Saturday, 31 December 2016

2016 Review: Sport




In this year to belittle all years, we’ve been given 12 months of drama, intrigue and suspense from the most captivating, gripping and unpredictable sports on the planet. We’ve had history’s greatest underdog story in Leicester City, a Brit topping the tennis world rankings, the monumental rise of Anthony Joshua, an enthralling cricket t20 World Cup, and buried among all this we had an unfortunately underwhelming Euro 2016. From record breakers to leg breakers, the ability of sport to pump adrenaline into our system has never been more prominent than it has in 2016.

Football

In the year that saw a dabbing Youssouf Mulumbu become the most expensive player in football history, the sport still provided us with excitement at every corner across the globe. The 5000/1 underdog story of Leicester City is undoubtedly the most memorable footballing moment of the year, with Jamie Vardy completing his rags to riches story, Mahrez breaking ankles, and the infinitely lovable character of Claudio Ranieri achieving the greatest feat in English football. Perhaps nothing quite embodies Leicester’s season more than the destruction of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s goalscoring record by Jamie Vardy, as he broke away from Darmian and slid the ball through the legs of David de Gea:


But the greatest scenes of the season came at Stamford Bridge. All Tottenham needed to do to remain in the title race was to beat an out-of-form Chelsea side, struggling all season from problems on and off the pitch. Spurs went from widespread optimism to abject disappointment in 45 minutes, as Chelsea battled from 2-0 down to equalise, leaving the Spurs players hopeless and despairing. It was a goal of pure finesse, Eden Hazard at his brilliant best, as he exchanged play with Diego Costa and beautifully curved the ball into the top right hand corner; time seemed to stand still as the ball was in the air:

 Aside from the Premier League, we had La Undecima, Real Madrid's historical 11th victory of the Champions League, Sevilla beating Liverpool to the Europa League, Man United's FA Cup victory and a first Portugese victory in the Euros after an incredible Welsh effort and an underwhelming English performance. The footballing calendar in 2016 was packed with drama and excitement, and while events off the pitch may have overshadowed the intense scenes on it, the 15/16 season will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest in history.

Cricket

There's not much I can say about cricket. Personally, the sport doesn't excite me, and if I'm honest I barely know the major events in cricket of 2016. But one moment I am aware of is the incredible victory of the West Indies to become champions of the Cricket t20 World Cup. After an incredible run to the final, leaving host-nation India in their wake, it all came down to 6 balls against England in the final. With just one over to go, Carlos Brathwaite needed 19 runs from 6 balls, a seemingly impossible task. But what came next was simply indescribable:



Boxing

This was the year of Anthony Joshua. The once inexperienced fighter known only for his gold medal victory in London 2012 climbed the ladder to become IBF World Heavyweight Champion. The 6'5 giant stormed through opposition with punishing blows, demonstrated most effectively by his demolition of Charles Martin.



The wry smile across Martin's face turns quickly to utter desperation as he realises the strength held in Joshua's right hook. The year also saw the slow and painful destruction of Dillain Whyte by Joshua, alongside other opponents who lasted barely more than a round. Yet, while this year was crucial for Joshua, 2017 is undoubtedly just as vital to his career, with the biggest fight of his life against Klitschko on the cards. His monumental rise is almost complete, but the upcoming year will cement his place in history.

Tennis

Andy Murray's Wimbledon victory in 2013 had for a while seemed like a one-off, with Murray's form  of 2014 and 2015 not adopting the upward trend set between his gold medal victory in 2012 and successful 2013. But 2016 saw the Scotsman jump up the world rankings and settle as the greatest player in the world. Whilst in previous years he undoubtedly seemed out of place among Djokovic, Federer, Nadal etc., 2016 saw him give each of these men a run for their money. 

His victory in the 2016 Rio Olympics is a minor success compared to his comfortable Wimbledon championship, alongside his run to the final of both the Australian and French opens. What's more, he's now been knighted. For a man who began the year as someone who had seemingly reached his peak form a few years back, Sir Andy Murray of 2016 certainly showed us that he still has bags of ability to blow away his opposition.



Olympics

The Olympics is arguably the biggest sporting stage, offering athletes a chance to showcase their wares for the world to see. The Olympics are also a celebration of passion, will and fortitude. The Rio Olympics was no different and had its share of stories and moments that will endure for generations.
One highlight of Rio was the medal-winning performances of Team GB, including a number of young athletes demonstrating the future prosperity of British sport.
The games were the first ever to be held in South America, and featured incredible performances from some of the world’s biggest sports stars, including Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Usain Bolt.
Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time and arguably the greatest Olympian ever, signed off in the perfect fashion. He blasted his way through the sprints, and stood out as the only man among the boys and secured a triple-triple of gold medals, taking his tally to a staggering nine gold medals in three consecutive Olympics.
After winning gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m finals in the London Olympics, Farah’s Rio dreams seemed to be dashed when he tripped around half-way into the 10,000m final. Despite seemingly losing all the progress he had made thus far, the Brit showed true Olympic spirit, and carried on. He then displayed a burst of acceleration during the final portion of the race to emerge victorious in spectacular fashion.
The Olympics, despite being so far from home this time, were still gripping, and the success of GB is one which will live long in the minds of many.
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Friday, 30 December 2016

2016 Review: A Year of Goodbyes



People die every day. It's not a shocker. But this year, we saw the passing of more notable names in the first 6 months than any year before for a long time.

Here's a description of just a few:

Muhammad Ali
'The greatest'. Some would've called it arrogance but many can now see he really was. The Thriller in Manila, the Rumble in the Jungle, and after the onset of Parkinson's in his forties, his resilience when lighting the Olympic Flame in 1996 showed how strong a fighter and a humanitarian he really was. (Passed away on 3rd June)

David Bowie
Never your standard musician, in terms of persona or his own music style. His last album, released days before his death, was as dark as death itself but that didn't take away the legacy of songs like Life on Mars, Heroes and Changes. RIP Ziggy. (Passed away on 10th January)

Prince
I'm not going to lie. I didn't know too much about Prince before he died, except that he was the one who sang 'Purple Rain'. But that won't take away the legacy he carries within the music industry and it will surely carry with the likes of Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson accompanying him as one of the great 20th century Afro-American music superstars. (Passed away 21st April)

Alan Rickman
Best known for his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series and for chick flick lovers: he was in 'Love Actually'. (He passed away on 14th January.)

Sir Terry Wogan
The BBC's face of radio, Children in Need and Eurovision, his broadcasting career spanned over 50 years. (Passed away on 31st January)

Gene Wilder
Best known for his charismatic and wacky portrayal of Roald Dahl's literary creation Willy Wonka, the film he starred in back in the sixties has stood the test of time and his character has appealed to generations of children. His wish of wanting to be remembered as a friendly face for children and not a victim of Alzheimer's won't be forgotten. (Passed away 29th August)

Johan Cruyff
A Dutch footballing legend who invented one of the most famous skills ever known in the history of the game and played for great clubs like Ajax and Barcelona. (Passed away on 24th March)

Ronnie Corbett
Famous for his partnership with Ronnie Barker in the BBC's 'The Two Ronnies' (which is actually quite funny). A truly funny British comedic legend. (Passed away on 31st March)

George Michael
The man who brought us Last Christmas was found dead on Christmas Day, a cruel tale of irony and a sad way for the life of a musical talent to end. He sold over 100 million albums as a solo artist and as part of Wham! and especially at the all too young age of 53, he will be sorely missed

Other notable names no longer with us are Nancy Reagan, Anton Yelchin, Carrie Fisher, her actress mother Debbie Reynolds (who died the day after her) and Viola Beach, the latter tragically never lived to see the success they were bound to create for themselves in the music industry.

If you ever wondered why there was a sudden rise in the deaths of famous people, well there is apparently a logical reason behind it. 

It's simply that the world is in a period where most of its original stars in the world of entertainment and sport are at an age where death is not 'unexpected', so we effectively need to brace ourselves to lose more of our more aged icons in 2017 and beyond.

To all those who died this year, famous or not, Rest In Peace.
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