Ever since I started college, I’ve looked forward to winter break just a little bit more than I did in my youth. While I enjoy spending time with my family as much as anyone else, the real “present” is on Jan. 1, or, in many cases, the several hours of partying that precede and follow when the ball drops in Times Square.
As delicious as Taco Bell at 10 a.m. after a night of unwholesome fun, my favorite part of New Year’s Day is the bowl games. This year, the first day of the calendar year was especially unique.
It is fitting that, on the first day of the year, the nation was reminded of all that is wrong and all that is right in the world of sports and everything in between. The following three sports-related stories ultimately show that we can passionately detest, strongly stand the middle ground or show unbounded joy when it comes to sports.
Hours after the Denver Broncos’ season ended in disappointment with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, real tragedy and loss overcame the franchise as second-year cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered. Williams, 24, was described by his teammates, coaches and friends as a man of noted generosity and kindness. He was shot outside of a Denver nightclub when bullets from an assailant, who is still at large, sprayed his limousine.
Williams’ demise was a harrowing reminder that the personal lives of athletes are often shrouded in a subculture of violence, drugs and/or cheating.
Chances are, if you log onto ESPN.com right now and read the headlines, you won’t see game scores and recaps, but instead “Athlete X tests positive for steroids” or, “Athlete Y charged with third-degree assault.” While Williams was in no way associated with any of these negative things, it is a reminder that even the good guys can get tangled up with the wrong people.
A little more than 10 hours later, Bob Knight made history. The man both affectionately and derisively known as “The General” won his 880th game, surpassing North Carolina’s Dean Smith as college basketball’s winningest coach.
Over the past 50 years, one could argue that there has not been a more polarizing figure in the sports world than Knight. Some people stand by him fervently, citing his success on the court (three national championships) and his ability to mold young boys into men (his programs consistently rank among the highest in graduation rate).
However, some people say that, for all his methods, there is too much madness. His track record includes physically assaulting his own players, coaches and staff, as well as countless verbal tirades on victims, ranging from the media to referees.
But regardless of what side of the Knight fence you stand on, his surpassing of Smith brought out all sorts of reactions. And whether or not you approve, he is now, by a definitive measure, one of the greatest of all-time.
Merely 10 more hours passed, and the karmic world of sports provided fans with a chance to come full circle. Just as the clock was about to strike midnight, Cinderella was the belle of the ball-or shall I say, bowl?
While the Denver Broncos experienced all that is wrong in sports, the Broncos of Boise State reminded us why we watch sports in the first place, for in Glendale, Ariz., the most exciting college football game in history took place.
All the dramatic elements were there: a small-town David led the Broncos, who had been a Division I program for less than a decade, against one of the few Goliaths of college football lore: the Oklahoma Sooners.
By now you’ve seen the replays a million times-from quarterback Jared Zabransky’s ill-fated interception that penned him as the goat; to the hook-and-ladder and Statue-of-Liberty plays that sealed his redemption in dramatic fashion.
The fairy-tale ending was capped off by an engagement proposal from star running back Ian Johnson to his girlfriend, the head cheerleader. Disney couldn’t have written a better screenplay for this, folks, and it was all happening on live TV.
Thus, on the first day of the year, we experienced the whole gamut of emotions that comes with being a sports fan. Even if your respective teams were not involved in any of these games, the stories of Williams, Knight and Boise State illustrated what the sporting world is right now, and what it will continue to be throughout 2007. Even if it isn’t, I’ve only got around 350 days until next New Year’s.
