Sporting events provided more thrills for me — in person and on television — during the past month than probably any other time in my 23 years.
It started June 14, when I attended a professional golf tournament for the first time.
Watching the first day of U.S. Open action live at the Olympic Club in San Francisco was unforgettable.
I stood yards away from the world”s greatest golfers and saw most of them play the kinds of incredible shots I can only dream about making.
But the most memorable moment came courtesy of the best golfer of all time while I sat in greenside bleachers on the fifth hole. Tiger Woods smirked after rolling in a bomb for birdie — knowing full well his putt was going six feet or more beyond the hole if it hadn”t hit the center of the cup.
Woods excited fans early that tournament but faded on the weekend and finished well behind the lead.
If I saw the eventual winner, Webb Simpson, play in person that Thursday, I don”t remember it. How was I supposed to know to look for a 26-year-old who had only won twice on the PGA Tour to that point?
A week later, I kicked back on the couch as the Miami Heat completed a 4-1 NBA Finals series victory over the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder.
Though most of the finals (and really the rest of the playoffs) featured hard-fought games, Game 5 was a dud as the Heat screamed past the younger Thunder squad.
The elation I felt as the confetti fell on Miami”s players, personnel and fans wasn”t because I wanted that team to win but because the country needed it to win.
The national nightmare had ended; LeBron James finally got his ring. The American sports media could actually talk about something else.
Unfortunately, not a lot of ensuing conversation was spent on a gripping tournament going on across the pond.
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2012) produced many amazing goals and exciting finishes.
The stage was set for an entertaining final July 1, with the intriguing matchup of favorite Spain (fresh off a tough shootout win over Portugal) and underdog Italy (which shocked many experts by dominating Germany).
The drama died quickly after the Spanish mastery resulted in two first-half goals — a hole the Italians could not dig out of. Still, it”s a shame more Americans can”t sit through soccer matches and basically ignore the athletic brilliance that happens on the pitch.
My television-watching eyes soon shifted to the second week of the Wimbledon Championships and the dominance of two of the greatest tennis players in history.
Serena Williams, coming off a first-round exit at the French Open, beat the second-, third- and fourth-seeded women en route to her fifth Wimbledon singles title.
On the men”s side, Roger Federer controlled his semifinal match against No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic and then crushed British hearts by beating Andy Murray in the final. The win gave Federer 17 Grand Slam titles overall and a record-tying seventh Wimbledon crown.
Last week, the MLB All-Star Game grabbed my attention — though not entirely because I was on vacation.
I did catch a glimpse of the Bay Area”s supremacy, watching Oakland Athletic Ryan Cook pitch a scoreless inning.
Of course I missed the San Francisco Giants” show, which included a bases-clearing triple by Pablo Sandoval, a winning performance on the mound from Matt Cain and an MVP trophy for Melky Cabrera.
My exhilarating run finished similarly to how it started: with me sitting in the stands watching some of the world”s greatest athletes practice their craft.
While in Las Vegas, I caught the U.S. Olympic men”s basketball team destroy the Dominican Republic in an exhibition game last Thursday.
The game had everything I could want (except a close contest): solid offensive showings from stars like Kevin Durant, a four-point play from rookie Anthony Davis and a classically blown fast-break dunk attempt by the always overzealous Russell Westbrook.
Now, I”m gearing up for the Open Championship this weekend followed by more than two weeks worth of the London Olympics.
You have to love summertime.
