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7 Classic Sports Moments Recreated in Lego
Sometimes, a single moment in sports is so transcendentally classic, that the only way to recapture in its full glory is to rebuild it brick by brick. Literally. Using Lego building blocks as their medium, here are seven sporting events (from football, America's version, to football, the rest of the world's version) retold by meticulous architects in a pint-sized format.
1. Andy Murray's Wimbledon Victory
Andy Murray's dispatching of Novak Djokovic in July of 2013—the first time in 77 years that a native Brit won the men's singles tournament and defended his home turf—was immortalized by British publication The Guardian in the form of a stop-motion Lego animation capturing the final two minutes of Murray's victory on Wimbledon's hallowed center court.
Brick-by-brick videos are something of a calling card for The Guardian's sports page: The Lego-wielding crew has Lego-fied all things athletic, from highlights from the London 2012 Olympic Games (both Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt got the Lego treatment) to Champions League soccer matches. And, for Lego enthusiasts rather than sport ones, designer Fabian Moritz screened a behind-the-scenes glance of the crew's Lego animation project, including the woes of using figures that don't have elbows.
2. David Beckham's Entire Career
Since Becks once confessed in an interview that he'd finagle a career as a Lego architect if being a footballer didn't pan out, a homage filmed and animated with Lego bricks as a highlight reel of sorts spanning the soccer star's career feels appropriate.
Wrapping up the four-and-a-half minute project in two weeks, Japanese animation studio Mori Pictures snapped some 1000 still photographs of a well-coiffed brick Beckham doppelganger standing in for the superstar's biggest moments, including the highs (a bending free kick over an awkwardly-smiling Greek defense) and the lows (Beckham's smiling Lego face being replaced with an angry smirk when flashed a red card).
3. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
What it lacks in animation, it makes up for in volume: In 2008, Lego enthusiasts from Hong Kong unpacked more than 300,000 Lego bricks and 4500 Lego citizens to construct a replica of Beijing's Olympic Village during the Summer Games. Measuring in at 10 feet by 26 feet, the construction includes the Bird's Nest Stadium, the Water Cube, and a host of athletes mid-competition.
The exhibition, built by the aptly named Hong Kong Lego Users Group, went on display at Hong Kong's Grand Century Place during August of 2008.
4. Chris Webber's Infamous March Madness Timeout Call
As a crash course for March Madness neophytes, Tauntr (a website that has also chronicled World Cup and classic NBA playoff highlights in Lego form) animated four classic moments from NCAA college basketball history using Lego bricks. The video, clocking in at just over two minutes, includes "One Shining Moment" highlight reel staples like Christian Laettner's late game heroics in 1992 to help Duke polish off Kentucky, Tyrus Edney's mad dash for a shot as Missouri toppled UCLA in 1996, and, most recently, Butler's Gordon Heyward's missed desperation shot in 2010's title game loss to Duke.
The highlight here is a Lego recounting of University of Michigan superstar Chris Webber's poorly orchestrated timeout in 1993's tournament game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. In a stroke of clever inspiration, the folks at Tauntr include a fan waving a sign that points out, "This Won't Count Anyways," referencing NCAA sanctions against the Wolverines when Webber was found to have received illegal benefits.
5. A Brief, Lego-ized History of FIFA's European Championship
A teenage England national football team supporter, 18-year-old Graham Love, preempted FIFA's 2012 European Championship with a YouTube video retelling some of the tournament's most storied moments with Lego figures. Love was aware of his national side's woes in the tournament when he shot the video: He spotlighted a handful of moments from the tourney most England fans would probably like to forget, including England's failure to qualify on their home field (historic Wembley Stadium) against Croatia in 2008.
The optimistic Love capped his video—which spanned from Cristiano Ronaldo's bawl after losing in the 2004 final to a cameo of Ireland's Ray Houghton scoring on a header in Euro 1988—with a graphic asking, "Hodgson's Heroes 2012?" Alas, Love's beloved Three Lions (nicknamed for skipper Roy Hodgson) lost in the quarterfinals in a penalty kick shootout against Italy.
6. Super Bowl XLV
German website Bricksports.de dipped its toes into the Lego animation pool, initially only recreating football matches including Bundesliga club Hannover 96. After tackling more major sporting events—2008's European Championship and the 2010 World Cup—Brick Sports finally crossed over to cover the holy grail of competitions across the Atlantic: Super Bowl XLV. Brick Sports captures the game's signature plays, right down to the teams' pre-game tunnel sprint. Their reimagining of the Super Bowl captured the interest of The Guardian, and Brick Sports teamed up with the publication for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
7. The Red Sox' 2013 World Series Win
OK, so it's not quite Lego, but after the Boston Red Sox trumped the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2013 World Series, Sports Illustrated for Kids used Lego-esque OYO Sportstoys to recreate pivotal moments from the series in painstaking detail. The figurines also gave SI Kids some joints that The Guardian's Moritz lamented that Lego lacked (OYO Sportstoys are more flexible).
Using what Sports Illustrated For Kids deemed "stunning OYO brickimation," the magazine also recapped the most memorable plays from the American League Championship Series and its National League counterpart. The players are OYO, but as CBS Sports sleuthed, the playing surface is made of Lego.