2014 – The year of thrills and surprises in sport

The Liverpool football team in one of their happier moments

2014 is just half-way done, and yet we have already got enough sporting stories to last us a lifetime. It’s been a year of the underdog, but a closer look reveals that the underdog has gotten further than ever, but stumbled at the last step. Let’s look at some of those scenarios.

So near, yet so far!

I think one of the biggest underdog achievements of the year goes to Liverpool, fourth place contenders for years now. They transformed under Brendan Rogers to mount what could have turned out to be a dream season, but eventually turned out to be just a good one. They didn’t look like just title contenders but like title winners for most of the season, only to have it snatched away from them in dramatic circumstances towards the end. Make no mistake about it, the EPL is fiercely competitive; just ask Arsenal. And what they achieved was tremendous given the expectations at the start of the season.

In tennis at the French Open, there’s no doubt that Novak Djokovic has been getting better, but everyone’s an underdog against Rafael Nadal on this surface. And while Djokovic did well, he couldn’t muster the final push to win the title that has eluded him so far.

At Wimbledon too, one shouldn’t consider Roger Federer (with seven titles) an underdog but with age and ranking on his side, Djokovic would have been a pre match favourite. Federer’s form was ominous coming into the game, but he couldn’t translate that into “a hands on the crown” experience. He played some exquisite tennis all through the tournament, and produced some exhilarating stuff in the final as well, but that one extra spark eluded him. Given the way he’s playing though, it would be great to have him around for a few more years; his tennis is just unbelievable.

A FIFA World Cup for the ages

At the ongoing FIFA World Cup as well, the underdogs did well, but in the end, when push came to shove (and I mean literally when you take the Brazil-Columbia game into consideration), they didn’t have that last gasp power to see off the big guns. Chile, Costa Rica, Columbia and Belgium deserve the applause that’s coming their way; they provided some amazing moments in football history.

In the UEFA Champions League too, we almost had a rank outsider taking the cup after a long time. Atletico Madrid had an unbelievable season, but maybe beating Real Madrid on the big day was just too much of an ask.

To the winners go the spoils

Even so, there have been a few underdogs who have gone on to claim the trophy as well this season. Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open broke the stronghold of the Big Four in January this year, and while the two Slams after that also promised more from outside these four and didn’t ultimately deliver, that one result is a good starting point. While Atletico Madrid suffered disappointment in the UEFA Champions League, their domestic victory was no less an achievement. Competing against two immense super powers in Real Madrid and Barcelona, to go all the way in a 38-match season, was an extraordinary performance.

Looking forward to more

We’re only halfway through the year, but as you can see, there’s a lot of promise from newcomers and outsiders, and that can only be good for sport. If the remaining half of the season can throw some more unexpected results our way, then 2014 has the potential to be one of the greatest years in sporting history. With all the action that has been coming our way, we’re not complaining either way.