Before that, sports had always been about seeing a winner emerge, a loser limp off and for rooting interests to develop accordingly. Now, with results not an issue, there was still something appealing about watching Bubka go. He competed against himself, and was quite possibly more determined than he would be against an actual opponent.

I picked up on the beauty of watching an athlete push his own limits.

Another figure of Garden lore, the more widely-known Willis Reed, gave the country one of the greatest sports moments in its history when he limped onto the Garden court in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Having torn a muscle in his right leg in Game 5, the captain and MVP defied expectations and human physiology to inspire his teammates to an incredible victory.

What is the importance of Reed's triumph here? Simply that the most enduring aspect of that magical May evening wasn't the two shots Willis hit in the opening minutes or the champagne bath he received at the end of the game.

What sent chills down the spines of 20,000 fans in that arena was when Reed tested out his injured leg prior to tipoff. His warm-up routine that night is the only one I can remember that received actual play-by-play, as well as the rapt attention of the entire opposing team.

The situation was very intense, with the NBA Championship on the line. Still, I think that Reed's brief practice session would have been exhilarating even if one removed the Lakers, the fans and the tension of a playoff situation. There was a drama inherent to Willis' testing the limits of his body and being utterly uncertain of what the results would be.

I was able to appreciate this part of the drama as I watched the game on the Classic Sports Network almost three decades later. I owe that appreciation, in part, to Sergei Bubka.