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It was the year when a highly-anticipated healthcare website got a low-speed rollout.

The year when twerking outnumbered Harlem Shaking 45 to 2.

The year when one girl was on fire while another sputtered out of control.

The year when "Iron Man 3" and "Gravity" soared to new heights, while "The Lone Ranger" and "The Fifth Estate" fell rock bottom.

The year when one city after a major bombing took the second half of my closing phrase very seriously.

The year when two mayors and one wannabe mayor turned their city halls into something out of "Animal House."

And yes, it was the year where we gave birth to royalties, dynasties, and selfies, and a new Pope, while bidding farewell to one dynasty who helped changed the world.

That year was 2013.

Join the AllenBlog for a look back at these 52 weeks.

All during these last 52 weeks of 2013, we experienced one Pope stepping down and another taking the throne, one government website up to speed (well, dial-up speed, anyway) while being shut down, a massive typhoon slamming the Philippines while no hurricanes slammed the United States, and a real life "Catch Me If You Can" of epic proportions, and 361 others that happened every day

President Barack Obama's start of his second term kicked off the year, but not without controversy...no, not by George Stephanopolous confusing Morgan Freeman with Bill Russell, but Beyonce, as it appeared she sang live to her pre-recorded track of the Star Spangled Banner. That would be followed by Super Bowl XLVII a couple weeks later, as her blowout halftime performance allegedly blew out the fuses at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as the second half was underway. In the end, it was the Baltimore Ravens turning out the San Francisco 49ers' lights 34-31.

Another major sports story took place in Boston, but in separate months: In April, two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon close to the finish line, set off by Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev and killing three people while injuring 260 others. Tamerlan would be shot to death early on the 19th, while Dzhokhar would be captured very later in the night, ending a week of terror that birthed the meaning "Boston Strong." That mantra would be carried over to the World Series, as the Red Sox won their first title at home (and eighth overall) since 1918.

Other sports highlights throughout the year include: Adam Scott finally winning the first Masters Green Jacket for Australia, LeBron James and his Miami Heat still ablaze with their NBA title repeat, the Chicago Blackhawks hoisting their fifth Stanley Cup, Justin Rose blossoming at the U.S. Open, Andy Murray's first Wimbledon title for Britain in a long time, Louisville (men's) and Connecticut (women's) ruling the college basketball court, the Seaveys keeping the Iditarod in the family with father Mitch's second trip to the Burled Arch a year after son Dallas's first time, Jimmie Johnson burning up the Daytona 500 track with Danica Patrick finishing eighth, Tony Kanaan's first Indianapolis 500 checkered flag, Tokyo being awarded the 2020 Olympics (their second and Japan's fourth), and in what was the play of the century...with no seconds left on the clock, Auburn being denied Alabama's quest for another national championship thanks to a missed field goal that led to Chris Davis's 109-yard touchdown. And you thought Canada's gold medal-winning tiebreaker over the U.S. at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver had that whole country exploding.

Pope Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to resign in nearly 700 years, and a conclave would decide his successor. When the cloud of white smoke was created outside the Sistine Chapel, it was Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio who emerged from the balcony as Pope Francis. His reputation as "the People's Pope" recently made him "Time" magazine's Person of the Year.

In Egypt, President Mohamed Morsi was sent packing in a coup d'etat, which resulted in non-stop bedlam. And in Nairobi, Kenya, 62 were killed in a terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall. Meanwhile, the ongoing Syrian conflict entered its third year with no end in sight.

There was a real-life scandal as far as the National Security Agency was concerned, as Edward Snowden leaked dozens of documents, including phone conversations of over 30 world leaders. The government was after Snowden's blood and wanted him jailed for life, but faster than you could say "Catch me if you can!," he exiled to Russia. Back here, George Zimmerman was acquitted for the wrongful murder of Trayvon Martin, which set off some racial firestorms; Jodi Arias got the opposite verdict for the 2008 murder of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in a trial that had Nancy Grace working overtime. And 14 years after Columbine, Colorado experienced yet another school shooting at Arapahoe High outside Denver in which the only victim, 17-year-old Claire Davis, would later die from her severe wounds.

In weather, it was a bad month for Oklahoma, as 24 people were killed in one tornado in Moore followed by 76 more tornadoes in the Great Plains. Though the hurricane season in the United States was very quiet after Sandy, the same couldn't be said for the other side of the International Date Line at Typhoon Hayian turned much of the Philippines into ghost towns leaving over 6,000 dead; months earlier in June, 5,700 lives were taken in a series of flash floods and landslides in India.

While there were a lot of new names in the spotlight in 2013, we reflected on others who were dimmed, including: Peter O'Toole, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Annette Funicello, James Gandolfini, Cory Monteith, car dealer Cal Worthington, Bonnie Franklin, Paul Walker, former New York City mayor Ed Koch, Joe Weider, religious broadcaster Paul Crouch, Helen Thomas, Esther Williams, video game tycoon Hiroshi Yamauchi, musician Lou Reed, Roger Ebert, Richard Griffiths, astronaut Scott Carpenter, Julie Harris, Ray Dolby, Jonathan Winters, pianist Van Cliburn, George Jones, Patti Page, Conrad Bain, C. Everett Koop, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Mindy McCready, Tom Clancy, Dennis Farina, Karen Black, Ray Price, David Frost, Joan Fontaine, Jean Stapleton, and world changer/former South African president Nelson Mandela.

So, what was the biggest story of 2013? It was back in Washington, and the Affordable Healthcare Act (aka Obamacare) now in effect. Healthcare.gov was launched, but not in the kind of fanfare President Obama wasn't expecting. It appeared that the website was riddled with problems, even right down to the loading times; it was like as if it was 1998 and the site was compatible with Netscape rather than Firefox.

What's in the crystal ball for 2014? The Winter Olympics will take center stage in Sochi, Russia; it will be their first Olympics since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and for the United States and several other countries who boycotted the 1980 games in Moscow, they've waited 34 years to compete in Russia. President Obama will be entering the year with his lowest approval rating to date, and with no confidence for either Republicans or Democrats, Election Day could turn into Independents' Day as we may see a seismic shift on Capitol Hill. And there's speculation that a violent blizzard may postpone Super Bowl XLVII by a few days; why they're hosting it in New York/New Jersey, I don't know. What we do know that there will be hundreds of other things happening in between all those, and it all begins at midnight on January 1.

Next time when the "2013 Year in Review" continues: The biggest entertainment stories and trends galore.