First of all, consider politics. Has there ever been a more divisive
year? From HB2 in North Carolina to
partisan arguments about filling a vacant Supreme Court seat to Republican
debates that resembled pre-UFC/boxing match press conferences more so than
actual political debates, America looked less like a “shining city on a hill”
and more like a flaming pile of dog poop.
The Democratic primaries and nominations went as expected resulting in
Hillary Clinton becoming the first major party female nominee for
president. However, even that was
somewhat controversial, as supporters of Bernie Sanders cried foul and the head
of the DNC had to step down following the release of emails showing that the
party was in cahoots with the Clinton campaign.
The Republican primaries and nominations were hard to distinguish from
an argument in a middle school locker room, what with all of the name calling
and the discussion of a candidate’s hand size.
Along the way, the country became more and more polarized. Republicans talked of locking up Hillary
Clinton, while Democrats painted Republicans as closed-minded bigots. Unbelievably, so called evangelical
Christians somehow coalesced behind an arrogant, thrice-married, xenophobic
misogynist and got him elected.
Everything people thought they knew about American politics was turned
on its ear in 2016 and Lord only knows what that means for our country in 2017.
2016 was also a lousy year for sports, unless you’re a
long-suffering fan of the Cubs or Cleveland sports. The highlight for me was the Blues (finally)
getting out of the first round of the playoffs and actually advancing to the
conference finals for the first time in 15 years. They knocked off the hated Blackhawks (and I
was there for Game 7) and the higher-seeded Dallas Stars before finally falling
to the San Jose Sharks. The star crossed
franchise is still searching for its first Stanley Cup, but at least I was able
to grow a good playoff beard. Of course,
the Blues celebrated their success by losing their captain to free agency, as
well as watching their #1 goaltender and one of their postseason heroes move on
to other teams. The Cardinals missed the
playoffs in 2016 for the first time since 2010 and watched their hated rivals
finally slay the Curse of the Billy Goat.
After nearly a decade and a half of being the class of the NL Central,
the Cardinals are now searching for a way to measure up to, of all teams, the
Cubs. Mizzou basketball continues to be
one of the worst Power 5 programs in the country, while Mizzou football turned
in a second consecutive losing season, something that hadn’t happened in more
than a decade and a half. My beloved
Baylor Bears suffered through a first round upset in the NCAA tournament in
basketball, followed by an unmitigated disaster in the football program that
resulted in the firing of the football coach, athletic director, and president
of the university. The horrific sexual
assault scandal and the way it was handled continues to reverberate through the
university and figures to do so for a long time to come. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel
as we move toward 2017, it’s that the football program is poised to start anew
with a new coaching staff and they closed out 2016 with a bowl win for the
second consecutive year. Oh yeah, Baylor’s
men’s and women’s basketball teams are both ranked in the top 5 as we close out
the year.
In world affairs, 2016 gave us horrific attacks in Paris,
Orlando, Berlin and Nice. It gave us
Aleppo and Brexit. It gave us record
homicides in places like Chicago and countless killings of police officers from
coast-to-coast. In other words,
virtually the entire world received a giant lump of coal in its respective
stockings. We can only hope for things
to get better as we turn the calendar to 2017.
You’ve heard of “They Day the Music Died?” Well, 2016 may very well be remembered as the
YEAR the music died. David Bowie. Glenn Frey.
Prince. Merle Haggard. George Michael. Leonard Cohen. A veritable Hall of Fame of musicians all
taken from us in one calendar year. We
lose all of that talent, but yet Nickleback still perseveres? Where is the justice in that? Perhaps more miraculously, Keith Richards and
Ozzy Osbourne have somehow survived the year.
Seriously, 10 years ago, if someone offered you a bet that ‘80s hit
makers Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Prince, David Bowie and George Michael
would all die BEFORE Keith Richards, you would have taken that chance, wouldn’t
you?
2016 also robbed us of Princess Leia, Hans Gruber, Tessio, Willy
Wonka and Mrs. Brady, not to mention Alan Thicke, Arnold Palmer and Harper
Lee. So many talented people gone, but
yet we still have talentless hacks like the Kardashians among us? 2016, you are EVIL. Good riddance!
To all who loyally read this blog, thank you. You give me an outlet for my rants and sad attempts at humor. May you have a blessed and wonderful 2017!
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