Go back to September 27 at about 12 pm Pacific time. I was full of optimism. The 49ers were beating Minnesota in a hostile environment about to improve their record to 3-0 with the Rams coming up the week after. A Dre Bly dropped interception and a Brett Farve hail mary later, the Niners were set into a spiral and have lost five of six. That was the same weekend the Giants dropped 3 of 4 to the Cubs and were essentially knocked out of the playoff race. Soon after, Stephen Jackson wants out and Bay Area fans are once again reliant on the Sharks to put the other Bay Area franchises on their back and win a title for the Bay Area. And we here don't dig hockey. Sorry Sharkies.
It's easy to point out the details of what happened. Giants couldn't hit. Niners can't protect the quarterback. The Dubs' front office couldn't effectively manage a college dining hall. What I'm wondering is why. What's the big picture? Why don't we demand the excellence like that of the Steelers or Yankees or Pats or Celtics or Bulls? Why can't Bay Area teams compete in an era where the salary cap was instituted in 3 of the 4 major sports (yes the NHL is one of them) to seemingly make it easier for a San Francisco team to compete against one from New York? After living on both coasts and observing for a little bit, I think I found the big picture answer.
Nothing against 20 degree weather, but the Bay Area is one of the nicest places to live in all the world. We can play our sports all year round. Yes, we are more athletic (no offense). To back it up, most US summer Olympians come from the West Coast. That being said, Bay Area fans relate more to the players. We know how hard it is to compete at the professional level because we played all those sports growing up. When someone needs to come under criticism, it's Bruce Bochy for rolling out that terrible lineup, or Jimmy Raye for not passing on 2nd down to make 3rd and short easier to convert, or Don Nelson for not getting Anthony Morrow more shots. We are geared to criticize as if we are seeing from the eyes of the player. Not the wrong response, but certainly flawed.
On the East Coast, people (from what I've seen) rely on the media to help out their thought process (which is why Barry Bonds get the bad rap out there...another topic for another day). They think like a columnist asking questions like what were the Bulls thinking giving Ben Wallace that contract? Or go get CC Sabathia. We need starting pitching. It's critiquing the front office. It's second-guessing Theo Epstein, even though he is a genius. It's calling for Isiah Thomas' (the GM) head for the make-up of a street ball team. Not to say that everyone on the East Coast thinks like that, but more of that does go on.
And it doesn't happen enough out here. That's why Tim Kawakami's blog post might be the most important revelation in this stupid blog/tweet era. (http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2009/11/10/why-im-tough-on-bay-area-sports-executives-owners-and-coaches-more-than-players/#comment-152755) I have never liked his rashness or writing style for that manner, but this is a must-read. East Coast people in general are programmed to think like Kawakami. We on the West Coast aren't.
So we are stuck with teams like the Niners who have had 4 offensive coordinators in the past 4 years. The Warriors who have incompetent owners who try to sugar-coat everything to the public. And ultimately worse, West Coast media that think like the fans out here, and curtail their topics to how we think in order to keep their jobs. Every journalist out there on the East Coast is like Kawakami or Damon Bruce who are not afraid to mix things up and talk about the mission of the front office. They introduce topics including, why is the Giants' goal every year is to be competitive for a playoff berth? Shouldn't it be for a ring? Why did Robert Rowell sign Stephen Jackson to a multi-year extension when any other NBA executive wouldn't have done that? Other journalists out here consider that a sensitive issue and just laugh it up when a fan brings it up.
The problem is, that is the most important issue in this day and age. (Salary cap, hard vs. soft, other boring explanations.) Management of player personnel has never been more difficult, but in some ways it's easier to field a championship-contending team year after year if you have the right people in charge, and Bay Area teams simply do not (jury is still out on Jed York). It's time for a change. A change in culture. A change how we (the fans and the media) think. A change in winning. I want a damn championship. In any sport other than Arena football. Please. Get 'er done for my sanity's sake.
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