In part one of the All-American version(s) of Playing the Field, we tackled the Real Americans in the sports world.
Today, we take a closer look at the teams in sports that have morphed into something close to “America’s Team.”
Dallas Cowboys
Flag points: 4 stars, 3 stripes
The innovators of the “America’s Team” gimmick, the Cowboys quickly became “America’s Most Hated Team” in the 1970s and 1990s due to their brash talk and insufferable fan base.
But the hatred was rooted in jealousy. The Cowboys talked and back it up with Super Bowl rings, like it or not. America loves a villain.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Flag points: 4 stars, 2 stripes
Located in America’s heartland, OKC gives off the vibe of the “little engine that could” due to the fact that, well, they play in Oklahoma City.
But they are ruthlessly American.
They bolted that hippie-haven in Seattle (‘Never trust the man!’ – anonymous hippie) for the prairies and they didn’t apologize when they took the best young mercenary in the NBA along with them (Kevin Durant).
They also traded a player that they knew had a heart condition (Jeff Green) in exchange for a starting center (Kendrick Perkins). That’s cold, man. And uniquely American.
New York Yankees
Flag points: 5 stars, 5 stripes
We all know the NYY deal by now. Highest payroll. Stars galore. The most recognizable franchise in what once was America’s favorite game.
But what puts the Yankees over the top is the fact that they shoved a new stadium down their fans throats and could have cared less when the diehards complained about the dozens of empty luxury boxes night-in and night-out and the fact that it lacks all the mojo of the old Yankee Stadium in every possible way.
LA Kings
Flag points: 3 stars, 3 stripes
What’s more American than jumping on a bandwagon for a couple of months and then totally forgetting what happened a couple of weeks later?
The Kings popularity in LA coincided with Carly Rae Jepsen’s smash hit “Call me Maybe” and is dying a death nearly parallel to that song.
We’re sure both the Kings and Jepsen franchise will take a “Living La Vida Loca” –like downward spiral in the next few weeks, if it hasn’t happened already.
Remember when the Ducks won the Cup in 2007, LA? Nope, neither do we.
