1992 was a significant year for the sporting world, while at the University of East Anglia a new student newspaper was conceived on 22nd January called Concrete.
Concrete was not the only thing founded in 1992, there were great changes to football as the Premier League and Champions League were both given a new name that still exists to this day. Manchester United won the Premier as Marseille took home the newly named Champions League.
Staying with football as the 1992 Euros gave us a brilliant story. Denmark, who initially failed to qualify for the tournament, won their first title in Sweden. This came after the disqualification of Yugoslavia due to the ensuing Yugoslav Wars.
1992 saw both a Summer and a Winter Olympics, which was the last time the two would be competed for in the same year. Barcelona hosted the Summer version, the Winter one was hosted in Albertville, France.
The highlight of the Summer Olympics was the ‘Dream Team’, widely accepted as the greatest basketball team ever assembled. Headed by Micheal Jordan, whose MVP season had led the Chicago Bulls to their second NBA title, the team beat their opponents by an average of 44 points to take Gold.
The games also signalled the return of South Africa, who competed for the first time since 1960 due to the sanctions placed upon them as anti-apartheid measures. By 1992, the people of South Africa had voted for the end of apartheid.
The Pakistan team, labelled the ‘cornered tigers’ by their captain and now Prime Minister, Imran Khan, beat England to the 1992 cricket World Cup. It was also remembered for the controversial ‘rain rule’ that left South Africa needing 22 off the last ball and essentially knocking them out in the semi-final.
A lot has changed since 1992, not just in the world of sport but Concrete as well. 30 years ago would have been an exciting time for those running the Sports section at Concrete. While World Cups, Olympics, and European Championships took place. UEA Pirates lost their coach before the end of the season as he resigned, a new £650,000 Hockey Centre was being built at UEA and unfortunately, UEA defeats outnumbered the victories in the 1992 UAU.
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