The lackluster NBA Finals series between LeBron James’ grossly
outmatched Cleveland Cavaliers and Tim Duncan’s methodical San
Antonio Spurs is of little interest to a
”
We Believe
”
sports crowd, fortunately the A’s and Giants are filling the
void.
The lackluster NBA Finals series between LeBron James’ grossly outmatched Cleveland Cavaliers and Tim Duncan’s methodical San Antonio Spurs is of little interest to a “We Believe” sports crowd, fortunately the A’s and Giants are filling the void.
For many in the Bay Area, the NBA and NHL seasons were over as soon as the Warriors and Sharks were knocked out of the playoffs.
The bittersweet 2007 playoff performances from Golden State and San Jose left the Bay Area sports community with a taste of victory, but an unsatisfied stomach, and a hungry-eye looking toward San Francisco.
Last weekend’s interleague series between the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants, with the sub-plot of Barry Bonds chasing home-run history, served as an appetizer to what is sure to become a feast of season.
By sweeping the Giants, the A’s once again proved their youth and vitality in the realm of professional baseball, and established themselves as a dominant team in the American League West.
With a seemingly always injury-riddled team, one of the tightest budgets in the major league baseball, and an ever-revolving cast of up-and-comers, the A’s have exemplified what it means to be THE underdog of professional sports.
The A’s might not sell out every game as the Giants do, they might not receive the national exposure that the Giants do, and they definitely don’t have a “superstar” as the Giants have in Bonds, but the recent series with the Giants gives the Bay Area something to look forward to as we speed into the summer. And that something is quality baseball.
It is inevitable that Bonds will break Hank Aaron’s all time-home run record among fan speculation and media controversy, but quietly, across the Bay and away from the fog, the A’s are slowly creeping back into contention in the AL West.
The A’s’ sweep of their National League rivals across the Bay has re-invigorated the interest in a championship-starved market, and like him or not, Bonds has brought the Bay Area to the center of the baseball world’s attention.
The timing is perfect as schools are letting out for the summer and youth baseball is reaching it’s peak, but after Bonds claims the title of Home Run King, the A’s will need to continue their winning ways to keep the Bay Area in the spotlight.
Pro-baseball fans and sports enthusiasts alike are geared up for a summer that is sure to be exciting, and while it is still fairly early in the season, I would like to pose a few questions to the loca sports community:
Will the A’s make a playoff run as the usually do?
Can Barry Bonds look beyond breaking the all-time home-run record and dig the Giants out of last place? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Paul Doherty is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers.
Contact him at pd******@**********rs.com.
