2020: The Year That Wasn't

As many of you know, my final post of the year is usually a countdown of the best games.  And there certainly were some memorable ones in 2020, both before (the AFC Championship Game, the Super Bowl) and after (Game 4 of the World Series, the Notre Dame-Clemson regular season game) the shutdowns.  But there were also far too many events that didn't happen (the Olympics, March Madness, Wimbledon) and others that took place at strange times with limited or no fans (pretty much everything that's supposed to happen between March and May).

That pretty much sums up sports in 2020.  A year so strange and so uncomfortable that we're all happy it's over, yet none of us will ever be able to forget it either (as much as we may want to).  A year that will forever have its own unique place in history.

Frankly, we should've known how bad 2020 was going to be when David Stern and Don Larsen died within hours of each other on New Year's Day.  Then there was the tragedy of Kobe Bryant's death...and that was all still in January!  As we know, things only got worse from there.  So, coming up with any sort of "Best of..." list for 2020 just seems wrong on so many levels.

Instead, I've chosen to look ahead to 2021, a year which will still be weird, but will hopefully look a little more normal.  And, as a result of 2020's postponements, will be the first of two straight jam-packed years with high-level sporting events.  Here are the 10 that I'm looking forward to the most...

• Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8): This is obviously the most-anticipated event of 2021, not just in sports, but worldwide.  All signs point towards the postponed Tokyo Games going ahead as (re)scheduled, albeit with a significantly different look.  And, frankly, we'll all need it!  What better way to celebrate overcoming the darkest days many of us will ever experience than having the whole world come together for two weeks of spirited competition?  The Olympics are always special.  After having to wait an extra year, that'll especially be the case in Tokyo.
  
  
• Euro 2020/Copa America (June 11-July 11): Like the Olympics, Euro 2020 is keeping its name despite the one-year postponement (Copa America will have the right year).  And like the Olympics, the extra year wait promises to make soccer's two biggest non-World Cup tournaments even better!  The fact that they'll be going on after World Cup qualifying has already started adds an extra level of intrigue, too.
  
  
• Baseball/Football Hall of Fame Inductions: Both induction ceremonies were cancelled in 2020, which means the 2021 inductions will be super-sized.  Football's was already going to be super-sized after electing a special 20-member "Centennial Class" in 2020.  Add a class headlined by Peyton Manning to that.  Baseball will also celebrate two classes in one, although the obvious headliner is 2020 inductee Derek Jeter.
  
  
• Super Bowl LV (February 7): Incredibly, it looks like the NFL is gonna make it through all 256 games, which seemed really unlikely when the season started.  But, despite some hiccups, it's all gone according to plan so far.  Assuming they get through the playoffs without a hitch, we'll see the Super Bowl played as scheduled (with fans) in Tampa on Feb. 7.  It may also be the last Super Bowl on the first Sunday in February, depending on how they adjust the schedule if/when they add the 17th game next season.
  
  
• Wimbledon/British Open (July): Leave it to the Brits to think of taking out pandemic insurance on major events!  Because while the organizers of everything else were scrambling to find alternate dates after their 2020 postponements, Wimbledon and the British Open were outright cancelled.  They're the iconic tournaments in their respective sports, and not having them in 2020 just didn't feel right at all.  It'll be wonderful to have them back!
  
  
• Debut of the Seattle Kraken (October?): The NHL's goal is to finish the upcoming season in July, with the hope of starting the 2021-22 campaign in October like normal.  They've got plenty of reasons for this, the one of the most prominent being the debut of the league's 32nd team--the Seattle Kraken.  The plan is for the Kraken to take the ice for the first time in October.
  
  
• Little League World Series (August): It's another event that was cancelled in 2020 and I can't wait to have back in 2021!  There's just something about the late-summer ritual of watching 12- and 13-year-olds playing baseball.  The NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs took the spot on the calendar in 2020, so the lack of a Little League World Series wasn't as obvious on TV.  In the grand scheme of things, though, it definitely felt like something was missing.
  
  
• Men's & Women's Final Four (April 2-5): We knew how serious this all was when college basketball suddenly disappeared during the most important part of its season.  And the struggles the networks were gonna have with no sports programming quickly became readily apparent, too.  No March Madness is what made us know 2020 was going to be a very different year.  Maybe having March Madness in 2021 will be an indication that our lives are on their way back to normal.
  
  
• MLB All*Star Game (July 13): As of now, we're supposed to have a full baseball season starting on April 1.  While that may be subject to change, it shouldn't result in the second straight cancellation of the All*Star Game.  The 2020 season didn't even start until after the All*Star Game was scheduled to be played!  And its absence left a gaping hole in the summer sports schedule.  Of course, while the MLB All*Star Game is usually the only game in town on a Tuesday night in July, that won't be the case in 2021.  There may be games in both the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals that night, too.  Which tells you how overstuffed 2021 will be after the abyss that was 2020.
  
  
• Full stadiums/arenas: Finally, it's the thing we're all looking forward to the most.  I'm not putting a date on it, but I'm confident it'll happen sometime in 2021.  Hopefully sooner rather than later.  The communal experience of being in a packed stadium with total strangers is something we all took for granted, but never will again!  There's nothing like a packed house cheering for the home team.  I can't wait to be back in one!