I saw this on tv and was crushed as a Sox fan, so this one would not be on my list.  

Since most of the memorable moments for me I've seen on TV, so not sure I would use the time machine to go back to one of those.  So for mine, the sporting event would probably be the Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, even though the Sox lost in game 7, the Fisk Homerun in the bottom of the 12th would have been awesome to see and be a part of.

For my non-sporting event, apparently @Wally Fairway and I would be sitting next to each other to see the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.  

[Buckeyebowman]

Great question! I'll have to think about this one for a while.

A couple of provisos. Make sure you have your time machine in the location where the event takes place, since time machines travel through time, but not through space!

Also, avoid time travel paradoxes. As iacas said you are an observer only! If you were able to interfere in, and cancel, a past event there would be no reason in the present for you to go back and observe it.

[nevets88]

Still thinking on the sports event, but I'd like to go back millions of years and witness an ELE. One of those asteroids that hit the earth and made a 100 mile wide crater like in  Canada or Africa. Or witness some one in a million years force of nature event. Or be there to see man figure out how to use a wheel. 

[RandallT]

7 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

A couple of provisos. Make sure you have your time machine in the location where the event takes place, since time machines travel through time, but not through space!

Excellent point. My wife and I watched a bit of "Timeless" on network TV. They always fire up their time machine in some modern-day super secret lab, and they transport to what seems to be the nearest hidden location nearest the event they want to disrupt! They are very good at knowing where the edge of fields are and where inconspicuous little depressions in the earth are such that nobody around would notice the arrival of their craft. I just assumed we will all have those same capabilities cuz that's what I see on TV. 

Anyway, OT, and I'm still thinking.

[krupa]

Sporting event:  The first Open Championship.

Non-sporting:  The day they read and voted to approve the Declaration of Independence; without checking I think it was July 2nd.  (They came back on the 4th to sign it.)