By Gary Dzen/Globe Staff

We're long past the point where Twitter is an obscure means of communication. News organizations, athletes, celebrities, and world leaders now use the social media platform to express their thoughts to a growing audience. If you didn't see it on Twitter first, you're probably behind the story. That's true both nationally and locally. In Boston, this year's best sports tweets came in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the absurdly funny to the succinctly tragic. Without further ado, Boston’s year in tweets.