Minnesota’s 2015 sports year was a successful year
This New Year’s Eve bring us the opportunity to look ahead at 2016, but to also look back at the year that was throughout the Minnesota sporting scene.
At the stroke of midnight tonight, 2015 will be in the past and we will be dropped right into a new calendar year. Even the most pessimistic soul can say that 2016 looks like it has the potential to be a really good one for Minnesota sports, but, in all honesty, 2015 wasn’t too shabby either.
It all started way back in January with a New Year’s Day bowl game for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers lost that game and took a step back this season by going to one of the worst bowls possible, but some excuses can be made with the sudden retirement of Jerry Kill and injuries galore throughout the season.
The women’s Gopher hockey team and the volleyball squads also need to be made note of. Both have had fabulous seasons they just don’t get the main stream coverage that they deserve.
Speaking of the women’s game in this state, the Minnesota Lynx claimed another WNBA title. Maya Moore looked like an absolute superstar once again throughout the season and the Lynx reclaimed their rightful title as WNBA Champions.
The Minnesota Wild hit a rough path during last season, but were saved by the fantastic goalie skills of Devan Dubnyk. The team won a playoff series and now this season again look poised to at least make the tournament again this season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves had another rough season, but the tail end of last season saw the emergence of Andrew Wiggins which blossomed into the winning of the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. This current season started off nicely, but has hit a rough patch once again, but the Timberwolves drafted Karl Anthony Towns and they look poised to be literally great for the years to come.
The Minnesota Twins were a wonderful surprise and stayed in serious contention until the very last weekend of the regular season. While it might have been more of a fluke than anything, the emergence of Miguel Sano was more than enough to keep Twins fans energized and excited for the 2016 season to come.
The Minnesota Vikings go into 2016 with a playoff berth clinched already with one game left of the regular season to go. Teddy Bridgewater is closing the year looking like a complete stud, Adrian Peterson came back better than most expected and the defense is filled with young players who are soon going to be perennial All-Pros.
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There were disappointments throughout the year, but it really can’t be seen as a disappointment. Two of the major four made the playoffs, if you include the Vikings coming playoff appearance, the Twins contended when they really shouldn’t have and the Timberwolves look like they are on the way up.
It wasn’t the most successful year in Minnesota sports, but it surely wasn’t a total disappointment. As a usual pessimist when it comes to Minnesota sports, I declare this past calendar year a success in this beautiful state. Congrats, Minnesota teams.
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We’ll keep you covered on everything that goes down in the Minnesota sports world in 2016 and beyond. Thanks for reading Sporting Sota in 2015 and we can’t wait to see you in the New Year!