The beauty of sports in a not-so-beautiful playoff performance
The AFC Championship two weeks ago was a traumatic one for Baltimore fans to watch, as the Ravens put on a show that many believed would hold an edge over a wavering New England defense.
A final-drive pass attempt into the arms of Lee Evans had all but punched the Ravens a ticket to Indianapolis to contend in Super Bowl XLVI, as less than half a minute ticked off the clock, but, alas, the ball was thwarted away by the Patriots’ Sterling Moore, like a defenseless rodent in a twisted game of whack-a-mole.
The dagger twisted a little deeper into the gut of those rooting Baltimore on to what would have been their second Super Bowl in the franchise’s history when Billy Cundiff shanked what should have been a gimme field goal that would have leveled the score for a chance at New England in overtime. But, again, it was not to be.
After my Conference Championship Sunday was ruined, along with the entire football season as far as I was concerned, I felt a little panicked that there wouldn’t be any sports to indulge in for a full two weeks, seeing as the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which took place this past Sunday, Jan. 29, has become nothing short of a glorified backyard pick-up game that few players take seriously enough for me to enjoy.
Fortunately, I was mistaken, as the past week was filled with amazing athletic endeavors.
Having played tennis through high school and some intramural participation during college, I found myself catching glimpses of the Australian Open, as recognizable names like Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki pushed on in the women’s singles, and today’s greatest on the men’s side, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, continued to advance through preliminary rounds.
Curious as to the hype surrounding the men’s singles championship matchup, which pitted defending champ Djokovic against rival Nadal, I followed the entire match, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, would prove to be the longest match in Australian Open history, just minutes shy of six hours.
Heading into the final bout, Djokovic and Nadal shared a combined seven Grand Slam titles over the last seven years, with Djokovic holding the previous two wins over Nadal at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, both in 2011. Enduring fatigue, pain and duress, the two fought a five-set, marathon match that finally presented the Serbian with his fifth Grand Slam title in, arguably, one of the most historic finishes is tennis history.
Other sporting events were going on this week, too.
A holiday visit this past Thanksgiving sent me on a trip to Colorado to see my parents’ new digs on the outskirts of Boulder, and so I figured I’d take in ESPN’s coverage of the Winter X Games, which were held in Aspen this past weekend. After all, during my week-long vacay in November, I spent some time acing the slopes of the Winter Park Ski Resort. And by “acing,” I mean quivering down a blue-square trail like a polio-stricken fawn as well-versed skiers and snowboarders doused me with layers of fresh powder.
Nonetheless, the 2012 Winter X Games didn’t disappoint this week.
Though the event was marred by the tragic loss of 29-year-old Sarah Burke, a talented freeskier whose life drew to an end following a spill during a practice run in a half-pipe, emotions fueled performances as some of the extreme sports’ greats broke new ground.
Heath Frisby made X Games history, becoming the first to ever land a front flip on a snowmobile, a wildly acrobatic and dangerous stunt that earned him an indisputable gold in the Snowmobile Best Trick competition.
After struggling with a favored left ankle leading up to competition, Shaun “The Flying Tomato” White, who has become one of the most recognizable faces in snowboarding and skateboarding, notched a perfect 100.0 score in the men’s Snowboard Superpipe with a series of one-of-a-kind stunts and tricks, the first to do so in the history of the X Games.
And while a fourth straight playoff season may have drawn to a close for Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco this year, others with ties to the University of Delaware were turning some heads this week.
Notre Dame’s head basketball coach, Mike Brey, has breathed some life into the Fighting Irish in his 11-season tenure, after spending a five-year stint as the Blue Hens’ head coach on the hardwood. This past week, they improved to 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the Big East after taking down a thriller against powerhouse Connecticut on Sunday, Jan. 29 – the first time they’ve defeated the Huskies in consecutive games.
This came only a week after the Irish threw a wrench in the spokes of Syracuse, becoming the only team, so far, to dish a loss to the Orangemen, who, at the time, were the last undefeated team in the AP Top 25 rankings. Kudos to Coach Brey and his squad.
The Lady Hens have been grabbing some spotlight, as well, thanks to junior Elena Delle Donne, whose 41-point, 15-rebound and five-assist game against Hofstra this past Thursday propelled the Blue Hens’ women’s team to 17-1 on the season and a perfect 8-0 record in the CAA. They padded that with a win over James Madison on Sunday, improving their record to 18-1 and 9-0 in the conference.
Though Thursday’s performance was well shy of her career-best 54 points from a game two years ago versus James Madison, Delle Donne has been grabbing the attention of basketball analysts and sports media outlets this season, who are favoring UD’s women to make a deep run in the “Madness” this March.
As the week drew on, I found myself forgiving Cundiff and Evans for their playoff mishaps and instead appreciating the feats that others are out there accomplishing. Perhaps that’s the beauty of sports. There’s always another season that will roll around, with new athletes, new coaches and, inevitably, new outcomes. And, in the meantime, plenty of other talented individuals are staking their claim, doing what they love to do.
And while I don’t really have too much of a preference in Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and New York Giants, I can take solace in knowing that the Ravens still did their job, sweeping the AFC North, fighting to the conference championship and, if nothing else, quieting the taunts from Pittsburgh Steelers fans for at least one more year.
