Sports 2 Issue 2 2009-2010

Ryan Rants: Sports shaped the 2000s
Sports
15
The Courant February 2010
Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/Cameleon/Abaca Press/MCT
Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT
it was the National Football League that continued to explode in popularity throughBy Ryan, Sports Editor
It was October 2000, and today’s seniors were in their second month of third out the decade. The NFL consistently broke television rating records throughout the
grade, while today’s freshmen had just entered kindergarten. Even though many decade and has grown into one of the top money-making industries in the counstudents may not be able to recollect so far back, both local baseball teams had try. No U.S. sporting event is as big as the Super Bowl, and this decade’s supply
found their way to the World Series, memorably dubbed the “Subway Series.” Just of Super Bowls was one of the best ever. From the Patriots rise to dominance, to
ten months in to the new decade, and little did we know that we probably already Janet Jackson’s famed wardrobe malfunction during the half-time show of Super
reached the pinnacle for sports fans in New York. Even though most of the decade Bowl XXXVIII, to the most exciting Super Bowls ever in 2008 and 2009, including
may have been filled with disappointment for New York, the sports industry ex- the most memorable catch in Super Bowl history, the NFL did not fail to disappoint
in the 2000s. Parity throughout the sport was apparent, even though a few teams
ploded in popularity in many ways across the country.
Athletes suddenly became celebrities, as the media and public became increas- maintained dominance throughout much of the decade, such as the Patriots, Colts
ingly obsessed with athletes’ private lives. Perhaps the most dominant athlete of and Steelers.
Here in New York, while baseball and football are as popular as ever, the oththe decade, Tiger Woods, had his personal life unravel after he crashed into a tree
er two so-called major sports faced setbacks this decade.
late November 2009. The resulting media frenzy has left Woods
The National Hockey League decreased in popularity in the
the butt of countless jokes and the subject of endless rumors,
years surrounding the cancellation of its 2004-2005 seaforcing him to take an indefinite leave from golf, overshadowson. In addition, the NHL is rarely on national TV, and the
ing his unparalleled performance in the sport he so domilocal teams have not had too much success over the last
nated for the first 9 years and 11 months of the decade.
ten years. In speaking of the National Basketball AssociaOther elite athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Michael
tion’s decline in popularity, one need look to further than
Vick faced serious allegations, which were exacerbated by
the Kobe Bryant scandal, the 2004 Pacers-Pistons brawl,
media blitzes. Even Olympic hero Michael Phelps was ridiand the 2007 betting scandal surrounding referee Tim
culed for pictures that emerged on the internet showing him
Donaghy. The New York Knicks, guided- or misguided- by
using drugs. And there was no media scrutiny more glaring
Isaiah Thomas’s leadership for most of the decade, have
than here in New York: just ask Alex Rodriguez how brutal
been a major embarrassment. All of this does not bode well
the tabloids can be when it comes to dating celebrities or adfor the league’s future as it tries to maintain the interest of
mitting steroid-use.
today’s generation of sports fans.
Such scrutiny results primarily from the new modes of
Tiger Woods suffered a difficult end to the decade.
Throughout the decade, the most popular sport in New
technology the media has begun to utilize this decade. Whereas sports journalism was once largely left to print reporters, fans can now ac- York has easily been baseball, as local fans continue their obsession with their
cess sports information and opinions in several formats. ESPN began its quest Yankees and Mets. New York has become the baseball capital of the world, where
to take over the sports world, as the network has become the most well-known the two teams routinely have sold out their two baseball stadiums (or at least this
stop for sports-consumption. Regionalized and league-owned sports networks have was the case before the emergence of Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium in
emerged; in fact, New York has seen the rise of two regional sports networks, the 2009). The Yankees nearly made a mockery of the sport, well out-spending every
Yankees’ Yes Network and the Mets’ SportsNet New York. Newspapers started to other team, yet often falling short of their expected goal of being World Champions.
display their content on the internet; then blogs emerged, al- lowing for frequent Even though the Yankees won two championships in 2000 and 2009, sandwiched
in between were years of playoff-series losses, which began
analysis and now many journalists “tweet” their thoughts on
with blowing the lead in the final inning of game seven of
Twitter, providing instant coverage. With the new landscape
the 2001 World Series. In 2004, the Yankees became the
for sports consumption, teams and athletes have nowhere to
first team to surrender a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series,
hide. Their every move is often over-critiqued on a constant
paving the way for the rival Red Sox to win their first World
basis.
Series in 86 years and cementing a place in baseball infaThe media also helped to spread the controversy surmy. In fact, the 2000s was marked by several epic Yankeerounding the trademark issue of the 2000s: steroids. Even
Red Sox battles, including Aaron Boone’s dramatic walkthough steroids affected several sports throughout the deoff home run in game seven of the 2003 American League
cade, baseball was the most damaged (probably because it
Championship Series. Meanwhile, across town, the Mets
is regarded as our most venerable of traditions). Elite players
did not fair quite as well as the Yankees. After losing to the
such as Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens and David Ortiz were
Yankees in 2000, the Mets faced four years of futility before
all alleged to have taken performance-enhancing drugs. Howemerging as a contender once again in 2005. However, after
ever, Barry Bonds became the face of baseball’s steroids era,
an influx of new players and new attitudes led to a trip to
and has remained its most vilified cheater. In 2001, Bonds
broke the single-season home run mark when he blasted 73 Tennis player Roger Federer became a dominant force. the National League Championship Series in 2006, the Mets
fell one inning short of reaching the World Series. After one
home runs, and then on August 7, 2007, Bonds eclipsed Hank
Aaron’s career mark of 755 career home runs, albeit a rather quiet accomplishment of the greatest collapses of all time in September 2007, another meltdown in Sepdue to the steroid shadow. For a game so defined by its numbers, half of the decade tember 2008, and an unimaginable infestation of injuries in 2009, the Mets have
will always be blemished by the revelation of the wide-spread use of performance- caused their fans more anguish and heart break in a single decade, than most fans
enhancing drugs. Major League Baseball’s investigations and stricter policies re- should have to suffer in a century.
Overall, outside of the Giants dramatic upset of the 18-0 Patriots in Super
garding steroid use, have if not cleaned up the sport, clearly led to their decline
Bowl XLII, and a couple of Yankee championships, most New York sports fans have
among both professionals and younger athletes.
Sports have also helped to uplift the spirits of the nation, reeling from the de- suffered through a pretty dim decade. Just mention Kevin Brown to a Yankee fan,
cade’s darkest event, September 11, 2001. In addition to supporting charities and Yadier Molina to a Met fan, Doug Brien to a Jet fan, or Trey Junkin to a die-hard
saluting the many heroes, athletes and teams helped return the country, and more Giant fan, and he or she will not be too cheerful.
However, beyond the goats, there were many lasting sports images of the 2000s,
specifically New York, back to normalcy. Mike Piazza’s game-winning home run on
Sept. 21, the first game played in New York after the attacks, allowed New Yorkers all which helped shape a decade in which the sports industry continued to grow.
a momentary respite from their collective gloom. In much the same way, the return The next decade in sports will surely bring new controversies and champions, but
of the Saints to the Superdome in 2005, helped to uplift New Orleans from the hor- some things are sure to always remain the same: sports will continue to define
American culture and despite a promising outlook, the Jets will not win a Super
rors of Hurricane Katrina.
While individual athletes garnered the public’s attention and brought new- Bowl.
found enthusiasm to their sports, whether it was Michael Phelps to swimming,
Lance Armstrong to cycling, Roger Federer to tennis, and even Tiger Woods to golf,
Increase in enrollment leads to change in competition
Continued from Back Cover
with these teams. They are not familiar with the other coaches, or the skill level of the athletes on the
teams.
“The biggest difference is in League I we have a
lot of fast-paced teams,” said boys varsity basketball
coach Steve Smith. “I’ve noticed this is more of a runand-gun type of atmosphere.”
For the majority of coaches, it’s a matter of starting back at square one. There are new teams to learn
about so the coaches have to research them beforehand. According to Smith, he scouts all the new teams
in order to figure out what plays will be effective to run
against them.
“We do our homework by looking in the newspapers and try and do a matchup on paper to see how
the results might turn out,” said assistant varsity
wrestling coach Charles Guercia.
Although the teams now face new competition,
there is no reason to speculate that this new league
will be more difficult than the previous. In theory, since
there are more students at a certain school, there will
be more athletes to choose from, so the teams might
be better. However, there is no correlation between the
size of the school and who wins the county champi-
onship. Competition is sports-specific, and the team
with the higher enrollment is not necessarily the better
team.
“We will be just as competitive in League I as we
would be in League II, however there are no pushover
teams in League I,” said Guercia.
Various factors determine success, such as the
youth leagues which are responsible for discovering
the talents at very young ages. According to Thode,
varsity baseball and varsity soccer are able to go far
in the county playoffs due to their successful youth
league programs.
“If you don’t execute or do what you need to do, it
doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you won’t do well,”
said Smith.
Although the majority of the fall teams impacted by
this league change met the challenges, the girls varsity
soccer team however had a difficult fight. Favored to
win the county championships according to Newsday,
this team failed to even make it to playoffs. However,
this may have been due to the injuries of the athletes,
and have less to do with the change in competition.
“I think that the teams were more competitive in
League I, but our record was in part due to the fact that
we had many injuries from returning starters,” said junior Sarah, three-year girls varsity soccer starter.
As a result of the league change, teams will also
have to develop new rivalries, because they will no longer be able to play former rivals unless it is in a nonleague game. The long standing Commack-Northport
rivalry for sports such as basketball will consequently
diminish until this opposition is replaced with a new
rivalry.
“All the teams in our league can possibly replace
Northport in the rivalry because they are all up to our
level,” said girls varsity basketball player junior Shannon.
On the other hand, this increase in population
does not affect all the sports teams. Teams such as
field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, boys and girls
lacrosse, swimming, boys and girls tennis and boys
volleyball are either arranged geographically, or they
are power-ranked teams whose seeding is based on information from the coaches, resulting in schedules
based on rank.