From terrorist bombings in India, to deadly natural disasters in Burma and China, from a "Giant" upset in Super Bowl XLII, to Michael Phelps' historic Olympic gold rush, to slumping economies worldwide that led to businesses and individuals tightening our belts, all the way to an election for the ages that resulted into a change of power -- and race -- in the White House...yes, we did witness it all in 2008! The year began with stock markets all over crashing hard in the aftereffects of the mortgage crisis of 2007. It of course would continue year-round, with the Dow dropping back to under 10,000 for the first time in a long time thanks to massive drops up to almost 800 points. More on this later.
The New England Patriots were well on their way to perfection going into Super Bowl XLII, but in the end, the New York Giants stopped all that beating them 17-14. The game was viewed by over 97 million people, making it not only the most-watched Super Bowl ever, but is also the second most-watched television program of all-time...behind the "M*A*S*H" finale but ahead of the "Who Shot J.R?" episode of "Dallas" (which is now #3)!!
The other big sports story of the year were all at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, headlined by Michael Phelps accomplishing his goal of eight gold medals, surpassing Mark Spitz. Meanwhile, while the Chinese gymnastics team claimed overall gold, Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson were a force to be reckoned with on the individual side and Team USA correcting their mistakes from 2004 to grab the men's basketball gold. And in track and field, it was all about Jamiaca's Usain Bolt who outpaced everybody else (including the Americans) and shattered world records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Talk about your cool runnings!
After all was said and done, the United States took the most overall haul of medals with 110; but when it came to golds, host country China had the advantage with 51 (100 overall) while the U.S. took 36.
Other sports happenings during 2008 included Lance Mackey's second straight trip to the Iditarod Burled Arch; Trevor Immelman becoming the "Master" of his golf domain; Brett Farve calling it a career after 17 years with the Green Bay Packers...that is, until he recanted and was traded to the N.Y. Jets; Kansas (men's) and Tennessee (women's) ruling the college basketball court; Scott Dixon holding fort at the Indianapolis 500, the Boston Celtics possessing their 17th NBA title; the Detroit Red Wings clinching another Stanley Cup; Tiger Woods claiming the U.S. Open immediately followed by knee surgery, ending his season; the Philadelphia Phillies grabbing ahold of the World Series trophy, and yes...the Detroit Lions not winning a single game.
But the Olympics weren't the only major story coming out of China this year. A series of earthquakes in Sichuan, Panzhihua, and Yingjiang rocked the country, with Sharon Stone's comments about the first one having her in hot water. Also, many popular toys made in Chinese factories had lead poisoning which kills children, and those health concerns also made news.
Pope Benedict XVI set foot in the United States for the first time, while 143 million pounds of frozen beef were recalled in California. Somalia was the piracy capital of the world, where German, Japanese, and Iranian cargo ships were seized off there. And in Los Angeles, a cell phone was to blame for a commuter train/freight train collision that killed 25.
Terrorist attacks and suicide bombings also made headlines this year. India was rocked with several of them in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and the big one in Mumbai killing 164. In July, 48 were killed from bombs exploding in Baghdad and Kirkuk, Iraq, which followed 17 killed over two blasts in Istanbul, Turkey.
The weather was also the news, from Hurricanes Gustav, Ike, and Hanna, to a tornado outbreak claiming 58 lives in the Southern U.S., to over 133,000 killed by Cyclone Nargis and Typhoon Hagupit killing scores of people from China to Vietnam.
Back to the economy, which had a very awful year this year: Wall Street was hurt the most, with Lehman Brothers falling victim, Merrill Lynch bought out, and AIG bailed out by Washington. Also, the federal government took over control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, who handle most mortgages. But the ones who were deeply wounded the most were the Big Three automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, whose executives pleaded for a bailout themselves to prevent from going belly up...not before they were criticized for taking private jets to Washington. For their second attempt at wooing the lawmakers, they drove their own vehicles to Capitol Hill.
2008 of course was an election year, and not just here. In September, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper set the 40th federal election date for October 14 in the hopes of a stronger government in the wake of a weaker economy. After all the polls were closed, Harper's Conservative party gained 144 seats, not enough for a majority (155 seats are needed).
But it was not over. The opposition parties didn't like what Harper was doing just 1 1/2 months after the election and formed a coalition with one thing in mind: to boot Harper out. In order to save his bacon, Harper decided to suspend Parliament.
And then of course, came the biggest story of 2008 with an historic ending: The U.S. Presidential election.
It started this spring with the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire primaries, and Super Tuesday, in which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in a showdown for the Democratic nomination with John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney (who would later drop out) fighting for the Republicans. As the weeks went by, everybody but Obama and McCain threw in the towel, and the veepstakes began. Obama picked Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, and we were in for the shock of our lives when John McCain's running mate would be none other than Alaska Governor Sarah Palin! Not since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill have we seen Alaska make front page news!
The candidates introduced themselves to the world at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Denver and St. Paul respectively (Obama used Invesco Field for the last day to speak in front of over 80,000), and then the battle was really on. Obama's speech in Berlin in front of 200,000 had McCain's camp whipping out an attack ad comparing him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, while someone happened to find a long-lost tape called "Miss Alaska Pageant 1984" and put some very interesting portions of it on YouTube: Palin in the swimsuit competition and playing the flute in the talent portion. I'll have more on Palin's sudden popularity in the "Year In Entertainment."
That's followed by the debates, in which the Vice Presidential one between Palin and Biden had competition north of the border with the Canadian Leaders' debate. And at the third and final Presidential debate, McCain introduced a new secret weapon: Joe The Plumber. Obama, meanwhile, channeled his Ross Perot and broadcast a half-hour infomercial on CBS, NBC, and Fox attracting over 33 million viewers.
And last but not least, came the big night itself: Election Night, where it's winner take all. Thousands of voters stood in long lines for hours in every corner of the country all waiting to step inside the voting booth. McCain drew first blood when the first polls of the night closed; but in the very end, it was 47-year-old Barack Hussein Obama who wrote the final sentence in the 56th U.S. Presidential election that was two years in the making. Around the world, whether if they were staying up in the wee hours of the morning in Europe, enjoying their afternoon lunch in Australia, or gathering around in bars, hotel lobbies, community centers, or wherever else there's a TV at nighttime here in North America, the celebration was on as new chapters in both American history and Black history were written.
Of course, the Obama/McCain showdown wasn't the only story coming out of the election. Ted Stevens' 40-year reputation as Alaska's senior Senator was put to the ultimate test, as he was indicted over the summer and later found guilty on all seven counts of corruption charges. That opened the door wide open for Anchorage mayor Mark Begich, who had one thing in mind: Uncle Ted's job.
On election night, Stevens had the early advantage and thought he was going to hold it...until absentee ballots proved otherwise. When 100% of all the votes were tallied, Stevens raised the white flag and Begich broke out the bubbly.
Even though we've been introduced to new faces this year, we've spent some time to say our final goodbyes to the old. Among them: Heath Ledger, Jim McKay, Paul Newman, British television personality Jeremy Beadle, Suzanne Pleshette, Estelle Getty, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, film directors Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, William F. Buckley Jr., Bo Diddley, Michael Crichton, Harvey Korman, Eddy Arnold, game show host Jack Narz, Tim Russert, George Carlin, Cyd Charisse, Yves Saint Laurent, Tony Snow, Bettie Page, professional wrestler Killer Kowalski, Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, world-famous voiceover actor Don LaFontaine, Charlton Heston, Studs Terkel, fashion critic Mr. (Richard) Blackwell, W. Mark Felt ("Deep Throat" from the Watergate scandal), Eartha Kitt; and one that really hit me...my beloved grandmother, Mildred Allen.
And now with 2008 about to come to an end, the stage is set for what will happen in 2009. How will President Obama fare in his first 100 days? Will this whole economic mess finally be resolved? And 101 years later, will the Chicago Cubs ever win a second World Series title? We'll find out when the clock strikes midnight on January 1.
Tomorrow, the "Year In Review" continues with 2008's biggest entertainment and celebrity headlines.
The Top 15 Things That Had the Whole World Talking in 2008
The Top 15 Things That Had the Whole World Talking in 2008
