A Long Road To The Be The Champs
- Stephen Salazar
- Jun 15
- 5 min read
A championship is something all athletes strive for. Whether it’s Little League Baseball in Williamsport, the NFL, the NBA, or the NHL, every player on your team (at least I’d hope) wants that trophy in their hands. Watch out for the youngsters, though; their parents want it just as bad, if not more, than the kids. But that’s a whole different issue.
Recently we’ve had two new champs crowned. The New York Knicks brought home the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy (congrats KAT, but I also kinda hate you), and the Carolina Hurricanes brought home the Stanley Cup. Congrats to both teams!
Over the years watching these two sports’ playoff formats, I can’t help but think about how difficult winning it all must be. Going through game after game, with little to no rest in between. Round after round, seven-game series. The beatings you take, the wear on your body. I couldn’t imagine what it feels like to compete at that high of a level that consistently for that amount of time. Yet here I am yelling at the screen, asking the players, “Why the hell aren’t you sprinting down the court?” My family doesn’t like that too much, so I tend to get yelled
Let’s look at the paths for the new champs.
Carolina had it pretty easy the first couple of rounds as they completed the sweep of both Ottawa and Philadelphia. Still, that is eight games into the playoffs, typically with 3-4 days off in between each game. The next couple of series are when things started to get a little more interesting for the Canes. Montreal gave Carolina a good fight in the first three games. They won game one but lost in overtime the next two games. After that, Carolina cruised to the Stanley Cup Finals. The finals proved to be the biggest challenge for the champs, as the Vegas Golden Knights gave Carolina all they could handle. The teams traded blows as the series went back and forth, including two back-to-back overtime games. One of which went to double OT. The games weren’t blowouts either. Aside from the clinching win, the games were decided by one or two goals. Tough-fought games make for some tired players. These games were basically every other day. All in all, it took the Hurricanes 19 games to win the cup.
The Knicks were the opposite. After a slow start to the postseason, they turned it up and did not allow anyone to deny their hopes of a championship this season. The first series against the Atlanta Hawks proved to be the biggest challenge for New York, going six games. Like I said before, after that the Knicks said: “enough is enough, I’ve had it with these player hatin’ fools, tryin’ to bring us down” (in my best Samuel L. Jackson voice). They went on to sweep, ironically, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers to reach the Finals. Once in the finals, the San Antonio Spurs were able to get a win in game three, but that was it from them. Now, it’s not to say the Spurs didn’t put up a fight. Every game was a single-digit loss, except Game One, which they lost by 10. The funny part is, the Knicks also played 19 games.
There can be an argument against this, saying they play just as many games in the regular season, over the same amount of time. Especially with baseball. A grueling 162-game season leads up to the playoffs. But, the way I see it, you aren’t playing the best of the best every night. You may play a team that is not so good, then another, then a great team, then back to a struggling team. It’s easy to say the timing is the same, but the quality of play and effort may not be.
Number of possible games in the post season by sport:
NBA – 28 (29 if you are in the play-in)
NHL – 28
MLB – 22
MLS – 7
NFL – 4
If we made our vote strictly based on how many games there are, the NBA and NHL would be the hardest. However, there are many other things that can play a factor in this. Who moves the most? Who takes the biggest physical beating? Who has the biggest mental challenge? Let's look at some of these other stats.
Average movement by player:
NFL - 1-3.5 miles a game (position based)
NHL - 2-3 miles a game
NBA - 2-3 miles a game
MLB - 1-1.5 miles a game
MLS - 6-6.5 miles a game
If we look at this.. clearly futbol (soccer) is the most demanding sport. Running around does take a lot out of you. Doing that for months at a time can really have a toll on you. Then pushing through to a postseason, the running never stops!
Another thing to consider is the physicality of the sport. The NHL and NFL would have the advantage in this category. Running through a defender to get the first down or taking down a charging forward with a nasty hip check. We won't mention the fighting in hockey since it's not an every-game thing. I'll let you be the judge on what sport is more physical. Personally, I'd say football has a small edge.
The season doesn’t end with the final buzzer of your last regular season game; it is just starting. Another grueling couple of months, grinding it out every day. But that’s the sacrifice you must make if you want to be able to call yourself a champion. Hard work, determination, and playing through the toughest parts is what takes you above and beyond. No matter how tired you are, just keep driving.
One last thought.
New York fans need to calm the heck down. I get it, winning a championship is great! Especially after 53 years, but do you really have to tear your city apart? Smashing school buses, stomping out cop cars, and vandalizing the streets doesn’t seem like a good idea. Not to mention the legal side of things. It’s crazy when a player from the other team can’t even walk into the team hotel without being assaulted. I wonder how many of these people are true fans. I’m about as passionate as they come when talking about the teams I follow, but I don’t think I would be running the streets, destroying random stuff, bringing down your city. It makes you look bad; it’s not cool. I promise you that. Nobody wants to see you being an idiot. Respect the game, respect your team, respect your city. Celebrate and have fun. But you don’t have to be dumb about it.
Congrats to the New York Knicks and Carolina Hurricanes!
Which sport has the hardest path to the championship?
MLB
NHL
NBA
MLS
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