The year in sports
Hailey Gajadhar, SPORTS COLUMNIST
This is it, you guys. My last column.
It’s been a great year for sports, and I’ve had a lot of fun writing this column for you. It’s made me a stronger writer and has given me a great reason to still keep up with what’s going on in the world of sports.
I started this journey a year ago with writing about March Madness—a column I’m still very proud of. It felt like the first opportunity I had to give my opinion on something I cared about in a form that other people would see. It was a thrill. I talked about picking with your brain over your heart but admitted that I still chose the University of Oregon because they’re my favourite team.
Let’s look back at the year we had.
Villanova beat North Carolina in the last second of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The last second. I can barely get my assignments in at the last second, never mind getting that game winning point at the last second.
Kobe Bryant retired. Kobe Bryant, a name I’ve known for as long as I can remember being interested in sports. My dad told me that I should cheer for the Los Angeles Lakers because they were purple and did well that year. So I did. This was when I was in Grade 4, so don’t judge me too harshly.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup. Not a very good time for me, since I hate most Pittsburgh teams, but the Stanley Cup is always an exciting time. You can blame my hatred for Pittsburgh teams on the Super Bowl of 2006, when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks.
Serena Williams won the Wimbledon final. Need I say more? Williams is a legend.
The Summer Olympics happened, and everyone fell in love with all the underappreciated sports again. Usain Bolt won gold in both the 100m and 200m for the third time, but had his medal from the 4x100m race in 2008 stripped from him in January.
The Cubs won the World Series—their first time winning the World Series since 1908. That’s 108 years.
The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl over the Atlanta Falcons after coming back from a huge deficit. They took the game to the first ever overtime in the Super Bowl in NFL history.
And that brings us back full circle to March Madness which is going on right now. This year I decided to go against my better judgment and picked with my heart again and went with the Oregon Ducks.
It’s been a wild ride friends. I hope you never lose your passion for sports.
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Hailey is a self-proclaimed champion heavyweight boxer.
Coming in at 5’1”, she has the reach of a 12-year-old boy and an opinion that won’t quit.
Having never been in a fight, she remains undefeated.
Follow her on Twitter @HGaj
