Worst Team in the Bay Area

This week, I have seen two articles about how pathetic two of the bay area teams have become: The first is about the Raiders and the second diagnoses the current disaster that is the Warriors.

I'm a San Francisco Bay Area kid, born and raised. During my time there, I have been fortunate enough to watch the Raiders win two Super Bowls (plus one when they were on loan to L.A.), the Warriors win a World Championship (1975 was a long time ago), and the A's win 4 World Series (though it easily could have been 6 if not for Canseco's 'roid meltdown). This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Once one of your childhood favorite teams wins a championship, you are scr*wed. You can move 3 time zones away, and no matter what, no matter how much your teams s*ck for how many years, you are stuck rooting for them for the rest of your life. My wife just cannot understand why I don't give up on the Raiders and start rooting for a good midwest team like the Bears. (Note, I left the Bay Area before the Sharks came to town, so I am free to support the Avs.)

The fate of a professional franchise, much like the fate of any corporation, usually rests on crucial decisions that are made by the management team. For example, the hiring of Bill Walsh put the 49ers, who had been the worst team in football for a decade, on the path to one of the best stretch runs in the history of the NFL. Likewise, the hiring of John Madden got the Raiders to their first Lombardi Trophy. The Raiders and the Warriors since the mid-'80's have had terrible records, with brief periods of hope, largely due to successions of poor decisions.

At Golden State, the demise started in 1976, when they traded Jamaal Wilkes to the Lakers for Bob Abernathy, nice shooter, couldn't block out my grandmother. They followed that move up with:

- Trading two hall of famers, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale for Joe Barry Carroll

- Drafting Russell Cross

- Drafting Chris Washburn

- Trading World B. Free to Cleveland for Ron Brewer

- Trading Bernard King to New York for that coke-head Michael Ray Richardson

- Trading Penny Hardaway and 3 #1 draft choices for Chris Webber (massive head case with a dope arrest in DC, and couldn't figure out why the cop was arresting him)

- Siding with Don Nelson over Webber and losing both by the end of the season.

- Trading Webber for Tom Gugliotta (jumps like a brother shoots like your mother)

- Trading Gugliotta for some idiot who I think is still soaking up a paycheck from somebody

- Trading Vince Carter (10 time all-star) and cash for Antawn (pronounced Antoinne) Jamison (2 time All-Star)

- Giving A. Jamison a max deal then having to dump him for peanuts

- Firing Chris Mullen to hand the reigns back to that megalomaniac Nelson (Nelson is kind of like the General Santana of Mexican history, he just keeps coming back.)

- Letting Baron Davis go free agent because he knew Nelson was an megalomaniac slacker

In the middle of all that, there were the Run TMC years, like 3, but a single round in the playoffs for a couple of years is really not that impressive. Somewhere in there they had the ability to draft Kobe Bryant, but Todd Fuller looked like he had a much better future...???

On the Raider side of things, the list is almost too long. The benching of Marcus Allen because he told Al Davis to kiss his ass, about sums up the mindset in Oakland. Marcus Allen then went on to Kansas City where he resumed his Hall of Fame career. The latest tragedies include:

- Firing Art Shell

- Letting go of Charles Woodson (Now Making Pro Bowls in Green Bay)

- Running out John Gruden (Beat the Raiders like a drum in the Super Bowl.)

- Drafting and paying Off the JaMarcus Russell

- Drafting the bleeder Darren McFadden

- Drafting and paying some offensive line stiff, Robert Gallery who is now an average guard

- Re-hiring Art Shell

- Making an inn keeper your offensive coordinator

- Passing on Matt Leinart because Andrew Water looked like he could throw

- Drafting and overpaying Darius Whothehellisthat Bay

- Keeping a coach who threatens to kill his assistant coach

Now the questions are: Who is the worst team in the Bay Area, and what is the likelihood that under current ownership there is any chance of there being a return to competitive play? There are certainly votes and arguments for both sides. Depending on the day of the week, I could sway one way or another. It is clearly apparent that ego and personal relationships are more important to both controlling entities that winning. Barring the introduction of adult supervision that can make rational decisions instead of gut decisions, the downward spiral will continue.

The only thing I know for sure is that I'm glad I got the Setanta package so that I can watch the Heineken Cup, Six Nations, Super 14, and Guinness Premiership rugby, instead of the two sports that these clubs supposedly play.

Enough frustration, if you got this far, thanks for listening to the vent. There is always standing in a cold stream...

The fly of the day is the Zebra Midge, put up on the Fly Tier's Page by Charlie Craven, Charlie's Fly Box in Arvada, CO

Tight Lines,

Dave