Chris Peterson Column: Thanks to great local sports, 2017 flew by

This has always been one of my favorite time's of year. I love Christmas and I love New Year's and not just because of the Rose Bowl.

Every year is a fresh start and it's exciting to think that we are about to enter 2018. Even saying that number sounds weird to me. I remember starting high school around the year 2000, watching Michael Jordan and my beloved Chicago Bulls win a championship back in 1998, which is now almost 20 years ago. Sometimes, as we certainly all do, I sit back and ask myself, where did the time go? It seems that the older you get, the faster time flies.

It's unbelievable to me that another season of pro and college football is nearly in the books. Soon, it will be all about basketball and not just in the state of Montana, but across the country. Before long, we will be swept up in the hysteria that is March Madness, then before we know it, summer and fall will creep up on us again.

Strangely, for me, time and sports have a weird relationship. When I look back at my memories, many are tied to games I watched or teams I followed. What I remember about 1998 was the Bulls completing another 3-peat. In 1997, the first year I lived in Havre, my two favorite college football teams, Michigan and Nebraska shared the national championship. Michigan won the AP national title, while the Huskers were named No. 1 by the coaches.

To some, that must sound absolutely foreign. The next season ushered in the BCS and later, the College Football Playoff. But even though it's a controversy to this day for some, for me, it was the college football season from heaven. And during a time in my life that wasn't always easy, moving to a new town, trying to meet new friends and fit in, sports helped me make it through.

I can say unequivocally, that the best day of my life was September 27, 2011, the day my son, David was born. But the fact that my Green Bay Packers won the NFC Championship days after I found out I was going to be a father, is still something that sticks with me. They won the Super Bowl two weeks later and ever since, 2011 has always kind of been my year.

However, even that, seems like ages ago. But that's life. Memorable moments, the ones that inspire us, fill our hearts with love and get burned into our brains forever are meant to be fleeting. If they weren't they wouldn't be so memorable or so moving.

But a great thing about sports, is that so many people, get to latch onto the same thing. Certainly, many others remember Jordan and Bulls being part of their childhood memories. Maybe even when Aaron Rodgers won his Super Bowl, it may someone else's year, for a reason much different than it did mine.

The communities we develop around our sports teams are special. And when we sometimes seem more divided than ever, it's nice to know we can still find some common ground. And here in Havre, as well as on the Hi-Line, I have always appreciated that. It's one of the reasons I love living and working here. I could write about high school sports in a million different places, but it probably would never feel the same.

And this last year, when it came to the local sports scene, there were some special, special moments. Who could forget Parker Filius and Jase Stokes sharing the spotlight of becoming Havre wrestling's first four-time state champions or watching them help the Blue Ponies win a fifth consecutive Class A state wrestling championship?

Those history-making moments don't come around often. That's what made another team's championship so special. Before 2017, the Box Elder Bears had won four straight District 9C titles. In Class C boys basketball, led by head coach Jeremy MacDonald, the Bears were as good as it gets. Yet few games in their tremendous run demonstrated the heart of that program better than the 2017 9C championship. Box Elder was faced with a difficult opponent, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds, a team that had already beaten them in the regular season. The T-Birds were the favorite that night, but the Bears, behind the incredible play of Pernell Morsette and the steady leadership of MacDonald, pulled the upset.

The Bears fell to the T-Birds shortly after at the Northern C on another historic night, but you have to admire a team that carved out its own unique piece of the Bears' stellar legacy. You always have to admire the job MacDonald did with the Bears. He stepped down after last season to become the Superintendent, but his legendary coaching career won't soon be forgotten.

As far as Hays-Lodge Pole is concerned, the win over Box Elder was monumental. The T-Birds hadn't won a divisional championship since 2007, when the team led by A.J. Long Soldier, Lance Brockie and Cole McCabe beat Big Sandy for the 2007 Northern C title and later the Class C state championship. It had been years since the T-Birds had been in the spotlight and in one of the best high school basketball games of 2017, they won a thriller, thanks to a late bucket by Frank Runs Above, before eventually taking fourth at the state tournament.

Those were just a few of the highlights from 2017. But the good thing is that there is even more to look forward next year. Of course, state wrestling always gives local fans something to anticipate and that won't change this season. In fact, watching Havre try to win a sixth straight team championship will be fascinating. On top of that, Martin Wilkie and Quinn Reno will be aiming to keep their respective runs at being four-time champions alive.

Yet, the wrestling postseason isn't the only to look forward to. Basketball is always a big deal in these parts and there's plenty to be excited about in that sport too. Both the Havre and Box Elder girls looked poised to compete for state championships. The Ponies have been in the semifinals three of the last four years, while the Bears were the Class C runner-up back in 2016.

With dynamic players like Kyndall Keller (Havre) and Lily Gopher (Box Elder) leading the way, both Havre and Box Elder have a chance to make some history of their own. And with the Class A state tournament in Great Falls, like it was back in 2014 when the Ponies last won the Class A crown, you won't be alone if feel a twinge of Deja Vu. After all, outside of Keller, this Pony team is loaded with seniors, just like the 2014 team was. If you are a fan of Havre basketball, I'd make plans to be in Great Falls in early March, because you might just see history repeat itself.

So if you are feeling down about another year in the books, don't. Look back fondly on the all the great moments 2017 brought us and also look ahead, because 2018, is also shaping up to be something special.