A Recollection of the Year’s Best

As the year comes to a close, it is important to reflect on the year you had before moving on to the next one.  On this blog, it is important to reflect on the year in sports.  Feel free to create your own list based on these questions, or comment on mine.

Favorite sports moment (or season)?

This is a tough question, considering Villanova went to the Final Four in basketball, and also won the Division 1 Football Championship in Football.  However, the greatest moment in my life to this point was when I got to see Villanova win the National Championship firsthand.  I got to storm the field and celebrate with my favorite players.  Not to mention I was seen on ESPN2 with my “This is Szczur’s Palace” sign.  The Nova football season was about as good as it got for a fan.  Nova started the season by winning the inaugural Mayor’s Cup against city rival Temple.  Then the team went 9-1 the rest of the season to win the CAA and earn the 2 seed in the playoffs.  Nova beat #1 Richmond and #5 William and Mary along the way.  Then, in the playoffs, Nova beat Holy Cross, got revenge by blowing out New Hampshire, who had given Nova its only loss, then beat William and Mary in a thriller and finally beat Montana to win the National Championship.  The Cats earned three big pieces of hardware this year; the Mayor’s Cup Trophy, the CAA Title, and the National Championship trophy.  What a year for a fan, and that season was the my favorite ”moment” of 2009.

Craziest you have acted at or during a game?

This is another tough question.  I have really been crazy even when the games have been on television, but I will limit this question to a game that I actually attended.  It comes down to either Villanova Pitt, the last game at the Spectrum, Villanova Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, or Villanova American in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  I will eliminate the American game because, while I was cheering wildly, I was more scared than anything.  The last two are about as close to a tie as it gets.  However, I think the craziest I have acted at a game was the Villanova Syracuse game at the Carrier Dome.  From the opening tip, I could not be silenced.  I was getting up, screaming about my Nova players, and razzing the Syracuse fans about their team.  A few Syracuse fans were not thrilled about my antics, to put it mildly.  One guy sitting in front of me said that I would lose my teeth if I kept it up, another said to me, “You are the reason Philadelphia fans have a bad name,” and finally, a sixty year old lady from the next section over was continuously getting up, screaming, and pumped her fists at me when Syracuse would score.  So I guess I don’t really know if she was irritated by my antics, but I am just making an assumption.  What a game though.  Nova won by two, and Johnny Flynn missed a game winning shot at the buzzer.

Best game you saw?

Easy.  Villanova Pittsburgh in the NCAA tournament.  It was a back and forth game, and was the most evenly matched game I saw in the NCAA tournament.  No team lead by more than 5 points at any point during the game, and it was decided by the most memorable play of the 2009 NCAA tournament: Scottie Reynolds’ last second dash down the court to make the layup over Gilbert Brown.  Best game of the year.

Biggest disappointment?

If we are talking about sports in general, Tiger Woods no question.  But I am tired of talking about Tiger.  My biggest disappointment was the baseball season in general.  The Cubs were embarrassing this year.  We go out and get Milton Bradley to be a lefty power hitter (he is a switch, but who is counting right?).  Geovany Soto smokes pot in the offseason, gets in trouble, and subsequently has a terrible year.  Alfonso Soriano remains the most inconsistent player in baseball, although Carlos Zambrano, “The Great Zambino,” gives him a run for his money.  We get rid of Mark DeRosa, and then never were consistent at 2nd.  Real smart, Jim (Hendry).  Aramis Ramirez is injured for the majority of the year.  Harden and Bradley are gone, and we haven’t made many additions to this point.  It’s extremely frustrating as a Cubs fan.

One can not talk about disappointment in the baseball season without talking about the Mets.  Beltran, Delgado, Reyes, Wright, and Santana were all hurt for extended periods of time.  ERRORS ERRORS ERRORS!!! The team could not make a play in the clutch (ie. Luis Castillo dropping a game ending pop up against the Yankees, with Teixiera scoring on the play to win, Jeremy Reed throwing a 90 thrown from first to home 10 feet to the left of Omir Santos, and in the same game, Ryan Church not touching third on his way to scoring the game winning run).  There are so many more examples of why the season was just incredibly disappointing.  Mike Pelfrey balking three times against the Giants, which led to the Giants’ two only runs and the Mets loss.  I can only hope that the guys will stay healthy, Bay will provide a solid presence in the outfield, and the errors and dumb play will be reduced greatly.   

That is the year in review.  Feel free to place a comment (top right) about my examples or create your own examples based on the questions.  Happy New Year to all my loyal readers.