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Under no circumstances is a championship for a professional sports team ever invalid.
It is so hard to win even one title. So many great players never reach that ultimate moment of glory. So many diehard fans spend most of their lives watching their favorite team go without it, if they ever do. So, when you finally reach that mountaintop, it can never be taken away. It is immortality, a lifelong stamp of greatness, approval, and joy.
ESPN's Vincent Goodwill apparently disagrees with this sentiment. In an appearance on Get Up on Tuesday, he said the modern NBA's lack of dynasties during its Power of Friendship Era is detrimental to the league. His claim is that with recent champions having not captured more jewelry after winning one title — the way many great NBA teams used to — that failure then invalidates their original title, effectively making winning just one Larry O'Brien Trophy a "participation trophy."
Uh, yeah. I'm going to respectfully disagree with this backward logic:
Parity is, in fact, not bad for the NBA. It is so much better and healthier for a sports league when as many teams as possible think they have a realistic chance of winning the title, when the outcome of a season doesn't feel preordained in late October and early November, as it used to be. Never mind the bizarre descriptor of calling just one championship a "participation trophy."
Last I checked, it's still such a daunting task to win it all in the NBA. So much has to break your way. So many players have to step up over a two-month playoff run. A coach has to push all the right buttons at all times. And even then, you are still more likely to fall short than not. Which is what makes that one title so special. If an NBA champion never wins it all again, no one can ever take away that one year they were the Association's top team. They will remain basketball royalty forever, a time capsule of well-earned euphoria for their supporters.
Miss me with this nonsensical claim that tries to detract from one of the most monumental accomplishments in American sports. It misses the point about the wonderful meaning of a championship to a team, its fans, and its city entirely.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: ESPN's Vincent Goodwill made absurd NBA champion "participation trophy" claim
Continue reading...
It is so hard to win even one title. So many great players never reach that ultimate moment of glory. So many diehard fans spend most of their lives watching their favorite team go without it, if they ever do. So, when you finally reach that mountaintop, it can never be taken away. It is immortality, a lifelong stamp of greatness, approval, and joy.
ESPN's Vincent Goodwill apparently disagrees with this sentiment. In an appearance on Get Up on Tuesday, he said the modern NBA's lack of dynasties during its Power of Friendship Era is detrimental to the league. His claim is that with recent champions having not captured more jewelry after winning one title — the way many great NBA teams used to — that failure then invalidates their original title, effectively making winning just one Larry O'Brien Trophy a "participation trophy."
Uh, yeah. I'm going to respectfully disagree with this backward logic:
Parity is, in fact, not bad for the NBA. It is so much better and healthier for a sports league when as many teams as possible think they have a realistic chance of winning the title, when the outcome of a season doesn't feel preordained in late October and early November, as it used to be. Never mind the bizarre descriptor of calling just one championship a "participation trophy."
Last I checked, it's still such a daunting task to win it all in the NBA. So much has to break your way. So many players have to step up over a two-month playoff run. A coach has to push all the right buttons at all times. And even then, you are still more likely to fall short than not. Which is what makes that one title so special. If an NBA champion never wins it all again, no one can ever take away that one year they were the Association's top team. They will remain basketball royalty forever, a time capsule of well-earned euphoria for their supporters.
Miss me with this nonsensical claim that tries to detract from one of the most monumental accomplishments in American sports. It misses the point about the wonderful meaning of a championship to a team, its fans, and its city entirely.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: ESPN's Vincent Goodwill made absurd NBA champion "participation trophy" claim
Continue reading...
