With the year about to approach its final quarter, 2018 has managed to exceed everyone’s expectations with iconic and history defining moments. From competing for individual accolades to representing the flag on an international stage, the world has witnessed yet another breakthrough year for sports. Underdogs emerged on top while giants fell flat, new stars were born and legacies were once again defined. Let’s take this moment to look back at some of the greatest sports moments of the year 2018, so far.
The NBA Finals
For the fourth year in a row fans witnessed yet another NBA Finals, that featured the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Finally acquiring back-to-back titles through utter dominance of the Cavs, it was no surprise that the Warriors once again reached the summit on the biggest basketball stage in the world. While LeBron James has definitely won the hearts of many by playing at a level that no one can match, a great team will always beat a great player regardless of how good he may be.
By winning three championships in the last four years, the Warriors have cemented themselves as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, dynasty the NBA has ever seen. After signing DeMarcus Cousins this summer for a discount at in the form of a five million Dollar, one-year deal, Golden State looks like they are not going to slow down any time soon.
Also, with James now being a Los Angeles Laker, this was probably the last time the Warriors and Cavs will meet in the Finals, for at least this era.
Wimbledon
The year has been filled with comebacks, surprises, but most importantly heartbreaks. Living legends such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both suffered painful, shocking losses but both agree that credit must be given where it is due.
For the Men’s Singles division, after winning for the fourth time against Kevin Anderson, Novak Djokovic once again found his way to the top of the tennis world. With the win, he now has 13 Grand Slam titles.
In the women’s division, the 36 year-old Serena Williams, who had just came from pregnancy, made a return to the Wimbledon stage and had her sights locked in to the championship. Determined to write the final chapter of her career as the Women’s Singles’ Champion, Angelique Kerber had other plans and emerged on top in her match against the great Williams.
Vive La France
Arguably the world’s greatest sporting event, the 2018 World Cup in Russia finally reached its conclusion and has been dubbed by some pundits as the greatest World Cup, so far. Dramatic and unpredictable from start to finish, hearts across the globe were broken and legends were born.
The curse went on for previous winners as Germany was dethroned in the group stages. Also, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could only take their teams so far, and Neymar once again failed to win it all with his Brazil squad.
As the French team won with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia in the final, one thing they should be happy about the most is the rise of the young phenom, Kylian Mbappe.
As the winner of the Best Young Player award, at just the age of 19, he has already won a World Cup, a feat that some of the greatest names in football have still not accomplished. The future looks bright and fans across the globe cannot wait to witness the growth of Mbappe, his eventual rise and bouts to face and rival some of the sport’s greatest players.
With this World Cup living up to the hype, it will be a long four and a half year wait for football fans, as they await the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
