2019 was an exciting year for Canadian sports and included quite a few events that even people who don’t follow sports would know about. With all that has happened in the past year, 2020 is bound to be just as exciting, and the fans in Canada will be there to hype up the teams and the individual athletes.
Here are a few great Canadian sports moments from 2019 and why you should continue watching sports in the new year:
- Basketball
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If you live in Canada and don’t know about the Raptors victory … get with it! The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championships in June for the first time in history. In their 15 years as a team, the Raptors have only made it to the finals once before in 2005, so it was a big deal.
The city of Toronto and all of Canada was ecstatic. Not to mention the between one and two million people who showed up for the Championship Parade. Although the team doesn’t have Kawhi “Board Man” Leonard, the Raptors still boast Marc Gasol, Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam.
Hopefully, Nick Nurse can lead the Raptors to another NBA Finals appearance, and fans across Canada are definitely hopeful.
- Tennis
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Who would’ve expected 19-year-old Bianca Andresscu from Mississauga to make it as far as she did? Canadians didn’t, and certainly Andreescu herself didn’t either.
Andreescu entered the 2019 season as No. 152 and shocked the entire sports world when she beat Serena Williams in the US Open Finals this August. She became the first Canadian and first player born in the 2000s to win a Grand Slam singles title.
In an interview afterwards, she apologized for winning, saying, “I know you guys wanted Serena to win, so I’m so sorry” to all the American fans at New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium. So Canadian.
Andreescu won in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 and totally deserved it. The name “She The North” stuck (sorry, Raptors), and all of Canada was ecstatic for the humble but talented Andreescu. With her name on everyone’s radar, Andreescu will hopefully give her fans across the country more reason to watch her, tennis and follow Canadian sports.
- Soccer
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As for soccer, both the Canadian Men’s National Team and the Canadian Women’s National Team had a great year.
For the women, the Canadian team played in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. They entered the tournament ranked fifth, and although they didn’t make it far, it was still amazing to see all of Canada behind another female-led sport.
The Men’s National Team beat their rivals, the U.S. Men’s National Team, for the first time since 1985. This game was part of the CONCACAF Nations League premier season, so this made the win an even bigger deal. Canada won 2-0 and gained FIFA ranking points to hopefully bring the team to top six in the region, which would mean participating in the Hexagonal round of the World Cup.
TFC are also currently on a winning streak after topping D.C. United on October 19th in a crazy overtime game. Four of the goals in the 5-1 win came in overtime. Having the game on home turf made the win even more exciting. Just 11 days later, they beat Atlanta United in a 2-1 game to send them to the finals of the MLS Cup on November 10th against the Seattle Sounders FC. Although they did lose to Seattle in the MLS Cup Final, Canadian soccer teams are fired up and fans are be inspired for the 2020 season.
- Hockey
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Lots of Canadian NHL players and teams have been surprising fans, such as the Ottawa Senators winger, Connor Brown. Brown is tied for first in Senators scoring and is on pace to shatter his previous 36 points with his last team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Speaking of the Leafs, they haven’t been quite as successful as fans were hoping, but usually around January, head coach Mike Babcock turns on the jets and sends the boys to (at least) the first round of playoffs. It will be interesting to see if the Leafs can make it past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2020.
On the other side of the country, the Vancouver Canucks are sitting at 15th in the league and with rookie Quinn Hughes, fans are hopeful for a comeback for their team.
The Edmonton Oilers are also surprising hockey fans and are currently in 5th place, with Connor McDavid and James Neal doing what they do best (scoring goals, that is).
So much happened in Canadian sports this past year and 2020 is guaranteed to be just as thrilling, so make sure to stay updated by following Canadian sports pages on social media, and make sure to cheer for everyone in red and white!