Last year five Bay Area sport teams did impressing things by winning big games and having winning season for the first time in a long time.
The San Jose Spartans, San Jose Sharks, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors all represented their city with championship wins and big runs in the playoffs.
This year the state of Missouri has emerged as the number one sports state in the country. The question that should be asked is, can these teams show the same promise next year and show people that their previous success wasn’t a fluke?
The Kansas City Royals finished the season 86-76 and had its first winning season since 2003. The Royals were a deep threat throughout the most part of the season but weren’t able to closeout strong and clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth since 1985 when they won the World Series. The Royals have strong pitching core and a solid batting lineup and have the potential to fight for the top rank in the central division.
The Kansas City Chiefs are an elite team in the NFL and are 8-0 in the first part of the season. The Chiefs will make the playoffs this year and it will be the team’s first postseason appearance since 2010. The Chiefs haven’t put together consecutive playoff appearance since 1991-1995. I see the Chiefs duplicating this success next season because they have a young, strong, fast and athletic defense to go along with a quarterback that doesn’t make too many mistakes and who can only get better. Andy Reid will find the receipt to make the Chiefs contenders for years to come in the AFC.
After seeing what the St. Louis Cardinals have done since Albert Pujols left the team after their 2011 World Series win, there is no doubt that the Cards can continue to be contenders in the National League. With an impressing run to the NLCS in 2012 and a World Series appearance this year the Cardinals showed that one man didn’t make their team. The Cardinals will continue to prove people wrong next season and have a great year.
In College football the Missouri Tigers have put themselves in contention to play in a major bowl game and possibly the BCS National Championship game. With only one loss in the season, the Tigers can only hope that the teams that are ahead of them lose games and climb ahead in the rankings by winning and hope the computers notice them. Missouri is a big name football school that plays in a tough conference, it will be tough for them to win the BCS title but they will be in a big bowl game.