BnB
The NFL really screws up this whole “Hosting Championships” quirk, with its neutral site rules. It takes the prestige away a bit, especially considering how much the 49ers have become the NFL’s Osbournes, but even so, no one in the Bay Area will tell you that having the Super Bowl around didn’t affect the city. More than any other championship, hosting the Super Bowl provides events for the city, so it’s worth noting.
Of course, trying to have a region host even three of the four championships is also hard because of the Super Bowl. 17 Super Bowls have been hosted in Tampa, San Diego and New Orleans, cities with at most two pro sports teams. And much of Miami’s 11 hosting years were in years before the Heat, Marlins and Panthers showed up.
The only region to host three of the four major sports championships in a calendar year? New York, of course, in 2003. And it’s really New York-ish, because New Jersey hosted the Stanley Cup Finals and NBA Finals, while New York City hosted the World Series. The region did come away with the Stanley Cup for the Devils, but the Yankees lost to the Marlins and the Nets lost to the Spurs.
My research did find two other years regions had three teams in championships. 1971 was a good year for Baltimore. They hosted the World Series (lost to Pittsburgh) and the NBA finals (Swept by Milwaukee), and won the Super Bowl against Dallas (though it was played in Miami).
2001 was a year for sports in the Big Apple-ish area as well. The New York Giants played in the Super Bowl (lost to Baltimore, played in Tampa), the Devils lost their shot at the cup to the Colorado Avalanche, and the Yankees lost to the Diamondbacks in the World Series.
Clearly, it’s tough for regions that had multiple teams in championship positions to come away with wins. The Bay Area may be 0-for-3 in championships, though we are 3-for-3 in parties. Say what you will, at least sports bars have had a great year.
Now, I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves for the World Series. Even Year Bull aside, I’ll just say this: The Giants are in a great position to get into the playoffs and look like a strong team, even with the injuries. I do not think it’s overly cocky to consider the Giants World Series contenders.
Parties are better in October, anyway.
