Looking Back at Sports in 2012

What a year it's been! Records broken, a king crowned, seasons lost (sorry, NHL) and seasons recovered (albeit only 66 games). We should all hope that 2013 is even half as exciting as this year has been. Let's take a look back at the major headlines from an amazing year in sports.


Tebowmania: Tim Tebow's fame may have started early in his college career but it wasn't until 2012 that he became the world's most famous virgin not named Mary. Somewhere between his religious devotion and his knack for late game heroics, Tebow became the apple of America's eye. His OT win over the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs may be as close as you can get to proof of the divine. If you don't believe me, check out Skip Bayless' take on it.

Big Blue Upsets Brady: No, this is not a flashback to 2008; if Tom Brady is Superman then the Giants have to be kryptonite. Nobody gave the Giants a chance to make the playoffs, much less win it all. An explosive quarterback rush and a dominant pass game led the Giants to the promised land on yet another fourth quarter comeback from Eli Manning. The highlight of the NFL season if not the entire sports year has to be Mario Manningham's unbelievable sideline catch to keep the Giants' hopes alive.

Linsanity: Much like "Tebowmania", Linsanity came almost out of nowhere and hit America hard. No one saw an undrafted Harvard graduate becoming the biggest name in sports for half of the NBA season. There's no doubt that Jeremy Lin balled in the absence of Melo and Amar'e but make no mistake, his unprecedented level of fame was the product of playing in the world's greatest city and having China's population of 1.3 billion behind him. Either way, the sports world may never have another craze like Linsanity, even playing in Houston he is trailing only Kobe and CP3 in All-Star voting among Western Conference guards.

LeBron Wins his First Ring: "It's about damn time" is all LeBron could manage after finally being crowned this past June. After an absolutely dominant playoff run and one of the greatest Finals performances of all time, capped by a championship-clinching triple double, LeBron finally won his first ring. This may only be the first of the "not six... not seven..." rings that he retires with, but it is certainly the most important. At 27 years old, LeBron has removed the chip from his shoulder and can now start padding his Hall of Fame resumé.

Mike Trout May be a God: The last time the MLB had a rookie like this was, well... never. Mike Trout had not only the best rookie season of all time, but one of the best seasons in baseball history. He became the youngest player ever to record a 30-30 season, one of three ever to reach 30-40, and fell one stolen base shy of the second ever 30-50 campaign. If not for the first triple crown in 45 years, Trout definitely would have added an MVP trophy to his mantle alongside his Rookie of the Year award, a feat most recently accomplished by Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. If Trout can somehow recreate this astonishing season, the Angels will be frontrunners for the 2013 World Series, having recently added 2010 AL Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton.

The Fall of Tim Tebow: Would you take a year as America's favorite quarterback if you had to spend the following season watching from the sideline as the guy starting over you runs into his own lineman's ass? This has been the second half of 2012 for Tim Tebow; from flying a mile high in Denver to benched in the intolerable morass known as New Jersey. The upside for Tebow at this point is that it can't get much worse. He is third string qb on arguably the league's worst team with a coach who clearly hates him. Good luck in 2013, Tim... I'd recommend you keep praying.

I personally can't wait to see how these stories play out in the coming year and what new stories arise. Whatever happens in 2013, we sports fans have had a lot to be thankful for in 2012.