When we last left Brendan and his so called “web-log,” it was November of 2008, and we were in the midst of the college and pro football seasons. I was in the middle of lamenting (well, to my friends, not here) that my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers looked OK, but there was no way they would make a deep playoff run with that offensive line. At that point, I had put Penn State having a better chance of winning the NCAA title (which I had at slim) than the Steelers winning the Super Bowl.
Then they went and won it.
Also, my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins had all sorts of mood swings since losing to the Red Wings about a year ago. Basically, they went from “dude, looking good” to “how bad is it when we can’t make the freakin’ NHL playoffs?” to “STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!” The Penguins had more people at their victory parade than the Steelers did – and to outdraw the Steelers in the Steel City is an accomplishment, no matter how much better the weather is.
Anyway, I don’t want to rub my sports victories in anybody’s face (just remind me of the woeful Pirates, and what happened to Penn State on January 1st if I try to do that!). I bring this up to ask a question:
What is the BEST year your sports teams have ever had? My answer is obvious – 2008-9. Its never been better for a Pittsburgh sports fan born after 1979. I remember the thread we had where we lamented our worst sports losses – so how about the opposite? What was your favorite team’s best win? What was the best year your favorite sports teams have ever had?
Best year for me? 1991-1992 football season. Huskies went undefeated, beat 10-0 Michigan in their second of three Rose Bowl trips in a row, and were National Champions.
Worst year? 2005-2006. Husky QB Issaiah Stanbeck gets injured, probably preventing us from going to a bowl game, the Mariner’s were still sucking, and of course the refs screwed the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
Congrats, B. Minich, you get the first ever “promoted” guest post on the new blog. 🙂 I also took the liberty of changing the title to make it more obviously interactive, and adding a link to the earlier thread you referenced. Anyway, nice post!
For me, the best year would have to be 2004-05. In October, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since my paternal grandfather was 8 years old. Meanwhile USC was running the table, and in January, they crushed Oklahoma to earn their lone *undisputed* national championship of the current dynasty era (*cough cough* Reggie Bush *cough cough* not really undisputed, could be vacated by the NCAA *cough cough*… SHUT UP, VOICE IN MY HEAD!).
The only other year that comes close, I think, would be 1999, just because the UConn Husky men’s victory was so joyous all on its own, especially coming my senior year in high school, and especially because it was such an unexpected stunner vs. hated Duke. Also, that year was the real birth of my Gonzaga obsession, as the Zags went to the Elite Eight, only to be eliminated by…. the UConn Huskies. D’oh! But there wasn’t really anything outside of college basketball that was particularly noteworthy, so 2004-05 beats 1999.
In terms of greatest individual wins ever… that’s easy. October 15, 2005. ‘Nuff said. (Sorry, I know that day was painful for you as a Penn State fan, due to a totally unrelated game…)
I’m going to go with 2007 though, with the caveat of stretching into January of ’08. This is due almost entirely to the LSU football season, though the Sabres 2006-07 team was almost certainly the best of my lifetime. 2006 is a close contender, though, with St. Louis winning the World Series, and the Sabres’ coming 20 minutes from a Cup Final despite running out of defensemen. For purposes of this discussion, I will ignore the Bills, who did their best to drive me to murder with the loss to the Cowboys in 2007.
08-09 hands down. I was at Game 5 of the World Series to see the Phillies take the trophy and I was at the PSU V. Iowa game where they Hawkeyes won on a field goal with time expiring. Both were amazing.
I don’t think a team I’ve really liked has won it all since I’ve been alive.
Hockey:
Bruins, Flyers, Caps. Nope.
Football:
Eagles, Terps. Nope.
Oh well. :/