Well folks, it’s the last day of the year and what a crazy year it has been. Two teams found themselves on the wrong end of a blowout to Georgia, the United States Women’s Soccer Team produced its worst ever performance at the World Cup, the Texas Rangers won their first ever World Series title, and we said goodbye to legends on and off the field. As we say goodbye to 2023 and hello to 2024, it’s time to take a look at the best and worst moments in sports in 2023.
Starting off on the list of worst performances of 2023 is a double debacle in college football involving Georgia and two opponents that put up historically abysmal performances:
On January 9th, the Georgia Bulldogs faced Texas Christian University in the college football national championship game. The Bulldogs entered the game as the undefeated 2022 SEC champions and reigning National Champions, while the Horned Frogs entered the game with just one loss on the year and were 2022 Big 12 runner-up. We all knew that the Horned Frogs were over-matched, but plenty of us tuned in anyway to see if TCU had what it took to knock-off the reigning national champions. The contest, if you can even call it that, ended up being a major disappointment as the Bulldogs demolished the Horned Frogs 65-7, the largest ever margin of victory in the national championship game, en route to their second consecutive national title. If you thought that was bad, Georgia book-ended their year with a 63-3 victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl on December 30th. After being left out of the college football playoffs, the Seminoles showed up flat in the Orange Bowl and fell victim to the Bulldogs in what turned out to be the largest ever margin of defeat in a college football bowl game. If you’re a Bulldogs fan, you certainly feel good about your team’s performance in 2023, but if you’re a Horned Frogs fan, Seminoles fan, or just a college football fan in general, this double debacle and embarrassing moment for the sport is something you want to erase from the memory bank. That’s why it takes the top spot for worst sports moments of 2023.
Next on the list of worst moments came during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup of Soccer:
The United States entered the 2023 World Cup seeking a 3rd straight title after previously winning the tournament in 2015 and 2019. A win here would’ve made them the first country in either the mens or womens World Cup to win three straight titles. The U.S., not only failed to win, but they put together their worst performance ever by losing in a penalty shootout to Sweden in the round of 16. The team’s poor performance was promptly followed up by harsh criticism from fans and members of the media, including former United States women’s soccer legend Carli Lloyd and men’s soccer legend Alexi Lalas. To compound the problem, nobody on the team actually wanted to take responsibility for their catastrophic performance, instead taking to their social media accounts to whine about the justified criticism. In fact, the adult in the room, Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned from the team, taking responsibility for the disastrous and inexcusable performance. I’ve never before seen a group of players, that failed the way they did, act like the victim instead of taking responsibility for losing. Poor sportsmanship combined with a lackluster performance on the field is why I have their loss ranked high on the list for worst moments in sports in 2023.
Detroit Pistons’ longest single-season losing streak of 28 games:
Rounding out the list for top three worst moments in sports in 2023 is the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors 129-127 on Saturday to snap a 28 game losing streak. Nobody expected the Pistons to do anything this year, but they managed to go on a losing streak of epic proportions when they dropped 28 straight games, tying an NBA single season record for longest losing streak ever. Had they lost to Toronto, the Pistons would have found themselves on the wrong end of history. They can rejoice in the fact that they finally won a game for the first time in nearly a month, but they are still sitting in a precarious situation, with just 3 wins on the year, they could break the modern NBA record for least wins in a single season set by the Charlotte Bobcats in 2012, who had won just 7 games. Whether they break that record or not is a conversation for a different time. For now, they’ve earned a rightful spot on the list for worst sports moments in 2023.
Going in reverse order, we start with the Arizona Diamondbacks winning the National League Pennant:
The Arizona Diamondbacks won just 84 games and qualified for the postseason as the last wild card spot. The Dbacks won the Wild Card Round against the Milwaukee Brewers, and then beat the Dodgers in the division series, and won a wild series against the Phillies to secure the National League Championship and a spot in the World Series for the first time since 2001. While the Diamondbacks ultimately lost to the Texas Rangers in the World Series, they earned a spot on the best performances of 2023 list for getting to the World Series two years removed from a 110-loss season.
Higher up on the list for best sports moments of 2023 is the LSU Tigers Women’s basketball team winning the National Championship:
The 2022/23 LSU women’s basketball team, led by second-year Head Coach Kim Mulkey, put together the most successful season in LSU history. The Tigers went 34-2 during the season and made it to their first Final Four since 2008. They finished the season with a win over Iowa in the 2023 NCAA National Championship Game. It was the first national title in school history and Mulkey’s 4th as a head coach, having won 3 previous titles coaching Baylor from 2000 to 2021. As already stated, winning a national title isn’t new for Mulkey, but delivering LSU’s first title helps this moment make the list of best sports moments of 2023.
Coco Gauff wins the 2023 U.S. Open:
We move on to the next best moment in sports for 2023 with American tennis player Coco Gauff winning the U.S. Open. Gauff beat Belarusian athlete Aryna Sabalenka in the Final of the U.S. Open in September to claim her first major singles title of her career. At just 19 years-old, Gauff became the first American teenager to win the U.S. Open since 1999 when Serena Williams defeated Martina Hingis. Winning a major singles title is no small feat, but doing it as a teenager is spectacular enough to earn a spot on my list for best sports moments of 2023.
Texas Rangers win their first World Series title in franchise history:
The Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series in 5 games against the Arizona Diamondbacks to claim their first ever World Series title. The Rangers did not lose on the road throughout the entire playoffs, including the three games played at Chase Field in the World Series. Like the Diamondbacks, the Rangers were two years removed from a season where they lost upwards of 100 games. They finished second in the AL West behind the Houston Astros, but they got their revenge against the Astros in the ALCS, a series where the road team won every game. The Rangers then split the first two World Series games in Arlington against the Diamondbacks, but won all three games in Phoenix to claim the title in 5 games. Given the improbable odds of winning, it’s hard to find a better moment in sports in 2023 than the Rangers winning the World Series. That’s why I have them listed in the top spot on my list of best sports moments in 2023. For the first time ever, the Rangers get to call themselves World Series Champions.
It’s time to say goodbye to a few soccer legends:
United States soccer legend Julie Ertz retired from soccer this year at the age of 31. Ertz won the World Cup with the United States in 2015 and 2019. She was also part of the U.S. team that won Bronze during the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Ertz played in 123 games for the United States from 2013 to 2023. The Mesa, Arizona native should be a shoe-in for the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Ali Krieger retires:
We also say goodbye to U.S. Soccer legend Ali Krieger. Krieger won the World Cup with the United States in 2015 and 2019, and was on the 2011 team that finished runner-up at the World Cup. She played in 108 games for the United States from 2008 to 2019. Like Ertz, Krieger should be a shoe-in for the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
A melancholy goodbye to Bob Knight:
Bob Knight was the head coach for the Indiana University basketball team from 1971 to 2000. He guided the Hoosiers to national championship titles in 1976, 1981, and 1987. Knight also served as head coach at Army and Texas Tech. He won a total of 902 games as a Division One head coach. Knight passed away on November 1 at the age of 83.
With that, we have capped off 2023 and head into 2024. A new year of best and worst moments awaits us in 2024.
jakethesportsguy 