It’s winning time in Bay Area sports
Could it get much better if you’re a Bay Area sports fan? Well, yes, it could with a couple of titles, but there’s already plenty to celebrate.
Led by the miraculous Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors have a chance to repeat as NBA champions – starting Thursday in a rematch against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers – after digging out of a 3-1 hole in the series and defeating Oklahoma City in Game 7 on Monday night.
The San Jose Sharks are in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time ever, and after losing Game 1 Monday, hope to even their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
The San Francisco Giants are in first place in the National League West, and since this is an even-numbered year, they’re surely bound to win the World Series again.
Even the Oakland Raiders are trending up, after years of mediocrity. (We won’t mention the dysfunctional 49ers, though they do have a nice new stadium in Santa Clara.)
Bay Area fans should enjoy the success while they can. You never know when it will come again.
Just ask long-suffering fans in places like Cleveland, where none of the major pro teams has won a title since 1964. Or ask fans in Sacramento.
Republic FC is scoring goals and winning again, but the River Cats are in last place in their division. And then there are the lowly Kings.
It’s a good thing there are plenty of Warriors fans in Sacramento because we have to live vicariously. The Kings haven’t sniffed the playoffs in 10 years.
Hope, however, springs eternal. Just maybe Dave Joerger, the new head coach – the third in three seasons – will somehow bond with mercurial star DeMarcus Cousins and maybe the team will actually make a smart pick in the NBA draft on June 23.
Meanwhile, we must look farther afield to cheer for winners. Former UFC champion Urijah Faber of Sacramento has a title fight Saturday night in Inglewood. And on Sunday, Alexander Rossi of Nevada City improbably won the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 in his first race on one of auto racing’s iconic tracks. We’ll happily ignore that he moved to Europe when he was 16 to learn his craft and just returned to America this year.
This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "It’s winning time in Bay Area sports."