Honorable Mention:
Note: Honorable mention is in no order.
2008 Capitals defeat Hurricanes at home to clinch a playoff birth and the southeast division, first playoff birth since 2003. Ovechkin wins first MVP award with 65 goals, 47 assists and 112 points. Caps in the quarterfinals 4-3 to Philly.
2001 Maryland Terrapins win ACC conference: After a decade of losing in the 90's, going 55-88 from 1987-2000, first year head coach Ralph "The Fridge" Friedgen guided the Terps to a 10-2 season and an Orange Bowl berth were they lost to the Florida Gators 56-23.
2004 Finally a Win Over FSU: Maryland snapped a 14 game losing streak to the Seminoles and beat a top 10 for the first time since 1990. This was the only highlight of the season with a 5-6 record
10.2005 Baseball returns to DC: After 34 years without baseball, MLB decides to relocate the Montreal Expos to Washington, the Expos are renamed the Nationals. The Nats would play at RFK for 3 years before moving into a new ball park. Nationals win the first game at RFK against Arizona 5-3.
9. 2005 Maryland vs Duke: With College Gameday in College Park, for the first time for either football or basketball, John Gilchrist had 19 points for the Terps and JJ Redick fouled out in overtime which the crowd went wild over. Maryland won in overtime 99-92
8. 2006 Redskins vs Cowgirls blocked field goal: At Fed Ex,game is tied 19-19, after Redskins kicker Nick Novak missed a 49 yard field goal the Cowboys drive into field goal rage kicker Mike Vanderjagt attempts a 35 yard field goal with 6 seconds left. Safety Troy Vincent blocks the field goals Safety Sean Taylor (RIP Man) picks up the ball returns it to the Cowboys 44 yard line. During the play Kyle Kosier grabs Taylor's facemask. The refs call the 15 yard variety of the facemask penalty giving the Redskins one untimed down. Nick Novak makes a 47 yard field goals giving the Redskins a 22-19 victory.
7. 2008 Nationals vs Braves: Ryan Zimmerman hits walk off homerun vs the Atlanta Braves in the first regular season game at Nationals Park.
6. 2005 Wizards vs Bulls Game 4 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: In a Nationally televised game on ABC in prime time Maryland product Juan Dixon drops 35 points in a 106 99 win for the Wizards. Wizards go on to win series 4-2 then get swept by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
5. 2009 Capitals vs Penguins Eastern Conference Semi Finals Game 2 Dueling hat tricks: Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby both score 3 goals. Crosby during the press conference says "I asked the ref to ask the fans to stop throwing hats on the ice (after Ovies hat trick goal)." We all know how we feel about that. Caps win the game 4-3, go up 2-0 in the series but lose series in seven games. That's why there is another Caps moment ahead of this one.
4. 2009 Capitals vs Rangers Game 7 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Sergei Fedorov scores game winning and series clinching goal with 5 minutes left. Win first playoff series since the 1998 playoffs, the year they were swept by the Red Wings in the Cup finals. Ovechkin wins second MVP in a row with 56 goals, 54 assists and 110 points.
3. 2006 Cinderella, 11th seeded George Mason Makes Final Four: After a regular season record of 22-6, a school record, the Patriots led by Jim Larranaga received an at large bid to the big dance as the 11th seed in the Washington DC region. Led by seniors Jai Lewis, Lamar Butler, and sophomore center Will Thomas. The Patriots beat Michigan State, final four team from the previous year, 75 65 in the first round, but the Green and Gold were not near finished yet as they then beat the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels 65-60. In the sweet 16, it was Wichita St next to fall to the hands of George Mason 63-55. Next up was the top seeded UConn Huskies again, in front of a home town crowd at the Verizon Center the George Mason Patriots defeated top seeded UConn 86 84 in overtime earning the school's first final four berth and becoming the lowest seed to reach the final four. The clock then struck midnight on the Pats in Indianapolis as they fell to the Florida Gators 73-58.
2. 2005 Monday Night Miracle in Dallas: I'll admit it, I went to sleep at the end of the 3rd quarter, yes me the Redskins diehard gave up on my team and little did I know while I was dreaming about the good old days of the Skins, a comeback was taking place in Irving, Texas. The Redskins had not won a game at Texas Stadium since 1995 and it looked like another long plane ride back to Ashburn for the burgundy and gold. The offense had been dead for the whole game and Dallas had dominated the whole game and with 3:55 remaining and 4th and 15 from Dallas' 40 yard line for quarterback Mark Brunell, there was no hope at all. Then, lo and behold Brunell let the ball fly and next was wide out Santana Moss catching the pass in the end zone for the Redskins first touchdown of the 2005 season. Next with 2:44 remaining 1st and 10 from the Skins 30 Brunell drops back and throws a 70 yard bomb to Santana Moss again for a touchdown the Redskins had grabbed a 14 to 13 one point lead with little time remaining. Then on the Cowboys last possession Sean Taylor laid the lumber on the Cowboys RB on 4th down sealing the win. Joe Gibbs in his second year back from retirement was drenched in Gatorade after the win.
Note: This includes both the Monday Night Miracle and moment #9 on this list
1. 2002 Maryland National Champions: After a heartbreaking loss to Duke in last year's Final Four, the Maryland Terrapins were on a mission to get back to the Final Four during the 2001-2002 season. Led by Juan Dixon and Steve Blake the Terps went 25-3 during the regular season. Despite a loss to NC State in the ACC tournament, the Terps still received a one seed in the NCAA tournament in the east region. The Terps cruised through most of the tournament with the closest of margin of victory being 8 in a win over UConn. In the national semi finals the Terps started out slow against the Kansas Jayhawks, but wound up beating rock chalk 97-88. In the national championship against Indiana as Maryland won 64 52 and Juan Dixon was named most outstanding player. The championship was the first for Maryland Basketball either men's or woman's and would be the only championship for any won last decade for any of the DC major sports teams (Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, Nationals, College Football and College men's basketball).
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