When discussing the happenings of 2016, one phrase seemed to prevail amongst the voices—goofy as f***.

Clowns have returned to prominence, both in the streets and in politics. Our presidential debates have been closer to an MTV “reality” television fight than a presidential debate. I guess that’s fitting, seeing as how most millennials are best acquainted with Trump from his days of “The Apprentice.”

We’ve seen whatever deity is in the sky take some of our culture’s most influential people—Muhammed Ali, David Bowie and Prince, just to name a few, wetting the eyes of fans of good people all around the world.

And speaking of Ali, we have seen 49ers quarterback Collin Kaepernick take on the most vital social stance by an athlete since the days of the Louisville Lip. And just months after the countless eulogies recounting Ali’s fight, countless Americans are now ripping Kaepernick for following in his path, unmasking scores of closet racists across the country.

Our most famous celebrity, Kim Kardashian, (debate on her merit as a celebrity can be another discussion on its own), was left vulnerable enough to be robbed for millions of dollars of valuables in Paris, while her self-proclaimed mad genius of a husband has publically pondered a run for president in 2020.

As a nation, there is no doubt that we have socially progressed, albeit slowly. The LGBT+ community scored a big win last year when gay marriage was legalized. But we still have citizens so strongly against them that they felt the need to murder an entire gay nightclub. We still have issues with the murder and violence of innocent black people by police.

The city of Cleveland, seemingly destined for sports sorrow, was given a championship to celebrate, thanks to the Cleveland LeBrons, with help from some other guys who call themselves Cavaliers. And now, with the Indians in the world series, after over a 50-year drought, the city of Cleveland is looking at a legitimate possibility of two championships in the same year, and the first Indians title since 1948, the second-longest drought in baseball.

And that drought can only be topped by their opponent, the Chicago Cubs, winless since 1908. Hell, their last world series appearance came before the birth of many of your grandparents. Nothing could be goofier than the Cubs winning a world series.

Or could there be? There are still two months left in 2016. That is plenty of time for NASA to discover a behemoth of an asteroid that is coming to wipe us out. Which totally makes sense. Or, at least it makes more sense than living in a world that potentially features Donald Trump as leader of the free world, and the Chicago Cubs raising a banner.

Mason Schweizer for The Wayne Stater