As longtime followers of the work of Emilio Estevez know, there are few moments in near-miss sports cinema history quite as devastating as a certain fateful penalty shot at the core of his Mighty Ducks character Gordon Bombay.
The missed championship game shot heavily informs the life of Bombay, portrayed as a child in the franchise by Brock Pierce. The character, of course, was carried across the entire Mighty Ducks trilogy, including in the 1996 closer D3: The Mighty Ducks.
Even more than two decades removed from the franchise's original run, fans are moved by Bombay's story. As a testament to this, look no further than the litany of Mighty Ducks-related responses that have been popping up in response to a viral tweet from The Atlantic's Jemele Hill asking for opinions on the "greatest what if in sports movie history."
From there, the Bombay celebration fittingly went a bit off the rails, but more on that in a minute. The future of the Ducks franchise—for those hoping for another visit to the nostalgic '90s empire—currently hinges on the new Disney+ streaming service. Back in January, select Mighty Ducks stars reunited for an Anaheim Ducks game. A revival series is said to be in the works.
Until then, what if Gordon Bombay...?
