The top 10 sports tweets of 2015

Ah, Twitter.

So much fun.

Our best and brightest athletes and sporting teams have taken to the online social media like ducks to water.

Well, mostly.

There’s been some good, bad and ugly on the Twitter verse.

Here we take a look at the best of the best.

Kobe Bryant

It simply read “dear basketball” but it was the biggest sporting Tweet of 2015, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant hanging up the boots in the most poetic way.

Kobe wrote a letter to basketball on behalf of himself that was a fitting farewell to a glittering career that has certainly polarised many people.

Comparisons to Michael Jordan will always be part of his legacy and he is the closest we have seen, just not close enough to the GOAT.

One of the best scorers of all time, and a clutch basketball fiend, Bryant, despite playing for the love them or hate them Lakers, will retire a legend of the game.

The note beckoned the beginning of a retirement tour that will span the league for the rest of the season.

And, despite turning himself into the league’s biggest brick laying black hole, Bryant has manage to rebuild some cred in stadiums where his side is being whacked, but the fans are cheering his every move.

The story goes that just before he retired, he told Dwyane Wade to make sure he bought his kids along the Miami Heat game, because he knew it was his last game and he wanted to share it with him.

Caitlin Jenner

Is she still part of the sporting fraternity. While she’s more a reality TV star than a sportsperson, Caitlin nee Bruce Jenner, the former NFL star, garnered world wide headlines when she announced her gender transition.

This Tweet had over 250,000 retweets and 400,000 likes, making it one of the biggest in the world this year.

She won an ESPY for her courage to inspire the transgender community, but also made a lot of dose by capitalising on it with her own reality show.

Gareth Bale

When soccer meets Aussie Rules.

Real Madrid’s superstar Welshman Gareth Bale headed Down Under in July to check out a bit of Aussie rules – and play exhibition games across the country.

His reference to the shape of the ball is to do with his country’s love affair with rugby union, which obviously uses a similar shaped ball to Aussie Rules.

Bale was most enamoured by the storied Melbourne Cricket Ground on his trip to Australia.

“It’s an amazing stadium that has held amazing events in the past,” he said.

“To be able to say we’ve played at that stadium is an honour for everyone. It was great to experience it.”

Kevin Rudd

Not quite a sportsman, but the former Kevin 07 weighed in on one of the most controversial sporting issues of 2015 when he fired off this poignant Tweet after Sydney star Adam Goodes copped the wrath of supporters across the land.

Goodes was booed, many blamed it on racism, while others said Goodes did himself no favours with the way he carried himself.

Whatever the reason, Rudd makes a point. The apology was a step in the right direction, but it still feels like both sides have a long way to go.

Sachin Tendulkar

Slashin’ Sachin is one of the greatest cricketers of all time. And the Little Master doesn’t mind a Tweet or two.

Sachin was at the MCG for the World Cup clash between India and South Africa and despite playing plenty of cricket – and plundering plenty of runs on the hallowed turf – he still couldn’t contain his excitement at being there.

He would have been pretty happy with the outcome too.

Shikhar Dhawan whacked 137 with 16 fours and two sixes as the Indians reached 307, before they rifled through the South African batting line up for 177, with spinner Ravi Ashwin doing most of the damage picking up 3/41.

Jarryd Hayne

Was there a bigger sporting story than the Hayne Playne in 2015?

We don’t think so.

The former Parramatta Eels star made an audacious bid to hop codes.

And he got there, making the San Francisco 49ers roster.

He had his fair share of detractors, but most of the 22,000 people who liked and retweets his tweet were desperate for him to make it.

He did so, for a time, but horrible coaching and a horrible organisation made it near on impossible for Hayne to develop in the end.

He’s stuck in the practice squad and, despite his boys getting beaten by the league worst Cleveland Browns, he still can’t earn a recall.

But he will always have this story to tell his kids and there will be no shortage of suitors for him in league.

Antony Green

We’re staying with cricket and these two Tweets mark perhaps the darkest day in Australia’s Ashes history.

Political expert Antony Green is known for his witticism on social media and you’d be hard pressed to top this one. At first glance, it looks like some sort of warped binary code.

But it’s actually the ball by ball summary of the Australians’ disastrous first innings of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.

You can only put 140 characters in a Tweet.

The Aussies only lasted 113 balls, leaving Green with plenty to spare when writing his tweet.

The innings spelled the end for Clarke, who retired from all forms of cricket as the English built a 214 run day one lead – the highest lead at the end of the first day ever.

It was the fewest number of balls Australia has ever faced in the first innings of a Test and the nation’s second lowest score ever when batting first.

Hell, even Clarke’s press conference at the end of the day lasted longer than his first three batsmen did at the creases.

Ronda Rousey

“I just wanted to thank everyone for the love and support. I appreciate the concerns about my health, but I’m fine. As I had mentioned before, I’m going to take a little bit of time, but I’ll be back.”

It was actually an Instagram post that the former champ Tweeted out, but it confirmed to worried fans she was ok after her brutal beating at the hands of new UFC bantam weight godess Holly Holm.

Holm has the bragging rights for now and she might have the title, but Rousey is still the most bankable star on the fight circuit.

A heavy underdog, Holm rocked Rousey with a fearsome kick that broke her jaw, split open her lip and wounded her pride.

Ronda has had to re assess things now, as a six month medical suspension hangs over her head.

But she says she will be back, and we would be foolish not to believe her.

Look out Holly.

Shane Warne

You an never have too much cricket and our man Warnie is one of the best in the business when it comes to Twitter. He’s blasted out over 15,000 of them.

Never afraid to stir the pot, Warnie loves to get involved in our stoush. We reckon he was right on the mark with this Tweet about the upcoming Boxing Day Test, which he wants to to see a night match.

Good chance it doesn’t make it past three days with the woeful Windies, so why not give cricket punters a bit of value for money and roll out something unique for Australian cricket’s marquee event?

Board of Cricket Control India

We promise this isn’t cricket. Well maybe it’s a little bit of cricket.

And also – ROGER FEDERER!

We love the Fed Express!

And this Tweet combines two of the great sports.

We do have to wonder exactly how much the Swiss maestro knows about cricket as we’d be doubtful there were many pitches in his country.

But hey, the grand slam machine doesn’t look too bad with the Indians’ blue, but we’d rather see him in the green and gold.