by Jay Busbee, senior writer at Yahoo Sports, reflects on the memorable moments of the sports year – a time when many of your favorite sports took a big leap into the future.
Video transcript
2024 was the year many of your favorite sports took a big step into the future.
From massive new playoff structures to gigantic viewership increases, from new broadcast formats to new ownership, this was the year the sport stepped up to the plate to set the stage for the future.
No sport has changed more fundamentally than college football.
New conferences for blue-chip programs, a new playoff race that brought a number of new programs into the national championship hunt, combined with the NIL and transfer portal disruptions, and college football is changing in its DNA.
At the same time, women’s basketball reached new levels of popularity.
Caitlyn Clark’s arrival boosted ticket sales and viewership across the WNBA, and millions discovered what longtime WA fans already knew.
Many of Clark’s WNBA colleagues spent their summer vacation maintaining the United States’ dominance in international play and winning Olympic gold in a thrilling last-second victory over host France.
Team USA’s victory marked the conclusion of a transformative Olympics.
The grandeur of Paris brought shine back to the struggling Olympic movement.
Not every moment was golden.
But the world’s greatest athletes triumphed in the pool, on the track, in the river and in an unforgettable location.
Despite all the changes in 2024, many titles ended up in the hands of the Blue Bloods, even if they were Kansas City Red or Boston Green.
A Japanese star took over the great American pastime, and a Russian goalscorer began her final assault on the big one.
2024 was a year of grand slams and Hail Marys, a year of great triumphs and bitter heartache.
Finding your favorite games and following your teams hasn’t always been easy.
The fragmented world of sports streaming is a story that won’t go away, but the games are always worth the effort.
Well, almost always.
The years seem to pass at triple speed, and in a few years we’ll probably be laughing at how quaint the sport was back in 2024.
