The end of the year is here. 2009. Let’s take a look back.
The Nets are putrid. The Giants aren’t making the playoffs. The Mets had a horrendous year. What a great year!
Last year, I wrote about how great 2008 was in sports. This year was pretty darn good too. The Super Bowl was great, the Lakers returned to glory, and the Yankees finally won it all. Again.
This is a short post even though this year is the most recent in my mind, but it was still a great year in sports.
Happy 2010!
Last year I was on Abc. No, it wasn’t LOST. It was the local news. Not for my accomplishments, but for the accomplishments of others. I was interviewed back in March of ’08 when the American University basketball team made the NCAA tournament for the first time. Ever. AU had made it close before, in the early part of the decade. But they had never actually made it. This year, however, was different. The team was great all around and they were unbeatable. I think at the time I was happier when AU made the tourney than when the G-Men won the Super Bowl. AU has been in D1 basketball for 50-some years. And they finally, deservingly made it in ’08. They won classic games in the Patriot League playoffs before beating Colgate in the final. And they played Tennessee pretty well too in the tourney.
It is hard to write about the Giants right now, because just this past Sunday they were eliminated from playoff contention. But at least I can look back to happier days, such as the 2007 season for the Giants, a season where they made the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl was won by the G-Men in ’08, but the season that got them there took place in 2007. They started out 0-2 and I figured they were done. Not so fast. They went on to win six straight games and make the playoffs. In the season’s final game, they played the Patriots closely. Despite the loss, I had a good taste in my mouth. In the playoffs, they beat the Bucs and then the Cowboys. The game against the Cowboys was great because the Cowboys had a 13-3 regular season record and had beaten the Giants in the regular season. The game itself was intense all the way to the end too. I remember telling myself before the Dallas game, that we could be one win from the Super Bowl if we beat Dallas. Little did I know that the G-Men planned to do more than just beat Dallas and make the Super Bowl. After the Dallas game, the Giants had to go to Green Bay. The whole week before I heard about how cold it would be, and when I watched the game, boy did it seem cold. This game was another classic. When it went to OT, I thought we were going to lose because the Packers got the ball. But Brett Favre threw an interception to Corey Webster and the Giants won it on a Lawrence Tynes field goal. I remember just sitting on the couch praying it would go in. And when it did, it was awesome.
I had gut feelings that the G-Men would beat the Bucs, Cowboys and Packers, even though they were underdogs against the latter two. But the undefeated Patriots? In the Super Bowl? They couldn’t do that. But they could. This team had a fabulous rookie class: Steve Smith (now their best receiver), Kevin Boss (Shockey who?), Jay Alford, Aaron Ross, Michael Johnson and Ahmad Bradshaw. Along with vets Michael Strahan, youngsters Justin Tuck, middle guys Eli Manning and Osi, and of course Plax, as well as a great offensive line and amazing defense, the G-Men did it. David Tyree’s amazing catch, Plax’s game winning catch. And it was over. 18-1 for the Pats. Super Bowl Champs for the G-Men. There is nothing like having your favorite team win the championship. Even if I would rather have the Nets or Mets win it before the Giants, I still love the G-Men. This has been my only championship experience. And it was great when the Giants won it. But of course, there’s always room for more rings!
I have been following a lot of the 2009 reviews and decade in reviews in the media. And they all make great points that I can’t summarize in one sentence. But everywhere, from magazines such as People and Sports Illustrated, to The New York Times and even “The Soup” on E!, have all shown unique views on the year and decade. I’ve seen how nothing much has changed, how everything has changed, and what the future holds. But I am here to continue with my personal decade in review, which I hope is different than the other media outlet’s explanations. Here is my take on 2006.
What stands out in my mind from 2006 is the Mets. I didn’t say it was a good memory. For those of you that have chosen to repress this memory, let me enlighten you. In 2006, Carlos Beltran and Pedro were adjusted to New York. Jose Reyes and David Wright peaked, and Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner, Paul LoDuca and Xavier Nady joined in the fun. The bullpen was outstanding and the Mets kept winning and winning. The Mets swept the Dodgers in the NLDS before reaching Game 7 of the NLCS against the average Cardinals. This was the game that involved Endy Chavez’s amazing catch which I was lucky enough to see live. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the end of the game because I had to go to bed as a tenth grader. Maybe that was a good thing. The Mets lost the game, and the Cards ended up winning the World Series. I always thought 2006 was the Mets’ year. They had everything going for them and then blew it. Oh well. There’s always next year. Oh, wait….
This was a year that I put into two categories. The first half, and the second half. Let’s start with the first half first, because that was mad (in terms of madness, as in march madness).
What I remember is the Elite 8. Every single one of those games was memorable except for UNC’s. Louisville played a classic game against West Virginia. This was where the term “Pittsnoogled” was created. The guy was off the charts from the three point line. But Louisville’s Francisco Garcia led the “Ville” to the Final Four along with….
Illinois, who came back from a lot down to beat Arizona. ‘Zona, led by Channing Frye, seemed like they had the win in the bag. But Illinois, led by Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine stormed back and got the improbable win. And they deserved it, because they had the best record in all of college basketball last year.
And then there was the night game. March of 2008. Kentucky vs. Michigan State. It was tight for a while, and Michigan State seemed bound to win at the end of regulation. But Kentucky’s Patrick Sparks made a three pointer to tie the game and send it to OT. Or did he? Was his toe on the line? His shoe size may have helped him here. After the shot was analyzed for a full five minutes, it counted. Michigan State won in overtime, and joined UNC, Louisville, and Illinois in the Final Four. UNC, led by a great team of Sean May, (who I saw play a couple of years before), Raymond Felton, Jawad and Marvin Williams, Jackie Noel and Rashad McCants, beat Illinois for the title.
In June, new Net Vince Carter led the team to the playoffs in the last game of the season. They lost to eventual champion Heat in the first round, but VC had a shot in one of the games to force OT.
Now, the second half. Of the year. I went to my first and only NFL game. The Ravens played the Browns. It was pretty cool….and purple.
And then the year ended, and 2006 came…which is up next!
There I was, staring face to face with Pete Rose, MLB’s all time hits leader. But he had writing all over his face. I was, of course, looking at him on the cover of Sports Illustrated. My first cover. The January 14, 2004 issue. I was so excited to get my first issue. And who’s on the cover? Pete Rose, confessing to betting on baseball. But I thought sports were supposed to be fun?
When I first flipped through the magazine, all I could think of was how boring it was. I was used to SI Kids, and I just didn’t understand regular SI. But hey, I was only 12.
The magazine started to grow on me though when it focused more on sports I knew and now I love Sports Illustrated. It is my favorite magazine.
Getting Sports Illustrated was in a way my gateway to the wide world of sports. This is the year that I began to know more and more about sports. And it was a good year in sports. In May, the Nets had an epic NBA playoff series with the Pistons. Even though they lost the series, they won a crazy game 5. It ended up being three overtimes. I remember I was in a hotel and watched the end of the game and one of the overtimes in the lobby. And then I had to go to bed and miss the end of the game. The next morning, I turned ESPN on and saw the Nets had won (127 to something I think). I think I jumped on the bed. Too bad we lost the last two games. We could no longer dominate the Pistons, who even beat the Lakers for the championship that year.
I think I even caught some of LSU’s win in the BCS championship game, although I was far from knowledgable in college football in 2004.
2004 was also a year of history. You know where I’m going. The Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918, breaking the curse. I saved the sports sections from when they beat the Angels, Yankees and Cardinals in each round, respectively. I started writing about sports during the ALCS and NLCS. I remember when Johnny Damon hit the grand slam in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees. I knew then that they had everything in the bag.
I also started following college basketball during this year. The first time I saw UConn play that year, I knew they were going to win it all. Just like I knew Matt Bonner would make it to the NBA when I saw him play for Florida in 2003. I just thought Bonner would because I thought he looked like former Net Todd Macculloch. Bonner is in the NBA, by the way. Anyway, I saw UConn beat Alabama on tv I think, and I knew they were going to win it all. And they did, beating Duke and Georgia Tech in the final four. Oklahoma State and St. Joseph’s also had a classic elite 8 game that I remember. John Lucas III sound familiar?
Phil Mickelson also won his first major, The Masters this year. I remember watching this happen.
2004 was a busy year in sports. A lot happened. I guess it was a sign of things to come.
Nice going G-Men!....NOT
2003 was the year that I sat down and watched my first football game that I could enjoy. It did not end well. But hey, it was a good game. It was a Giants playoff game in January. They were playing the 49ers and blew a big lead. Jeff Garcia led the 49ers on the comeback. The Giants had a chance to win it with a field goal at the end, but messed up the snap. If I was watching that game now, I would have been furious. How do you miss an easy field goal by botching a snap? But at the time, I thought it was a mistake that was not that bad. Maybe that was a good thing. Before this game, I had no interest in football. But when I sat down to watch this game, I could not stop. I think I had to get ready for school the next day but just kept watching.
Despite that game, my main focus in 2003 remained basketball. I was lucky enough to see the Nets make it to the finals for the second straight year. Even though they lost it, they had a great run. They dominated the Pistons and Celtics in those days, sweeping both teams in classic games in each series. Damn those Spurs.
At this point I was not very into baseball or football like I said before. Those sports would follow in the next couple of years. In 2003, it was all basketball.
However, I do remember watching some of the Marlins/Yankees World Series. I also caught some of the Cubs/Marlins NLCS (Bartman and angry Moises Alou ring a bell?), and the infamous Yankees/Red Sox ALCS. So I guess I did follow baseball a little.
Speaking of 2003, Syracuse won the NCAA title, led by Carmelo Anthony. Too bad I wasn’t really aware of it, although I would not have been overly excited if I had watched it anyway because I had no connection to Syracuse at the time. If Syracuse wants to make up for that, they can go ahead and win the title again this year!
This was also the first full year that I received SI Kids, which I sadly stopped getting…this past August.
Best Trade Ever.
In 2002, the New Jersey Nets made it to the NBA Finals with Jason Kidd leading the way. This was the first full year that I followed sports, and it certainly helped that the Nets were winning. But hey, I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know that a team could be 2-26, or that a fastbreak wasn’t all that successful when Jason Kidd wasn’t on a team.
Before 2002, I didn’t read the sports page in the newspaper. I didn’t like the Nets (I didn’t know who they were). And I didn’t even know who Jason Kidd was. I had no idea hat he was in his first year with the Nets and that the Nets had been absolutely putrid the previous year with Stephon Marbury. All I saw was Kidd leading the Nets on a magical ride before they were swept in June’s NBA Finals by the Lakers, who had reached the peak of the Shaq/Kobe dynasty. The Nets posted 50 wins during the 2001-2002 season, with Kidd alley-ooping to Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson coming onto the scene as a rookie, and Kerry Kittles doing whatever it was that Kerry Kittles did. This was the year that Jason Kidd became my favorite player. I didn’t pick him. He just was. And I don’t have favorites. I do not have any favorites except in sports. That is what is so great about sports. You can have a favorite team and player. It is just that easy.
In 2002, I was mainly following the NBA. I realized that my local Maryland Terrapins won the NCAA Championship, and I heard about the Angels winning the World Series, and the Pats winning the Super Bowl in January, but I didn’t follow those sports. The NBA had my attention, and that was what I knew. And with the Nets’ success, that wasn’t a bad thing.
I do not know what I just witnessed. The Giants, who are currently up 24-0 on the Redskins at the half, just made the Redskins look like idiots. Or maybe the Redskins did that to themselves. I’ll take the latter. The Redskins could have gotten a relatively easy field goal, but instead tried some bizarre trick play that the Giants knew were coming. They did it anyway, and all I saw was a ball thrown high and to about five different Giants players. The Giants nearly turned that reception (or interception) into a touchdown, returning the ball to the 50 yard line before time ran out in the half.
This was a dominant half by the Giants. They scored on basically every possession, and limited the Redskins to squat on nearly all of their possessions. The Giants need this. They need to continue this dominance or the second half if they want to have any chance of making the playoffs.
Update: The Redskins are such a messed up franchise. It is like Jim Zorn knows he’s gone and has become apathetic. It is like the team doesn’t care. Sorry, Redskins fans.
On another note, I love the NBA on Christmas. There have definitely been some classics, and Kobe and Shaq always seem to be playing, and more recently, LeBron.
Also, be on the lookout for part 3 of my decade series: 2002: The Beginning, coming soon.
This was a good year for Jason Kidd. He was traded to the Nets and would go on to lead the team to the NBA Finals. This was the year that I started to acknowledge sports, although it wasn’t until December. But I do remember a little pre-December.
I remember the Patriots winning the Super Bowl over the Rams and U2 performing. (Okay, so this was 2002, but it was with the 2001 season and I’d rather not mention who lost the Super Bowl in 2001 coughGiantscough). When I found out that the Patriots had won on a last second field goal, I though that they had simply been running around with the ball and some guy decided to punt it through the net. Little did I know.
2001 was also unique. September 11 happened, and the Yankees nearly managed to win the World Series for New York. Not to make a joke of the situation, but Yankee fans: your team was eight years late!
Again, Tiger was dominating. The golf course that is, not the gossip headlines.
Other than the above and a few accomplishments and championships here and there, 2001, which is actually considered the first year of the new century (not 2000) was pretty basic. It was nothing like the space oddysey movie.
Other non sports tidbits which I find interesting:
AOL and Time Warner merged (they separated just recently).
I hit double digits in age.
The whole Enron fiasco was happening.
And besides the major catastrophe of September 11th, I don’t remember much else besides what I learned in school. And neither me or you want to look back on that!
All I can say is, it has been about eight years since I saw my first NBA game (yes, I still have the ticket). Without that, you wouldn’t be reading this post!
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