By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
This century’s aughts (or whatever we’re calling the last 10
years) weren’t a banner decade for the good old U.S.A. It started with us struggling to identify a
President and making a mockery of an election, one of the key components of our
democracy. Shortly thereafter, we
experienced the tragic and life-altering terrorists attacks of 9/11; and to
this day continue to fight the wars that followed. Katrina happened. The
stock market slumbered along and eventually went belly up. The housing bubble burst and the economy
tanked. Enron redefined corporate
corruption and the financial sector proved to have the self-control of an
overzealous teenager. We were
confronted with the sobering reality of the cost of our children’s college
education. Most of us came to realize
that global warming probably is “An Inconvenient Truth” and that how we
currently interact with our planet isn’t sustainable. Needless to say it was a lot to get your mind around in a short
period of time. Fortunately, in those
nearly overwhelming moments, there was the familiarity and comfort of a
ballgame to get lost in. Like a dutiful
spouse, sports kept chugging along through richer or poorer, in sickness and in
health. Baseball helped give us a
national pulse again after 9/11, the re-opening of the Superdome for Saints
football signified some level of recovery for New Orleans, and collectively
sports helped us navigate through job uncertainties, plummeting retirement
accounts and the rest of the bad news this over-stimulated age of instant,
often twisted for effect, communication heaved upon us.
Still, despite the athletic rays of sunlight amidst a decade
of storm, sports too had its indiscretions.
The aughts will forever be linked with steroid use and the
transgressions of countless athletes.
At times US Weekly covered “athletes gone wild” as well as ESPN. And when reflecting on our local teams, I
wasn’t immediately filled with that warm, easy feeling synonymous with one’s favorite
holiday beverage. At the risk of
missing someone, my immediate thoughts were of the local icons lost. We said goodbye to broadcasting legend and
Maryland resident Jim McKay and D.C. sports anchor George Michael. Sean Taylor was senselessly murdered. And in Johnny Unitas and Sammy Baugh,
Baltimore and D.C. football fans lost the best quarterbacks in franchise
history and among the greatest in NFL history.
It was a lost decade for the Orioles and one of much drama and little
substance for the Skins. There were no
major sports titles in D.C. and The Preakness isn’t what it used to be.
Yet, perhaps this immediate, glass half empty recollection
was a product of the “aught slumber” and not an objective assessment of the
decade that was. Indeed, on second
thought, from a sports standpoint the aught’s weren’t too bad. This hurts me but yes, the Ravens won a
Superbowl. In 2002, everyone feared the
turtle as Maryland won the men’s basketball championship and the football team
went to the Orange Bowl. The ladies
basketball team won a national title in 2006.
Georgetown, behind this generation’s John Thompson and Patrick Ewing,
went to the final four in 2007. At long
last MLB returned to D.C. The Wizards
were, dare I say, a perennial playoff team.
The Capitals hit the lottery with Alex Ovechkin. Baltimore native Michael Phelps won a gold
bar’s worth of medals. Darrell Green
and Art Monk (finally!) were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Cal Ripken Jr. was enshrined in
Cooperstown. George Mason made a run to
the Final Four in 2006 that epitomized the greatness of March Madness. And Navy football beat Notre Dame twice and
Army NINE times.
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