The best of 2017 TEAM NBS make their picks. With 2017 coming to a close we look back at which stories had the biggest impact on our staff and why. Did any of our picks macth yours? See what had us talking and join the conversation moving forward, into what should be an amazing 2018.
Armando “Monte” Perez: Jerry Jones, defending domestic violence offenders Greg Hardy and Ezekiel Eliott Yet criticizing peaceful protests and players like Colin Kaepernick
Julio Olmo “The Voice Of One”
The reason that I think Kevin Durant winning an NBA Title was the biggest Sports Story of 2017 is that outside Golden State everyone wanted him to fail. KD was in a “no win scenario”.
Win Title…”He was supposed win surrounded by all that talent”, Public
Not Win Title…”Mr. Unreliable strikes out, again!”, Public
Steph Perry:
While it may not be that huge of a story… my favorite sports story of 2017 was the Panthers beating the Patriots!
I was visiting New Hampshire that weekend for a wedding. Naturally, I brought my Kuechly jersey with me because I’m a Panthers girl NO MATTER WHERE I AM!
We went to a bar to watch the game and, of course, I’m the only Panther fan there. SO MUCH SALT from the Patriots fans, it just made the victory that much sweeter!
Isunji Cardoso:
This in an indirect sports moment, but for me it was Serena Williams becoming a mom.
Billy Lewis:
My favorite storyline in 2017 was the emergence of Aaron Judge. Judge wasn’t guaranteed a starting spot out of spring training and became must watch tv. He set the Rookie record with 52 home runs and ran away with the Rookie of the Year award. Not bad for a guy that had to fight for the starting right field gig.
Luke Johnson:
My favorite story of 2017 was Serena Williams winning the Australian Open while 2 months pregnant. The greatest tennis player of all-time continued to defy all odds by doing this incredible feat. Now she can go conquer motherhood much like she conquers the court.
Taylor Summers:
(Chris Long is donating his salary to increase educational equality. Credit Matt Rourke/Associated Press Chris Long, the Eagles defensive end, will donate his entire salary this season to charity)
I’m going with Chris Long, one of the defensive linemen for the Philadelphia Eagles, donating his entire 2017 salary to increase educational equality. He donated the first six checks to create two scholarships in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, while the latter ten have been used to launch his Pledge 10 for Tomorrow campaign. Through all the BS and things that don’t matter in this world, I found it quite admirable for a professional athlete to take the initiative with the finances and platform he has into making the world a better place for generations to come.
Kristen Ashly:
My favorite big sports story of 2017 is, of course, a goose-bump inducing college football moment. Clemson wins the national title against Alabama with one second remaining on the clock.
Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers met on 1/9/2017 in Tampa, Florida for the second time for a College Football Playoff National Championship. The entire game was a back-and-forth nail-biter, with Clemson scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter alone. The last 15 minutes of the game felt like an eternity, and there wasn’t an analyst in sight who would have bet against Alabama. Let’s face it; no one should have bet against Deshaun Watson.
Watson threw the winning go-ahead touchdown pass with only one second remaining to give Clemson a 35-31 win over Alabama. In that game, Watson set the record for most passing yards in a championship game with 420 yards.
Facts and numbers aside, it’s truly one of the greatest moments in sports for the year, if not for many more. Clemson isn’t exactly a Cinderella story, but the Tigers never gave up hope, and played every second like it truly was their last, which you rarely ever see in any sports contest, professional or collegiate. Both teams made the game unforgettable and entertaining, but Clemson dropped jaws around the country.
I know that’s more than 2-4 sentences, but I just could not edit it down any further 🙂 Here’s the link to the scoring recap of that game: https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18441710
Letisha Brown:
My favorite sports story is not singular, but rather the emergence of the weekly feminist sports podcast “Burn it All Down” hosted by freelance writer and sports activist in Toronto Shireen Ahmed; Assistant Professor of History and Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University Dr. Amira Rose Davis; Associate Professor of History at Hofstra University in New York Dr. Brenda Elsey; sports reporter at ThinkProgress in Washington, DC Lindsay Gibbs; and freelance sportswriter and author in Austin TX Jessica Luther. This podcast brings an intersectional feminist view to the biggest stories in sports including discussions of ESPN’s Jemele Hill and Brazilian soccer legends Sissi and Tafa!
Chandler Ragsdale:
For me my favorite sports moment of 2017 was the Houston Astros winning the world Series after Sports Illustraed predicted it 3 years ago. And with the city in a ruins after the hurricane it was the perfect medicne to lift peoples spirts up and show MLB teams you can win without breaking the bank.
Brain Hart:
Without question its Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees. During a “rebuilding” season to have a guy who barely made the team take off like he did, is bonkers. And the creation of the Judges chambers says he’ll be there for a while
Larry Bisagni:
The resurrection of The U. Love them or hate them, the Miami Hurricanes change the barometer (no pun intended) in the college football arena when they are a force to be reckoned with. From the turnover chain to 60 minutes of gold grill jaw jacking, the swag in South Florida is once again emerging from the smoke. The iconic Orange Bowl is sadly no longer, but it’s still the big, bad, in-your-face Miami Hurricanes. Al Golden who? What Mark Richt has done in the past year is nothing short of a miracle. When the ‘Canes matter, you’d better believe it’s good for college football.
Patrick Hilwig:
After seeing KD win the league MVP and Scoring title in the 2011-2012 season, only to lose to Lebron in the Finals for Lebrons 1st Championship. My Favorite moment in 2107 was seeing KD come back and finally get that elusive Championship and win the Finals MVP against Lebron
James Graves:
As a long suffering DC sports fan my favorite moment of 2017 was John Wall hitting the game winner to force game 6. The whole DMV was hype and the scene was electric!!
Blaire Buergler:
Moving past the historic Frank Beamer era the Virginia Hokies are on the come up. My favorite moment was watching the Hokies beat West Virginia in the first matchup since 2005, winning the black diamond trophy.
Joe Cardoso:
What a year this was SO HARD! I am all about the dream chasers the people who get counted out and told “you can’t do that!” Is anything as inspiring or motivating as seeing the underdog get what they work for? My favorite sports moment is seeing Jake Olsen play football in a real game. Who is Jake Olsen? Born with a rare form of cancer of the retina he was completely blind by age 12. After years of not playing the coaches got together pre game and Jake got to PLAY! It was AWESOMENES!! And my allergies popped up on this more than once.
Michelle Bir:
(Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle)
World Series, Game 5 Alex Bregman
Bergman hit a single in the 10th inning to bring Houston the win in one of the longest World Series games in history. What was an already an unpredictable back-and-forth game, he gave Houston the 13-12 win. In a contest riddled with game changing home runs, this is the one that sealed the deal.
We saw sports and real life issues crossover like never before and in the age of social media it was all there for us to see. What moments had you doing a double take? Tea up or jump for pure joy. See sports are just entertainment but they provide a great distraction and talking for us to debate and discuss. Cheers to a great sports 2017 and we can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store for us.
NFL
Moving past the historic Frank Beamer era the Virginia Hokies are on the come up. My favorite moment was watching the Hokies beat West Virginia in the first matchup since 2005, winning the black diamond trophy.
