Nate’s 9: Favorite
Teams that aren’t my Teams
I don't think life would be very fun if we couldn't cheer for other teams every once in a while. By no means am I saying that you should cheer for your team's biggest rival, unless you are unaware of who that rival is (whoops). But there have definitely been some teams that I've really enjoyed throughout the years. These are the nine that I've enjoyed the most:
#9 – German
Football National Team (DFB) 2006-14. I had a conversation with a friend about
eight years ago (during 2006 World Cup) over the topic of the German national
team and why they were so successful, even though they really didn’t have that
many good players. My argument was, they
are good, they just don’t get any recognition, because the Arsenal’s and
Manchester United’s of the world never pay for them. I’m not sure why. They have a factory of good players. In fact, I had made a prediction that they
were going to win the 2006 World Cup even though I agreed that France
probably had the world’s best team back then, and the Brazilians were probably
second. What I will say is that I didn’t
see Italy
winning the World Cup, especially after their league fiasco. In any case, it
was the year 2000 when I officially fell in love with the German national team,
but like most Germans I thought there wasn’t something quite right with the
squad. I don’t know if it was the result
of the East meets West generation or what, but when I watched them at the 2000
European Championships in Belgium,
I came away rightly disenchanted by them.
They scored 1 goal in 3 games in a group that they were probably
supposed to win, and their team looked old and dispassionate. Guys like Mehmet Scholl, Lothar Matthaus and
Thomas Hassler had hit their end, and weren’t going to have much of an impact
during the rest of their careers. I was caught unawares that this performance became the part of one of the most special sides
in recent soccer history. I guess that
soon after their lackluster performance, the German FA (DFB as well) decided enough was
enough and encouraged clubs to spend money and overhaul the youth system as
opposed to the expense of signing foreigners.
While German football took a pretty big hit for a number of years (after
Leverkusen appeared in the 2002 Champions League Final it was 8 years before
Bayern made it back for the German clubs), they were slowly developing what I now believe is the greatest national team in the world. They finished 3rd in the 2006 and
2010 World Cups. They were runner up at the 2008 Euro Championships. Fun and exciting players like Miroslav Klose,
Mesut Özil, Marco Reus and Philip Lahm are giving the national team an
identity; a counter-attacking side that pressures the ball non-stop for 90
minutes. And there are ‘factories’ more
of good players coming through.
#8 – Philadelphia
Flyers 1996-2000. During my most impressionable years, Minnesota
did not have a hockey team. I didn’t
think that was fair considering all the time my friends and I spent playing NHLPA 93
and the like. I dabbled with the Chicago
Blackhawks for a bit, enjoyed some of those Vancouver Canucks teams... (Or just
Pavel Bure). But when this big, bad,
bruising hockey team started to develop in the mid 90’s, I had to give them my
undivided attention. In fact, I think it
was the day they traded for Paul Coffey.
They already had a pretty decent team.
Especially in defense. Guys like Eric
Desjardins, Chris Therien and Petr Svoboda.
Ron Hextall was still in goal, and he was a BAD-ASS! I don’t think any
players messed with him, because they were afraid. But for me it started up top. I think my favorite player in the league was
John LeClair, and my second favorite player was Eric Lindros. They had the Osseo graduate Trent Klatt, the Elk
River graduate Joel Otto, Rod Brind’Amour etc, etc. I still liked
them even when Hextall left, and Vanbiesbrouck came into the fold. But it was two trades late into this era that
set them apart from every other hockey team that I’ve enjoyed watching and
cheering for. The separate trades for
Mark Recchi and Keith Primeau. Bring in the 19 year old Simon Gagne into the
mix, and I still think this team failed by not bringing home the Stanley Cup
trophy. Still to this day, this is
probably the team that was tailor made for everything I enjoy about
hockey. An intense, physical group that
just wears down opponents and eventually beats them into submission.
#7 – Los
Angeles Raiders 1986-88. Before I wholly embraced the Green Bay Packers
as my heart and soul of the NFL, I liked the Raiders. Well, specifically 5
Raiders anyway. But it was enough to the
point that I really only played the first Tecmo Bowl with one team, and I
always looked for them on the television when I was a youngster. They were: Marcus Allen, Tim Brown, Willie
Gault, Mike Haynes and Bo Jackson. What upset me was I could never use Tim
Brown as a receiver on Tecmo Bowl; he was only available as a return man. For whatever reason, they only gave the
Raiders 1 WR to play with and that was Willie Gault. This team wasn’t that great in real life and
never made the playoffs while I watched them.
My only strong memory that I still have is Bo’s 92 yard run against the
Cincinnati Bengals when I was sitting in my living room, going crazy. He hit the edge, and bam! The fastest run I’ve still seen to this
day. Bo was one of the greatest.
#6 – Houston
Rockets 1994-96. I still think it’s the
greatest collection of chemistry in NBA history. While I think that the Chicago Bulls are
probably the best team of my generation, you could see a little bit of us
versus them in that squad, specifically with Jordan’s
camp and Kukoc’s camp. It didn’t really
take away from the team though, those western conference teams were great, and
none of them really challenged the Bulls for the title. This Rockets team probably could have though
if the timing was right. Every player on
this team had a distinguished role, and the most impressive part was they never
really deviated from those responsibilities. Hakeem Olajuwon sat in the post,
and was the leader of the franchise. You
never saw him taking threes, he never brought the ball up court, and he just
sat down low and used his array of skills to score baskets. Robert Horry was their starting power
forward and played second fiddle to Hakeem, but played out in the perimeter a
little more, which benefited his game and Hakeem’s as well. Clyde Drexler and Mario Elie shared heavy
minutes at the 3 spot and while Drexler’s gifts were on the offensive end, Elie
could shore up things defensively.
Vernon Maxwell was an underrated 2, although he started to play himself
off the team at this time. I remember
him always being temperamental, but when he was focused he held his own with
the best. Sam Cassell and Kenny Smith
shared the point guard duties, and while Smith was more conservative and got
the team to play calm during pressure situations, Cassell played more balls to
the walls and up-tempo. It really was one
of the better NBA teams that I can remember, and one that never really dealt
with any kind of locker room issues, outside of Maxwell’s behavioral concerns. It’s a shame it never worked out with Charles
Barkley joining the squad, but they ran into a team that had a similar style of chemistry plus maybe a pinch of more talent, and the Jazz would appear in back-to-back finals down the
road.
#5 – The U 2000-02. While I wasn’t
too young to remember the loud, brazen Hurricanes of the early 90’s, I was more
a fan of the quiet, unassuming Washington Huskies of that time. I thought they were doing things the right
way, winning and being quiet about it.
When I came back from Europe in 2000, I realized
that it shouldn’t matter what the team’s persona was like, because every
environment can be a stepping stone toward prominence. These ‘Canes were the
first team that I embraced that played with a different style. And what a team. I still think it’s probably the greatest
collection of talent in NCAA history, at least in the modern era (post 70’s). Their third string running back was Frank
Gore for goodness sakes. While many
could see that Ken Dorsey wasn’t the most talented guy, he knew what it took to
win games, and he just put the ball in the hands of his playmakers, of which
there were many. Clinton Portis, Willis
McGahee, Gore, Najeh Davenport, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow Jr, Andre
Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, Devin Hester and on and on. I thought they were better
defensively. There’s no doubt in my mind
that the secondary is the greatest, during certain times they were able to
utilize Ed Reed, Philip Buchanon, Mike Rumph, Sean Taylor, Kelly Jennings and
Antrel Rolle. All first round
selections. For as good as some of these
Alabama, LSU and Auburn teams have been recently, none could put up the talent
to the NFL that this team did. I haven’t
even touched on the interior, and I shan’t.
I’ll just leave you with a few of these that I remember from over the
years... 52-6, 33-7, 61-0, 49-27 @ Tallahassee, 59-0, 65-7 (both against ranked
teams), 37-14 (for the title), and 41-16 (at the Swamp). Just a handful of games against my beloved
Nittany Lions, Florida State, Florida, Syracuse, Vick’s Tech, and a couple of
other impressive opponents back at the beginning of the century. Good stuff.
#4 –
Arsenal 1998-2000. The 1997-98 was the first season I really started to get
interested in European football, most likely the result of purchasing the game
FIFA and the France World Cup coming up around the corner. At the time I had no inkling of who to cheer
for, or even how the game was played specifically. Someone at school that was well-versed in
soccer told me that if I was going to watch England,
the star teams were Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester
United and Newcastle. The first game I watched was Manchester
United vs. Sheffield Wednesday, and I decided that if
they won, that would be my team (They did).
However, looking back, I really enjoyed that Arsenal squad, and until I
went to Europe to learn that it’s like cheering for the
Lakers and the Celtics, was pleased to see Arsenal get positive results. That first year it seemed like that’s all
they did. I think every time I turned on
Fox Sports World, Arsenal won a match.
And why wouldn’t they? They had a
great collection of talent including the best English GK I’ve still seen to
this day, David Seaman. Marc Overmars
become my first favorite soccer play, and my e-mail address to this day is
still overmars_wu. This is tough to
admit, but while I was in London, I
may or may not have purchased a Marc Overmars Arsenal jersey. Confusing, considering that I could have put
2+2 together and bought a Dutch Overmars jersey instead. Lesson learned. Patrick Vieira, Ray Parlour and Emmanuel
Petit were still a group of midfielders that I believe to be just as talented
as the three that manned United’s midfield: Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Roy
Keane. It wasn’t until I spent a year in
Europe that I realized that Arsenal was not allowed to
be my second favorite club, and as if to prove a point, they decided to sell
Marc Overmars to Barcelona that
same week. I’ve been United thoroughly
ever since, but I still have a bit of a soft spot for that talented Arsenal
squad that turned it up at the end of the last century.
#3 – Seattle
Mariners 1991-96. While baseball has
always been my least favorite of the now ‘5 big sports’, there was a time when
I really enjoyed sitting down with my baseball cards and dreaming up of fantasy
teams and scheming trades. My friend
Joey and I used to generate lineups of our favorite players and create a score
sheet using dice, and seeing which one of our ‘fantasy’ teams would win it
all. While I liked the Twins, and I was
pleased when they won the World Series that fall, I really liked the collection
of all-star talent that the Mariners had put together. Jay Buhner, Tino Martinez, Edgar Martinez,
Harold Reynolds, Omar Vizquel, Randy Johnson, Ken Sr, and Ken Jr were all a
part of this up-and-coming franchise.
1991 was the first season that the club had a winning record in
franchise history (thank you baseball-reference). When we created our teams I would say that
50% of my team came from this group of players, and I always used Randy Johnson
as my starting pitcher (Rick Aguilera was my closer). I know this team never won a World Series,
and that it got dismantled rather quickly (probably too soon in my opinion),
but while these guys were together the Mariners not only had a chance to get to
the Series, but they probably missed the chance to become the dynasty that the
Braves and Yankees decided to grow into instead.
#2 – Real Madrid 2002-03.
This team really should be number one.
For all the great teams that I’ve had the privilege to watch and be
entertained by over the years, the collection of individual talent that Madrid
put together these two seasons probably hasn’t been replicated since. They signed one player in 2001 and that was
Zinedine Zidane. He led them to a
Champions League title. They signed one
player in 2002 and that was Ronaldo. The
‘fat’ one. While he couldn’t quite led
them back to the Champions League final, he played and scored a hat trick in
what was one of the greatest individual performances in Champions League
history (the game at Old Trafford). The
reason that I loved this team so much though is because they were the Porsche
and the Ford F-350 together as one. They
had the flair and exciting players in Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Raul,
Morientes, Roberto Carlos, and Guti. But it was the engine that I truly
enjoyed. The guys like Fernando Hierro,
Claude Makelele, Flavio Conceiçáo, Ivan Helguera, Iker Casillas and Michel Salgado. All of those guys worked hard, and for the
good of the team. In fact, after Perez
sold Makelele and had managers stop playing Helguera did the team fall apart
and just look like a pretty toy (with Beckham of all people). Yet, when this line-up was at full strength,
and everybody on form, I think they are still one of the best sides ever pieced
together in world sports. (To be fair,
this wonderfully put together squad finished 3rd in La Liga, and
runners-up in the Copa Del Rey. But
their hearts were only set on getting the one trophy. And that one they got.)
#1 – Saint Louis
Rams 1999-2001. I’m still obsessed with
this group of players. Proof? I own a
Rams beanie hat, I have Marshall Faulk’s, Torry Holt’s, and Isaac Bruce’s Rams
jerseys, I still wish that Mike Martz would become the Packers offensive
coordinator, and I don’t get sad whenever the Rams beat the Packers. I still know about 75% of this era’s roster,
and the names Dre Bly and Dexter McCleon will never be forgotten. I just really took to this football
team. I’m not sure why. I was in Germany
when the team started to develop into the offensive powerhouse that it became
during their super bowl years. I didn’t even know that Kurt Warner had taken
over from Trent Green until I saw that the Rams had the best record in the NFL
at a certain point. My phone
conversations with my dad and the Sports Illustrated issues were the only
updates I could get while I was over there, because my first host family didn’t
have the internet. Yet, they engulfed my
passion for some reason, and they still haven’t let go and here we are some
fourteen years later. While they’re
known for their offensive talent, it’s the defense that I thought gave this
team their identity that allowed for them to make it to two Super Bowls in
three seasons. They gave up a fair
amount of points and yardage, but I think that was a result more of teams
trying to keep up, than for the lack of talent or execution that the Rams may
have had. They generated a lot of
turnovers, and made plays at crucial points throughout the three seasons. (Fun statistic: They led the NFL in rushing defense and sacks
during their title season – look it up).
They also of course led the NFL in points scored, passing yards and
total yards as well. Their front four of
Grant Wistrom, Kevin Carter, D’Marco Farr and Ray Agnew were very underrated
and one of the reasons why they got to the Super Bowl only scoring 11 points in
the NFC Championship game. But, yes, let’s
talk about the offense. We are all very
familiar with Warner. Marshall Faulk was
one of the NFL’s best, and hell for all you Big Ten fans, you’re familiar with
Illini running back Robert Holcombe. He
was the lead blocker for the great Faulk.
The group of wide receivers is probably one of the deepest in NFL
history as Tony Horne was their fifth guy.
Ricky Proehl was their third, and Az-Zahir was the #4. The offensive line finally came together to
forge one of the great ones of the last generation, and Orlando Pace and Adam
Timmerman were both all-Pros. In any
sense, I wasn’t mad when this team won the Super Bowl, in fact while sitting in
my German family’s living room at about 4 in the morning, I was in awe. Tennessee
put together a nasty performance, and it looked like things were going to go
their way until two events. One, Warner
to Bruce. Two, Mike Jones at the
one. While Tom Brady kept this team from
truly being considered one of the greats, it sure was a fun and exciting team
to watch. In reality, it was my favorite
one.
