Okay, I'll admit that I have never been a fan of trash talking and making bold, even outlandish, predictions.
Granted, it can add to the lore, the legend, of a champion if and when it does happen, as it did with Joe Namath guaranteeing that his Jets, heavy underdogs, would defeat the mighty Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. It also worked when Cassius Clay promised to win the title against a seemingly unstoppable Sonny Liston and, later, after he had taken the name Muhammad Ali, when he famously did the same against another seemingly untouchable champion in George Foreman.
More recently, I was greatly impressed with the prediction of Mark Messier of the New York Rangers, when he very specifically predicted that the Rangers would climb out of the 3-2 series hold by denying the Devils a series-clinching victory at home in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, taking over personally to score a hat trick in the third period, to secure a come from behind win for the Rangers, forcing a decisive game seven from the comfortable confines of Madison Square Garden. The Rangers would win another epic battle in that one, and would eventually, of course, famously hoist the Stanley Cup, ending the infamous 54 year drought.
Arguably, you can also make a case for Plaxico Burress, not only predicting a Giants victory against the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, but predicting the final score of 23-17. It was off, but not by much, as the Giants won, 17-14. The thing about that prediction was that the Patriots offense was seen as the best ever, and statistically, they were. They had not been held to under 20 points all season in any single game. So, to make a prediction that they would not reach even twenty points, and then to follow that up by predicting that the Patriots would not score twenty, and with the Giants defense actually holding them to significantly less than twenty in the most important game of the year?
Yet, Plaxico Burress had been kind of pressured into making such a prediction, and when he did, it made all the headlines. The thing was, the Giants were already in the Super Bowl, and of course they were in it to try to win it. What were they going to say? "Well, we had a great season, and surprised a lot of people, but those guys, they're the New England Patriots, man! And they're undefeated! Didn't you know! There's no way we can measure up to those guys! They're the best of all time!"
Of course they did not say that. The Giants seemed to predict as a team the downfall of the Patriots, wearing black on the plane ride to Arizona, making an undeclared statement that they were preparing for the funeral of a dynasty. Maybe that qualifies, and it certainly added to the legacy of the biggest Super Bowl upset of our time.
But those are the exceptions, not the rule.
To illustrate the point, we can stay right with those same 2007 New England Patriots, who were the target of a few guarantees that season, but not all of them were as prophetic as the Giants win in the Super Bowl proved to be. Anthony Smith, defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, guaranteed that the incredible perfect season up to that point for the Patriots would end when they met the Steel Curtain. In fact, the Patriots won handily, 34-13.
These days, guarantees begin to sound preposterous. For each of the predictions that prove true and add to one's legacy, there are several that go horribly awry, and make those who make such claims look preposterous.
Remember Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks? Every year, there seemed to be some kind of a prediction. 1993 was going to be their year. They looked good, taking a 2-0 series lead against MJ and the Bulls. But then, they lost all of the remaining games in that series. A similar prediction for the following year, and they casme close, but eventually lost to the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Another prediction in 1996, and it was beginning to sound like a bad joke. When Ewing promised a Game 6 victory against the Indiana Pacers, in a game that the Knicks absolutely needed to win to stay alive in the series, one might have been forgiven if a little chuckle escaped him. And one might also have been forgiven when the Pacers won Game 6, in Madison Square Garden, to clinch the Eastern Conference title and move on to the NBA Finals.
Pat Riley, the head coach of that Knicks team, also boldly predicted something in the previous decade, with his former team. The Lakers were a dynasty in the eighties, to be fair. But he predicted that they would win the coveted "three-peat". And although they were a very good team, and did come close, they did not come quite close enough to actually do it.
Another coach did not so much make a prediction, as he did not deny the favorable position his team was in to win a championship. The Seattle Supersonics, coached by George Karl, looked incredible in 1994, the year Michael Jordan was no longer on the Bulls following their tree-peat. This had opened up the road to the championship for everyone, but it was the Supersonics who enjoyed the most success in the regular season, with a stellar 63-19 record. Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said that the Supersonics had to be considered the favorites, and in a favorable position to win it all. Karl did not deny this, he agreed with it. It came back to haunt him, as Seattle became the first ever number one seed in the playoffs to lose to the eight seed in the first round, after taking a 2-0 series lead in the best of five series. Tomjanovich? His team won the NBA title two years in a row.
When Lebron left Cleveland, the owner of the Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, predicted that his team would win an NBA title before Lebron did.
Not so much, no.
Members of the Miami Heat boldly predicted a title after acquiring LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010. But although they came close, making it all the way to the NBA Finals, they did not actually win that series, losing to the Dallas Mavericks in six. Losing, ultimately, on their own home court in Miami, in front of their home fans.
That said, of course I do recognize that they have been simply awesome the last two seasons, as they have taken back-to-back titles. But not against the Mavericks in 2011.
The following year, another cocky star, Kobe Bryant, found his team down 3-0 in a best of seven series to those same Mavericks. No problem, he thought. The Lakers should still win the series, he said. Funnily enough, that boldness did not translate to an actual win in the next game, which was a must win for the Lakers to remain in the series. Not only did they lose, but they lost huge - by 36 points! Way to back up those claims, Kobe!
Kobe Bryant also guaranteed a victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in 2004, with his team down 3-1 in the series, and effectively having been outplayed in all five games to that point. He was, in essence, promising that the Lakers, who had been heavy favorites going into the series, were far better than they had shown to that point, and that Los Angeles would win on the road in Game 5, and bring the series back to LA. Finals score? Detroit 100, Los Angels 87.
Whoops.
Kevin Garnett also made championship predictions, proclaiming that his Celtic would take the title in 2010 and 2011. They made it to the NBA Finals in 2010, but lost in seven to the Lakers, in a series that they almost won. But they did not make it to the NBA Finals in 2011.
Rex Ryan, head coach of the New York Jets, infamously made such bold predictions, as well. And it panned out every bit as well as with those Knicks of the nineties. Granted, the Jets surprised many people with two consecutive successful seasons in a row, qualifying for the AFC Championship two seasons in a row, and upsetting big name teams in the playoffs along the way, including the Patriots, the Colts, the Chargers, and the Bengals - and all on the road, to boot! But they lost both of those AFC Championships, and the latter one after Ryan had predicted the Super Bowl. Still, Rex Ryan just knew his team was ready to take the next step. He boldly predicted the Super Bowl for his team in 2011. Instead, his team did not qualify for the playoffs. Ryan is still head coach of the Jets, and they are closer to being the worst team than the best one. At least he is no longer making predictions any more. He even admitted that his guarantees actually were not all that helpful for his team. Gee, you think? Most people think that his job is on the line this season, and if his Jets don't enjoy success this season, he will be a goner. Some people, myself included, think back to his big mouth over the years, then take a look at the Jets right now, and wonder why he isn't gone already.
Of course, this strand of arrogance seems to run in the family. Buddy Ryan made similar predictions. When he took over the head coaching spot for the Arizona Cardinals, he boldly proclaimed that they had a winner in town. Not much later, he left this position in relative disgrace, having failed to even get the Cardinals as far as a single playoff appearance.
Yet, these are hardly the exceptions. I remember Brett Favre talking about how the Packers were a dynasty back in 1997. True, they were the defending champions, after a truly great season in 1996. They looked great again in 1997, and at least one player on the team had mused in the preseason of a 16-0 season, after taking a look at the schedule. Their undefeated season lasted until week two. And yes, they did qualify for the Super Bowl, and looked like an emerging dynasty. But remember, they lost that Super Bowl, which they were heavy favorites for going in, and never again returned back to the big game under Bret Favre. Great quarterback though he may have been, that kind of arrogance put him in a position where he was ridiculed, and rightly so.
At least the Packers had gotten to a couple of Super Bowls, and even won one. More recently, another quarterback was talking the big talk. That would be Michael Vick, who always struck me as extremely overconfident and, frankly, classless. Just a couple of years ago, he claimed that the Eagles were on the verge of being a dynasty. Maybe he has amended that position, as the Eagles have, instead, become one of the worst teams in the league. Not only did they not make it to the Super Bowl under his watch, they did not even come close. Since he made that prediction, they have not so much as qualified for the playoffs. Some dynasty.
The owner of the expansion (at the time) Carolina Panthers predicted that his team would win the Super Bowl within their first ten years. They built a one-year team in 1996, and they did make it to the NFC Championship, losing to Bret Favre's Green Bay Packers. They were good once again in 2003, and made it all the way to the Super Bowl. They even made the Super Bowl fascinating, playing in one of the closest, and most intense, well played, and interesting Super Bowls of all time. But they eventually lost, 32-29. They have not made it back since, and the Panthers have not been around for almost two decades.
Ray Buchanan predicted that his Atlanta Falcons would defeat the heavily favored Denver Broncos, the AFC Champions and the defending NFL champs, in Super Bowl XXXIII. The Falcons instead got soundly routed in a 34-19 blowout loss that was not even as close as the score would indicate.
Raymond Clayborn, wide receiver for the New England Patriots during their 1985 Super Bowl run, guaranteed that his team would upset the mighty Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. The Bears were prohibitive favorites going into that game, having enjoyed a historically dominant season, so predicting a major upset would have proven memorable. But there's a reason no one remembers this guarantee, as the Patriots got crushed, 46-10, in what was then a record Super Bowl blowout.
In Super Bowl XXV, a member of the Buffalo Bills, the favorites going in, let it be known that he was having his ring finger measured for the inevitable championship ring. But the Giants narrowly eked out a win, 20-19. And the Bills reached the Super Bowl again, but firmly established a reputation for being unable to win one.
Jim Fassel, the coach of the next Giants team to qualify for the Super Bowl (XXV, in the 2000 season), saw his team get crushed to Baltimore. He had predicted that the Giants would qualify for the playoffs, following a horrible defeat that dropped the team to 7-4, and with the playoffs looking shaky. The Giants won their remaining games in the regular season, and then two playoff wins to qualify, before losing badly to the Ravens. But that did not stop him from putting the pressure on himself almost immediately, as he claimed that ten years would not pass before the Giants made the Super Bowl again. Technically, this was true, but it had nothing to do with Fassel, who was long gone as head coach of the Giants by then.
In tennis, infamous male chauvinist Bobby Riggins claimed that, although he was aged and his best days had been several decades beforehand, he could still beat the top women in tennis. A match was set up with the number one ranked woman, Billie Jean King, and Riggins assured everyone that he would win easily. Instead, he lost, and made a fool of himself in the process.
Yes, there are all sorts of bold predictions and guarantees that simply did not come true. It may work, at times. Maybe Namath really did know that his team was going to win. Maybe Ali knew. Surely, Ali used this cockiness constantly, and it was clearly a part of his overall strategy. And, in his case, it worked.
Messier perhaps knew, as well. So, too, maybe the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. After all, they had almost beaten those same Patriots just one month before the fateful Super Bowl loss that would ruin New England's dreams of a perfect season.
But more often than not, the predictions are from the Patrick Ewings, the Bret Favre's, and the Michael Vicks of the sports world.
It makes for interesting headlines, as journalists hungry for a big, flashy story jump on such occasions. And it is almost inevitable that someone makes such assertions, to boot. I think that there were promises of wins from members of both sides in each of the last few Super Bowls, which effectively means that they cancel one another out, right?
These predictions have grown so common, that they are tiresome.
But is it different when a man like Jerry Jones makes a prediction that his team is going to win the Super Bowl during the preseason? Because that is exactly what happened.
Yes, the Cowboys have been the third place tam in the NFC East for three years running now. They have not made the playoffs since 2009, and that one postseason win then was the first, and so far only, playoff win in the 21st century.
So, where does he get off making such a prediction?
Does he know something that we don't?
I won't get into my own predictions about the season, although admittedly, while I had the Cowboys winning the division, I simply did not see them beating the other top NFC teams. It's hard to see them anywhere near the site of the Super Bowl this season, other than when they go on the road to visit those Giants at Metlife Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be held..
And speaking of the Giants and predictions by Jerry Jones, he made a famous prediction last season, too. He urged fans to come over to watch the Cowboys kick the Giants ass. At the time, the Giants were the defending champs. And to the credit of Dallas, they did soundly beat the G-Men on opening day of the regular season, in a nationally televised game. But the Giants returned the favor later in the season in Dallas. So, his prediction came only partly true. And certainly, his fans in Dallas did not get to see their team kick the Giants asses, unless Jones meant for them to take a trip to the Meadowlands.
Still, that was last year. To make such a prediction, before the season even begins? You never know what is going to happen. Their could be injuries. The team could run into bad luck. And, frankly, it at least appears that there are better teams in the NFC, and in the NFL overall.
So, will Jones prediction propel the Cowboys to Super Bowl glory, and that in the home of the division rival Giants?
Perhaps. If so, Jones will look like a genius, and there will likely be some recognition of this, similar perhaps to Namath and Messier and Ali.
But if not? Especially if the Cowboys fall flat on their face again and fail to qualify for the playoffs?
Well, then, he will make a fool of himself. And although I do not want to share my opinion, I will admit that it at least seems this to be the most likely scenario.
Maybe, though, come February, I will have to eat crow. That's a long way off, though, and a lot can happen. In making such predictions, Jones, and many, many others before him, tended to overlook this. And sometimes, making such predictions came back to bite their team in the butt, and actually served, perhaps, to undermine their team's efforts and chances, rather than improve them. That's all I'm saying, and I stand by the idea that this is usually the case, no matter how the Jones prediction turns out.
Interestingly, Jones is not the only one already predicting ultimate Super Bowl success for his team. Von Miller of the Denver Broncos also has come out and claimed that they will win it all this year.
Well, we know at least one thing for sure: at least one of them has to wrong.
I used the following articles for some of the information used in this blog entry:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1625199-10-worst-sports-boasts-of-all-time/page/6
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=guarantees/071206
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3142456
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=kluck/040617
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/only-guarantee-more-guarantees-210000226--nfl.html
These following articles specifically address the prediction about winning the Super Bowl by Jerry Jones:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2013/08/12/jerry-jones-says-cowboys-are-winning-super-bowl/?wprss=rss_sports&clsrd
http://www.tmz.com/2013/08/12/jerry-jones-cowboys-super-bowl/
No comments:
Post a Comment