A good sporting clip can change your life. Seeing a great athlete perform a miraculous feat of physical power can create both inspiration and emotion. Sometimes the footage inspires people for only a short time and other times it changes the world.
To give all of our readers some inspiration… to call you all to become great yourselves… to light the fire of passion in your belly… I have compiled what I believe to be the 14 most inspiring sporting videos of all time.
14. The Best Martial Arts Tricks
I love seeing what the human body can achieve when it is trained properly. These guys are the leading martial arts trickers in the world and the high kicks, stunts and acrobatics that they perform are simply amazing. It is good to see clips like this because it inspires us to use our body to its full potential. Some of these guys look like they are flying.
13. The Fosbury Flop
In 1968 Dick Fosbury from the USA won gold in high jump by inventing his own jumping technique. Instead of jumping like everyone else he decided to “flop” over the bar head first. This is an inspiring moment because it shows us that sometimes parting from traditional techniques and using your brains and intuition can bring great rewards. A lot of history’s greats have done similar things.
12. Roger Federer Has Skills
If you know anything about tennis you will know that the greatest player around at the moment (and possibly ever) is Roger Federer. Watching him play lifts your spirits. His technique is perfect and he is a master of discipline. He rarely gets angry and he remains focussed even in the toughest of matches. This video clip is an inspiring example of his amazing ability. The funny thing is, there is a moment like this in every game he plays.
11. The Best Australian Rules Football Moments
Australian Rules Football is without a doubt the toughest sport on Earth aside from perhaps boxing and kickboxing. If anyone wants to tell me that NFL is harder I challenge them to come down to Australia and join in a game of AFL without all that padding. 
I am only trying to rile all our American readers up! Don’t take me too seriously. However, I wanted to include some of the best Australian Rules Football moments in this list as they show us how hard you can get hit and still get up, how far you can run and then run some more and how much you can push your body and then push it further. AFL is tough and it is inspiring.
This first video shows you some of the best marks (catches) of the last 10 years.
This second video shows you some of the best goals of all time.
This last video shows you some of the hardest knocks that you are ever likely to see.
10. Manchester United’s Come Back in the 1999 UEFA Cup Final
They were trailing the whole match and then magic happened. Two goals in added on time to win the game 2-1 against Munich. This was a special moment as it was the final trophy Man Utd needed to win the treble in one year. This was the peak of Manchester’s domination in Europe.
9. Lance Armstrong and Nike: What are you on?
Nike continue to break into the list with their amazing TV commercials. Lance Armstrong is in this commercial refuting accusations of drug use. This is a man who has won more Tour de France than anyone else, beaten all sorts of cancer and is still riding. This is an inspiring advert.
8. David Beckham Scoring Against Greece
This goal from Beckham is one of the best of his career. It was this goal that sent England into the World Cup and it came at a very important time for Beckham as people were starting to doubt his value on the England squad. Just have a look at this thing bend! Wait for the reply from the reverse angle.
7. Bruce Lee’s One Inch Punch
This clip changed the world of martial arts forever. Bruce Lee was bringing traditional martial arts to America where it was to take hold for good. His infamous one inch punch made headlines the world over and helped Bruce Lee make a name for himself as a movie star. It is an inspiring clip because it was the start of a legacy.
6. USA Beating the USSR in Ice Hockey
My father first showed me this video when I was playing in a tough soccer finals series. He wanted to show me how to deal with pressure and what an amazing win would feel like. This is truly one of the most inspirational moments in sport. This game symbolized a lot more than just a hockey win. It was a massive moment for the USA coming out of the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Watergate crisis. I am told this is the first time a crowd ever chanted “U - S - A!”. Watch it to the end and listen to the commentary. It will give you goose bumps.
5. Tiger Woods’ Best Shot Ever
An important shot for Tiger at the 2005 Masters. Here he shows us how good he really is. This is Tiger at his best. The reason I find Tiger so inspirational is that it shows how one person can change an entire sport. Michael Jordan did it. Now Tiger is doing it. Golf is more popular than ever before.
4. Jesse Owens vs Hitler
In 1936 the Olympic Games went to Nazi Germany for some strange reason. Adolf Hitler was determined to show that the Aryan race was supreme amongst all races. He didn’t count on the fact that Jesse Owens, a black man from the US, would perform as well as he did. It is inspirational because it shows how sport can sometimes help overcome racism.
3. Michael Jordan’s Final Shot
When Michael Jordan retired after the 1998 season a part of the NBA died and never came back. The greatest basketball player was leaving and it brought up a lot of emotion in people. However, it was not any ordinary shot - it was a match winner, a buzzer beater and a magic moment. It signaled the end of an era in basketball and sport in general.
2. Michael Jordan and Nike - Failure
My mate and I watched this old Nike commercial a few nights ago on the laptop and at the end we both realized we had seen something truly amazing. Nike commercials are always good but this one is great. The message is plain and simple but when it is said by Michael Jordan, possibly the greatest athlete of all time, it suddenly becomes very powerful.
1. Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman - The Rumble in the Jungle
This is without a doubt the most inspiring thing that has happened in sport. Ever. If you truly want to appreciate this moment you should watch the documentary called When We Were Kings.
Basically, Ali set up a fight in Africa with George Foreman. It was to be the biggest sporting event of all time. Ali was getting old and everyone thought Foreman was going to kill him. Literally. The fight went round after round and to everyone’s surprise Ali barely threw any punches! He was getting hammered.
Finally, at the end of the 8th round Ali did something that shocked the whole world and created one of the most famous images in sport. Check it out.
Any others?
I am aware that a list like this is always going to have omissions. So, can you think of any other clips that should be mentioned? Drop us a comment.
