What does 'down year' mean?

Question

i don't get what this means in this context..plz help

"We're here at the Long Beach State 49er Athleic Hall of Fame

and in a down year for their invitees, they've got this guy.

I won at Bay Hill in 1996. You've got to have the King's signature."

Answer 1

a down year is a bad year or a year in which nothing much good happens.  It's colloquial.