As a sports fan, 2006 sucked. It seemed as if none of my favorite teams could do anything right.

I knew the year had gotten off to a bad start in early January when the Colts’ Mike Vanderjadt blew a field goal in the final seconds of a playoff match with the Steelers, ending the magical Indianapolis season that was meant to be. And this was just days after my Southern California friends and I had planned a huge gala to celebrate USC’s third-straight national title with a win over No. 2 Texas.

I calmed down for the next few months, but then the Lakers blew a 3-1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Like every other Angelino, I could at least take some comfort in watching the Clippers exact retribution, but the Suns took care of LA’s second team in the very next round.

The summer provided mild excitement as the Sparks were well on their way to a WNBA title before being blown out by Sacramento in the postseason. The Dodgers won the NL Wildcard one season after posting their worst record since moving from Brooklyn. But the Mets destroyed them in the NL Division Series. I did take minor pleasure, though, in knowing that the Giants didn’t make the playoffs and wouldn’t for quite a while, thanks to the signing of the overpriced Barry Zito.

I came back to Stanford with high hopes of finally getting to watch our football team win at home. When that didn’t work out, I filled my head with the possibilities of a win at Big Game. This feat almost came to fruition, with me standing on the field to witness history; two failed trips to the red zone later, Walt Harris got the axe.

My last chance to salvage any kind of success for 2006 came with the NCAA women’s volleyball championship final, pitting No. 2 Stanford against top-ranked Nebraska. The hottest team in the country heading into the postseason, the Cardinal had won both the nation’s toughest conference (the Pac-10) and the support of ESPN. After taking the first game from the Huskers, Stanford barely dropped the next three.

It seems as if the only saving grace of the year for me was Club Deportivo Guadalajara’s soccer championship in Mexico. And while that was indeed a huge win for followers of the Chivas all around the world, I was still left unsatisfied.

But none of these teams’ failures could compare to the utter disappointment in learning the hard way that you should never leave a game early.

Relaxing in my aunt’s Las Vegas home just hours after enjoying the nation’s largest party, New Years Day seemed rather dull.

Exactly as I had expected, Southern California manhandled Michigan in the Grand Daddy of ‘Em All to prove that Notre Dame — and not USC — was the country’s most overrated college football squad.

Boise State had just secured a 21-10 lead over Oklahoma heading into halftime of the Fiesta Bowl. Figuring it was over, I joined my family for dinner and several games of Sorry! But before heading to bed, I checked ESPN one last time to find that even Rick Reilly couldn’t have written a better ending to the Fiesta Bowl.

This, of course, came just months after turning off a radio when the Dodgers trailed the Padres by four runs heading into the ninth inning on Sept. 18. We all know what happened thereafter: the worst home run-hitting team in the league put together four straight round-trippers in a span of seven pitches to tie the match before Nomar Garciaparra knocked a walk-off homer to seal the greatest moment at Dodger Stadium since 1988.

Back then, I hadn’t felt so stupid since January 22 of the same year, when I decided to get an early start on some required reading instead of watching what was sure to be an uneventful Lakers-Raptors game. I was halfway through the Qu’ran when my brother called my up for the first time in three months to ask if I was watching the match.

By then it was too late. Kobe had made history with 81 points in one evening, while I blew the dust off the No. 8 jersey in my closet.

As I again decided to not make the same mistake, I made sure to sit down and watch the entire Sugar Bowl, no matter how much LSU beat up on Notre Dame.

Here’s to a mighty good year, one in which I resolve to never stop watching a game early. God knows what kind of history will be made this year, but I will be there to see it all.

And it will all begin on Feb. 4 when the Colts beat the Eagles in Super Bowl XLI.