Things I miss in the modern sports world:
1. The old NHL division alignment and playoff system. I loved the days of divisional playoffs, and having the Caps play in the Patrick Division. The divisional playoff format elevated divisional hatred to stratospheric levels -- winning the Patrick in 1990 was one of the greatest Capitals moments, and it barely registered with me that they were swept out of the playoffs in the next round.
2. College football culminating on January 1st. New Year's Day should be the pinnacle of the college football season, and it should have all the major bowls. I hate that it's so watered down now. There were actually significant portions of the last NYD where I wasn't watching football, and that's just wrong.
3. The Washington Bullets. Change the name back. Please.
4. Magic vs Bird. Lakers vs Celtics. What a great rivalry that was in the mid 80s. It's like the Rolling Stones vs the Beatles -- a contrast in every way imaginable. Magic's baby hook to win the 1986/7 championship still goes down as one of my greatest NBA memories....
5. The NFL draft being held on a weekday morning. It used to be held on a Thursday morning starting at 8am Eastern time. Living on the west coast at the time, I would set my alarm for 4:45, make coffee, and watch. That was fun.
6. RFK stadium. So many memories there, both for the Redskins and for me.
7. Stadiums/arenas with real names, not corporate ads. Candlestick Park, Mile High Stadium, heck even Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium is better than a lot of what we have now. Invesco Field? PNC Park? Quicken Loans Arena? blegh.
8. The 2-2-1-1-1 format in the NBA finals. The modern 2-3-2 format sucks. It just does.
9. The Cotton Bowl. Remember the Cotton Bowl? I do.
10. The Baltimore Colts, St Louis Cardinals, and LA Rams. I am still angry about Mel Gray, by the way.
3 comments:
Re: #4, if the Cavs and Lakers ever get to play each other in the finals, there might be a worthy successor. Re: #7, agree heartily, though business naming rights are nothing new (see, Wrigley Field--granted it's not precisely the same thing).
Ways in which current pro sports are superior: Teams actually starting to do a little something once in a while when their athletes assault women.
Also, agree enthusiastically with #2. Having a bunch of games go on for a week after January 1, including a who-cares bowl or two, is just wrong.
10) It wasn't a catch. The Redskins got screwed.
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