2017 Year In Sports

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.