What We’re Thankful For
Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks and reflecting on the past year. And punching d-bags you went to HS with in the face when you see him at the local. (That's another story.) The Where We Watch team wanted to share what we're thankful for this year -- with limited, if pointed, individual biases on display.
Cameron
I am thankful that after a thrilling World Cup and a galvanizing olympic hockey tournament, the two sports are finally getting the attention and fandom they deserve. Wait, what? Oh. Maybe next time.
I am thankful for a baseball season full of the great pitching. I am thankful that it won a small-ball team the trophy. I am thankful that everyone knows that Armando Galarraga was also perfect. I am truly thankful that in an age of athletic megalomania, greed, and selfishness, both parties handled the biggest blown call of the past 10 years with class and grace.
Lauren
I’m thankful that Reggie Bush lost both his Heisman Trophy and Kim Kardashian this year.
I’m thankful any year that we get to see a 7-game Lakers-Celtics final – as God intended basketball to be. (I’m even more thankful when the Lakers win.)
Murali
I'm thankful for the 'Aints finally becoming the Saints. Never have I seen a party like the one on Bourbon Street that night...
I am also thankful for Butler coming six inches away from throwing the entire college basketball world upside-down.
Paige
I'm thankful for the Texas Rangers, for this moment. Which marks the first and only time I will ever be thankful for anything from Texas - besides BBQ.
I'm thankful to the US hockey team, for renewing my appreciation of the sport and injecting us with a much-needed sense of patriotism (an excellent tee-up for the World Cup).
Ted
I'm thankful for sarcasm, because that allows me to say I'm thankful that the BCS is in existence instead of some type of playoff format. Within a few years -- if it isn't already -- I think the BCS may be the central topic in high school debate tournaments, because there's so many issues, and so many people have a very specific take. But here's what I don't understand: Chris Petersen is like, 60-4 at Boise State. To open this season, his team went across the country and beat Virginia Tech. It looked like crap a week later when they lost to James Madison, but now VT might run the table on the entire ACC. Doesn't Boise deserve a chance to show itself against Oregon if Alabama drops Auburn? The BCS is a fail.
I'm thankful for the Dougie. How many dudes are hitting this thing on the regular? It's changing the entertainment value of sports as we understand it. Here's a few examples: Big Baby, Braylon Edwards, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, and an assortment of other NFL dudes. The Wall Street Journal -- yes, that paper -- wrote an article about the popularity of the Dougie. Ten years ago, if that sentence had been written, it would have been in the Onion.
Ramya
I am thankful for the big three in the Magic City. They may not look good today, but we'll be raising banners again in Miami soon enough.
I am thankful for thirty days of glorious international soccer. The World Cup is truly one of these amazing events that demonstrates the unifying power of sports, and you didn't need to look any further than the Ghana - Uruguay Quarterfinals match. As the Suarez handball moved the game to penalty kicks, I was glued to my work computer, trying to not draw too much attention to my non-work activities. And when Asamoah Gyan missed that final penalty kick, I was overwhelmed by the sadness I felt. Now, I can acknowledge that I am one of these sappy sports fans who loves montages and that Uruguay deservingly won a very hard fought battle, but when commentators talked about what a Ghanan victory would have meant for the African continent, I understood. It was about hope and possibility and, at that moment, it felt so much bigger than a soccer game. And it reminded me about why I love sports.
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