Your Favorite Season(s) of All Time

[STL_ArchMadness]

I searched the forums & didn't see anything like this. But as I was doing some research on my Heisman project, I was watching some old college football highlights. And it got me thinking how much I loved the 2007 season, so I thought about a thread like this. You can put your favorite season from any sport, or 1 year specifically. & please list your reasons. Here are mine:

College Football / 2007:

- Incredible upsets like Appalachian State over Michigan, Stanford over USC, Kentucky over South Carolina, Colorado over Oklahoma

- Tebow going nuts all over the place

- Mizzou had their best season of my lifetime, reaching #1 in the rankings, and beating #1 Kansas who was 11-0 in the last game of the season

> Chase Daniel is a Heisman Finalist

> they had 3 first-team All-Americans

- All the amazing QuarterBacks like Tebow, Dennis Dixon, Graham Harrell, Colt McCoy, Chase Daniel, Colt Brennan, Matt Ryan, Pat White, Sam Bradford

- Darren McFadden running over everyone & everything

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG5TIgTYUls&feature=kp << highlights

- USC honors fallen teammate >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp0moLzrroI

- The Greatest Bowl game of all time, the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma vs. Boise State

> Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQp6r0VehPM

> This https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaIOWZJqr10

- Virginia Tech winning the game after their school shooting >>

NFL / 2007:

- I couldn't really pick one I liked the best, but this is my favorite Super Bowl of all time. Because the Giants were huge underdogs, and I hate the Patriots. What a game.

MLB / 2011:

- The Cardinals were 11 games out of the playoffs, & they made it in on the last game of the season. That story line, that eventually became the Greatest World Series game of all time (IMO), and a World Series win makes it my favorite.

> We'll see you tomorrow night (goosebumps) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go1raoqHZkU

College Basketball / 2010:

- single-handidly because of this shot. I hated Kansas, but I always root for the underdogs & this was incredible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDWYx3LVrPg

NHL / 2014?

- I'm pretty indifferent to the NHL, but I followed it a lot more this year, & I loved the playoffs

[Unocal]

Now this is my kind of topic!

I may have to do separate posts for most of the sports individually, since I can remember so much from certain seasons in the big sports.

My all-time favorite NFL season from wire-to-wire interest, team/player performance, and storylines was 2007. You obviously had the Patriots and their run at perfection, Spygate, and their all-time great offense which all dominated the headlines- and their games got huge TV ratings- but there was a lot that season offered besides the near-perfect Pats.

The NFC had 2 terrific teams in Green Bay and Dallas, Indianapolis' quest to defend their SB title, the out-of-nowhere and wildly entertaining Cleveland Browns, a new era in Pittsburgh with Mike Tomlin.

Blockbuster regular season showdowns such as NE-DAL, NE-IND, PIT-NE, GB-DAL, and NE-NYG. Great individual QB seasons- obviously Brady had the record 50 TD's, but don't forget Favre, Romo, Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, and even Derek Anderson!

The Redskins and Giants made the NFC East a very interesting division along with the Cowboys all season (including Washington's feel-good late playoff push in light of the Sean Taylor tragedy in a season that also doubled as Joe Gibbs' last hurrah). The rookie phenom that was Adrian Peterson. The Jaguars were actually legit.

The road warrior Giants and their giant-slaying playoff run against 3 quality teams, including the unforgettable climax that was Super Bowl 42.

Even the less-than-dominant teams were intriguing- the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills hung in the playoff race into December and the Miami Dolphins made a serious near-run at imperfection.

But there were others I remember well too

1994- It was a season of beginnings and endings. It was the NFL's 75th Anniversary Season (IMO, it began the era of the throwback football jerseys becoming really popular.), historic in its own right.

It was the first year that NFL games were televised on FOX (CBS lost the rights to NFC games after a long, long reign- though they did get it back in 1998), and thus began the brief but memorable four year run of FOX and NBC televising the bulk of the games.

It was the final year of legendary Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana, and the rookie year of Marshall Faulk. I'm not comparing the two historically, but it's among the many examples of an old lion exiting and a young liong entering- an all-time great player exiting, and a soon-to-be-great player entering (Another example- Donovan McNabb, Dan Marino, and Steve Young in 1999).

As of today, it was the last time that Los Angeles would have a pro football team- the Rams and Raiders played their last games in the City of Angels before they moved to St. Louis and Oakland, respectively.

The blockbuster Dallas-San Francisco matches when, instead of NFC > AFC, it felt like DAL/SF > everyone else.

1998- Another crossroads season. The defending SB champion Broncos were a juggernaut 1 and the offensive powerhouse Vikings were 1A. An all-time one-hit wonder team in the Dirty Bird Falcons.

The final year of the 49ers-Packers-Cowboys NFC trifecta when all were good, the ultra-competitive AFC East. The QB revivals of Randall Cunningham, Doug Flutie, and Vinny Testaverde.

Superb seasons from the Jets and Jaguars. The Arizona Cardinals one season of real relevance at Sun Devil Stadium.

And it was, like 1994, a year when the torch was passed from one era to another- Goodbye John Elway and Barry Sanders, hello Peyton Manning and Randy Moss.

2001- Yet another crossroads season. The final year of the '3 Divisions, 3 Wild Card Teams where 1 of them gets a home playoff game' format and the Central Divisions.

The all-around brilliance of the Rams, the unforgettable out-of-nowhere Chicago Bears, terrific seasons from old-school powers Steelers, Packers and 49ers, Baltimore's attempt to defend their Super Bowl, steady seasons from Miami and Oakland, the rise of Andy Reid's Eagles, and surprising tumbles for the Titans, Saints, and Colts.

And of course, you had the Patriots and their 'Who saw this coming?' run to a Super Bowl and the beginning of the Brady-Belichick partneship. It was Summerall and Madden's final year as an announcing duo, and they got a hell of a farewell game in SB XXXVI.

2009- The Saints/Vikings/Colts dominating headlines on and off the field. Magnificent QB seasons from Brees, Favre, Peyton, Philip Rivers, Romo. Tennessee's Lazarus season from the dead to being in the playoff race, the rollercoaster Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers, the highwire Eagles, and car-crash quality bad teams in Cleveland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Washington. The Bengals and Cowboys surprising the experts with runs to division titles few thought they'd pull off.

[TheGiantsFan]

The one I can most personally relate to is the 2012 San Francisco Giants season. This was the first season I got interested fully in (began around June or so).

I didn't exactly watch the Matt Cain perfect game, but I still found it very impressive nonetheless. Melky did great during the All-Star Game as well as the season until the PED scandal came about. And then there's the postseason. The magical October of 2012. A bunch of crazy, impressive comebacks during the LDS against Cincy and the LCS against St. Louis. Big memories in those series include Buster Posey's grand slam in Cincinnati and Hunter Pence's pregame dugout speeches. As for the World Series sweep against the Tigers, I'll always remember Pablo Sandoval's 3-HR game in Game 1 and then the final strikeout in Game 4.

2012 will always have a spot in my Giant heart.

[hjones13]

Football Season 2008-2009

Alabama wins first National Championship since '92.

New Orleans goes to and wins first Super Bowl in franchise history.

Ocean Springs (Which I was at the time a member of) reaches South State Championship, even though we lost.

Probably the most exciting Football season I have ever been a part of, playing and watching, with all of my teams either winning or being on the brink of a championship in the same season.

[Raysfan12]

For College Sports, it would be the 2012-13 school year for Louisville athletics. First ( and possibly only) program ever to win a BCS Bowl (Sugar Bowl over Florida), appear in the Final Four for men's (National Champs) and women's basketball (runner-up), and a trip to Omaha. It became the "Year of the Cardinal".

For the MLB, it would be 2011 because of Game 162 and Longo breaking the hearts of Red Sox Nation. Not to mention, an excellent World Series with the clutch hitting from David Freese.

For the NFL, it would be 2006 when the Colts finally eliminated their demons and beat the 'da Bears in Super Bowl XLI to finally give Peyton a Lombardi Trophy.

[infrared41]

College Football: 2002 - Ohio State unexpectedly goes 12-0 and beats Miami in the NCG.

NFL: 1986 - The Cleveland Browns go 12-4, get home field throughout the playoffs, and make what was at the time only their second appearance in a Conference* title game as we know it today.

NBA: 1984-85: The Lakers finally beat the Celtics in Boston to win the NBA Championship.

NHL: 2013-14: The Blue Jackets make the playoffs and play a wild series against the Penguins. They lost the series, but it was the most fun I've ever had watching hockey.

MLB: Way too many to mention.

*Technically it was the last pre-merger NFL Championship game in 1969. The Browns lost 27-7 to the Vikings who went on to lose 24-7 to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. But the Browns did blow out the Cowboys 38-14 in the 1st round. So there's that.

[STL_ArchMadness]

I like all of your guy's. I forgot to mention that I'm only 15 so that's why all of mine are fairly recent years

[cappital92]

2002=03 NBA season. The last year of MJ, David Robinson, and Stockton and Malone on the Jazz. T-Mac going for 30+ a night. Shaq and Kobe's last somewhat peaceful season. A Kings team hell bent on revenge. The Mavericks shooting out the gate with a 14-0 start. Duncan's second MVP. The Nets making the Finals again. New Orleans is in the league's rotation again. The calm before the storm of the '03 draft. This was the first season I truly followed the NBA, and devoured as much as I could. I watched every game I could, read the box scores and standings daily, and played NBA Live 2003 constantly. I was young and was interested in little else but basketball. If only I could be into something productive as I was into the NBA then...

[MSRebel22]

High School FB-2008/2009 The Mount Olive High School (MS) Pirates win their first state championships back to back since my dad was on the team in the late 80s.

CFB -1959-I know I wasn't around and my late grandfather was only 30 at the time but this is the year that Ole Miss won its first of three football national championships.

College Baseball- 2014- Ole miss advanced to the CWS for the first time since Archie Manning was the shortstop even though we lost in the bracket finals.

CFB-2012- Ole Miss beat the hayseeds from Starkville and get to a bowl for the first time since 2009,under first year coach Hugh Freeze.

[The Six]

The autumn of '93. Leaves were extra crunchy that year, Thanksgiving was delicious, I learned how to ride a bike, and Tiny Toons was the talk of the playground.

[Sport]

Baseball: 1999 and 2010 come to mind, but my favorite would have to be 2012. I had just taken a job in Cincinnati and I went to more Reds games that season than I had to been to in my entire life. I can remember so many fun moments that I saw in person (Joey Votto hitting three home runs including a walk off grand slam to beat the Nationals on Mother's Day is my favorite) . It was the first time I'd experienced my favorite team's season up close and in person and they were really effing good. The playoff loss was especially maddening for that reason.

Football: 2005 The Bengals were a contender for the first time in my life. Again, the ending sucked.

Hockey: 2013-2014 The Blue Jackets were a very likable group who brought the effort almost every single game. They won a lot of games they shouldn't have won and they were almost never blown out so every game was a fun watch. And the ending sucked again, but this time the team actually showed up for the playoffs and made it hard on the other team. (the ending always sucks)

[ScoffingYayap]

I'm a sucker for unexpected or "miracle" seasons, and 2012's surprise A's was amazing to watch night in and night out. I'm too young to remember 2002 so vividly, but man...20 straight wins.

As for the Phils, the 2007 season was quite the miraculous comeback, and the 2008 postseason was one of those wild rides where everything just went totally right.

2010 was remarkable because of the way Roy Halladay pitched every 5th night - where a shutout or a no-hitter was just expected.

2011, though. Before the postseason came along (Which was unfortunate), it was hard to even remember the team had last lost a game. I've never seen a team so dominant. Easily could've won 110 games. That's baseball, though.

[NJTank]

1986 Mets

1999/00 Devils

1999 Mets

2002/03 Devils

1984 Dolphins

2000 Mets

[Unocal]

For hockey, I'm gonna throw out 1995-96.

The last hurrah of that era of high-scoring (100-point players and a lot of others hitting 90), last year of the old-school Winnipeg Jets, first year of the Avs, lot of new blood and big guns, Red Wings 62 wins, THE NHL ON FOX AND REGIONAL ACTION, Canada still having a lot of team, Toronto in the West!

[FGM13]

All-Time, any sport, 2005-06 NHL season. First season back from the lockout, and my Oilers came one period away from their 6th Stanley Cup.

[FiddySicks]

2010 MLB season. I was particularly excited for that year because the Giants showed a lot of promise the year before, even though they missed the playoffs. I watched nearly every pitch of Giants baseball that season, from the opening game in Houston to that final Nelson Cruz strikeout in game 5 of the World Series. It was torture to watch them most of the year, but getting to celebrate with the rest of the Bay Area at the World Series parade was a moment I'll never forget.

[DanSanchez8]

1988 Los Angeles Dodgers. The underdog of the playoffs, who beat the New York Mets (who won 100 games) in the NLCS. Then they beat the Oakland A's (who won 104 games) in 5 games. And of course who can forget Kirk Gibson's home run in the bottom of the ninth in game 1 off the Eck. Hopefully the A's and Dodgers play in this years fall classic.

[pianoknight]

College Football: 1997.

Nebraska and Michigan split the title that year and now that NU has moved to the Big Ten, it's even more fun to debate with Wolverine fans over who was the "real" champ that year. Hint - it was the team who decimated a Payton Manning-led Tennessee in the bowl game.

The year was also full of some great plays, including the Matt Davison miracle catch against a tough Mizzou team:

And Charles Woodson's leading superman interception against MSU:

[AHcreative]

How, STL_ArchMadness, judging by your username, avatar, and sig, can you not have the '99 Rams as your favorite NFL season?

1999 season for the NFL gets my vote. I was really young, but I still remember going to every home Rams game and the miraculous Super Bowl.

[MichiganPackers]

College football- 1997- reasons mentioned by PianoKnight above and for Charles Woodson's Heisman

NFL- 1996- Favre leads Packers to victory in SB XXXI, '96 Packers were one of the few teams in NFL history to score the most points and allow the fewest points in the league

MLB- 1984- The Bless You Boys

NHL- 1996/97- Red Wings' 1st Stanley Cup since the Dead Wings era, had the Vladinator on the team before Richard Gnida ruined everything