2014 was an eventful year in North American sports. It had a lot of highs, a lot of lows, and a lot of in-betweens. But through it all, these 10 moments will likely define the year in sports in the US. It was a tough decision omitting some moments, but we had to stick with just 10 to keep it tight. Apologies to the Los Angeles Kings in this regard. Two Stanley Cup title in three seasons…and they don’t make it on the list.

But here are the 10 that did.

The Seattle Seahawks’ emasculation of the Denver Broncos

It was supposed to be a titanic match up pitting the league’s best offense and the league’s best defense. Peyton Manning vs the Legion of Boom. The lead-up towards the Super Bowl certainly didn’t lack in story lines, but the game itself was the equivalent of watching a re-mastered version of Gigli in cinemas. The Seahawks dominated the game from start-to-finish, dismantling the Broncos offense on their way to a shocking 43-8 smackdown of the Broncos. So much for those story lines, huh?

The San Antonio Spurs get their Finals revenge over the Miami Heat

If you want to see basketball played at its absolute apex, go back and watch the 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. It was, in so many words, an complete clinic on how to play team basketball. Nevermind the fact that Miami had LeBron James. That didn’t matter. The Spurs dominated the series from the get-go on their way to winning by the biggest average in NBA Finals history and exorcising the demons from their own collapse in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

Team USA uprising