One of the great ironies of sports fandom is that while we love great teams, we hate them if they become too successful. We want to see greatness unfold on the court or field, but we don't want teams to hold something of a monopoly on sports.
Some teams are so successful, they keep the image even after becoming irrelevant or more "normalized." Just look at the Dallas Cowboys who, since their last Super Bowl win in 1995 are 2-7 in the playoffs, often missing them altogether in those 17 years. Yet they are still one of the most popular (and most hated) teams in the NFL. Or how about the New York Yankees? It's less true of the Yankees given they buy a playoff spot most years, yet since 1980, they've won just five World Series pennants. (Granted three of them came in consecutive years in what I can only imagine was a terrible time to be a baseball fan.)
I'm a New England Patriots fan. What a difference a decade of unparalleled success makes in the realm of public opinion. Back in 2001, everyone knew the Rams would win, but who wasn't cheering on the Patriots? (9/11 connotations notwithstanding.) Since that magical run, the Patriots have not had a single losing season, only missed the playoffs twice (once with an 11-5 record!), been to four additional Super Bowls going 2-2, won nine AFC East titles and appeared in seven AFC Championship games. Quite literally, when Tom Brady starts a full season, the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl 42% of the time and reach the AFC Championship 58% of the time! Once an underdog that everyone was rooting for, they have become one of the most hated teams in the league.
Think of a team like an object. Consider prolonged and sustained success as increased velocity. Well, when an object increases in speed, it will increase its mass and subsequently its gravity. So just think of mass as fan base in this analogy and gravity as hate base. As the velocity increases (more success), the mass increases (fan base) and the gravity increases proportionally as well (hate base).
To me though, there's a difference between the success of the Cowboys and Patriots and the success of teams like the Yankees or now the Miami Heat. It's how they do it. It's probably unfair to compare them given that the nature of football allows for a greater chance of an upset than sports like baseball or basketball, but with the Patriots and Cowboys, they had to work hard to get it. There's always an element of buying top tier talent, but it's harder to do when you have a salary cap and 11 moving players on the field at all times. The Yankees - and now the Heat - have subscribed to the thought of "Let's just buy top tier talent and throw them out there." It feels lazy. It feels cheap. It feels unfair. And - to me anyway - it feels unsportsmanlike.
I've heard many analysts talk about how great the Miami Heat are for the NBA - that love them or hate them, you are following them. You are watching. That is probably true for a lot of people, but it's not for me. For starters, I'm only following them because the sports media covers them like there's no tomorrow. I never actively follow them. I've never said, "I wonder what the Heat did last night" and hop on my computer to look up the score. Even when they went on that record pushing win streak, I never really cared. It means nothing if they don't win the championship (I'm a Patriots fan, remember?)
Secondly, the Miami Heat have completely killed my interest in the Eastern Conference playoffs. I just don't know what is in it for me as a fan of sports and competition. If you're a Heat fan, sure. Makes total sense to watch the continued domination. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing my Patriots run up the score on the hapless, butt-fumbling Jets, but I wouldn't want to see that every week. I'd gladly take a game we lose if that game were close and exciting.
I tried to watch the Pacers and Hawks yesterday. While I kept the game on, I couldn't help but move my attention elsewhere. To me, it was like watching a commercial - they were trying to sell me on something I knew I was never going to get. It just felt like an opening act - not particularly great, but it's also not what you're there for.
Look, here's the thing: we all know how the Eastern Conference ends, right? I know my sister will kill me for saying this, but does anyone actually believe a team other than the Miami Heat is coming out of this (pretty sad) conference? We can write that down in pen. We can sell the Miami Heat Eastern Conference Champions 2013 t-shirts right now. I bet every newspaper already has that article written and is just waiting for the semantics to end.
So why would I waste my time watching any of these games? Even if the Knicks and Celtics play one of the greatest series of all time, it's still just a dead end time waster. Neither of those teams is going anywhere and everyone knows it.
I look at that and say, "how exactly is this good for basketball?"
My attention will be where it's always been - the far more competitive Western Conference. But even on that side, there's still a sense of "Well, which of these teams could beat the Heat?"
I just don't believe that's good for any sport. Say all you want about the sort of monopoly that the Yankees or Patriots hold on their respective sports, you can't honestly say that you go into the playoffs thinking, "Who's going to beat the Yankees/Patriots?" Even if they're favorites, you know that someone has a chance.
It doesn't feel that way in the NBA. So I'm sorry. The Miami Heat have just completely killed my desire to watch the NBA playoffs.
I guess you can consider me part of the gravity.
