Think back to the times a sporting event has had you and your companions standing and jumping and cheering and screaming in front of your television set. Many of us are adding one more occasion to our list of such chilling and delightful moments.

That would be Sunday night’s American swim team victory over the French in the 400-meter freestyle swim at the Beijing Olympics. The United States, despite the leadoff efforts of the fabled Michael Phelps, was a body length in arrears when Jason Lezak began his spine-tingling anchor leg. No way, many of us concluded, could the 32-year-old Lezak overcome French superstar Alain Bernard, one of the greatest sprinters in aquatic history.

But Lezak had his own notions about how things should turn out and he managed to rally and outdo the arrogant French team by 0.08 of a second. Both teams were below the previous world record time.

The stirring victory, rated as the greatest relay race in history, was even sweeter because Bernard and his favored teammates had boasted earlier they would whip the United States, decisively. In a later moment of disappointment French swimmer Amaury Leveaux flashed some sour grapes: “A fingertip did the victory. It is nothing.”

Better we than they, right? And it was SOMETHING!

Maybe we should be glad Lezak hadn’t cut his fingernails recently. But the U.S. put down the braggadocio French, a delight in itself. Even more important, it gave Americans new cause for pride in what its young citizens can accomplish against the world’s best. It was, truly, a moment to celebrate.

Many might compare the swimming relay triumph to the major upset by the U.S. hockey team against the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics. True, America still had to beat Finland the next day to get the gold medal, but it was that defeat of the Soviets that most recall.

Then recently, many had decided a trailing Kansas team had lost the national college basketball championship. The Lawrence area literally quaked when Mario Chalmers scored the three-point basket that sent the game against Memphis into overtime where KU captured the 2008 crown. Nobody who savored this delightful moment will ever forget it.

So it is with the U.S. swimming feat against the French Sunday night. It appeared it couldn’t be done except nobody bothered to tell the amazing Jason Lezak he couldn’t come from behind and put a fingertip to good use.

Sports moments to remember? We have a lot of them in our personal files and now we have still another thriller to drag out periodically and enjoy to the hilt.