They are snippets in time, unforgettable snapshots that gloriously capture the soaring euphoria and gut-wrenching agony of the games we love, not to mention the randomness of a moment that might’ve gone unnoticed otherwise.
There are the Kansas City Chiefs, dunking head coach Andy Reid with a jug-full of frigid drink after their stirring Super Bowl triumph over the Philadelphia Eagles, fulfilling what has become a rite of passage in all gridiron celebrations.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is dunked after their win against the Philadelphia Eagles at the NFL Super Bowl 57 football game, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
And the Vegas Golden Knights, gathered in a giant group hug behind the net after capturing the NHL’s Stanley Cup championship, the glittering ice beneath their skates littered with discarded gloves.
Members of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after they defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 to win the Stanley Cup in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Then there’s Femke Bol, a track athlete from the Netherlands, tumbling toward the track with a gasp of disbelief across her face, the baton slipping from her grasp as she falls near the finish line of a relay race at the world championships.
Alexis Holmes, of the United States anchors her team to the gold medal as Femke Bol, of the Netherlands fell near the finish in the final of the 4×400-meters mixed relay during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
And Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, smashing a golf club across his leg like a child trying to snap a tree limb in half, the frustration evident after an errant shot from the thick rough at the U.S. Open.
Rory McIlroy reacts after his shot from the rough on the 14th hole during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Los Angeles Country Club on Saturday, June 17, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
But let’s not forget Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, her braided ponytail soaring above her head as she whacks a serve at the Wimbledon tennis championships.
Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova serves to Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic in a women’s singles match on day six of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Saturday, July 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
And Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, captured in another close-up at the very instant that a foul ball smashed off his mask during an otherwise ho-hum game in the midst of summer at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor is hit on the mask by a ball fouled off by Chicago Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 1, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Sure, we’re all intrigued by the most notable among us, whether it’s singer Taylor Swift cheering from a football luxury suite or Britain’s King Charles III letting out a gasp from the royal box at the Royal Ascot horse racing meet.
Taylor Swift watches from a suite during the first half of an NFL football Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Britain’s King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, right, react as they watch a race at day two of the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting, at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
A runner competes in the men’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Brazil’s Geovanna Santos competes in the gymnastics rhythmic individual ball final at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Players from Bourton Rovers compete during the annual traditional River Windrush soccer match, which has been taking place for over 100 years, in the Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water, England, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Britain’s Jake Dixon celebrates on the podium after winning the Moto 2 race of the Catalunya Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, just outside of Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)