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Lack of a True Rival
Posted by: JC on August 23rd, 2010
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.When you close your eyes and clear your mind, who do the Utah Jazz line up as their rival?
Are you seeing a clear picture of any one team? The University of Utah has the lowly BYU Coug’s, but, whom do the Jazz have?
I mean, is it really possible that a pro sports team of any type could live without the presence of a true rival?
What about the Denver Nuggets? In my mind they should be our top rival – we share a border, share ideals in the ski industry. Shouldn’t this be the queen mother of them all? However, I’m not so sure that the Salt Lake Jazz even exist in the eyes of the Nuggz. It seems as though they barely got up out of their beds to play us during the Playoffs, nor were they very full of the venom that true rivals possess for each other during the series.
Maybe it’s because they think the Nuggets are rivals with the Lakers (at least that’s what the NBA says about them); laughable. How long can they hold on to one good series in the Playoffs a few years ago?
Lets see now … who’s next … how about the Phoenix Suns? Well, we also share a state border with them, and in fact once back in the old days, Karl Malone even goal tended a “potential” game winner by Kevin Johnson during the All-Star game (we all know it was going in). Should this not be the perfect rivalry? Alas, for whatever reason the NBA has seemingly asked the Gorilla of Phoenix to quit hanging out with the Bear of Salt Lake, thus killing the competition between good and evil.
Oh, I know, what about the Portland Trail Blazers? I mean, didn’t they tried to steal Paul Millsap from us, then following that up with the successful “steal” of Wesley Matthews, dastardly indeed! Well, until the Jazz fans start to fill the ESA up when the Blazers come to town, I’m not going to buy into this “should be” rivalry – will the theft of our beloved Wesley be enough gas on the fire to accomplish a task seemingly impossible for the past several years? Only time will tell. But, just for a second, let us imagine it: conservative right-wing Utah versus those dirty liberal left-wing Blazers; politicians can’t even dream up this stuff. (NOTE: have I heard correctly that the GOP convention is to be held in SLC – 2011/12?)
Well guess what, it seems like we were given a rivalry due to something called “history”.
Wasn’t it sure fun when we were matching up with the Houston Rockets in the Playoffs and knocking them around; I imagined to myself that we had a rivalry again, but, has their lotto filled season taken them from the ranks of a true rival? Can we hitch our ponies to the Yao Ming vs. the Utah Jazz Rivalry Hitch? For years we watched Karl Malone slug it out under the hoop with Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, only to continually get beat down until Stockton hit “the shot”, and we left them in the dust. For years the rivalry sat there on the shelf gathering dust, only sputtering back to life in recent history. Where will it go from here? Can a Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks combo bring new life to this rivalry, or, is it really just a sign that it died with Yao’s broken foot?
*** SUB PLOT ***
QUESTION: Is the term, “Rival”, watered down on a regular basis these days in order to get some TV ratings? (YES!)
According to Webster’s, a rivalry is defined as: the act of rivaling : the state of being a rival; Competition.
So, what we’ve got here is a failure to communicate; I mean, that isn’t much of a definition now is it? … In fact, it sounds like an overgeneralized watered down definition that many people would froth at the mouth in conjunction with due to it’s ability to be overused and under-analyzed.
Well, let’s just talk some classic rivalries, before we (I) don’t get carried away …
San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns – who could forget Robert “big shot” Horry sending Steve Nash into the scores table, bloodying up the little Canadians nose, thus prompting Amar’e Stoudemire to leave the bench, thus prompting a suspension, and thus prompting more prompting and as a result, another losing series for the Suns at the hands of the Spurs.
Pacers vs Knicks – you ever see that movie “Reggie Miller versus the New York Knicks“? Well, it pretty much sums up this fantastic, and sometimes nasty rivalry from 90’s. I mean, who could forget the Davis twins mixing it up in the painted area. Brutal era in basketball; I miss it and I truly loved it.
Celtics vs Lakers - before you try to hang me for this one, recall if you will the fact that Magic and Bird came out of college at the same time, challenged each other year after year for the prize – this may be the truest form of a rivalry we have ever seen in the NBA.
Given a few examples of “Classic Rivalries”, where do you see the Jazz / Rockets rivalry sitting? Granted it has some roots in the “classic era” of basketball, but is it the strongest example of a rivalry the Utah Jazz may have?
TAKE THIS POLL: Whom do you consider to be our rival? – Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, Phoenix Suns? (CLICK TO VOTE).
Replies: 15
Views: 5356
15 Responses
You’re locked on JC, how you did the poll and all. The Lakers took my vote. Ever since the back to back sweep of the Lakers on our way to back to back finals, it always seemed that every Laker Fan I’ve talked to hated the Jazz.
It has stirred up in recent playoffs. The whole Fisher thing and Kobe’s comments about the Jazz Fans just fueled the hatred of Laker fans. I also remembered when Karl did not want to play with Magic after he announced he was HIV positive. Again it did not go well with Laker fans. I heard more hate towards the Jazz than any other team. I wish we could do a poll of what Laker fans think is there rival.
Maybe its because I live in LA and get a lot of heat for being a Jazz fan, but I don’t see the same passion against other teams from LA. One example of their bias is out of 10 Laker fans I talk to about Dwill, 8 of those 10 will say CP3 is the best PG in the league. I believe this is simply because they don’t like the Jazz that much. Thus making me hate them just as much, haha. I get sooo mad at the games and its mostly when we play the Lakers. I don’t mind Clippers at all and the few Clipper fans actually cheer for Dwill when he’s introduced.
I picture the Bulls in the 90’s and recently the Rockets. but I agree there is no true rival. Until we beat the Lakers again thats not a rival even so I don’t think the Lakers deem us their rival. that would be the Celtics.
I really don’t know. Too bad Denver has sucked so long besides the last seven years that they aren’t worthy to be our rival.
To be plain and simple, a true, lasting rivalry has one of two conditions in my opinion. One- a team that is in the same state as you. Two- a team that is in the same division as you. Now, there are lots of times in sports history where certain events cause rivalries to be created, but if it doesn’t fall into at least one of these two categories, it’s going to die. Jazz play the Bull twice in the playoffs and they become rivals for those few years. Jordan leaves. Bulls tank. Stockton and Malone leave. Jazz tank. Rivalry over. Sure, the Celtics and Lakers rivalry was great in the 80’s, but that died when Bird and Johnson left. The Lakers and Jazz have a rivalry going on right now because they’ve played each other in the playoffs 3 years in a row. However, when either we or the Lakers crash, that rivalry will end. On the other hand, if you do meet one of those requirements, your rivalry will stay in tact, no matter what happens throughout the years. This is why BYU and Utah State are still considered rivals even though Aggie football sucks right now. Cougar vs Aggie basketball is crazy, though. Especially when you go to the Aggie stadium. Those Utah State fans are brutal.
So, with those requirements in tact, the Jazz’s rivals right now consist of the Nuggets, Blazers, Thunder, and T-Wolves since we are the lone NBA team in Utah. Recently, the Jazz and Nuggets have been duking it out for the Northwest division title, so I’d consider them our number one rivalry at the moment. However, the Blazers and Thunder are decent rivals right now, with us and the Thunder brewing up for a more heated rivalry in the near future. This is why I am against divisional realignment unless it’s absolutely necessary. It breaks apart rivalries.
Now, this is where the NBA needs some work. The reason why rivalries are never as big as they are in other sports like the NFL or college football is that the NBA doesn’t put enough enough emphasis on divisional match-ups. What should be done is this. Play every team in your division 4 times a season (16 games), every other team team in your conference twice (20 games), and every team in the other conference once (15 games). This would shorten the NBA season by 31 games, from 82 to 51 thus causing fans like myself to easier follow to season, which really drags on sometimes. A slightly shortened season would also make it so every game means slightly more. This would also put more emphasis on the divisional games which would cause rivalries to catch fire in the NBA because you actually have to go through all of your divisional opponents if you ever want to win a title. NBA ratings and attendance would skyrocket.
You know I totally think the Jazz and the Washington Bullets have a great rivalry going on.
I don’t think you have to be in the same division to be a rival. That wouldn’t make sense because if you look at some classic rivalries stated above like the Lakers VS Celtics or the Jazz VS Bulls the teams aren’t even in the same conference. It’s hard to really give the Jazz a rival simply because not many teams fans feel the same hate towards the Jazz as we feel towards their team. However, if I had to choose one team as our rival I would have to choose the lakers. The only reason I feel that they wouldn’t be our rivals is because all the other teams in the west feel the same way about them and are trying to beat them.
@Champ – you can do polls in the Message Board now (aka Chat, aka Forum)- you just have to make a post along side the poll; polls don’t just post w/out a piece of “message” for the board. (wait, was that in english?)
I’m feelin’ the Bullets right now but standing by the Rockets as our rival
@Adam – why did I forget the Zombie Sonics in this blog? The Thunder could be a nasty rivalry after the CJ foul on Durant.
I have a feeling that the thunder will be a new rival.
1. The thunder are the only “real” professional sport team in oklahoma, much like utah.
2. OKC like Utah seems to have a great fan base and is a top contender with us for the loudest/proudest arena in the NBA.
3. Both of the two teams are “expected” to be better this coming year.
4. No OKC fan will forget CJ’s foul that didn’t get called in our last meeting. They will be looking to get back at us for that one.
5. I see more intense games like that coming
I agree with morgan. OKC is getting up there
But alas I am found with the rivalry of the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls. The rivalry has sparked up again.
I have always wondered this as well. Great post.
i the Lakers games weren’t always so one sided it could be a rival.
I kind of looked at the Nuggets as a rival.
Suns: Eh not so much really.
Bulls:More of a vendetta
Rockets:Maybe
I would say the closest thing would (especially now after the past two off-seasons) would be the Trailblazers. They have tried to and successfully screwed us. They ahve been jealous of our Drafting and recruiting skills and try to find ways to bring us down.
I would really consider the Nuggets a rival as well. Because it fits well in so many way. The state fights for the best skiing rights(we all know Utah wins that one) outdoor destinations,etc. Our teams as far as personalities clash so. i think it’s a good rivalry.
@Eric- Like I mentioned before, you don’t have to be in the same division to be rivals, but if you aren’t, your rivalry will eventually fizzle out. The Lakers vs Celtics rivalry was great in the 60’s and 80’s, but now it’s not the same, even with them meeting up twice in the Finals recently.
The NBA won’t ever have great rivalries like other sports until they put more emphasis on divisional match-ups.
Thanks JC, wish I knew that before I did mine.
One team is missing the list San Antonio
the lakers aren’t a rival in anyway and they don’t view the jazz as rivals even remotely. (not to mention the definition of rivalry does not apply) if that were the case then everyone in the nba would be the lakers rivals. i would have to say after this offseason it’s become more clear that the jazz’s true rivals are probably the blazers now. and the old rival probably was the spurs
The biggest rivals in Jazz history are the Lakers, Bulls, Nuggets, Rockets, and Spurs…
Lakers: they have always been just one step ahead of us. Beaten us by a couple points in the final seconds of crucial games that cost us our advancement in the playoffs, year after year.
Bulls: ever since the 1997 and 1998 finals, Jazz fans have loathed the Bulls and Michael Jordan. Those two consecutive years made it an intense rivalry, yet of late they haven’t shown any intense competition, until this year.
Nuggets: the Jazz have been battling the Nuggets for the Northwest Division Title for many years. One year it seems the Jazz are better, then the Nuggets go on a tear. Battling back and forth in the past has made this a rivalry that should continue far into the future.
Rockets: in the past 5 years, we have faced the Rockets in the playoffs 3 of those 5 playoff appearances. Each time it has come down to the wire. Tracy McGrady seemed to bury a shot even with his eyes closed and Yao Ming’s size made is look like a David and Goliath match up; yet the Jazz prevailed.
Spurs: up until a couple of years ago, the San Antonio Spurs had an 18 consecutive win streak in our home arena…the Delta Center. But Memo’s shot at the buzzer changed all of that, it broke the spell that enveloped us for so long. Yet, they still had a huge streak in THEIR arena. But 2 years ago, Williams and Boozer battled Parker and Duncan and finally prevailed. Yet the tension between our teams has not dissipated, rather, it has only increased.
It was touched upon briefly but I think there is a lot of truth to it. I don’t think we will ever have a “true rivalry” until the media gets involved. From both our side and team “fill in the blank.” Media coverage will get fans fired up and fans will respond with some antics of their own.
We have had enough from the past several years to “get fired up” about. Just a little bit more attention needs to be drawn to it and it can happen. Maybe we can start petitioning our media sources and get the ball rolling.