The Bay and the Land: A Lose/Lose for the Bulls' Legacy
The Bay and the Land: A Lose/Lose for the Bulls' Legacy
In a battle of two evils, which is the lesser for Bulls fans?
In a battle of two evils, which is the lesser for Bulls fans?
For Bulls fans, it has been a very depressing playoffs. Not because we barely missed these playoffs, or that during the most critical game down the stretch, our starting point guard decided to rest. Not because our locker room is split apart, and our new head coach looks fairly incompetent. Not because the front office is run like the mafia and they have little room to maneuver this off-season. And not even because the first two rounds were so catatonic that Chicagoans actually started watching baseball.
The real reason is that a win by either of the two teams left could potentially eat away at the Bulls' legacy.
There is no one more despised in the city of Chicago than LeBron James. Crowned a king before he laced up for his first game, the city that is home to the actual GOAT merely spit in his general direction. After years of battling him within the Central Division, and a brief but ill-fated stint as title contenders, the Bulls should be regarded as LeBron’s toughest rival over the course of his career.
It didn’t take long for LeBron to be compared to Jordan endlessly by the sports media, but after riding a historically weak East to multiple Finals, LeBron finally has an opportunity to play in more Finals than his Airness. With so many quality seasons and playoff runs under his belt, it won’t be surprising to see LeBron pass Jordan in totals' records over the next few years.
Any chink in the Jordan armor is something no true Bulls fan could root for.
On the other coast, you have the 73-9 Golden State Warriors squeaking by the ’96 Bulls’ record in their final game of the regular season. A record that was said could never be broken finally came to an end. Certainly, you cannot easily diminish the best team of all time with another best team of all time, but the Bulls’ record is officially off the books. Another chink in the armor of the Bulls' legacy.
That was no matter, “73 don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got that ring.” When Chris Paul and Blake Griffin went out on injuries, hope of slowing the Warriors was lost. Until, the finest series of this and many other playoffs was given to us by Oklahoma City. Sure it was risky to root for LeBron to go up against an opponent he had previously vanquished, but if OKC could take down the Warriors, why couldn’t they take down the Cavs? Thus keeping the Bulls' legacy intact.
Seven amazing games later, and Bulls fans are left with a tough decision. Pull for the hated LeBron; even though his Finals record can never touch Jordan’s at this point. LeBron could still grab his third title and even worse, “one for the Land.” Or, they can hope that the team with the greatest regular-season record of all time can be declared the best team of all time by casual sports fans everywhere. Your choice Bulls fans, I’m just going to pull for a new front office.
For Bulls fans, it has been a very depressing playoffs. Not because we barely missed these playoffs, or that during the most critical game down the stretch, our starting point guard decided to rest. Not because our locker room is split apart, and our new head coach looks fairly incompetent. Not because the front office is run like the mafia and they have little room to maneuver this off-season. And not even because the first two rounds were so catatonic that Chicagoans actually started watching baseball.
The real reason is that a win by either of the two teams left could potentially eat away at the Bulls' legacy.
There is no one more despised in the city of Chicago than LeBron James. Crowned a king before he laced up for his first game, the city that is home to the actual GOAT merely spit in his general direction. After years of battling him within the Central Division, and a brief but ill-fated stint as title contenders, the Bulls should be regarded as LeBron’s toughest rival over the course of his career.
It didn’t take long for LeBron to be compared to Jordan endlessly by the sports media, but after riding a historically weak East to multiple Finals, LeBron finally has an opportunity to play in more Finals than his Airness. With so many quality seasons and playoff runs under his belt, it won’t be surprising to see LeBron pass Jordan in totals' records over the next few years.
Any chink in the Jordan armor is something no true Bulls fan could root for.
On the other coast, you have the 73-9 Golden State Warriors squeaking by the ’96 Bulls’ record in their final game of the regular season. A record that was said could never be broken finally came to an end. Certainly, you cannot easily diminish the best team of all time with another best team of all time, but the Bulls’ record is officially off the books. Another chink in the armor of the Bulls' legacy.
That was no matter, “73 don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got that ring.” When Chris Paul and Blake Griffin went out on injuries, hope of slowing the Warriors was lost. Until, the finest series of this and many other playoffs was given to us by Oklahoma City. Sure it was risky to root for LeBron to go up against an opponent he had previously vanquished, but if OKC could take down the Warriors, why couldn’t they take down the Cavs? Thus keeping the Bulls' legacy intact.
Seven amazing games later, and Bulls fans are left with a tough decision. Pull for the hated LeBron; even though his Finals record can never touch Jordan’s at this point. LeBron could still grab his third title and even worse, “one for the Land.” Or, they can hope that the team with the greatest regular-season record of all time can be declared the best team of all time by casual sports fans everywhere. Your choice Bulls fans, I’m just going to pull for a new front office.