With Christmas just around the corner, let me start by saying a warm Merry Christmas to all of Bermuda, especially, those of you who continue to read my column week in and week out. As the year is coming to a close, I want to share with you my five most memorable sporting moment for 2013.

Taking into account that I am looking at sporting moments worldwide, this was obviously not an easy task. However, this was a year for some exceptional performances, along with some sad goodbyes.

After much deliberation, here are my top five sports moments of the year for 2013:

At No?5, I have the retirement of who I believe to be the greatest batsman ever to play cricket, Sachin “The Little Master” Tendulkar. In his 200th and last Test match, he didn’t disappoint his fans, producing a classy knock of 74 runs. He is the only player to have scored 100 international centuries and the first batsman to score a double century in a one-day international.

Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs. His retirement speech touched the hearts of many, as people from all around the world flew in to see this historic moment.

How fitting was it that his last Test match would be his mother’s first and last time watching her son, who will be remembered in India as “the God of Cricket”.

My No?4 pick was the amazing comeback in the America’s Cup by Team Oracle USA. Having been down 8-1, with Emirates New Zealand needing just one win to win the cup, Oracle went on an amazing run. With Sir Ben Ainslie, the British Olympic gold medal-winner on board as a tactician from the sixth race, the American boat was unstoppable. The news of this great comeback was spreading like wildfire. People who probably never watched sailing were glued to their televisions for the epic final race, which was sure to be a thriller. Team Oracle USA would go on to win an exciting final that shocked the world, completing what would surely be one of the best comebacks in the history of sport, if not the best.

In at No?3 is the retirement of the one and only Sir Alex Ferguson. Simply, the best manager ever in the Premier League! In his 27 years of management at Manchester United, he won 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues, the Cup Winners’ Cup, five FA Cups and four League Cups.

He built the team like a family and no player was bigger than the team. During his reign, some of the best players came and went, such as David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam and Cristiano Ronaldo. But as one top player, left he would groom another and Manchester United would not skip a beat. It would be fitting that in his last year of management, he would win the league and leave as a winner. He will not only be missed by Manchester United, but by football as a whole.

Easily in at No?2 is none other than Andy Murray, who finally ended the Wimbledon jinx. Murray became the first British male to win Wimbledon in 77 years after defeating Novak Djokovic in the finals. The amount of pressure that was on his shoulders to win this event was immense. As he got closer to the final, the papers would not let it rest. Day after day, the papers wrote of Britain’s desire for a home champion.

Many before him had failed, but Murray would not disappoint, as he fought this great champion Djokovic with every fibre in his body, to eventually win 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. The whole country had come to a standstill to support their hero. When the last point was won, the whole of the nation must have jumped for joy in celebration of an unforgettable occasion.

My No?1 sporting moment for the year was very easy to pick. It is none other than Bermuda’s own Nahki Wells scoring and helping his Bradford City club to gain promotion at Wembley Stadium. To sit and watch my fellow Bermudian mesmerise Northampton Town’s defence and then become the first Bermudian to score at this historic ground was amazing.

Bradford needed to win to gain promotion into League One and they did not disappoint their fans on the day. With Bradford leading 2-0, up steps Wells to score the third goal, which secured promotion as Bradford would go on to win 3-0. I can remember tears coming to my eyes as I watched him celebrate his goal. Call it national pride, call it what you like, this was a moment I will never forget.

What will your top 5 sports feats of the year be?

As the festive season approaches, now is the time for our sportsmen and sportswomen to start setting goals for 2014. There is nothing that you cannot do in your respective sports if you put your mind to it and you are willing to make sacrifices. Many people dream, but very few of us achieve our dreams.

The question is, will you?