| Wild Wild West
By Patryk Fournier August 25th, 2003 |
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East vs. West: No it's not another rap battle of the coasts. Although if we are discussing the topic 2Pac, Snoop and Dre win in a landslide over Biggie and P.Diddy. I'm talking about the dominance the Western Conferences has in both the NBA and NHL over their rival East Coasters. But why? What has happened to all the great teams from the East that were renowned for their grittier style and win at any costs mentality? The West has always been known as a place where offense reigns supreme and the game is more about finesse. That model holds true today as it did over 20 years ago. Today the NHL Western Conference is full of run-n-gun hockey with the likes of Colorado, Detroit and Vancouver to name a few. Back in the 80's the Oilers and Flames lit up scoreboards in the West. The NBA has plenty of Western high-powered offensive teams with the Kings, Lakers and Mavericks ranking as the top three. In the 80's the NBA got workman-like, gritty efforts from Eastern Conference powers Detroit and Boston. Today's NBA still has gritty performances coming from the east but to a less successful and much lesser extent from teams like the Allen Iverson led Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons. The NHL's Eastern Conference still employs a gritty style of play led by the New Jersey Devils. The model is still followed by teams like the Flyers, Islanders and Leafs. There are always exceptions to the rule and the Ottawa Senators are it as they employ much more of a Western Conference style of play. So what gives? Why is the Western Conference so much stronger these days? Yes, I know the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup but you can't argue with the fact that Western Conference boasts a far more impressive collection of good teams with the likes of Detroit, Colorado, Dallas, Vancouver and St. Louis. That's not even mentioning the Stanley Cup finalist Mighty Ducks. Same argument for the NBA; the West is far more dominant. There's not a single team that can even hang with the likes of the best in the Western Conference. Simply put, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Dallas and San Antonio reign supreme over the best the East can offer.
So what creates this extreme divide in styles of play? Well, basically these teams mirror the geographic differences of the two coasts. Although these leagues both operate indoors, the weather and social conditions outside the arenas define the mentality and mental toughness of the teams. The NHL and NBA season are conducted for the most part almost entirely in the winter. In some parts of the East Coast winter is a six-month season. The harsher winters toughen up the East Coasters. Living through tough winters season after season is like hitting the bars a couple times a week. The more you go through it, the more tolerance you build.
On the other side of things the West Coast is like a sunny resort. The weather is much warmer, things are a little more laid back and easy going. That mentality translates to the on-ice/court product. The play takes on more of an entertainment form rather than the blue-collar workman like effort displayed on the East Coast. The 1980's Lakers were the perfect epitome of what West Coast sports is all about; Showtime. Even fans' expectations differ on the two coasts. On the West Coast if you can't win, fans at least expect you to put on a show. On the East Coast the sentiment differs. If you can't win, the fans expect you to at least display a strong effort. Both coasts have had their glorious moments but the Western Conference is clearly in vogue. I mean there are just too few competitors in the Eastern Conference to make this a worthwhile argument. To say the East is competitive is like saying McDonald's Pizza, Kwame Brown, and Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football were worthwhile ventures. Plus there's something about the West Coast that makes it seem so interesting for East Coasters like myself. I mean we all go to sleep forgetting about the late West Coast games, we catch the highlights the next day and they all seem improbable, like they're some sort of bonus footage from a parallel universe. Seeing something incredible on West Coast highlights is a given. It's a given in that same way that you flash your lights to oncoming cars to warn them of the upcoming speed trap set up by the police.
The Western Conference's dominance over the East will eventually end. I mean sports always go through cycles. To win in today's sports world you need money and that money train eventually dries up after a few years. The San Jose Sharks are a perfect example of this; they continued to improve year after year until they reached a point of serious contention. When that championship failed to arrive, the Sharks had to start the whole process over again with young prospects. See, each team has a small window of opportunity for championship. After that point it becomes too costly to try and keep the team together. The Ottawa Senators are a team that is headed for some tough decisions in the next few years. As their prospects and young players mature and develop, their contract demands and market value will escalade to the point where Sens will have to let them go and start the cycle over again with younger players. Teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons and especially the Chicago Bulls have had or are going through a clean slate approach of rebuilding. All these teams had successful championship years in the 80's or 90's and are in the process of starting to build successful teams again. So in a few years time when the West has had their fill of championships and is in rebuilding mode, don't be surprised or question the East's dominance. |
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