The past year was memorable in the world of sports, with championship repeats, a picturesque Summer Olympics, and historic breakthroughs among the headlines.
Sport made headlines on and off the field in 2024, from a new NFL dynasty to a superstar taking the basketball world by storm. These are some of the biggest sports stories of the past year.
Michigan wins CFB Playoff title in final four-team playoff
The Michigan Wolverines won the College Football Playoff National Championship in January, defeating the Washington Huskies, marking their first national championship since 1997 and capping off a successful end to coach Jim Harbaugh’s tenure with his alma mater.
The Wolverines went 12-0 in the 2023-2024 regular season and then throttled the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship game 26-0 to earn their third consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff. In the semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Michigan defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 27-20 in an overtime matchup that came down to a fourth-down stop by the Wolverines’ defense at their own 3-yard line.
In the National Championship game in Houston, the Wolverines won soundly, 34-13, powered by running back Blake Corum’s 134 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
BLAKE CORUM ????
— ESPN (@espn) January 9, 2024
MIchigan with their third rushing TD of the game! #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/qDBNwkxhPI
The Wolverines’ season was surrounded by controversy over allegations of sign stealing, which resulted in Harbaugh being suspended from the final three regular-season games of the season. He also served a three-game suspension at the beginning of the season over previous violations of COVID-19 recruiting restrictions. An NCAA investigation into the sign-stealing allegations remains ongoing.
“We’re innocent and we stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent. And I’d like to point that out,” Harbaugh said at a press conference following the national championship game. “And these guys are innocent. And overcome that? It wasn’t that hard because we knew we were innocent.”
Harbaugh would leave the Wolverines in January to return to the NFL to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. The Wolverines’ 2024-2025 season would see them fail to qualify for the College Football Playoff, finishing with a record of 7-5. However, they did win a fourth consecutive victory over rival Ohio State.
Michigan’s 2024 national championship would be the final under the College Football Playoff’s four-team format. For this season’s playoff, the field was expanded to 12 teams, with the 2025 National Championship scheduled for Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
Kansas City Chiefs repeat as NFL champions, defeating 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII
The Kansas City Chiefs hit the jackpot in Sin City earlier this year, winning a second consecutive Super Bowl with a thrilling overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers, 25-22.
The game was riddled with sloppy play by both teams throughout the first half, but the gridiron battle intensified in the second half, with the teams tied heading into the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. With less than two minutes in the game, the 49ers would make a 53-yard field goal to take a 19-16 lead, but the Chiefs would quickly respond, kicking a field goal to send the game to overtime tied 19-19.
THE CHIEFS ARE BACK-TO-BACK SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! pic.twitter.com/ZzfhTyUXg9
— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
In overtime, the 49ers would march down the field and make a 27-yard field goal, but the Chiefs would respond with the game-winning touchdown from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to wide receiver Mecole Hardman.
The 49ers’ questionable decision to receive the ball first in overtime, the first postseason game to use the new overtime rules, was met with scrutiny, and reports later emerged that many 49ers players were unaware of how the new overtime rules worked.
“This whole game was just kind of our whole entire season. It was a defense just keeping us in there, and then the offense making plays when it counted, and then of course [Chiefs kicker] Harrison Butker hitting from about 70,” Mahomes, the game’s MVP, told CBS Sports’s Jim Nantz during the trophy presentation.
The game scored record-high television viewership with 123.4 million viewers across CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon (which provided a kid-oriented broadcast), Univision (which provided the Spanish-language broadcast), and NFL+.
Part of the record-high viewership was in part due to expanded interest in the game with music superstar Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, playing. Swift, who began dating Kelce in 2023, was in attendance for the Super Bowl and shared a moment with him on the field after the Chiefs victory.
Super Bowl LVIII marked the second time a Super Bowl went to overtime (Super Bowl LI, 2017) and the Chiefs became the eighth team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
The only other teams to repeat as champions were the Green Bay Packers (Super Bowls I and II), Miami Dolphins (Super Bowls VII and VIII), Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowls IX and X and XIII and XIV), San Francisco 49ers (Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV), Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII), Denver Broncos (Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII), and the New England Patriots (Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX).
Caitlin Clark and Women’s March Madness outshine men’s NCAA basketball tournament
In college hoops, the climax of the NCAA women’s Division I basketball tournament was watched by more people than the men’s tournament earlier this year, thanks to then-Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark.
Clark’s historic season, which included setting the NCAA record for all-time NCAA Division I leading scorer for men or women, saw her Hawkeyes make the national championship, though they ultimately lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks, 87-75.
The star power of Clark led to women’s basketball reaching new heights in demand and television viewership.
The women’s national championship game drew 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, beating out the men’s national championship game, which drew 14.82 million viewers on TBS and TNT. It marked the first time in NCAA history that the women’s title game was more watched than the men’s game.
Clark was drafted first overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft in April. In the WNBA, she helped get the league some of its highest television ratings ever and unprecedented demand for tickets to games featuring Clark. She would win WNBA rookie of the year and be named Time’s athlete of the year.
“I’ve been able to captivate so many people that have never watched women’s sports, let alone women’s basketball, and turn them into fans,” Clark told Time regarding her historic year.
In the men’s tournament, the University of Connecticut Huskies won their second consecutive national championship, defeating the Purdue University Boilermakers, 75-60. It marked the Huskies’s sixth NCAA basketball championship.
Paris provides memorable backdrop for exciting Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympics returned to Paris, France, for the first time since 1924 earlier this year, in a memorable 17-day showcase of the world’s best athletes.
The games began with an opening ceremony on the Seine River, the first time an opening ceremony was not held in a traditional stadium, and featured athletes arriving on boats and a showcase of French culture, culminating in Celine Dion singing Edith Piaf’s “Hymne á l’amour” from the Eiffel Tower.
The ceremony faced inclement weather, with rain throughout the evening event. It also attracted controversy over a scene appearing to depict Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper with drag queens, which some said was mocking Christianity. Organizers apologized for the incident and said that “there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group.”
The United States topped the medal table, winning the most medals overall with 126 and tying China for the most gold medals with 40. Team USA was powered by superstars in various sports, including athletics, gymnastics, swimming, and basketball.
Gymnast Simone Biles had a massive comeback in Paris after a disappointing Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she withdrew from most gymnastics events after she got the “twisties,” which is a mental block between mind and body that gymnasts occasionally get. Biles powered her way to gold in three events, including the all-around, and a silver medal in the floor exercise event, cementing her legacy as one of the greatest gymnasts and Olympic athletes of all time.
In the pool, the U.S. saw gold medal performances by Katie Ledecky and Bobby Finke, while France’s Leon Marchand won four gold medals in the swimming competitions, becoming the home country’s star of the games.
On the track, Team USA dominated, winning 34 medals, with gold medal performances from Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone, Noah Lyles, and Cole Hocker, among others. On the basketball court, Team USA won the gold medals in both the men’s and women’s tournaments, with the men’s final featuring Steph Curry scoring numerous three-pointers in the final minutes to secure the win over France.
The sporting events were not without controversy, including due to the inclusion of Australian Rachael Gunn “Raygun” in the breaking competition. Her questionable performance, which landed her in last place, prompted widespread criticism online. Breaking debuted at the Paris Olympics, but will not be included in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Another controversy was the conditions in the Seine River, which was used for some swimming events. Multiple practices were canceled due to water safety concerns, after a costly effort to make the river swimmable for the first time in 100 years. Ultimately, the triathlon and marathon swimming events would proceed after some delays.
The closing ceremony on Aug. 11 saw the Olympic flag handed over from Paris to Los Angeles, California, which will host the 2028 Summer Olympics. The presentation from LA28 at the ceremony featured movie superstar Tom Cruise jumping into the Stade de France, H.E.R. performing the “Star Spangled Banner,” and performances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, and Billie Eilish in Long Beach, California.
During the Paris Olympics, it was also announced that Salt Lake City was selected to host the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Dodgers win World Series powered by All-Star lineup
The Los Angeles Dodgers, known for several infamous postseason collapses in recent years, made it to the promised land earlier this year, winning their first World Series in a full 162-game season since 1988.
Entering the 2024 season, the Dodgers were the favorites after signing former Los Angeles Angels standout Shohei Ohtani in the offseason and adding him to their other All-Stars. At the start of the season, scandal surrounded the superstar after Ohtani’s then-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was alleged to have stolen money from him and placed bets on various sporting events. Ohtani denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by the MLB, while Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank fraud after being federally charged.
The Dodgers won the National League West, with a record of 98-64, which was also the best record in the MLB. In the NLDS, Los Angeles escaped with a 3-2 series win over their rivals, the San Diego Padres, and won the National League pennant with a 4-2 NLCS series victory over the New York Mets.
IT'S GONE
— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2024
IT'S GONE
IT'S GONE
IT'S GONE
FREDDIE FREEMAN #WALKOFF GRAND SLAM pic.twitter.com/LlVU1ZGyGx
The Dodgers would face the New York Yankees in the World Series in a highly anticipated matchup of teams from the two largest cities in the country. In Game 1, the Dodgers won in front of their home crowd after Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning. After the first game, the Dodgers were in the driver’s seat, ultimately winning the series 4-1.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Yankees’ disastrous World Series was capped off by a disastrous 5th inning in Game 5, where various errors erased a 5-0 lead over the Dodgers. Los Angeles won the game, 7-6, and in-turn won the series.
Freeman was the series MVP and the Dodgers won their 8th World Series title. The 2024 championship was their first since 2020, when the Dodgers won the World Series in a COVID-19-shortened season.