MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / December 27, 2000

The year 2000. It was a year that started with Y2K fears and ends withquestions about the presidential election process.

Fittingly, in a year that saw perhaps the craziest of presidential elections, the sports world was as unpredictable as ever.

It started on somewhat of an expected note with Florida State defeating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl to win its second national championship.

Then the craziness started. Who would have ever predicted that St. Louisand Tennessee would meet in the Super Bowl. The Titans got there thanksto one of the most memorable plays of the year, the “Music City Miracle” kickoff against Buffalo in the divisional playoffs.

In the end, it would turn out to be one of the best Super Bowls in history, one not decided until Kevin Dyson was tackled on the one-yard line by Mike Jones on the final play of the game.

New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson cleaned house, firing nearly the entire front office and coaching staff, including head coach Mike Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich. His hirings of Randy Mueller as G.M. and JimHaslett as coach may change the course of the team’s history.

LSU made March Madness a memorable one for Tiger fans by tying for the SEC championship and advancing to the Sweet 16. North Carolina wentfrom barely making the playoffs to making the Final Four. Florida andWisconsin were also surprise Final Four teams. But in the end it was ateam that many expected to contend, Michigan State, that eventually tore down the nets.

River Parish teams made their own March madness as West St. John and St.James captured state titles on consecutive days and Reserve Christian advanced to the Top 28 for the second straight year.

Vijay Singh won the Masters, an event that took on greater historical significance later in the year because it was the one that a certain player did not win.

The Cleveland Browns appropriately made a Brown (Courtney) the first pick overall in the NFL Draft.

The Riverside golf team capped a memorable prep year by winning the Class 2A state championship. Brett Bergeron brought home individualstate honors.

LSU and Louisiana-Lafayette gave Omaha a bayou flavor at the College World Series. The Tigers capped a remarkable season with a remarkablecomeback against Stanford in the championship game, giving Skip Bertman his fifth national championship in the last 10 years. Bertman laterannounced his retirement, effective after the 2001 season.

Shaquille O’Neal finally got his championship, guiding the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA title. Six months later, he would return to LSU toreceive his degree.

Tiger Woods turned the golf world upset down, capturing the U.S. Open,British Open and PGA Championship within two months. Woods joined BenHogan as the only players to accomplish the feat. He finished the seasonwith nine tour victories and nearly $10 million in earnings.

The New York Mets and Yankees played two games in two different parks in the same day. Three months later, they hooked up in the first SubwaySeries since 1956.

The Saints opened training camp in Thibodaux in July. Six months later,the team overcame a 1-3 start and injuries to a number of starters, including Ricky Williams and Jeff Blake, to capture the NFC West title and the hearts of their fans. Aaron Brooks became the latest hero, stepping infor Blake at quarterback and leading the team to an upset of the defending Super Bowl champion Rams.

The United States again shined at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, especially in the pool and on the diamond where both the softball and baseball teams captured gold.

LSU overcame an early loss in Tiger Stadium to UAB to go 7-4 and reach the Peach Bowl in Nick Saban’s first year as head coach. Included in thosevictories were two Tiger Stadium classics against Tennessee and Mississippi State and the team’s first home win over Alabama since 1969.

Tulane finished strong to finish 6-5 in Chris Scelfo’s second year and with a host of young stars, gave its fans hope for the future.

The Lutcher boys’ swim team continued its dynasty, winning its fifth straight state title.

The River Parish football teams again did their fans proud with seven advancing to the state playoffs. Riverside advanced to the championshipgame for the second time in three years before falling to Ouachita Christian.

The flaws of the BCS may finally have caught up with it as top-rank Oklahoma and third-ranked Florida State meeting in the Orange Bowl while No. 2 Miami may be left on the outside looking in while playing Florida inthe Sugar Bowl.

In a race that was just as close as the one for No. 1, Florida State’s ChrisWeinke won the Heisman over Oklahoma’s Josh Heupel.

The rich got richer as Alex Rodriguez signed an unprecedented 10-year, $252-million contract with the Texas Rangers in December.

We said hello to players like Rafael Furcal, Darren Howard and Josh Reed.

We bid a tearful farewell to Tom Landry, Maurice Richard, Derrick Thomas, Bobby Phils, Lee Petty, Robert Trent Jones and Bob Lemon.

In this most unpredictable of sports years, the best moments may have been created by athletes that most Americans probably never heard of before this summer. Misty Hyman’s reaction after upsetting Australia’sSusie O’Neill in the 200-meter butterfly and the image of Rulon Gardner on the awards stand were ones of innocence exuberance and grace that all athletes should look to emulate this year.

Happy New Year’s.

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