Unforgettable 1980s Sports Moments That Changed Athletics Forever
I still remember the crisp sound of sneakers squeaking on the polished court floor, the way the orange ball seemed to hang in the air for just a second too long before swishing through the net. That's how basketball felt to me as a kid in the late 80s - magical, almost suspended in time. I was thinking about this recently while watching the Changwon LG Sakers dominate the Seoul SK Knights with that decisive 80-63 Game Three victory last Friday at Changwon Gymnasium. There was something familiar about their commanding performance, something that took me right back to those unforgettable 1980s sports moments that changed athletics forever.
You see, I grew up during a time when sports were undergoing this incredible transformation. I recall sitting cross-legged on our living room carpet in 1985, watching Magic Johnson and Larry Bird redefine what basketball rivalry meant. Their contrasting styles - Magic's flashy no-look passes against Bird's methodical precision - taught me that there could be multiple paths to excellence. That same energy I saw in the Sakers' systematic dismantling of the Knights reminded me of how Bird's Celtics would methodically break down opponents, piece by piece, until victory was inevitable. The way Changwon LG Sakers continued to have the number of Seoul SK Knights wasn't just about winning a game - it was about establishing psychological dominance, much like those legendary 80s rivalries did.
What made the 80s so special wasn't just the games themselves, but how they reached us. I remember my father installing our first satellite dish in 1987 - this massive, clunky thing that took up half our backyard. Suddenly, we could watch sports from across the world, and it felt like we'd been given a key to a secret kingdom. The 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Maradona's "Hand of God" goal - I watched it live with my cousins, all of us screaming at the television in a mixture of outrage and admiration. That moment, controversial as it was, showed me how sports could transcend mere competition and become something mythological.
Basketball particularly captured my imagination because it was changing right before our eyes. The 1988 Seoul Olympics introduced me to concepts like the three-point line and the 30-second shot clock - innovations that revolutionized how the game was played. Watching the Sakers' 17-point victory margin the other night, I couldn't help but think about how different that game would have looked without those 80s innovations. The spacing, the strategic use of the three-pointer, the pace - all rooted in changes that happened when I was just starting to understand the sport's deeper complexities.
I've always had a soft spot for underdog stories, which is why the 1980 US Olympic hockey team's "Miracle on Ice" still gives me chills. I was too young to watch it live, but the replays became my personal sports education. That ragtag group of college kids beating the seemingly invincible Soviet professionals taught me that in sports, heart could sometimes trump pure talent. When I see a team like the Changwon LG Sakers moving to the cusp of claiming the Korean Basketball League crown through disciplined teamwork rather than just individual brilliance, I see echoes of that 1980 miracle.
The commercial transformation of sports during the 80s was something I witnessed firsthand through my Michael Jordan obsession. His first Air Jordan deal in 1984 was for $2.5 million over five years - an astronomical figure at the time that made my teenage brain struggle to comprehend the zeros. Suddenly, athletes weren't just players; they were brands, icons, walking billboards of aspiration. That commercial revolution paved the way for modern global sports marketing, making events like the KBL possible and allowing teams to build the kind of professional infrastructure that produces games like Friday's showcase at Changwon Gymnasium.
What strikes me now, watching contemporary games with my 80s-informed perspective, is how those decades-old moments continue to shape today's athletics. The strategic innovations, the commercial models, even the way we consume sports - all bear the fingerprints of that transformative decade. When I see the Changwon LG Sakers executing with such precision, I'm not just watching a basketball game; I'm witnessing the living legacy of those unforgettable 1980s sports moments that changed athletics forever. The specific plays may look different, the athletes faster and more athletic, but the fundamental drama - that beautiful tension between preparation and spontaneity, between individual brilliance and team cohesion - remains unchanged. And honestly, that's what keeps me coming back to sports, year after year, game after game.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
