2011 in Sports

Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to the Lombardi trophy in 2011.

2011. The year that “The Big Three” was beaten. The year the Packers brought the Lombardi trophy back home The year Albert Pujols won another world series with the Cardinals… then went to the Angels. The year that Cam Newton won the Heisman. The year that the U.S women’s team lost in the World Cup Finals.

2011. The year that Jerry Sandusky, Bernie Fine, and countless others were convicted of sexual abuse. The year that Ohio State University was given a bowl ban, and the loss of numerous scholarships.  The year that fans of the Vancouver Canucks rioted It was also the year of multiple lockouts. The NFL missed training camp, while the NBA is starting its season on Christmas. 

It was  a year of guaranteed titles during the preseason. These such guarantees came from LeBron James, of the Miami Heat, and Vince Young from the Philadelphia Eagles. The Heat lost in the NBA finals, 4-2 to the Dallas Mavericks. Though the NFL is still going on, the Eagles have an extremely slim chance of making the playoffs. 

It was also a year of unexpected championships. The Green Bay Packers became the first number six seed in the NFC to make it to the Superbowl, and then proceeded to beat the Steelers. The aging Dallas Mavericks, led by fiery owner Mark Cuban, managed to beat the Miami Heat. The St. Louis Cardinals surprised everyone to win yet another World Series. 

Abby Wambach led the U.S women to a second place finish in the World Cup. 

Then there was the Women’s Soccer World Cup. Led by Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Hope Solo, the U.S reached the World Cup Finals against Japan. It was the first time the U.S women reached the World Cup Finals since 1999. That 1999 team was led by Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers. After 90 minutes of play, the score was tied 1-1. The game went into extra time. 30 minutes later, each side had scored another goal. The game then extended to penalties, in which the Japanese side scored three penalties, to the United States’ one. 

This past year in sports was a peculiar year. There were sex abuse scandals, there were the NBA and NFL lockouts. Through all of this however, Aaron Rodgers finally broke free of Brett Farve’s shadow. Dirk Nowitzki won his first title, and demonstrated that super teams don’t always win titles. The Texas Rangers were present in the World Series again. And lost. Again. Kemba Walker and his UConn team marched through March Madness, and beat Butler 53-47. Butler, like the Texas Rangers reached the National Championship once more. Also like Texas, Butler lost twice on the big stage.

Lockouts and sex abuse. Both the NFL and the NBA closed their doors to  players for an extended period of time in 2011. Jerry Sandusky, Bernie Fine, and (Chicago area basketball coach) Robert Mueller were all convicted of sexually abusing children this past year. Their actions sets a standard for  relationships between players and coaches. Anything a coach does will be watched.

Despite all of the horrible actions that occurred, good things happened in sports too! The U.S. Women put Women’s soccer on the map, David Beckham, Landon Donavan, and the Galaxy won the MLS title, the team’s first since the arrival of David Beckham. The Boston Bruins won their first championship since 1972. 

After 2011, who knows what to expect in 2012? Will LeBron finally win a title? Will “The Great Pujols” lead the Angels to a championship? Will USC, after their bowl ban is over, win the BCS championship? Will Peyton Manning come back from a neck injury? Will there be anymore scandals in college sports? No one knows. No one can tell what will happen.

Top Athletes of 2011: 

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers 

Abby Wambach, U.S.A Women’s Soccer Team

Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals