2016 is almost over, and like every year, it has gone by in a flash. It feels like just the other day I was watching football with my family, and on the field for the Chicago Bears was Rex Grossman. Now, almost a decade later, the Bears are still in the epitome of mediocre. Not to mention the banged up Cutler, but love or hate the Bears 2016 has been a historic year for a lot of sports organizations.
Time always either feels like it’s taking too long or it isn’t going by fast enough. Since this year is coming to an end, let’s look back on all the great moments and memories from this past year.

I’m sure many will argue that the most memorable moment in sports history this year was the Chicago Cubs win over the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series. The entire city of Chicago felt such joy after 108 long years, and the Cubs finally pulled through to win it. Im sure there are still fans that are just thinking to themselves “wow it finally happened.”

Then there are some who want time to speed up, like the fans of the Cleveland Browns. Brown fans are hoping the season could just be over, especially since the Browns are 12 weeks into the season without a win. If they finish the season without a win, it will be the first time they would record a season without single victory. It’s been almost a year since the Browns have won a game, the last time they did was December 14th, 2015, against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Sheriff and all time greatest NFL player Peyton Manning retired at the end of Super Bowl 50 after defeating the most successful  Carolina Panthers team in their franchise history, with a record of 15-1. There was no other way to end 50 years of Super Bowl celebrations, as they came and went, with the Denver Broncos sending Peyton Manning off into the sunset with a final ring. Manning leads all quarterbacks in NFL history in almost every category, most impressively touchdown passes with 539, the most in NFL history.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup again for the 5th time in NHL history. They are one of 3 teams that have won the Stanley Cup five times. They are celebrating 50 years of hockey and are in the mix of their division.

Now that the Cubs can join these teams in being champions in 2016, they aren’t the only team that can celebrate a long awaited victory. While the Indians came up short, and the Browns are winless, Cleveland was still able to have one team bring a trophy to the rock and roll capital of the world. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship and brought back a lot of fans for Cleveland. Not only did they manage to win the championship for the first time in history, they were able to give the fans in Cleveland the boost they needed to still keep faith. It was LeBron James’ third Championship, and he was a big contribution in lead the Cavaliers to their very first NBA Championship.

Of course, who can forget the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics? America was showcased and took 27 Gold medals back to the states, the most gold medals taken by any county in the Olympics this year. Keeping the United States atop all countries with the most gold medals won.

I’d also like to take a moment to recognize all the players that we have lost this year. Will Smith, one of the best defensive players that ever played for the  New Orleans Saints, tragically died after he got into a fender bender, and the crazed man of the other car pulled out a gun and killed him. The fact that this was over something as small as a fender bender is absolutely tragic and shameful.

The young talent from the Miami Marlins Jose Fernandez passed away recently on September 25th, the night before a big game, in a tragic boating accident in Miami. The Cuban born player had such potential and love for baseball.

And let’s not forget one of, if not the greatest, golfer of all time Arnold Palmer passed away in his late life due to a cardiovascular disease he was fighting. He will always be remembered for revolutionizing the game of golf.

With the month of December still still coming, the Super Bowl right around the corner, basketball is firing up, and hockey season underway, there’s still a lot to look forward to in 2017.