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ESPN, L.A. Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, MLB Network, New Year's Day, Orange County, Rose Bowl, Southern California sports, Special Olympics, Special Olympics World Games, Staples Center, World Series
A very nice view of Staples Center, one of the many jewels among the SoCal sports venues, nestled in downtown Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of tidewaterreview.com
HOW THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS FARED IN THE FATES OF THE LOS ANGELES AREA’S TEN PRO AND MAJOR COLLEGE TEAMS IN MY HUMBLE VIEW
I’ll get right to the point, with 2015 having a little over 36 hours to go…
As far as significant winning or championships, it wasn’t a great year for the teams calling the country’s second largest metropolitan region home.
I wish I can say otherwise, but I honestly can’t.
The closest anyone came to hoisting a trophy was the NHL’s Orange County franchise losing a seventh game in the conference finals, breaking the hearts of their dedicated fans.
Three other teams won division titles, to which my mind declared, “Big Deal!” as one of them, a private school located south of downtown L.A. that has a longtime football tradition, beat their crosstown rival only to lose in their conference’s championship game in convincing fashion.
Another one of them lost a deciding game in the first round at home, frustrating their long-suffering fan base and extending their streak of not making the World Series to 27 years.
And while the third division champ managed to beat the defending champions in their league’s first round, they went on to lose in the second round in an aggravating fashion, blowing a big lead in Game 6.
Part of the Special Olympics World Games Opening Ceremonies, L.A. Coliseum, July 25, 2015
Which ultimately continued their pattern of underachieving despite having arguably some of the best players in their sport.
As for the other teams, there’s honestly not that much to write about as they disappointed and underachieved due to various factors.
One of those teams, however, deserves special mention as while they were once absolute rulers of the SoCal sports scene, complete with championship parades and “Showtime” glamour,
They are now reduced to being a punch line to at least a few fans as their win total has dropped to unprecedented numbers with no real end in sight, sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with a mere handful of wins to their credit.
The one big highlight for me in SoCal Sports this year involved a bunch of athletes who gathered in Los Angeles for a little over a week in the middle of the summer.
In strictly technical terms, they were classified as having various levels of developmental disabilities.
But you definitely would not know that if you saw them ply their trade in track and field, soccer, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, and several other sports as they not only showed much inspirational ability, they – the entire event, really – also reminded folks of what sports should be about.
I personally saw, in my humble opinion, one of the best softball games ever played during this nine-day event, a game that I’d take over any contest that L.A’s two MLB teams played this past summer as it came with a big comeback and a play in the outfield so spectacular,
It more than deserved to not only be put on the “Web Gems” segment on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight”, but also to be included as one of the plays of the year on that channel and the MLB Network.
It’s quite safe to say that those Special Olympics World Games was the most fun I had in my sports involvement all year.
I personally don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, but as far as what I reckon our SoCal teams’ resolutions are if they had any..
I can put it in one word:
WIN.
After all, that’s what the ultimate goal always is and always will be in professional and major college sports, with some teams emphasizing it in a “anything short of a national/world championship is a failure” kind of way more than others.
I won’t even pretend to speculate what 2016 will bring to this region’s sports scene as like the cliché says, anything can happen.
I wouldn’t be too surprised with anything that happens, and neither should you.
But I will leave you with this wish:
A VERY HAPPY, PROSPEROUS, AND SAFE NEW YEAR!
MAY 2016 BE AS GOOD FOR YOU AS 2015 WAS, IF NOT BETTER!
WE AT SOCAL SPORTS ANNALS WILL CERTAINLY CONTINUE TO GROW AND PROVIDE QUALITY ARTICLES AND FEATURES REGARDING THE SPORTS SCENE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT, AND KEEP COMING TO THIS SITE AND READING OUR STUFF!
The facade of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the most famous football stadium in these United States where the iconic “Grandaddy of Them All” will be played for the 102nd time this Friday. Photo courtesy of guides.la.com