Top Winners, Losers From 2015
The sports world had a big year in 2015.
The year started off hot with one of the wildest NFL playoffs of years past. It continued through the summer after United States Women's Soccer team brought home the World Cup.
A new face of the NBA, and possibly all of sports, won his first championship.
Even the unthinkable happened; Ronda Rousey was beat down for her first professional loss.
Stories on and off the court/field/rink filled headlines. Here are some of the biggest winners and losers from 2015.
WINNER: Stephen Curry
Did anyone else have a bigger year than Curry in 2015? Not only did he lead the Golden State Warriors to an NBA Championship and win the NBA MVP, but he has surpassed LeBron James as the face of the league.
Curry's laid back attitude off the court, mixed with on court swagger has made his popularity grow and grow and grow.
Not to mention he is at the head of the Warriors' 29-1 record this season.
He can pull up 10 feet beyond the three point line and sink it. Or maybe he will leave the defender standing in his dust after he puts on some insane dribble move.
He has become an absolute must-watch. The man has people getting to the arena hours early just to watch him warm-up. TO WATCH HIM WARM UP!
Even with his popularity, he may not even be the most popular person in his own family.
His wife has become incredibly popular on social media. Her Instagram and Vine posts of her and Steph have been all over social media.
And how adorable is Riley Curry? Whether she's stealing the mic away from her dad, doing the whip and nae nae or giving her dad some love before a game, she has to be the most popular Curry family member.
The craziest part of it all, it doesn't look like things are going to change anytime soon for Curry. He will probably be the biggest winner of 2016 as well.
LOSER: LeBron James
I don't think there's a single person who would have thought King James would ever be in any sort of loser category, but if you think about it, he definitely was in 2015.
He made his big time return to Cleveland and the thought was that the city would finally get a championship.
This is not to say he had a bad year. He didn't have a fall off from years past, but the expectations for James are so high, anything less than a championship is a failure.
So he takes the Cavaliers back to the championship. That in itself is a fantastic feat, but the problem is he lost to the Warriors. Not only did LeBron and the Cavs lose, but it wasn't really all that close either.
The championship isn't the only title James lost in 2015. He also lost his title as the face of the NBA. For the most part, LeBron was the first person mentioned when talking about the best player in the game.
His jersey was always the top sold. He has always been the front-runner for MVP.
Curry changed all of that for King James. If he wants to regain everything he lost in 2015, he would have to beat Curry and Warriors in the NBA finals, but let's be honest, that doesn't look too promising.
WINNER: Tom Brady
Brady had one heck of a year with wins not only on the field, but a major win off the field as well.
He won his fourth Super Bowl of his career in 2015, but that's not even his biggest win of the year. A little thing called "Deflategate" filled up headlines for weeks upon weeks.
All in all, the process of Defaltegate was draining. So why is this a positive thing for Brady, you ask?
Because it showed everyone in the NFL, especially Roger Goodell, that the New England Patriots quarterback is above the league.
No matter how hard Goodell tried to punish Brady and the Patriots, it didn't happen.
Brady originally was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season, but after an appeal, Brady's suspension was lifted. Why was it lifted? Because he's Tom Freakin Brady.
Without guys like Brady, the NFL loses a lot of money. If Brady isn't on the field, who outside of New England would watch the Patriots?
Tom Brady has been a winner throughout his career, but 2015 may have been his best with his two big wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Roger Goodell.
LOSER: Ronda Rousey
A high kick to the face was all it took for her to fall down from the peak she was on. The night Rousey lost her fight to Holly Holm was one sports fans will remember for a long time.
To have an athlete who has been so dominate throughout her career to be absolutely beat down and embarrassed was something nobody saw coming.
Her cockiness, in-ring skills, and celebrity status made her the biggest thing in fighting since Mike Tyson's glory days.
Not only did she get the first loss of her career, but her entire persona seemed to take a hit as she disappeared from the world after her loss.
There's question about whether she even wants to fight again. She never knew was losing felt like. It's been such a traumatic experience for her that the fighting world may not see her in the octagon again.
If she does come back for her rematch against Holm, you can bet she will be very much motivated to gain her throne back as the most dominant force in fighting.
A clear indication of how big of a star she was and still is, her loss was a bigger story in 2015 than Holm's win.
WINNER: USA Women's Soccer
As much of a shock as it may be to some people, the United States actually have one of the best soccer teams in the world. In fact, the women's team was the absolute best in 2015.
The women brought home their third World Cup victory and the first since 1999.
One of the biggest moments in all of sports was Carli Lloyd's hat trick in the championship game to beat Japan.
Soccer in the United States will continue to grow if the national teams continue to have the success that the women have had.
The popularity has reached such heights that Alex Morgan became the first female to be on the cover of EA Sports FIFA video game.
