New York sports has a long and storied history of immense talent, bigger than life players and championships littered throughout it's history. There have also been some pretty lean years for the area's sports teams over those years. 2023 may have just proved to be the leanest years in the history of New York Sports.
The baseball season may have been the worst collectively that this town has ever witnessed. When you take into account the expectations of both the Yankees and Mets and where they ended up, it would be hard pressed to find a bigger disappointment. The Mets had World Series hopes after doling out two huge contracts to Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, and by the trade deadline neither were even on the roster. The Yankees also spent big on pitching only to watch Carlos Rodon barely make appearances in the Bronx.
The Islanders and Rangers held their own, but never seemed like legit title contenders, while the Knicks are stuck in this strange middle ground in the NBA where they aren't good enough to be a title threat, but aren't quite bad enough to fix their team in the draft. Then we come to the Jets and Giants season, which can best be described as dumpster fires. The Jets lost Aaron Rodgers only a few plays into the season and their Super Bowl hopes went up in smoke before their second possession. Big Blue were coming off of a playoff appearance and it looked like the arrow was pointing in the right direction until the wheels fell off for Daniel Jones and the entire team. Now the future of their superstar talent and team's outlook dangle in the balance.
All in all 2023 might be remembered by New York sports fans as one of the worst in history, but alas there is hope. As we turn the calendars to 2024 the big apple's teams have plenty of reasons to smile. The Giants will be healthier next season and have found some defensive gems on that side of the ball. The Jets will have Aaron Rodgers back and the renewed faith in a playoff push will be back with him. On the ice the Rangers have spent most of the year in first place and there have been times the Islanders have looked like they can get back to the postseason. On the court the Nets and Knicks both are hovering around .500 and could grab a postseason berth as well. The Mets are building an exciting young core and the Yankees just grabbed another superstar to join the lineup giving even the most pessimistic Yankee fan a reason to cheer.
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