Every year at the end of the year
I find myself thinking back to the moments that made my heart stop. The moments
that left me speechless, the moments that will never leave my memory. Every
year at the end of the year, I write about the year in sports, and the moments
that really took my breath away. That moment of pure awe at an unexpected win,
or the feeling that my heart was going to fall out of my chest as my team was
seconds away from winning it all.
Every year I like to look back
and smile at the greatness the world actually has to offer, and every year at
the end of the year I try to push all the bad things out of my brain and focus
on the greatness that lies ahead of us. 2017 was a year that did not lack the
headlines. From natural disasters to racism and standing up for what you
believe in, 2017 had it all. If I could only say one thing about 2017 as a
whole, I would say more than anything, that we seized the day.
As a die-hard fan of everything
involving Toronto sports, I would say it was a pretty fantastic year for us.
First and foremost, I do not even know where to begin to explain how it felt
watching TFC progress through this year. A historic season is an understatement
for what the team accomplished, and to be able to say that I was fortunate
enough to witness it first hand, I feel incredibly lucky. It’s funny to think
that only a couple of years ago everyone in Toronto believed that Jermaine
DeFoe was going to be the savior for us all, and somehow that ship slowly
sailed and we were graced with a tiny little man from Italy who took our breath
away every time he stepped on the pitch. Not to mention the leadership coming
from our captain, and the perseverance and strength coming from the heart of
Jozy. Watching that final game was like something I had never experienced
before. And to think that just two weeks prior to TFC winning it all, the
Argo’s did the exact same thing. Pretty successful eh?
Now, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t
include something about my beloved leafs in here. In 2017, the leafs proved to
the league that there are big things coming. In Matthew’s first season, they
made the playoffs, and they put up a fight. I know you’re all thinking, Ok
Alessia relax, they lost in the first round, but that really isn’t the point
here. They did as well as they did with a bunch of rookies, who are only going
to grow and get better as time goes on. I think that sooner than everyone
thinks, the Leafs are going to be the team to beat.
The main event of the entire year
came late in the summer, when everyone gathered around with all of their
friends to watch two men battle it out in the most expensive fight of all time.
Late August, McGregor vs. Mayweather. If you didn’t hear about it, you were
definitely living under a rock. I think we can all remember how it went that
night, trying to wrap our brains around the fight, and the fact that Mayweather
proved that he was the best in the world at what he does.
It’s always a difficult thing to
deal with when tragedy strikes and there is no way for anyone to stop what’s
going on or make it better. When natural disaster hits a city, the most
important thing to do is stick together as a community. When Hurricane Harvey
struck Houston, there wasn’t much to do, but to wait it out and rebuild. But
there is always that light at the end of the tunnel that reminds us that things
do get better. What better way to shine light into a city than for a team to
win their first ever World Series. Quite honestly, 2017’s fall classic was
nothing short of brilliance, and I do not think there was one person in the
world that wanted it to end. A 7-game battle that ended just the way it was
supposed too.
Year after year I wonder how we
can ever top the previous Super Bowl. In the coming months, I don’t know how it’s
going to be possible for a team to shock the world like the Patriots did in 2017.
Yes, everyone knows the Patriots are a powerhouse, but after erasing a 25-point
deficit this past year, no one is ever going to think twice about doubting them
again. I’m putting my distaste for Brady on hold for a second, and I’m going to
say that he’s pretty damn incredible.
I know that Golf is a sport that
usually flies under the radar for most people. For me personally, The Masters
is my absolute favorite event on the tour, and this year, watching Sergio
Garcia win his first ever major in a sudden death playoff against Justin Rose
was something worth watching for everyone.
Another thing worth watching in
2017, was Roger Federer proving that he is seemingly ageless, that he will just
keep winning and winning, and no one is going to stop him. The man really did
prove he is one of the greatest of all time this year.
The NHL playoffs are always
something I look forward too. In 2017, when the Nashville Predators had been
seemingly perfect before reaching the finals, I was even more intrigued to see
the outcome at the end of it all. Incidentally, we know that the Pens took home
the hardware for the second year in a row, beating the Preds in 6 games. In the
NBA playoffs of 2017, it was another team looking to repeat, but instead the
Warriors were able to break the Cavs and win it all.
The Champions League is when the
best in the world face off against the best in the world. It is something that
every sports fan can appreciate and divulge in, watching as the greatest clubs
in the world battle to see who really is the best of them all. To put it
lightly, 2017’s final was a heartbreaking one for me, being a Juventus fan in a
sea of Real Madrid fans. It is what it is and I will just have to swallow my
pride and say that in 2017, Real Madrid proved to be the best.
2017 was one of those years that
I will forever be thankful to be apart of. With sports, comes that feeling of
being able to achieve anything. That is exactly what I hope to bring with me
into 2018. The feeling of knowing that nothing is impossible, and that we are
living day to day creating moments that will last a lifetime, because like I
always say, there is no greater feeling in the world than being a sports fan.
