Here it is. 1/1/11. I warned you all a few months ago if you follow me on Twitter (@WordOnTheFarm) that this was the date of my return. As the end of 2010 came near, it was looking less likely that a new laptop would be coming my way to allow for this return. Thank God for school, because the extra money that I got this fall was enough to get the laptop, so now I'm back baby. I'm not sure how many of you all missed me (if anyone at all), but too bad. The Farm Is Back!
Now, I could do the easy thing and come back with a 2010 in review blog. Who said I do anything easy? No, this one is going to be epic. This is going to be a TRUE decade of decadence review. Don't give me this Aughts in Review from 2000 to 2009. The world wasn't created at year 0. The world didn't go from 1 B.C. to 0 to 1 A.D. It went from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D., and therefore, the true decade just past (2001-2010) is the decade that needs to be reviewed. I expect that this review will take two or three blog posts, just because of the sheer magnitude of how much needs to be covered. I'm going to start off with the ten biggest stories of the past decade. I don't think I'm putting these in any particular order, just because they all have their degree of impact on the sports world of the past decade. (The first five will appear in today's blog, the next five will be in the followup.)
#1. Daytona 2001. The Intimidator's untimely death. Dale Earnhardt was running in third on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, trying to protect teammates Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr to give Waltrip his first career Winston Cup win in 463 career starts. Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader were running up hard on Earnhardt trying to pull ahead and catch the two other DEI cars. The videos speak for themselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIGR07z5bpI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTHwbzWkYMA&feature=related
#1a. 2001 Pepsi 400. In the first race at Daytona International Speedway following Dale Earnhardt's death, another highly emotional story unfolded as Dale Earnhardt Jr would go on to win the Pepsi 400. Hollywood could not have written a better script for this race and the result.
#2. The Tiger Slam. This will be the first of two appearances for Tiger Woods on the top ten list. Granted, most of the titles that constitute the "Tiger Slam" were won in the year 2000, but the 2001 Masters was the culmination of what would have to be considered the greatest run of any professional golfer in the modern era. Tiger had won the 2000 U.S. Open, 2000 British Open and the 2000 PGA Championship, and had already won the 1997 Masters. Tiger would go on to win 9 majors during the decade, 13 World Golf Championship events, and 47 tournaments overall. More on Tiger in a bit.
#3. The New England Patriots. In February 2002, the New England Patriots shocked the NFL world by defeating the St. Louis Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI, 20-17 on a last second field goal by Adam Vinatieri. The Patriots entered the game as a double digit underdog by the Vegas oddsmakers, yet were able to slow down what had been dubbed "The Greatest Show On Turf". This was the coming out party for quarterback Tom Brady, who wasn't even the starting quarterback to begin the season. Brady came in as the backup to Drew Bledsoe, who was injured during the second game of the regular season. On the way to Super Bowl XXXVI, the Patriots would win their opening playoff game against the Oakland Raiders in a controversial manner. Known as the Tuck Rule game, Tom Brady was hit by Charles Woodson on a corner blitz and appeared to fumble the ball. However, after review, the play was called an incomplete pass because Brady's arm was moving forward at the time of the hit. The Patriots would go on to win Super Bowl XXXVIII and XXXIX, completing what many people have called the most dominant run in NFL history because of the salary cap that teams were forced to adhere to, unlike the Cowboys of the 1990s and the 49ers of the 1980s.
However, in 2007, the Patriots were also involved in one of the most publicized scandals of the decade with Spygate. The New York Jets filed a claim with the NFL after week one that accused the Patriots of videotaping the Jets plays during the game on the field. After a lengthy investigation by the league, the Patriots were fined a record $500,000 and were forced to forfeit their 2008 first round draft pick. Even after the Spygate incident, the 2007 Patriots would go on to become the only team in NFL history to go through a 16-0 regular season. However, the Patriots would not finish the season undefeated, as the New York Giants would go on to upset the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
#4. The 2004 MLB playoffs. The Curse of the Bambino. Yankees-Red Sox. The carryover from the epic 2003 ALCS showdown. The Yankees would start the 2004 ALCS in dominating fashion, winning the first three games of the series, including game three by the ridiculous score of 19-8. You would think the series would be over right? WRONG. The series was just getting exciting. David Ortiz would give the Red Sox life in extra innings in game four, hitting a walk-off home run to cut the series deficit to 3-1. Ortiz would do it again in game five, hitting a walk-off single to make it three games to two. Curt Schilling would return in game six in what became known as the "Bloody Sock" game, pitching with a torn tendon sheath in his right ankle and give the Red Sox a lift, forcing a game seven. One game from an epic collapse, the Yankees would ultimate choke away the series, with Johnny Damon hitting two home runs in game seven and the Red Sox romping their way to a 10-2 win in the final game of the series. The Red Sox would go on to win the 2004 World Series, ending 86 years of futility. Not to be outdone, the 2005 Chicago White Sox would break their own futility, ending 94 years of frustration by winning the title.
#5. The Decision. Where would LeBron go? That was the storyline after the Cleveland Cavaliers season ended in the 2010 playoffs with another disappointing loss. LeBron hosted meetings with various teams during the offseason, and led to what is being called an ill-conceived television special on ESPN hosted by Jim Gray. The questions Gray was allowed to ask were basically softball questions designed to promote the fluff that LeBron had to say. The catchphrase "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" has become a joke amongst the players who go to Miami and beat the Heat. The over the top celebration of the Heat's signing of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and their initial struggles during the 2010-2011 season made this spectacle look even more ridiculous.
