My highlights of 2013

Judging by my 2013 ticket collection (below), I possibly wasted a bit too much time watching sport this year. Anyway, I thought I might as well pick out a couple of highlights and try to relive the glory… In chronological order:

January 20: Leicester 9-5 Toulouse, Heineken Cup

Because who doesn’t love watching sport in the snow?

Tigers officials clear snow from the Welford Road pitch

February 9: France 6-16 Wales, Six Nations

A terrible game, but it got Wales’s victorious Six Nations campaign off and running.

France 6-16 Wales, Stade de France

March 16: Wales 30-3 England, Six Nations

Goes without saying. What a performance!

Wales lift the Six Nations trophy after successfully defending their title

June 22: Royal Ascot

My first time at the races, and all three of us who went finished up. Nice.

Royal Ascot 2013

August 16: Mo Farah wins the 5,000m, World Athletics Championships, Moscow

A stunning “double double” for Mo. Made all the sweeter by the disappointment of a Frenchman sitting behind us who had spent the whole race telling us how badly Farah had misjudged the race.

Mo Farah wins his second gold of the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow

September 29: Pittsburgh Steelers 27-34 Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Wembley

One of the best NFL International Series matches there’s been.

Wembley for Steelers @ Vikings

October 5: Cardiff City 1-2 Newcastle United, Premier League

Exciting game – my first football match for ages – and great seats. Thanks Chris!

Newcastle win at Cardiff City Stadium

December 28: Ebbw Vale 45-0 RGC 1404, Championship

Sport-wise, where it all started for me. Good to finish the year watching the Steelmen dominate yet again.

Ebbw Vale v RGC 1404

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Some others:

London Welsh v Sale

Harlequins v Munster

Euroleague basketball, O2 Arena

Leicester Tigers v Harlequins

Northampton v Leicester

Cardiff Blues v Edinburgh

Northampton v Ospreys

 

…and here are those tickets. I love sport.

My collection of tickets from 2013 sports events

Entertainers of Olympiacos see off Real Madrid

I went to my first basketball games on Sunday. The final four of the Euroleague – CSKA Moscow, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Olympiacos – faced off at the O2 in London.

As is the case with handball, European football clubs seem to adopt basketball teams in a way which can appear strange to British eyes.

The O2 is a pretty quality arena

Before the weekend, I’d always been a bit sceptical about basketball: it seemed to be each team scored on pretty much every possession, which made it pretty boring.

Would you believe it, I was wrong! It was a great experience and I loved it. Real Madrid and Olympiacos contested the final, which was a bit of a see-saw affair: the Spaniards, led by Rudy Fernandez, jumped into a 27-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, before a dominant comeback from the Greeks – cheered on by a huge number of travelling supporters – saw them eventually take the spoils 100-88.

The third place play-off had been a thriller, won 74-73 by CSKA, and while the final was not on a knife-edge to the same extent, the quality of basketball was high and the game exciting.

Admittedly, I’m not exactly 100 per cent on the rules, but the atmosphere was infectious and, despite my initial intention to support Real Madrid (based on my El Clasico allegiance), I couldn’t help be overwhelmed by the majority of the fans inside the 20,000-seater venue.

Not to mention by one particular Olympiacos chant, which is sung to the tune of The Entertainer by Scott Joplin.

Three cheers to the Premier League for its sports funding

Despite being by far the most popular sport in the UK, football is much-maligned by critics who point to the diving, the waving of imaginary cards and a general lack of respect for officials and bad behaviour of fans. And that is without mentioning recent racism incidents.

So congratulations must go to the Premier League for their part in helping develop grassroots sport away from the football pitch.

Liverpool players surround referee Lee Probert during their side's win over Bolton in August. Photo: Flickr, dannymol

The last Labour government set up a scheme, in partnership with the Premier League, the Youth Sport Trust and Sport England, called ‘Premier League 4 Sport‘ – its somewhat cheesy name not detracting from the tangible benefits it has made to non-mainstream sports in Britain.

Each Premier League club teams up with local table tennis, judo, badminton and volleyball clubs with the intention of widening youngsters’ involvement in sports. The league has announced it will contribute a further £2m to the project, which has far outperformed expectations, allowing children easier access to three more sports – netball, basketball, handball and hockey.

To date, it has been a startling success, with 40,000 children given exposure to these sports, far outstripping targets set at its launch.

On Monday, the Guardian reported the launch of a scheme by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt to invest £1bn over the next five years into grassroots sport, partly a response to the coalition having come under fire from opponents for its abandonment of a Labour-initiated school sports programme.

There is no doubt money is tight and, naturally, spending has to be focused on priority needs.

But the Olympic legacy – after all, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – must not be squandered. And that is why the role of institutions such as the Premier League is so welcome.

Their selflessness in investing in eight other sports should also be applauded.The grants from the Premier League will not only help the nation’s children, but will help breathe life into a variety of non-mainstream sports that so often fail to attract the attention of either the media or potential players.

*For more on the Olympic legacy, check out the Olympic Cardiff blog