Five Sports Opinions That Have Changed Over the Summer

A week can be a long time in sports. As can a day, a game, or even an inning. While great teams and athletes can remain consistently great for a long time, the beauty of sports is that things can quickly change. A big loss, the departure of a key player, the arrival of Tom Brady as your new quarterback – so many things can act as a catalyst for change.

In light of that, we wanted to look at five different narratives that have changed over the last few months. Five things in sports that we had a different opinion about before the summer, and on which many of us are changing our minds now the fall is upon us. Without further ado:

1. The Yankees Are the Best Team in Baseball

Boy, did the Yankees have a great spring. The Bronx Bombers started the regular season on fire, having a 40-15 record by early June. Their record from that time to the end of August was 39-37. Not terrible, but not great either. The Yankees have fallen behind the Dodgers and Astros in the betting markets for the World Series, and most of the Power Ranking lists have them falling by the wayside too. It’s not unfathomable that they will go on and win the World Series, but it’s been such a limp summer that few people have them down as favorites.

2. Manchester United Is a Club in Crisis

There were a few low points for Manchester United in recent months. Failure to land top transfer target Frenkie de Jong, the departure of Paul Pogba, the defeat at the hands of Brentford FC, failure to qualify for the Champions League. But on August 20^th, United did the unthinkable – deservedly beat Liverpool in the Premier League. The result did not fix everything at United, but it did return some much-needed good vibes. Two spectacular transfers – the Brazilians Antony and Casemiro – followed, and it seems that the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo will also be staying. Things are looking up for the club that was once the butt of everyone’s jokes.

3. The Commanders Were Heading for a Great Season

We don’t always put so much faith in Power Ranking lists, but it does tell a story that the newly-named Washington Commanders were as high as 13^th in the Power Rankings on some sites in May but are now as low as 26^th before the new NFL season gets underway. The arrival of Carson Wentz in March started the buzz that Washington could be the breakout team this season. But now on the eve of the new season, expectations have been lowered significantly. There are just too many questions hanging over a team that will be lucky not to finish bottom of the NFC East.

4. France Will Win the FIFA World Cup Again

Back to soccer, and this time a look at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in November. France, the champions, were not everyone’s favorites before the summer, but many pundits had them down as a good chance for a repeat of 2018. However, the wheels seem to have come off, particularly after some terrible results in the UEFA Nations League in June. To make matters worse, there seems to be some weird – very weird – infighting among the players. Not what you’d want before the biggest tournament in soccer gets underway in just over ten weeks.

5. LIV Golf Would Only Attract Has-Beens

The inaugural LIV Golf tournament took place on June 11^th, and it was won by Charl Schwartzel, a player past his best. The same thing happened in the second event in early July, with Branden Grace (a never was) taking the win. If you don’t follow golf, then you should know that the LIV is a breakaway tournament backed by Saudi Arabia. LIV has poured huge amounts of money into the events in an effort to attract the world’s best players away from the PGA. For a while, it didn’t work. But things have changed in recent weeks. Cameron Smith – the winner of The Open in July – has now agreed to join the rebels. It could be a tipping point.

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