Column: Consider championship hardware
Published March 19, 2010
As shocking as this truth might be to some, I have not held any of the major sports championship trophies before.
Contrary to what many might have been led to believe, I could not tell you the difference between how hoisting the Stanley Cup over your head feels and what it is like to kiss the Larry O'Brien Trophy of the NBA.
I can guarantee that I would be absolutely ecstatic to even see any of the professional leagues' yearly rewards, but that has not stopped me from favoring one to the others in the past.
Until I can speak from experience and compare what it is like to win each trophy, it will not stop me in the present, either. Each championship trophy has its own unique feel and traditions that make each one as special as the next, but there are aspects of each of which I am particularly fond.
Although hockey might not be my favorite out of the major sports, the Stanley Cup is by far my favorite trophy for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it was named after a guy who is known as Lord Stanley. My apologies to those whose names adorn the title of the championship trophies for professional baseball, football and basketball (Mr. Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Vince Lombardi and Larry O'Brien, respectively), but the namesake of hockey's ultimate prize is firstborn-child-name worthy.
Further, there is very little as satisfying as seeing the jubilation and look of accomplishment on the face of each player on the winning team as they skate around the rink with the Stanley Cup. That is enough for me, but even afterward, you can get your name engraved on the trophy for eternity. This means if I won, not only would my name join the ranks of some of hockey's greatest players, but it would also be there should any Lord Stanley Hunts ever come along to see it.
The Commissioner's Trophy of MLB is also one of my favorites. I do not find it anywhere near as aesthetically pleasing as its counterparts from the other various sports, but what it loses in looks, it makes up in style. As ugly as it is, I love the fact it has a flag representing each MLB team and is similar to the green jackets of the Masters in that they are both historic and iconic, but not exactly something I would bring to parties outside of the sports circle.
The Lombardi and O'Brien trophies of the NFL and NBA remind me of one another, with each having the corresponding sport's ball atop each one. Although the winners do not normally parade around the field or court, showing off their newfound hardware like those who win the Stanley Cup do around the ice, seeing someone win the Super Bowl or NBA championship is comparable and almost just as fulfilling. Boston Celtic Kevin Garnett's "anything is possible" reaction after winning the championship in 2008 is forever seared in my memory as proof.
Regardless of which trophy you earn, each one is nothing more than an outward representation reminding us of all the hard work and sacrifice the athlete had to endure.
Championship rings and trophies are nice, do not get me wrong, but the feeling and assurance of knowing that, in a given sport at a given time, you are a member of the absolute best team in the land is the real reward.