In many ways, 2013 ended for Bay Area sports fans in the same way 2012 did. Stanford went to the Rose Bowl, just as they did last year, (though this time they lost). The Raiders are taking stock after a 4-12 season, just as they did last year. The 49ers are headed for the postseason, just as they did last year – of course, eventually reaching, and losing, the Super Bowl. A’s fans are enjoying their second consecutive AL West championship, cursing, once again, the name of Justin Verlander, and counting the days until February 14 when pitchers and catchers report.
And now for something completely different: the San Francisco Giants followed up their 2012 championship, the second in three years, with an unmemorable 2013, tied for third place in their division. At least Giants fans won’t have Barry Zito starts to agonize over any more.
The San Jose Sharks and the Golden State Warriors also made it to the postseason in 2013. The San Jose Earthquakes weren’t so fortunate on the field, although the devotion of their fans continued strong. The World Baseball Classic went off smoothly in San Francisco, introducing new audiences to the term honkbal. A tragic death marred the America's Cup, but the race ended with a classic comeback story.
2013 also brought new attention to the issue of football players affected by concussions and head injuries – a story KQED has been reporting on since at least 2000, when the late Kathy McAnally filed this story for NPR about 49er quarterback Steve Young. This year, local journalists Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada published "League of Denial," a book and companion Frontline documentary; California schools took more precautions; and the NFL settled a lawsuit with some retired players and their families. Baseball is also stepping up player protections.
For me, the most consistently engaging story of 2013 in Northern California sports was the battle to keep the Kings NBA franchise in Sacramento. From the shock felt by Kings fans in January when team owners announced its sale to a group that would move it to Seattle, to the elation when the NBA officially declared the relocation threat over, it had more drama, emotion, and suspense than most sports teams generate in an entire season. Under new ownership led by Bay Area tech mogul Vivek Ranadive, the Kings are looking to capture first-time fans in India and are experiencing the largest attendance boost in the league. Plans for a new downtown arena continue, despite an ongoing attempt to force a June 2014 ballot measure on the city's financial contributions to it.