Exhaust: Taken or Given?

At the time, I was crushed. The euphoria of watching your team win never matches the pain of seeing it lose, especially when they have a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter at home in the playoffs. Blowing it really, really hurts. Yeah, Miller got hot, but that’s what you build a 12-point lead for. You do it so you can absorb some of those hits.

In the day and weeks after that game, two narratives emerged. Did the Knicks blow it? Or did Miller just win it? I firmly believed the Knicks blew it (even though they actually came back to win the series by taking the final two games. There’s always hope, Ryan Dungey fans). As decades have passed, though, only one narrative has emerged as the winner. The Knicks didn’t choke as much as Miller simply won it. His fourth-quarter performance coined a phrase “Winning Time,” a play on the Miller Time slogan from the beer commercials. Reggie Miller’s clutch, come-from-behind performance is now considered one of the greatest playoff moments in NBA history, and it doesn’t really matter what team he did it against. Miller’s performance stood the test of time. The Knicks? They were just swept up in a tornado of greatness.

We reached that argument when Eli Tomac got around Ryan Dungey for good on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. It completed a comeback for the ages. Twentieth in the first turn, first at the finish (and it wasn’t even close!) against his title rival, who had the early lead. That’s a virtuoso performance, a signature ride, one that won’t soon be forgotten. During the race, texts were pouring in, and Twitter was going crazy, first with analysis, then everyone was just reduced to stuff like “OMG” and “Holy sh%t.” No one could get their heads around this next-level speed.

The only thing I had left was to theorize if anyone—maybe Ken Roczen—would have something for this.

In the conjecture during these days after, everyone started studying the whoops where Eli made up most of his time. Not only was Eli great in the whoops, but Dungey was bad in them. Ryan Dungey had the lead, in a must-win situation, and he failed to win. In fact, once Tomac got him, he didn’t come back with vigor (or contact) that a desperate man in a desperate situation would be expected to do. Go think of Chad Reed, Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Ricky Johnson, Jeff Stanton or Bob Hannah in that situation. Maybe they wouldn’t have beaten Tomac, either, but you know they would have either rammed him or crashed trying to keep up.

Those are the thoughts of today, but when we revisit this race in 10 years—and we will—all thoughts about Dungey will be gone. During the next close title fight, or after the next incredible comeback, Tomac’s Salt Lake City performance will be referenced again, and then again. It will join the pantheon of great rides, and everyone will remember it as a singular amazing performance from Eli. James Stewart went crazy in Toronto in 2014 and passed just about everyone on the track by jumping some crazy jumps. Everyone remembers that vintage, signature Stew performance. But who did he even pass for the lead? No one really remembers that. (It was Justin Barcia.)

Stewart also came from last to first at the 2003 Budds Creek National in a ride that brought the Bubba Scrub to the masses. It was amazing. Who did he pass for the lead? Broc Sellards.

Ricky Carmichael once lapped the field in the rain at Millville. Who was the last guy he passed to put a lap down? No one really remembers. (It was David Vuillemin.)