Most Overrated Teams in Professional Sports
Apr 21, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers players huddle before game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at AT
Last week, we had a brief discussion the meaning of “rating” and named off the most underrated teams in each of the four major professional sports. Of course, when you look at a particular kind of measurement, and analyze one side of the spectrum, you naturally have to provide analysis on the other side. So what’s the opposite of underrated? Yup, you got it.
(I hope I’m not taking a big leap of faith by assuming that you answered overrated. If not, we’ve probably got some bigger issues at hand.)
Los Angeles Angels, MLB
This team was supposed to be one of the heavy hitters going into last season, making a big splash by signing Albert Pujols. For a few years now, they’ve been one of the bigger spending teams, but they have absolutely nothing to show for it thus far. Everyone was talking about a huge power shift to the AL West, with the Angels and Texas Rangers, but it turns out that the most frugal team in the division proved to be the most successful.
Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
Another LA team on this list, see a trend? Now, there is no doubt that the Lakers had one of the best collections of talent in the NBA last year, but they could never capitalize and maximize their full potential. This team had as much hype as the Miami Heat did two years entering the 2012-2013 season, but came nowhere close to obtaining the same level of success. Now, they look to be on a downturn and it could be awhile before the franchise recovers if they don’t hit it big with free agents in 2014.
Philadelphia Eagles, NFL
They hit a bit of a reset button this past year by bringing in Chip Kelly to lead the organization on the field. Either way, this team has way too much talent on both sides of the ball to perform the way they have. When now-Tampa Bay Buccaneer Nnamdi Asomugha signed with the team, people (mostly with ties to the Eagles) were calling it the NFL’s Dream Team.
And why wouldn’t you? You had one of the most electric players in a generation at quarterback, the perfect weapons around him, and a defense filled with playmakers. They ended up 8-8 that year, and did even worse last season. Now, they are making a radical switch to their philosophy in hopes that this fast-paced offense is more than a passing fad.
San Jose Sharks, NHL
Yes, when it comes to the term overrated, unfortunately, the Sharks are often mentioned as the team. Sure, they aren’t expected to win the championship every year, but there’s always one major analyst who will throw them a bone and say that this will be the year that they breakthrough. However, this team, with all the talent that it has, has never even made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. This is not a good sign for a team that, on more than one occasion, has one the President’s Trophy.
The players are getting older, and the window to win it all with this core group of players is getting smaller every season. I’ve mentioned before that there might be larger forces at work here preventing them from winning, but until they actually do win (at least play in the Finals), they get to keep the title of Most Overrated.