With 2013 in the rearview mirror, another year of sports is in the books. Like every other year in sports history, 2013 was not short of its memorable moments. Both teams and individuals from the college to the professional levels experienced victory and triumph, while others were forced to dwell in a series of disappointments and underachievement. The Best and Worst of Sports in 2013 are aplenty, but there were some highlights that were rather prominent to all of the sport’s community.
At home in Fort Worth, the TCU Men’s basketball team claimed a record of 11-21 for the 2012-2013 season. This lackluster season is nothing to take not of but in February TCU stole its first win in the Big 12 with a shocking 62-55 victory over the then number five team in the nation, Kansas Jayhawks. This was TCU’s first ever win over a top five team, and will be forever remembered by Horned Frog players, coaches, fans, and students.
However, TCU will want to forget its 2013 football campaign. With high expectations for the season and no clear dominant force in the Big 12, TCU Football had lofty goals for the program. With the reemergence of quarterback Casey Pachall and an on-paper dominant backfield, TCU was a force to be reckoned with and was even labeled a potential dark horse in the race for the BCS National Championship. After a close loss to SEC powerhouse LSU, Pachall experienced an arm injury that sidelined him for a number of games. The Frogs were unable to bounce back, resulting in an overall record of 4-8 and a conference record of 2-7. This was TCU’s worst season under Gary Patterson and the worst in almost twenty years when the Frogs went 1-10 and 1-7 in 1997. It is season the Horned Frogs will want to soon leave in the shadows.
Former University of Florida and New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, having just signed a new contract seemed to be in the fast lane to football greatness. This came to a screeching halt when he was charged with the murder of an acquaintance and semi-professional football player, Odin Lloyd. Upon the release of this news, the Patriots organization promptly relieved Hernandez from the team and offered exchanges for all of his jerseys in an effort to distance themselves from him. With detectives and investigators snooping into his private life and background, Hernandez was linked to another shooting in 2012 in Boston and another incident that resulted in a pending lawsuit in Miami. 2013 was a major turning point for Hernandez’s career and even if these charges are dropped or he is found not guilty, his future in the NFL may be in jeopardy.
In 2013 Major League Baseball’s Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) scandal came to light resulting in the suspension of 13 Major League Players including soon to be household names like Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez. This was not the first time Braun was brought under the public’s scrutiny but he put on an adamant public display claiming his lack of involvement. This only served to further discredit him when hard evidence was discovered that linked him to PEDs resulting in a suspension of the remainder of the season which was 65 games. Suspicion has always surrounded Alex Rodriguez and 2013 was the year that the pressure revealed the truth. A-Rod was found to be a frequent and heavy user of PEDs and was subjected to public and media spotlight. He fought his case claiming to be a victim of the system but hefty punishment was handed down. He is to be suspended a full 162 games, or a full season in 2014. He is past his prime, as his numbers have steadily decreased over recent years so his professional future may dwindle in the hands of those few who believe he is worth a try.
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston followed closely in Johnny Manziel’s footsteps becoming just the second Freshman to receive the coveted Heisman Trophy. Despite facing potential sexual assault charges that were never officially filed, Winston led the Seminoles to arguably the most statistically dominant college football season ever. Completing the season with a perfect record, Florida State’s average winning margin was 42 points per game. FSU also dethroned the state of Alabama from receiving its fifth national championship in 5 years between Alabama and Auburn and also ending the SEC’s win streak at 7.
2013 was a rollercoaster of events for Boston. On April 15 the Boston Marathon was the site for a terrorist attack on innocent civilians killing 3 people and injuring 264 others. The bombing struck fear into both the sports community as well as the nation. The slogan “Boston Strong” became ever prevalent in the coming weeks and months as the nation rallied around its wounded city. Later in the summer, both the Boston Bruins advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals while the Red Sox sought victory in the World Series. Though the Bruins fell short to the dominant Chicago Blackhawks, the Red Sox brought the World Series Title to Boston on the back of David “Big Papi” Ortiz. The Championship served as a tribute to the city of Boston and to those lives that were lost and altered by the attack. Boston was ultimately the winner.
With many other emotional and memorable sports moments in 2013, it is hard to sort through the array of events that made 2013 one of the greatest years for sports as well as one of the worst, depending on who you talk to. With each year seeming to be better than the past, 2013 has set the precedence for sports in 2014, a year sports fans will want to pay attention to.
