Familiar Faces

I was reading about the departure of Marcus Smart last week and it got me thinking how it has become almost a rarity for athletes to stay in the same town their entire careers. When I was growing up, you knew players by their teams. Here in Boston, Bobby Orr played for the Bruins, John Havlicek played for the Celtics, Yaz played for the Sox and Steve Grogan was a Patriot. Elsewhere, Roger Staubach played for Dallas, Magic played for the Lakers and Jean Beliveau played for the Canadiens and it will always be that way. This little fantasy world of mine didn’t last long though.

With the introduction of free agency in Baseball in the 70s and the other sports eventually following along, the landscape of sports changed forever. I suppose players had the right to choose where they wanted to play as much as Joe Schmo could choose to work at whatever factory he wants and so on. It just seemed wrong in sports though!! By having the same players on teams it built rivalries that made it fun. I knew every player in the lineup for the Yankees and the Canadiens and hated every last one of them. You knew their numbers, their style, shit you knew all their positions because they were always there; until they weren’t.

There was movement of players because of their newfound freedoms but before that, there had been very little in the world of trades; free agency changed that as well. When the Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky to the LA Kings, it was an eye opener for me. If the great one can be traded, is anyone safe?? The owners now had their weapon, you want out, well I’m getting something in return. 

My baseball cards were now a total mess. Was Pete Rose a Red or a Phillie ? Was Joe Montana really in a KC Chief uniform wtf is going on ??? The loyalty to the uniform ( team ) is usually a constant but the player movement was a harder thing to follow. Oh there are still some players that become lifers. We in Boston have had our fair share; Yaz, Bird, Russell and Bergy to follow but we have had our departures. The guy that went to Tampa, Ray Bourque chased a cup to Colorado, Mookie, Mike Haynes….I could go on but I won’t. Do I wish that it stayed like it was?? Sometimes, but then teams couldn’t get any better if they sucked so it’s a good thing to get fresh starts I guess. 

Now as always money has played a factor in this. Unlike most “normal” work careers, the life span of an athlete is usually short lived. As a result, players are driven in most cases to get the most money they can; who can blame them I suppose. Once the jeannie was let out of the bottle though it was all over for the “loyalty” factor. As I mentioned earlier, there are still some lifers but they are becoming few and far between. Bravo to the likes of Derek Jeter, Larry Fitzgerald and the afore mentioned Patrice Bergeron!!!!

Marcus Smart was the longest tenured Celtic before his departure, he had been here all of 9 years. Green teamers are still crying about it but don’t get me going on that. Nine years and it seemed like an eternity. The guy that played in Foxboro played here for almost 20 and still that insured nothing.

What is my point…..well the next time you’re in or near a pro shop and thinking about buying the shirt of a favorite player for your child, grandchild, friend, nephew or niece; I would ask about the return policy…