I fell in love with the game right away. My favorite things to watch in the beginning were the Reggie Miller-led Pacers teams verses the Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell-led Knicks teams. That was a rivalry. It was interesting. It was compelling. It grabbed your attention. It made you passionate about what you were watching. These feelings are stirred up in any rivalry.
Outside of the Yankees verses the Red Sox, football is home to the greatest rivalries. In college there are great ones like USC vs. UCLA, Auburn vs. Alabama and Ohio State vs. Michigan. In the NFL you have the Cowboys vs. the Redskins, the Packers vs. the Bears and the Ravens vs. the Steelers. I believe that this is the reason why football is so popular, there are big-time rivalries. Rivalries that are deep-rooted, sure the names have changed over time, but the new faces in these organizations always seem to adopt the same hatred for their rivals.
The NBA is sorely lacking in rivalries. The days of Bird and Magic are gone. The days of the Pistons adopting the "Jordan Rules" are gone. There is too much brotherhood in today's NBA. Rivalries do not necessarily have to come from teams. They can stem from players. That is what has taken shape with LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. KG and Pierce have been teammates on two teams now (The Celtics and now the Nets). They have won a championship together and have bonded. One foe that has stood in their way of multiple championships for this duo while with the Celtics is James. KG and Pierce have carried this hatred over to the Nets. The Nets and the Heat are both viewed as contenders in the Eastern Conference.
James has recently mocked KG and Pierce for leaving Boston after they got so angry with Ray Allen for heading south to Miami a year ago. Garnett responded by telling James to worry about his own team. He also reminded James that he and Pierce were traded away from the Celtics and that leaving was not their wish. This is great for basketball. In a meaningless preseason game on October 17, 2013, we saw Pierce commit a hard foul on James that was clearly meant to send a message. Imagine how great the competition between these two teams will be in the regular season and how much more intense it would be if they met in the playoffs.
When you are about to face a rival, you seem to dig a little deeper and give it all you have. The games become more intense. It is better competition and in turn becomes better viewing for the fans. This is what made players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant so great, they found reasons to have disdain for their opponents. A rivalry must be kept appropriate. Leave everything on the court or field and maybe say a few things in the media.
Part of the reason the NBA does not boast the rivalries is that players change teams so often. This is why we need player-driven rivalries like we are seeing with LeBron and KG and Pierce. The NBA would benefit from a few more rivalries like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment