Pop Culture Happy Hour On Sports: Introducing 'The Giant Foam Finger'

We talk a lot about nostalgia on Pop Culture Happy Hour — about the ways entertainment has shaped our youth and placed our memories in perspective — but in doing so, we've mostly discussed movies, TV shows, music, books, board games, that sort of thing. In almost exactly five years of doing the show, we've never really looked back on our sports memories, or even talked about sports much at all beyond the occasional Super Bowl recap or Final Four preview.

We've wanted to do more with sports for a while, and now we're doing just that in a series we're calling The Giant Foam Finger. At various points this summer, we'll examine our most baked-in sports memories — the highs, the lows, the times I've injured myself while attempting to punch the air in celebration (yes, it's happened more than once), and so on.

For our inaugural episode, I sit down with Code Switch blogger Gene Demby to discuss what is, depending on which of us is talking, either an amazing against-all-odds triumph of the human spirit or a soul-crushing debacle that's seared into our worst nightmares. It's a single play in a single 2004 NFL playoff game between Gene's Philadelphia Eagles and my Green Bay Packers, and as I note in the segment, it's warranted its own detailed Wikipedia page under the name "4th And 26."

We'll revisit more memories throughout the summer, and perhaps beyond. But for now, you can click the audio link for our tale of woe/triumph.