|
Sayers on the Sidelines
Tim Sayers
Greatest Year in
Sports
Recently I realized how truly great and memorable
this past year in sports has been. It was a year full of memories,
great games, underdogs, the unexpected, one dedicated fan who
cost his team the chance at a World Series title, and, oh yeah,
some kid named LeBron.
"As a fan, I'll take the past year over
any previous year in sports," said ESPN.com writer Dan
Shanoff, and I'd agree with him.
We should have guessed that this past year
would be special when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first
Super Bowl title in franchise history. First-year head coach
John Gruden led the Buccaneers to an impressive victory over
his former team, the Oakland Raiders.
Then, for the first time in three years, a
team other than the Lakers won the NBA Championship as the San
Antonio Spurs polished off the New Jersey Nets in six games.
The NHL provided excitement as the Anaheim
Mighty Ducks came out of nowhere to make it all the way to the
Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the New Jersey Devils.
As exciting as the first half of last year
was, I don't think there has ever been a period in sports history
more exciting or fun to watch than the past few months.
The catalyst, of course, was the MLB playoffs.
With both league championship series lasting the entire seven
games, late game controversies galore, and a game-winning walk-off
home run by Aaron Boone, I found myself glued to my chair. The
World Series created its own shockwave when, in a true David
versus Goliath battle, the Florida Marlins upset the perennial
power New York Yankees in Yankee stadium.
Yet baseball's thrilling finish was outdone by the college football
bowl season. In 2003, half of the 28 bowl games had final scores
of less than ten points, including three of the four BCS games.
Last-second heroics won many games: California's
field goal kicked as time expired against Virginia Tech, Hawaii's
84-yard touchdown pass in the third overtime against Houston,
and Georgia squeaked out a victory in overtime after a 24-point
comeback against Purdue.
And now, the three overtime games in the NFL
playoffs have broken the season record, including the Packers'
Al Harris' game-winning interception against the Seattle Seahawks.
Meanwhile, Jake Delhomme has somehow carried his Carolina Panthers
all the way to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl
to create a match-up that could ultimately become one of the
greatest defensive struggles of our time.
It will definitely be difficult for this year
even to come close to capturing the spirit and enthusiasm of
the fans the way last year has done. However, with an unbelievable
Super Bowl match-up only one week away and an exciting college
basketball taking shape, this year possesses serious potential.
|
