You might not want to look at the Giants, A’s, Niners, or Raiders. But you do want to look at the Warriors.
If in May you had asked a Bay Area sports fan to look towards the September calendar, they probably would have circled Sunday, September 26.
The San Francisco 49ers were set for what looked like a riveting primetime game, with a Sunday Night Football showdown against the Denver Broncos. That game would start shortly after the conclusion of the San Francisco Giants game, and the Giants were 19-12 when the NFL’s schedule had been released on May 12. They looked primed to be back in the thick of the playoff race after a franchise record-setting season in 2021.
Could you ask for a better day of sports for the Bay Area?
But you all know the reality of what happened next. The Giants forgot how to play baseball, and fell out of the playoff picture; Sunday’s game brought zero stakes or intrigue. And the 49ers … well, let’s just say that if you watched Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners on Sunday, you were probably left pining for the dazzling artistry of Adonal Foyle bank shots on the 2000-01 Dubs.
So the Niners and the Giants are disappointing you, and the Oakland A’s are … wait, are the Oakland A’s? Do they even exist anymore? Are they in Oakland?
Who can tell. And let’s not even start with that team in Vegas.
Bay Area sports are a mess at the moment.
Save for one team.
While the Giants were winning a meaningless game on Sunday, and the Niners, Raiders, and A’s were losing, the Golden State Warriors were going through their media day. It may not have involved the playing of any actual sports, but it sure was more entertaining than what the other four teams were doing.
Yes, the Warriors are here to save Bay Area sports while the rest of the teams labor away in states varying from mediocrity to steaming crap. No one on those teams can compare to how fun it is to watch Steph Curry. No one on those teams is as lovable as Klay Thompson. No one on those teams fires up your emotional reaction to the beauty and intensity of sports like Draymond Green.
The Warriors enter the season as championship contenders. Championship favorites, you could certainly argue, seeing as how they were the last team to do it. And while we’re still three weeks away from the first regular season game of the year, the intrigue surrounding the Dubs is already the biggest reason to be tuning into Bay Area sports.
The Giants and A’s will wither away into the offseason. The Niners and Raiders might make something happen, but they surely will disappoint you, too.
But the Warriors are here take make the next nine months fun as hell.