A loaded 2019 sports calendar has already gotten off to a thrilling start with one of the best Winter Classics in the 11-year history of the event. That was just the beginning. There's plenty more ahead, and not just the annual events we look forward to every year.
It's now officially the pre-Olympic year, which means qualifying for Tokyo will get into full swing (and some Olympic berths will be claimed). Most Olympic sports hold their World Championships in odd-numbered years, and this year is no different. Beach volleyball's will be in Hamburg in late June/early July, a few weeks before swimming's in Gwangju, South Korea. The track & field World Championships, meanwhile, are later than they've ever been. They'll be in Doha in late September/early October, a mere 10 months before Tokyo.
We've also got three World Cups ahead of us this year. The U.S. women's soccer team will look to win a World Cup in Europe for the first time, as they try to defend their title from 2015 in France. The Women's World Cup runs from June 7-July 7.
They've also moved the men's basketball World Cup off the same cycle as the men's soccer World Cup, which pushed it back to this year. Now that the World Cup and Olympics are in consecutive years, they're using the World Cup as the main qualifier. Eight teams (including Japan) will advance directly to Tokyo based on what happens in China in September. The USA used a team made up mostly of G-Leaguers to qualify, but the NBA guys are expected to play in the World Cup itself. How many of those guys also end up playing in Tokyo is a different question. I bet it isn't many. Seeing as the World Cup is in September (right before training camp) and that would mean essentially two full years of top-level basketball without a break.
As the entire world gets ready to come to Japan in 2020, the 2019 Rugby World Cup will give us a bit of a preview. The tournament runs from September 20-November 2 and was supposed to end at Tokyo's National Stadium. Construction delays have led to a change of plans, though, so the final will be at the same stadium in Yokohama where the 2002 soccer World Cup final was played. Will the All Blacks make it three in a row? Or will another nation rise to the top of the rugby world?
Soccer's biggest men's tournament this year is the Copa America, which is back to normal after that special centennial edition in the United States in 2016. This year's tournament will be in Brazil. The United States and Mexico won't be there, though. That's because the CONCACAF Gold Cup is taking place at the same time. For the U.S., it'll be the first games that actually matter for something since the dumpster fire that was 2018 World Cup qualifying. This is a chance to make a statement and begin recovery from that embarrassment as the new World Cup cycle begins.
UEFA's big event in 2019 is the inaugural Nations League finals. It's their new thing for the national teams so that the good European teams only play each other instead of playing friendlies. Anyway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, England and Portugal are the four teams that made the semifinals, with the final being played two days after the Women's World Cup starts (the women are rightfully perturbed by FIFA's scheduling of the men's events).
The pre-Olympic year also brings the continental version of multi-sport competition. The Pan Am Games will be in Lima almost exactly a year before the Tokyo Olympics. The European Games are still trying to find their footing, and they've come up with some I'll go with "innovative" competition formats for their second go-round in Minsk. Another event in Minsk that I am excited about, though, is a good old-fashioned track & field dual meet between the United States and Europe in the lead-up to Worlds.
There's only one Olympics in the next 10 years that doesn't yet have a host city. That'll be taken care of in June, when the IOC decides between Stockholm and the joint Italian bid for the 2026 Winter Games. That's assuming, of course, that they both make it to the election. The IOC has said repeatedly that they don't have a backup plan, so that'll be interesting to keep an eye on over the next several months.
Bringing it back Stateside, the 2019 season is the NFL's 100th. I'm sure we'll get more details about what kind of centennial celebrations are planned after the Super Bowl, but you know that they've got plenty of things in mind. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the centennial events extend into 2020, which is the actual 100th anniversary of the league's formation. The Bears and Cardinals are the only original teams still in existence (the Packers didn't join the NFL until 1921), but they don't play next season.
In just a few weeks, the Alliance of American Football makes its debut. Personally, I'm skeptical about the new league. (And I really don't think we need two.) But it's got the backing of CBS Sports, several prominent ex-players in high-ranking positions, and a Hall of Fame co-founder in Bill Polian. At the very least, they'll have this season. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if the AAF lasts beyond that.
And, of course, there are all the regular events that we annually look forward to on the sporting calendar. So, in other words, 2019 in sports certainly won't be boring. There's plenty in store to keep both the die-hards and the casual fans occupied all year long.
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