For so long, we've talked about how this set of playoffs is going to be unlike any other, be it the NBA and NHL playing in their bubbles, or the UEFA Champions League, with its use of a bubble in Lisbon (or Round of 16 ties played five months apart). We said for so long this is going to be something fully new. Then why, I ask, are people overreacting to bubble results and treating these postseasons with the dignity and honor of our standard postseasons? Why are we seeing the same ludicrous takes as everywhere?
Every sport has had these issues. Particularly the NHL with its play-in round. We've already gone into a bubble and played games in front of fans, and immediately threw these teams in playoff settings after a four-plus month layoff. Then they went and made it best-of-five. Why did anyone get surprised that there were upsets. Yes, it was almost too on the nose for both #12 seeds (the 23rd and 24th best teams in the NHL) beating the two #5 seeds - but hasn't March Madness taught us 12 over 5 is a rite of passage?
We have to hear the same garbage about Connor McDavid - he of the many goals - or the Penguins (Crosby is probably the most dinged playoff performer for anyone who has won his league's title three damn times). We had to hear it about the Maple Leafs, who last a god damn 8 v 9 matchup, the biggest toss up of toss ups. But no, we have to hear how they have no heart - despite rallying in Game 4 from 3-0 down with three minutes to go.
We heard it about nearly every team that lost in the NHL, despite again it being a best of five series. We should not be making whole-sale changes or decisions based off of five games played in front of empty arenas. Yet the discussion seems to be around who from the Maple Leafs core needs to be shipped out, or if the Penguins are over the hill fully, or if the Oilers are truly just too late to the game. Sure, all of those might be true, but not because of three-to-five games.
Moving to the NBA, I'm sure it will start soon now that the playoffs have begun. That said, we've already seen some extreme overreaction, made even funnier given how often we see teams, when we're in normal situations with fans in stands and games at actual 'homes', we see teams just sleepwalk through the end of the season. People are ragging the Lakers for a nothing performance in the seeding games - despite them winning enough to clinch the #1 seed. We should all realize how ridiculous it is to do this given two of the best teams in teh bubble were the Suns and the Nets - a team that was missing like half its roster.
The worst might be the overall overreaction going on in Europe after the Champions League, a tournament so rooted in home field advantage that being able to score away goals is a critical tiebreaker. In that backdrop, they played 1-leg ties in Lisbon, and we saw Barcelona get hammered (to be fair, that was awesome), but aside from that, we saw Man City lose (after beating Real Madrid), and Atletico Madrid lose to Liepzig. If these happened over two-legged ties, especially a 2-8 aggregate loss, I would rightly be behind all three of those teams being examined and excoriated.
The biggest is Barcelona - with so much acrimony after their embarrassing loss to Bayern. The Pique quotes, the quick firing of Setien, the gloom and gross infamy surrounding president Josep Bartomeu. Eve the Messi quotes and rumors which seem more pointed and firm than ever. All of it. Sure they are fair criticisms, but lets also realize how weird a situation it was. Maybe we shouldn't set off a bomb to a team that was still 2nd in La Liga and looked great just one week ago because of one bad match in front of zero fans in Lisbon.
It is weird because on the other hand, I agree with the people that say the winner of their respective titles will have 'earned' it in a way no other teams have. But that's because they overcame/lucked into getting past these challenges. Let's not assume the ones that fell by the wayside did so because of an inability to try hard to meet this once in a lifetime (let's hope) challenge.
