Let’s Get In The Wayback Machine And Set The Dial For March 1992!

Duke fans, Kentucky fans and everyone else have gotten used to seeing the clip of Christian Laettner’s magnificent shot to beat Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight but time has kind of made it hard to remember what an incredible impact that game had. The day after, then-President George Bush was on video talking about it: “did you see the Duke game?” Everyone was talking about it.

This article from SI’s Vault really brings that back. The bit in the intro about Mark Alarie and Mike Gminski talking about that game during an NBA game when they were on opposing teams?

Amazing.

But not nearly as amazing as the game.

We forget Kentucky’s incredible comeback and how the Blue Devils and Wildcats kept one-upping each other down the stretch.

Both teams just kept elevating the play at the end, with neither backing down an inch. How often does that happen?

When you read this, keep in mind that it was written shortly after the game. It captures the sense of disbelief and astonishment that everyone felt. Enough time has gone by that a lot of people who never saw the game unfold have accepted the last few seconds as a reasonable explanation for what happened. It wasn’t and isn’t. Read this and, if you have time Sunday, go watch it from start to finish. You know how it ends obviously, but watching it unfold from start to finish?

It still beggars belief.