As 2008 comes to a close, the Post looks back at the top 10 highlights of a sporting year in Bristol.
1. Bristol City 0 Hull 1
An 18-yard shot from a 39-year-old veteran may have ended Bristol City's remarkable first season in the Coca-Cola Championship but their very appearance in the £60million shoot off for Premier League qualification stoked ambitions to new levels.
City boss Gary Johnson led his side to the Championship play-off final at Wembley in May after flirting with automatic qualification earlier in the year in their first season back in the Championship. And the Robins' extraordinary progress was only halted by that strike, a fine first-half volley from seasoned campaigner Dean Windass.
City were 90 minutes from ending their 27-year exile from the top tier of English football and would have completed the club's rehabilitation since their relegation from the old Division One in 1980 prompted financial ruin - only the sacrifices of the Ashton Gate Eight saving the club.
It wasn't to be. Hull stole the honours and the headlines and it was their own eight-year odyssey from a brush with bankruptcy to the bountiful landscape of the Premier League which filled the national papers.
Johnson though had put a marker in the sand, a statement of real intent that Bristol City, with the backing of chairman Steve Lansdown and plans for a new World-Cup-worthy stadium in place, were genuine Premier League contenders once more.
2. Chris Wood's silver medal
Nailsea's Chris Wood followed in the footsteps of English golfer Justin Rose, bursting onto the world stage with a barnstorming top-10 finish in the Open at Royal Birkdale.
Blustery conditions saw off many leading pros but Wood held his nerve to seal the silver medal for first amateur - a finish which saw him turn professional the following week and qualify for the European Tour before the year was out.
Caddied by his Dad, the 20-year-old chipped in for a birdie 18th on his second round 70 and ended the competition with a fourth-round 72 to finish joint fifth with Jim Furyk, two shots ahead golfing legend Ernie Els.
Wood, who originally had his sights on a career with Bristol City before a knee injury ended his progress through the club's academy, was just seven shots off winner Padraig Harrington and a mere three shots behind second-placed Ian Poulter.
3. Lee Haskins' British title
Boxing is a sport which polarises opinion on its virtues though few contest the bravery and the talent of the pugilists who practise its punishing arts.
A cut and bloodied Lee Haskins lifted the British Super Flyweight title in November after a boxing masterclass earned him a unanimous decision over champion Andy Bell in Lancashire.
The 24-year-old from Lockleaze became the first boxer since Glenn Catley 10 years ago to bring a Lonsdale Belt back to Bristol, bouncing back in emphatic fashion from his bantam-weight title-shot defeat last year.
4. Somerset CCC so close
Justin Langer and Marcus Trescothick almost put the icing on successful international careers by leading Somerset CCC to a first-ever County Championship.
Their form helped the side carry their hopes of a first title in 117 years as far as the final day of the Championship before an eight-wicket defeat by Lancashire ended the dream.
5. World Cup football in Bristol
November saw a step forward in Bristol City's plans for a 30,000 seater stadium in Ashton Vale and confirmed the prospect of World Cup football coming to Bristol - if the council bid for it.
City chairman Steve Lansdown unvealed well-received designs for a dramatic stadium which will have the option of increasing its capacity to the magic World Cup number of 42,500.
The financial turmoil has further delayed Bristol Rovers' redevelopment of the Memorial Stadium and doubts were circling about the Robins ability to push forward their own ambitions. Consultation may be a buzz word for a long delay but Bristol is in with a shout of 2018 action.
6. Bristol Rovers' FA Cup quarter-final
Bristol Rovers' 2007/08 FA Cup run stretched the imagination of Gas fans far beyond their League One campaign and brought about a unique celebration of the quagmire conditions of the Memorial Stadium's pitch.
The magic was shattered by a five-star, five-goal performance from West Brom and the Pirates tumbled out of the 2008/09 FA Cup at the hands of perennial pains Bournemouth in the first-round.
But the 07/08 run will live long in the memory for The Mem has rarely seen such drama.
Rovers' first-round replay against Leyton Orient was a six-goal thriller with two red cards, sent to extra-time by Rickie Lambert's 90th-minute penalty and won by Rovers 6-5 in the resulting shoot-out.
Rushden took a second-round lead in Horfield before being despatched 5-1 and then came the third-round, 0-0 nail biter against Premier League Fulham.
Again the encounter was decided by penalties and again in Rovers favour, this time by the comparatively comfortable margin of 5-3. Just the one red card too.
Lambert struck again to see off Barnet away from home in the fourth-round and yet once more in the fifth at home against Southampton to tee up a pay-day quarter-final matchup with West Brom at the Mem.
The crowd were treated to six goals but Rovers' solitary contribution saw their Wembley dream come to a close.
7. Bristol Pitbulls return
An extra string was added to Bristol's sporting bow when ice hockey announced its return to the city after a 16-year absence.
Rich Hargreaves' Bristol Pitbulls hit the ice in an exhibition match this Christmas at the Bristol ice rink with a view to competing in the English National League next season.
8. Downs League survives
Bristol's oldest football league came through a dark spell of bitter confrontation between rival teams and a stand-off with the Gloucestershire FA over the expulsion of a side for violent conduct.
The Downs League looked like it could fold when committee members expressed their exasperation at having to reinstate the Bengal Tigers at the behest of the English and Gloucestershire FAs.
Common sense has prevailed though and the Saturday afternoon pastimes of more than 500 footballers preserved as differences have been resolved and the league has continued to function.
9. Rickie Lambert
Rickie Lambert's scoring exploits have already been praised in reference to Bristol Rovers FA Cup run last season but his 18 goals so far this season deserve separate mention.
Lambert lies joint top of the League One marksmen's list with Matty Fryatt and the pair top their peers' tables in the Championship and Premier League.
His exploits have attracted the attention of Premiership scouts and we can expect plenty of entertainment in the tabloids during the January transfer window.
10. Jane Couch retires
Bristol's record-breaking, five-time world champion, female boxer Jane Couch MBE has blazed a trail against discrimination in sport and while retirement is not a moment of sporting glory per se, it is a moment in which sporting glories should be remembered and given their due.
She moved to Bristol 15 years ago and will remain as a boxing promoter in the city, nurturing the next generation at Tex Woodward's Spaniorum Gym.
Her biggest legacy came outside the ring when in 1998 she won her claim for sexual discrimination against the British Boxing Board of Control, over its refusal to grant her a licence to box professionally in the UK.
What do you think? There are no olympians, no skittlers, no parkour, climbing or alternative sport in this list. What would be in yours?
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