There’s just something about sport that really tugs on our heart strings and emotions. It unites people by discipline, team, state, country, continent and much more. The year 2020 was tough for sports fanatics and online sports betting fans, but luckily 2021 has largely made up for it.
There have been some truly remarkable sporting moments in the past year and we’re going to take a closer look at our top five.
1. Fans allowed back into stadiums
Sports events as a whole were largely canceled or postponed in 2020 and with no Friday night college football, no NBA weekends and no ice hockey betting to keep us entertained, things just seemed out of sorts. Luckily, sports did start to open up, with the NFL, NBA, NHL and English Premier League players allowed back onto the field. Still, most of the matches had to take place behind closed doors and while it was great to watch our favorite teams pull on their jerseys – it simply wasn’t the same without the fans there to cheer them on.
This is why we’re making the return of fans to stadiums across the world our No.1 sporting moment in 2021! Listening to the songs, hearing the chants and feeling the tension and energy of the crowd is simply irreplaceable.
2. Team America win the Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup hasn’t been a source of joy for Team America for many years and we’ve lost out to the European contingent more often than we’d like to admit. This year, though, there seemed to be something a little different about the USA team. There was a changing of guard if you like, with promising golfers including Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau coming into the team.
The question was whether this relatively young and inexperienced team could topple the more experienced European side. Team USA outranked the Europeans in the PGA rankings, but this had also been the case before when the team lost. Happily, the fears were unfounded and the youngsters played their socks off to win the tournament 19-9, which is the widest margin in the competition since 1967. Go Team America!
3. Tom Brady gets his 7th Super Bowl title
Even the most avid football betting fans may not have predicted that Tom Brady, at the age of 44 and playing for a new team, would bag his seventh Super Bowl trophy. However, the stars aligned for one of the NFL’s all-time greatest quarterbacks.
After 20 years with the New England Patriots, Brady made the controversial decision to move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Many questioned the switch, but the GOAT proved that he made the right decision in the end by leading his new team to victory at the Super Bowl LV. We’ll never forget the shot of Brady walking up to the stands and getting a hug from his eldest son after the Buccaneers won the game.
4. Chris Paul drops 41 points
Chris Paul missed the first two games of the NBA Western Conference Finals after contracting Covid-19 and having to isolate, but the 36-year-old rearguard wasn’t going to go down without a fight. In the last game of the series, he put in the shift of his life and dropped 41 points against the Clippers for his team, the Phoenix Suns. This unbelievable feat took the Suns to the Finals. It was the first time that Paul had ever played in the Finals and, despite the Suns losing the match to the Bucks, they had their rearguard to thank for being there in the first place.
It wasn’t just that one game of basketball that has turned Paul into one of the best rearguards in the NBA. He has been stellar throughout his career, but in 2021 he reached a special milestone. In November, he became the first NBA player to ever get 20,000 points, 10,000 assists and 5,000 rebounds. That’s right! Even Michael Jordan didn’t manage to do this. Even the most switched-on basketball betting fans probably couldn’t have predicted this one.
5. Tom Daley wins gold
He might not be American, but you really can’t help backing British diving sensation Tom Daley. He first appeared in the Olympics for Britain at the tender age of 14, and has captivated hearts from all over the world since then.
Daley already had two bronze medals to his name before the 2021 Olympics, but had never won a gold medal in his four previous Games. The now 27-year-old was paired up with his diving partner Matty Lee in the 10m synchronized diving event when his dreams finally came true. Daley also made history when he added a bronze to his medal list in the individual event, becoming the first British diver ever to win four medals at the Olympics.
Other mentions
Of course, there were plenty of other great sporting moments this year. Here are just a few worth mentioning:
- Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United after 12 years.
- Montreal made it to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1993.
- The Dubs’ Steph Curry dropped an incredible 62 points vs the Blazers.
- Collin Morikawa won The Open.
Place bets with the best online casino and sportsbook
If it’s sports betting options that you’re after, then look no further than Borgata Online. We have a massive variety of sports betting lines for you to choose from, and cover all the major sporting events in the world. Not only that, but we have a fantastic online casino too, so you can access all your gambling experiences from our site.
To explore what we have in store for you, register with Borgata Online.