Most sports fans at this school are extremely lucky. The teams at Boston College are usually competitive, and if you're from New England or the tri-state area, like me, your teams are always relevant even if they're terrible (see: New York Knicks).
However, this year is already becoming one of the most intriguing sports years in history, and it's only April. Sports fans all over the country have been treated to competitive seasons on both the professional and college level, and two championship games that will be re-hashed on ESPN Classic more times than the Dale Earnhardt movie. The beginning of this sports year has me more excited for what is yet to come than Dick Vitale shooting a Hooters commercial.
We started 2008 with the end to an exciting college football season, as the LSU Tigers beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in a hard-fought championship game.
Not only were our Eagles relevant for most of the year, but the chaos that surrounded the top of the rankings created more drama than a Spears family reunion.
This college football season became much more interesting as unlikely teams shot to the top of the rankings (BC, Oregon, Kansas, Hawaii, Missouri, and Arizona State), which provided new opportunities for schools that normally aren't near the top of an imperfect BCS system.
The previous football season did have its moments with Boise State crashing Oklahoma's Fiesta Bowl, but the national championship was anti-climactic, as the Florida Gators crushed Ohio State. The last time college football was this exciting, Vince Young was working his magic and Matt Leinart was partying with co-eds that he actually went to school with.
Anything that happens this season could never live up to the precedent that was set by the first professional championship of the year.
After the Giants made an amazing run through the NFC playoffs, they faced the undefeated and camera-less Patriots. The result was possibly the most memorable Super Bowl ever, as the Giants held the offensive juggernaut to just 14 points. Not since Broadway Joe led the Jets over the Colts had a team managed to complete such a big upset in the Super Bowl.
Eli Manning became more than just "Peyton's brother" and opened the door for even more awkward interviews and commercials for the Manning family. The greatness of the game could be summed up in one play as Eli Manning pulled off the most improbable of escapes and heaved a pass to David Tyree.
As Tyree caught that pass, the entire nation's jaws dropped and everyone outside of New York collectively said, "Who the [expletive deleted] is David Tyree?" As Tyree's fingertips hung on to that ball inches from the ground, that game was well on its way to being one of the greatest ever.
Most recently, sports fans were treated to an incredible national championship game in college basketball. After an intense regular season, the cream rose to the top in the Big Dance for the first time in history.
The four most talented teams were the four teams left standing. The two semifinal games did not live up to the buildup, but the championship game more than made up for it.
There was more talent featured in that game than a whole season of the Surreal Life as future NBA stars Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey, Robert Dozier, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, Sherron Collins, and my boy Sasha Kaun. Memphis managed to blow a nine-point lead with two minutes to play, but the game will be remembered for Kansas's great comeback and a shot from Mario Chalmers that topped anything Stephen Curry put up.
Even after all of these great events, this year in sports has so much left to offer. Tiger Woods has an opportunity to take the Grand Slam, as no one has played golf this well since Ty Webb was a member at Bushwoods.
The Western Conference is stronger than ever, and a possible Lakers-Celtics finals has David Stern salivating. As the MLB tries to overcome the shadow of steroids, it should look to hold up itsend of the bargain to complete possibly the greatest sports year any of us have ever seen.
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