Why super teams kill the fun in the sports
I’ve been a sports fan for many years, but the one thing that bothers the heck out of me when it comes to professional sports is “super teams.”
The definition of a “super team”: A team of All-Stars that was put together through free agency. Normally contains at least three All-Stars.
The most common practice of forming super teams is in the NBA, and living near San Antonio in Spurs country, I understand the dislike for super teams among sports fans.
Sports fans will point to the LeBron James/Chris Bosch/Dwayne Wade Miami Heat super team as having started the trend. Sure they were the most famous, but not the first.
The 2007-08 Boston Celtics formed the very first super team with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garrnett and Ray Allen, but only managed to get one championship.
Super teams have killed the fun of the sports in my opinion; there is no team building from the draft anymore. No player wants to commit to one team, but instead wants to get a chance at a ring with super teams.
This is why I have a lot of respect for the Spurs and the Golden State Warriors (pre-Kevin Durant and post-KD). They at least drafted their All-Stars, instead trading away future draft picks to bring in superstars from other teams.
If you take a look back in the past sports dynasties, they all drafted their players and signed key players to win.
One of the biggest examples I can think of is the infamous Herschel Walker trade that kicked off the Dallas Cowboys dynasty in the early 1990s.
The Minnesota Vikings traded away four players, three picks in the 1990 draft, two picks in the 1991 draft, and three picks from the 1992 draft just to get Walker.
The Cowboys would build a championship team around Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, and with their 17th pick from 1990, they drafted all-time rushing leader and Hall of Fame running back Emmit Smith, and the rest was history.
In 1992, the Cowboys would draft All-Pro cornerback Darren Woodson with the 37th pick; he played with Dallas for 12 seasons and retired in 2004.
With the many picks they got from the trade, they built a dynasty and won three Super Bowls (1993, 1994 and 1996), but could have had more if Jimmy Johnson didn’t leave after the 1992 season.
There are no easy ways to get a championship; it takes time, the right draft picks, signings and patience for teams to get to a title, not an All-Star recruiting more All-Stars to get an easy ring.
Comments