2000 -The Year In-Review By: Jenny Brandes and Laura Payne Over a year ago, as 2000 rapidly drew near, paranoia struck the world in anticipation of the Y2K bug. People were stocking up on everything from Spam to toilet paper as they waited for the world to go awry. Others said that the stock market would plummet, causing a time worse than the Great Depression. However, the New Year, century, and, some say, new millennium began without a hitch. It was a year of drama, suspense, and unexpected events. The Elian Gonzalez case, left over from 1999, erupted into national mayhem as his relatives and two governments battled over the innocent six-year-old boy. The saga ended after he was forcefully taken from his Uncle's house in Miami by government agents and returned to his father in Cuba. Another national event was the television smash hit "Survivor," which aired this spring and summer on CBS. It kicked off the "reality show" craze, something most had never before seen. Viewers were disgusted when Richard Hatch, the so-called "villain" walked away with one million dollars. Controversy over the ever-popular rapper Eminem skyrocketed in the music industry. Angry parents, as well as advocates for women, homosexual, and civil rights groups campaigned to have his songs censored. But teens continued to buy his albums, listen to his songs, and watch his videos. The summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, was the main focus of television viewers in September. Team USA triumphed as the leader in the medal-count, as well as breaking numerous records. New York was the center for baseball fans everywhere as the long-awaited Subway Series finally took place; the Yankees battled it out with the Mets, and eventually took home the rings. The year finally drew to a close, but not without one last controversy. The 2000 presidential election between Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore was one of the strangest in history. The nation discovered that the people of Florida can't count, and that anyone named Chad is going to be remembered as being "pregnant." Some say that in the year 2000 we saw it all, but as Brian Williams of NBC News put it, "Every year, we say we've seen it all, and each new year makes liars out of all of us." So keep that in mind as we eagerly anticipate the next twelve months that marks the officially marks the start of the millennium.