As the 20th century fades from our memories, so does the 1990s and a dark chapter in professional sports.
For a brief moment in the early ’90s there was hope. The Lakers sucked, and so did the Yankees. Life was good.
But when money talks, players listen.
Our good friend, free agency, came in and the likes of George Steinbrener and Jerry West were back in business. They were able to attain the best teams money could buy.
Toward the end of the ’90s, those teams you love to hate in New York and Los Angeles gained strength, as All-American teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers fell from the limelight.
Strikes in professional baseball and the NBA marred the sports, and they still haven’t fully recovered. These sports are safe until the next contract expires.
The ’90s also saw the death of the franchise player and the birth of the free-agency period, together killing the sports dynasty. Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins and Magic Johnson are gone, leaving only a handful of franchise players like David Robinson and Reggie Miller. I mean geez, Patrick Ewing is a Seattle Supersonic!
Now we have rent-a-player mercenaries like Randy Johnson and Kevin Greene. From now on, money talks.
Speaking of money, have you been to Candlestick Park lately? Oops, I mean 3Com Park. No? How about Riverfront Stadium? Oh yeah, I meant Cinergy Field. This late-’90s innovation of corporatization is one of the worst in professional sports. There still is hope though.
Fans in Denver and Chicago began a resistance movement when big businesses attempted purchases of Mile High Stadium and Wrigley Field. While these loyal fans can fight corporations with letter writing, businesses fight back with money. Things don’t look so good for the underdogs.
The ’90s also saw the birth of stupid team names like the Wizards, the Titans and the Devil Rays. Major League Soccer and the WNBA are even worse. The Tampa Bay Mutiny, the Miami Fusion and the Detroit Shock are some of the worst of the bunch. Aren’t these all adjectives? If the XFL is any indication, it’s just going to get worse too (Memphis Maniacs, N.Y-N.J. Hitmen). More power to women’s basketball and soccer, but c’mon, these names stink!
Global warming may be a problem for the rest of us, but not in Phoenix, Dallas and Fort Lauderdale, home of three new professional hockey franchises. It may be 110 degrees outside, but it’s nice and cool inside Phoenix’s America West Arena. I’m sure there could be even more kids playing hockey in the streets in Texas than in Minnesota, former home of the Dallas Stars.
Maybe one of the three teams will have to move once the weather gets too hot. Just like how the Houston Oilers and both Los Angeles football teams moved north when things got too hot.
I don’t think fans in L.A. and Houston were too upset when they saw their former teams in the Super Bowl last year. Nah, of course not. At least fans in Cleveland have a team to root for after Art Modell and his franchise left for Baltimore. I mean, are the Ravens really that much better than the Cleveland Browns: Part II?
So, as we enter the 21st century, be weary when you jump on a bandwagon, buy a jersey with a player’s name on it and/or buy season tickets.
Because in professional sports, nothing is certain and money gets the last laugh.