2017 is being widely considered as the worst year ever. This is funny because before that, last year was the worst year ever. 2015 was probably the top of the list at the end of 2015. At some point, I expect us as humans to kind of start to notice a trend.
One place 2017 was not bad was at Student Union Sports, where we had our best year of viewership by more than 200%. We grew our contributor numbers by a lot, added some podcasts, had actual big J journalistic stories and created a weight loss challenge to try to get in some level of good shape.
Personally, I enjoyed 2017. I think there was a lot of good things in the year that we received from the universe. Sports continued their electric run that we have been getting in the last few years and there were plays and games that got all of America off their couches. It is easy to think music is great right now unless you’re one of those noodles that always complains about how music is dead and how Lil Pump isn’t a visionary and how all rap music sounds the same. Those are the two things I care the most about, but there is so much more. To make things easy to digest and simple, I like rankings and lists. I’m gonna make a bunch of lists and rankings so we can all remember 2017 together.
Best stories
Michigan basketball plane accident
Michigan played the first round of the Big Ten tournament in their practice uniforms because their real uniforms were trapped in their plane that crashed and then they proceeded to win the Big Ten tournament. I’m consistently a big fan of Michigan hoops, but last year’s team was my favorite in a long time and this was a big reason why.
Lane Kiffin at FAU
Lane Kiffin is an offensive savant that stopped caring what people think, moved to a program far below his skill level, turned it into a powerhouse, made fun of other programs he coached for on his Twitter account, and then signed a 10 year extension at the program that is beneath his skill level. He calls plays like he is playing a video game and he is the best play caller in the nation because of it. Look for FAU to be the midmajor powerhouse for the foreseeable future.
Iowa stadium waving at adjacent children’s hospital
*cries every time*
Cody and I driving the UAB bandwagon
In week 3, I started the UAB bandwagon in my weekly El Pollo article. All three picks hit in this week, which gave me an affinity for all the teams involved. But UAB held a special place in my heart. From there, they became the official team of The Campus Cover podcast and we talked about them at length. They were great on the field and for our bank accounts, and this is why we love them. Go Blazers, now and forever.
Baylor being horrible with Matt Rhule at the helm
Matt Rhule did great things for Temple University’s football program. He brought a conference championship, a ten win season, a win over Penn State and made this senior class the winningest class in Temple history. He told us he loved it in North Philadelphia and he would stay for a long time.
Then, a week later, he bolted for Baylor, a program that was facing a potential death penalty and was losing recruits at a staggering rate. This is only a good story for me and other Temple football fans, but it was a lot of fun to see him not only not succeed, but have an incredibly laughable season. Hopefully this continues.
Joel Berry III breaking his hand because he lost a video game to Theo Pinson
Best Rap albums
- DAMN. COLLECTORS EDITION; Kendrick Lamar (Kung Fu Kenny may be the only person that can re release the exact same album backwards and it is better the second time. This is DAMN. but the tracklist is opposite and it makes the album 100 times better. That is like trying to make the best hamburger you’ve ever had 100 times better just by flipping it upside down.
- DAMN.; Kendrick Lamar (I could write 20,000 words on just Kendrick, but I’ll spare you of that. He is the best rapper of all time and that is a hill I will die on. This is his best album yet. It’s only right that he gets the top two spots.)
- Culture; Migos
- The Never Story; J.I.D. (If you have not heard of J.I.D. take this as your wake up call. This dude is for real. This is his lone album thus far, but if he had a bigger name it would probably number one on this list. If you like rap, this can quickly become one of your favorite albums.)
- Pretty Girls Like Trap Music; 2 Chainz (I saw a show from the tour supporting this album and 2 Chainz was in a wheelchair and it was still the best rap show I have ever seen by a wide margin. Also, every song on the album bumps.)
- Blkswn; Smino (This is one of the most beautifully complete rap albums I have heard in a long time. Smino is a real artist and his voice sounds like how your favorite citrus fruit smoothie tastes.)
- Big Fish Theory; Vince Staples (Vince is the most underrated dude in the entire rap game. He needs more love. He also puts on one of the best rap shows I have ever seen.)
- Issa Album; 21 Savage (21 21 21)
- Flower Boy; Tyler, the Creator (Tyler finally has figured out exactly what Tyler is supposed to be. This album is masterfully constructed and filled with all the weird quirks and maybe, sorta gay lyrics that make Tyler, Tyler.)
- Luv is Rage 2; Lil Uzi Vert (Uzi is a national treasure and we need to treat him as such.)
- Hendrxx; Future (I feel like I had to include an 11th because I gave two seperate spots to Kendrick. Also, this is a really good album and I felt bad leaving it off the list entirely.)
I made a spotify playlist with the albums. DAMN. is only included once in the playlist.
Best college games
1. 2017 Rose Bowl between Penn State and USC. January 2, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3sLNO8QDq4
The birth of Sam Darnold’s true potential. And Penn State lost, which is always fun.
2. Oklahoma State vs Michigan. March Madness Round of 64. March 17, 2017.
I remember watching this game with my buddy in his living room and thinking, “Holy shit if the tournament is going to be anything like this game indicates, there is a good chance I die, and that would be ok with me.” The rest of the tournament did not impress as much, thus, I live another day to write this article.
3. UCLA comeback win over Texas A&M. September 3, 2017
Josh Rosen is a wizard. A very smart, very well-spoken wizard who knows how to make an impossible comeback the same way he knows how to criticize the NCAA without making anyone angry with him.
4. Florida vs Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. March 25, 2016
The last five minutes of this game are how I imagine meth feels.
5. AAC Championship between UCF and Memphis. December 2, 2017
GIVE ME ALL OF THE GODDAMN POINTS. HOOK THIS AND 2017 BEDLAM STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS.
Definite ranking of every Bojack Horseman episode from season 4
I’m not a huge TV Show guy. I like movies and sports more, so instead I just give a show a shot every once in awhile when I feel like committing to something. With that being said, I want to alert you that if you have never seen Bojack Horseman and you consider yourself one of those TV show people, you need to watch this show. It’s a super dark and cynical, yet extremely goofy and sarcastic comedy starring the voices of Will Arnett, Alison Brie and Aaron Paul. The fourth season came out in September of 2017 and I just finished it up recently, so I figured I’d rank them all from least best to best. For reference, this is like ranking songs from Chance’s Coloring Book from worst to best. Every single one is perfect.
12. “The Judge” (Ep. 8)
11. “See Mr. Peanutbutter Run” (Ep. 1)
10. “Commence Fracking” (Ep. 4)
9. “lovin that cali lifestyle!!” (Ep. 10)
8. “Hooray! Todd Episode!” (Ep. 2)
7. “Thoughts and Prayers” (Ep. 5)
6. “Ruthie” (Ep. 9)
5. “The Old Sugarman Place (Ep. 3)
4. “Underground” (Ep. 7)
3. “Piece of Shit” (Ep. 6)
2. “Time’s Arrow” (Ep. 11)
1. “What Time is it Right Now” (Ep. 12) [it actually concludes with a happy ending and that is so beautiful because it really makes you wait and want the happy ending.
My best articles
This is incredibly self-indulgent even by my standards. But, I wrote a lot this year that I am very proud of. This is not a thing that happens for me a lot, so I feel like I need to embrace it. I joined Student Union in March of 2017, and in that time I have contributed 93 articles to the site. This is a big part of the reason I felt good about 2017. Being a part of this site has been a lot of fun and I’ve had the opportunity to expand my writing ability while simultaneously being able to write basically whatever I want. This list is reflective of that.
5. I went 5 for 5 in picking NBA Draft props bets
I am still really proud of that. So is my bank account.
4. The eclipse as a reminder that sports are beautiful
This came in the dead of summer where college sports websites struggle a little bit because there are no sports happening. Still, I was feeling reminiscent and all I could think about was the eclipse because it was being pounded into my brain so.
3. El Pollo Bowl predictions
This was the accumulation of every El Pollo article throughout the year. I started the series with an excitement for Bowl season and in my opinion, it matched up with that level of hype. Also, it’s still extremely relevant so read it a blurb at a time.
2. The games that made college hoops what it is today
I put a lot of work into this article and that’s the main reason it’s this high. This is probably the most research I have done for a piece on the site to this point, or even anything I have ever written for school or otherwise. That is how I like to spend my free time: giving Ronnie Carr credit for hitting the first recorded three pointer. Seriously though, the college hoops game we love would not be the same without these four games.
1. Baker Mayfield Erotica following Oklahoma’s victory at Bedlam.
Following my most serious and research based piece is the piece I am most proud of for the exact opposite reason. This article became a bit of a cult classic in our Student Union Slack channel and if you have not read it, I am sorry for you. It is raunchy and disrespectful and hilarious and oddly obsessive. But overall, it is beautiful and it is art.