The Year So Far: Best/Worst Sports Moments
As the old saying goes, to everything (turn turn turn), there is a season (turn turn turn). I think both Ecclesiastes and The Byrds must be referring to the world of Sports with those words.
I kid, but in all seriousness, 2018 is only just over halfway done, yet has already unfolded beautifully for sports fans. The closing days of college football and the NFL folded right into the thick of college basketball. March Madness came to a close in the heat of the Premier League and the NBA season, both of which ended just as the World Cup was commencing. We might be in a 3-week lull right now, but we're oh-so-close to the return of Football...and I mean in that in both the European and American sense.
Anyways, here are the best and worst storylines from the various sporting leagues' seasons in 2018.
NCAA FOOTBALL
Best: New Year's Day, and onward.
How can a National Championship that ends with a walkoff touchdown in overtime not be the single best moment of College Football? Because it was the chaser to the Rose Bowl semifinal between Georgia and Oklahoma, arguably the greatest game the sport has seen in the last 5 years; certainly the greatest Rose Bowl since Vince Young in 2006. And even that New Year's game had appetizers: UCF securing their "national title" in a thrilling Peach Bowl upset of Auburn, South Carolina offing Michigan in a wild comeback, and Notre Dame stunning LSU with a last-minute touchdown. Truly, New Year's Day set the stage for an incredible postseason.
Worst: Alabama's farcical title.
I understand it's starting to sound like sour grapes, but I can't stress enough how much the joy of a thrilling championship was sapped by Bama's very presence in the playoff. The Tide didn't register a single Top 15 win, didn't even win their division, and still found themselves gifted with a chance to play for the Championship. Of course winning it all helps make their case, but when a committee of 11 people gets to handpick the Final 4, you don't get to cry that the ends justify the means.
NFL
Best: Super Bowl LII.
As much as everyone hates the Patriots, we all have to admit that when they play in the Super Bowl, something epic and dramatic is going to happen. It's gotten to the point where, despite myself, I almost want them to be there. This year was no different, as Super Bowl LII made their claim in the "Greatest Super Bowl Ever" sweepstakes that have seen many worthy candidates in the last decade. LII had everything: trick play touchdowns, trick play fails, controversial calls, a thrilling finish. And at the end of it all, the Patriots lost this time! The Eagles have not endeared themselves to NFL fans, but as a more casual observer, I loved seeing the excitement of an oft-maligned franchise win their first ever title.
Worst: The AFC Championship.
The counter to the Super Bowl was its preceding round. Semifinal Sunday saw the Eagles absolutely annihilate the Minnesota Vikings in a snoozer, continuing what's becoming a trend of blowout NFC Championships. But the first semifinal was a letdown in another way. The heavy underdog Jacksonville Jaguars, who are just a year removed from being the punchline of more than one Good Place joke, are a 10-point, 4th-quarter lead away from stunning the big bad Patriots and playing in their first ever Super Bowl. Yet predictably, luck, Tom Brady, and staunch defense conspired to see the Pats dominate the last 10 minutes and rally past the Jags, breaking the hearts of Jason and neutral NFL fans everywhere.
NCAA BASKETBALL
Best: UMBC beats Virginia.
If I could, I'd pick everything from January 1 through April 1. It was an incredible season, one of the wildest and most entertaining in my memory. But a season is not a moment, so what better moment to choose than the one that now probably qualifies as the biggest upset in college basketball history? Indeed, UMBC became the first ever 16-seed to fell a 1-seed, and did so in dominant, jubilant fashion. It's rare these days in Sports to see truly unprecedented moments, and we may have witnessed one of the last great ones this year.
Worst: The Championship.
For all the buildup of an incredible season and near-equally outrageous tournament, College Basketball ended with a whimper in 2018. To be fair, we probably shouldn't have expected too much of a ballgame from the start, considering it was a matchup of maybe the most talented team in the country (#1 Villanova) and a 3rd-seeded team in Michigan that was playing above their talent and had reached the final by playing no team higher than a 6-seed. The potential was still there, though, for a good game. And for the first 10 minutes or so, it appeared we were in for one. Once new kid on the block Donte DiVicenzo entered into his "can't miss" phase, the game was effectively over by halftime, leading to one of the most lopsided Championship games in years.
NBA
Best: The NBA Finals*
The history books will show it differently, but the 2018 NBA Finals were played between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. Yes, it was actually the Western Conference Finals, but I knew, you knew, everyone knew that the winner of this matchup would go on to beat whomever came out of the East (especially when we found out that team would be the 4th-seeded Cavs). The de facto Finals lived up to the billing, with Houston taking what appeared to be a commanding 3-2 series lead. Yet, Golden State drew level in Game 6 in front of a raucous home crowd, and when Chris Paul missed the last game for Houston with an injury, it seemed all but inevitable that the Warriors Dynasty would keep rolling. They ultimately did, but not before a fantastic fight from Houston that kept them in the game until very late.
Worst: The ACTUAL Finals.
See above. I personally never mind seeing LeBron lose, especially when it's a sweep, but I gotta imagine for the everyday basketball fan, that was a serious bummer of a finalé.
PROFESSIONAL SOCCER
Best: Liverpool's run.
Allow me this one indulgence of fandom. There really weren't that many sparkling moments or great storylines from domestic football this year (see below). Surely one of the best stories has to be Liverpool, right? The once-proud club had not been to the knockout stages of the Champions League in a decade, and in fact was playing in the tournament for just the 2nd time in the last 8 years. As the 4th-best representative of England, many would not have expected the Reds to progress too far in the tournament, but progress they did. After topping their group, they went on to defeat Portuguese and English champions Porto and Manchester City, respectively, by an aggregate of 10-1, setting up an unlikely semifinal between themselves in AS Roma. After blistering Roma in the first leg, they clung on in the 2nd to, against most odds, reach the Champions League Final. They may have fallen just short on the main stage, but they had a thrilling Cinderella run to that stage, and played some of the most attractive football on the way.
Worst: The Usual Suspects strike again.
This does not refer exclusively to Real Madrid winning their 3rd straight Champions League Final, though both the match and the result were an enormous bummer. It was a fitting close to professional soccer, though, as none of the leagues inspired any real drama in the title chase. Manchester City had the Premier League wrapped up by January, and Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Juventus all dominated their leagues, to the surprise of literally nobody.
INTERNATIONAL SOCCER
Best: The World Cup.
I'm cheating, I guess. The World Cup isn't really a moment. But when you only get it once every 4 years, you can't be too picky, you know? Especially with a Cup like this. I've mentioned before that I don't necessarily agree with the instant hot takes that proclaimed this the best tournament ever. But it did have just about all you could want in a World Cup. Loads of goals-- loads of great goals--, loads of drama, more than a couple terrific matches, star performances from star players, and bona fide Cinderella runs from Russia, Sweden and particularly Croatia. There is always a deep sadness that comes as soon as a World Cup ends, but I was especially to see this one go.
Worst: The World Cup Final.
Noticing a theme here? As was the case in the College Basketball, NBA and Champions League seasons, the final was an extreme letdown compared to what came before it. I am of course thankful that the winner I didn't want was a still-likable France team, and that the match had plenty of goals and an outrageous keeper howler to keep us entertained, instead of being treated to another listless 1-0 result. But, one can't help but feel as if the Final was not the match soccer fans deserved, albeit the one we might have expected.