Best sports year of your life?

[Brontoburglar]

Did we have a thread about this before?

Anyway, if everything was set to stop right now, I think 2013 is the best sports year of my life and it's not even close. Which is kind of sad. Mizzou and the Chiefs, the Royals were above .500 and SKC could win the Supporters Shield and has a chance to do more.

Will it end that way? Who knows.

[sancarlos]

The year the Broncos won their first Super Bowl was the capper for me. But, the year back in the 1970s that they went from nowhere to the Super Bowl, with the team that featured Craig Morton, Haven Moses, Randy Gradishar, et al. was probably the year I was most excited - at least until they lost to Dallas in the Super Bowl.

Someday, if the Sharks ever win a Cup, that will be a great year, too. I was excited for the SF Giants' titles, but baseball ranks a bit lower on my list than football or hockey. And, Colorado State will never win anything of import (other than occasionally waxing Wyoming, right Pentagonz?)

[A_B]

RateMySportsYear.com is available.

[Johnny Carwash]

1991 for me. Not particularly because of the success of any of "my" teams, but because it was the first full year I followed sports really closely, and all the memorable/dramatic storylines that unfolded:

- A January that saw the unexpected end of the Joe Montana era in San Francisco and the Bo Jackson era on any football field, followed by the Bills-Giants Super Bowl, still the closest and (IMO) the best ever.

- The Bulls-Lakers NBA Finals. The 80's Lakers were the iconic team of my youth before jumping on the Bulls' bandwagon in my dumb teenage years; this Finals matchup represented a confluence of the two and a passing of the torch from Magic's generation to Jordan's. Many forget this now, but before the Bulls' dominance of the '90s there was widespread skepticism that Jordan, as a scoring machine who constantly demanded the ball and played without a dominant big man, could ever lead a team to a championship. A bonus was the absolute destruction in the Eastern Finals of the Bad Boy Pistons.

- A baseball season that featured one of the last great divisional races before the introduction of the wild card (Dodgers/Braves) and a World Series between two worst-to-first teams coming down to extra innings in Game 7. Plus a fortysomething Nolan Ryan tossing his last no-hitter and "El Presidente, El Perfecto!" before there were like a half-dozen perfect games a year.

- The Holyfield-Foreman fight, which at the time seemed to be treated more as a human interest story around Foreman's comeback then as a real test for Holyfield, who still had Tyson's shadow looming over him. Looks much more historically relevant now after Foreman's eventual championship triumph a few years later and Holyfield's ascent to an all-time great in his own right.

- The Pittsburgh Penguins winning their first Stanley Cup, which according to hockey people was a big deal or something.

- Finally, Magic Johnson's HIV announcement, which before 9/11 was the preeminent "where were you when...?" moment of my life. Easier to remember now as simply a "memorable" moment rather than the "holy shit, Magic is going to be dead in year" reaction of the time.

[rass]

I think the 2008/09 season for the Penguins is the most I've ever enjoyed following a team. The 05/06 Steelers season is a close second, but add in the SBXLIII win for the Steelers and I think 2009 is probably my choice.

[devilfluff]

Probably '95... Devils & Cowboys won championships.

[testy boxcar]

I had a Packers Super Bowl win and a Cardinals World Series win in the same calendar year. That was neat.

[degenerasian]

1986, similar reasons as Johnny Carwash. Not really for favorite teams (except the Flames) but for the first year of sports watching.

April: The 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs was the first time my dad let me stay up past the 2nd period of a Flames home game (I has just turned 10). The only time I watched an entire Flames game was when they went East (5:30pm starts). Flames made the run in the playoffs knocking out the mightly Oilers only to lose the Montreal in the final. I still remember Game 4 of the Final I had to perform in a Grade 5 play. I didn't not want to be there. My dad didn't even want to see me, he wanted to watch Game 4.

June: 1986 World Cup. My dad being a huge soccer fan had watched World Cups since he was little and either on radio or tv. This was the first year Canadian tv (CBC) showed all games live and with it being in Mexico City the time zone was perfect. My dad was pleased to be able to show soccer to me.

October: 1986 baseball playoffs were amazing. All 7 games series (Mets-Astros was practically 7 games) My dad taught me how to watch baseball properly that fall and I've carried that knowledge with me today. I still go over to my dad's for some sports viewing. I will be there on Sunday for NFL and Game 4 of the WS.

[Weatherfrog]

1988

Dodgers and Lakers

This was also the year I learned to love sports. Orel Hershiser was my hero.

[Pruitt]

I'll take 1993. Sure the Bills lost the Super Bowl again, but I was at 6 of their games and Rich Stadium was an event back then.

Plus even the Leafs were good that year.

But this is the highlight of the year -

[howard]

1984 began with my attending Super Bowl XVIII. Worked security for the league offices for the two week lead up, partied every night, cushy assignment game day in a spot I could relax and watch the game. Raider victory, the Marcus Allen game. Met and hung out with a bunch of folks, including Mack daddy Chris Berman, and three or four cocktail sessions with Dick Schaap.

Highlight came with two weeks of the Games of the XXIII Olympiad. Went to dozens of events, saw Carl Lewis win, Mary Decker fall down, Edwin Moses, a college Dream Team with young Jordan, Ewing, Mullin and Thunder Dan. Shook hands with Ali, met Pernell Whitaker and Evander Holyfield. My sister's two closest friends were competing (hoops and field hockey), one of my best friends played water polo. Three medals for my high school, one of each metal. Good times.

Still, I gotta pick 2010, just for the playoff run and World Series win. Maybe if Craig and the USA had won the water polo gold--then again that celebration might've killed me. the NCAA win five years prior nearly did. Yeah, water polo, bitches!

[kranepool]

1986, without question. It was a great year all around.

Escaped Catholic high school. Attended Amnesty International concert. Caught Miles Davis' "Tutu" tour and Peter Gabriel's "So" tour, among a few others. Spent most of the summer sucking face with Jennifer Heatherton.

From a sports standpoint, and coincidentally 27 years ago today, the Mets knocked off the Red Sox to win the World Series in 7 after dominating the NL all season, and then the Giants won the Super Bowl just 90 days later.

I also attended most of the Rangers' 8 playoff wins over the Flyers and Caps that season before they were knocked out in the Conference Finals by the Habs.

Good times.

[Johnny Carwash]

Jennifer Heatherton may be the single most stereotypical '80s hot chick name.

[Diamond]

1983.

The only title I've seen for any of my pro teams (Orioles).



My favorite baseball player ever follows his ROY with MVP.

Bills draft my favorite player of all time.

[The Sybian]

Bronto, as a Royals fan, I would have figured you'd choose a strike/lockout season.

[Shirley]

I don't know if I can say my best year, but college basketball is my favorite sport. Virginia is my college hoops team. And Virginia had easily my favorite season since I've been following them. It really was an incredible ride. They've had better teams (only a couple in the Sampson years), but no team ever had a better season.

So yeah, maybe this year?

[The Sybian]

Next year.

[L-Jam3]

Pretty obvious for me. 2008. I'm in attendance when the Phillies win the World Series, and the Eagles win the DVOA Title.

Damn, that second one is sorry.

[rass]

I think the 2008/09 season for the Penguins is the most I've ever enjoyed following a team. The 05/06 Steelers season is a close second, but add in the SBXLIII win for the Steelers and I think 2009 is probably my choice.

Mostly because of this game and sequence of plays (and the second to last football game before I became a dad and couldn't quite live and die with it the way I used to).

[Giff]

2017, mutherfuckers.