The amount of nostalgia lately is at record highs. With no sports (besides racing, golf, and foreign sports leagues) to watch, networks have been airing past games, documentaries, and other media to spark interest. Making those of us in our 30's and 40's long for the days of yesteryear when if you went to the hole Rick Mahorn was going to rip your head off, or if you went across the middle Junior Seau was going to decapitate you. They weren't these pampered primadonnas who flop and play with skirts on, (yes I know we sound like our parents, who said back in our day they didn't even wear helmets). I fell into the nostalgia worm hole a couple times, The Last Dance for sure brought back memories, I watched some of the 1997 Michigan team, yesterday during the lightening delay of the race I had a discussion with Chris about who the drivers from today compared to the early 90's. Throw in the constant talk about baseball having labor issues, just like 1994 and it feels like we're back in the 90's and looking at things with fresh eyes.
The Last Dance was a pretty good documentary showcasing Michael Jordan and his rise to being best player in the world, and all the obstacles in his way, while also showing how his final season in Chicago played out. I wasn't the biggest MJ fan as a kid, it's my natural instinct to be contrarian, so if everyone loved him, I had to find someone else to love. I was a Bulls fan but Scottie Pippen was my favorite player on the team. Since I wasn't the huge MJ fan the documentary hit me different, instead of being wowed by his greatness, (he was insane good and those highlights of his early years were just amazing to see and he changed how the game is played) I was more focused on the guys who the movie wasn't about. I ate up the interviews, BJ Armstrong, Reggie Miller, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Patrick Ewing, and Isaiah Thomas were all great to hear. Reggie Miller is an amazing story teller, and him talking about that series in 98 was outstanding. That Pacers team was loaded, and they had more firepower than the Bulls. They just didn't have Jordan and he was the difference. To me though the star of the last 2 episodes were those Jazz warm ups, the all purple with the mountains on them just screamed 90's. With everyone trying to be cool, remember the black uniform craze, those terrible things just made me laugh so hard.
The thing that happened because of the Last Dance is what I didn't like. Since MJ was on our TVs for 2 hours every Sunday it brought the LeBron haters out in full force. Everything became fair game because you could see everything great about MJ and say what he was that LeBron isn't. I'm not the hugest hoops fan anymore but this constant bickering about MJ vs LeBron is stupid and a waste of time. I don't think there is a single person who has changed their mind on the two because of what you tweeted. What I saw is that MJ played the game the way LeBron does now, there was plenty of working the refs, and he got away with some stuff. Now he did get his head ripped off by Detroit but that was about it. The Knicks tried to be tough but John Starks was fake tough and Oakley was MJs friend. I think MJ changed the game and a lot of what you see today was because of him, especially those last 3 years in Chicago.
During the delay in the race Fox aired a couple specials about Davey Allison. If you didn't know Davey came from a racing family and was on his way to being a big star in stock car racing when he died tragically in a helicopter crash in 1993 at the age of 32. Davey was coming off of finishing 3rd in points in and winning the Daytona 500 in 1992. When he died he was the 2nd of the top 3 drivers from the 92 points race to die tragically. Reigning champion Alan Kulwicki died in a plane crash in April. The question poised by Chris was, "Who is better than Davey today?" I wasn't sure how to answer, the sport and championship are settled so differently today. I decided I gotta make a power rankings and compare 1988-1994 vs 2014-2020. Let's compare some drivers.
#1 Dale Earnhardt and Kyle Busch. In each of the times we're comparing these are the only multiple time Champions. Senior racked up 4 of his 7 titles in those 6 years while Kyle has won 2 titles in the 6 years, and could win in 2020. I'm in no way saying Kyle Busch is Dale Earnhardt but in today's racing he's the closest thing we got. With the crowning of a champion changing from season long points to a winner take all, I think Kyle is for sure our #1 of today because if you had one race to win Kyle would be your first choice of stock car racers.
#2 Rusty Wallace and Kevin Harvick. Both of these guys have a championship in this window. The both also have so many close calls. In his window, Rusty got a title, 2nd twice and a 3rd place points finish. Harvick has a title a 2nd and 3 3rd place finishes. The biggest difference between the 2 is their ages, Harvick is in later years while Rusty was in his prime during the time frame. Harvick wasted some of his prime years in sub-par equipment at RCR.
#3 Bill Elliot and Joey Logano. Awesome Bill from Dawsonville was the fastest guy in the sport at this time, he set all kinds of qualifying records including going 210 MPH at Daytona in 1987 and later that same season he went 212 MPH at Talladega. He won a title in 1988 and had some other top 5 finishes. Joey Logano since joining Penske racing has been on a tear, he runs up front almost weekly and has a championship already. Again their career trajectories are in different phases but they compare favorably for these 6 years.
#4 Davey Allison and Martin Truex Jr. I became a Davey fan about a decade ago when I bought a die cast of his and since then I've read up on him a little, plus the 2 specials on Fox and it showed what a great racer he was. Davey was on his way to being a superstar, he was going to challenge Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon for titles once he learned to finish races instead of crashing. Martin Truex Jr. is a bit more of a late bloomer, but he's been up front a lot the last 4 or 5 years. I think these two compare favorably and shoulda coulda had more.
#5 Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin. This one is almost too easy. Denny just tied Mark in career wins with 40 and neither of them have a title. They run up front, they win races, they get close in points only to come up short. Their careers are so similar it's scary.
#6 Darrell Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson. These aren't really a ranking anymore. DW and JJ are so close performance wise. Personality, they are polar opposites but both being past champions in the twilight of their careers while still putting up ok finishes but not exactly who they used to be. I know Jimmie got a championship in this time frame, but that was gifted by Carl Edwards.
#7 Alan Kulwicki and Brad Keselowski. They have a lot more in common than the polish last name. Each of them have a championship, though BK's is before the time frame. I think if Brad could he would live Kulwicki's racing life. Back then a guy could own his car and win a championship, which is exactly what Kulwicki did in 1992. Brad strikes me as a guy who love to have his own shop and win races for himself.
#8 Terry Labonte and Kurt Busch. This one is a bit of a stretch but these two have few things in common. They each have championship, and while neither was the best of his era they both have had good careers. Kurt has 31 wins compared to Terry's 22. They are older brothers to drivers who also have championships (who happened to win their titles with Joe Gibbs, in the 18 car). Texas Terry is a little more likeable than KuBu, but I think they line up alright together.
#9 Jeff Gordon and Chase Elliot and Ryan Blaney. Jeff Gordon didn't arrive on the scene until 1992, he didn't get a title in the window of this exercise but he was on his way. I think these 2 drivers both compare favorably to the Jeff Gordon trajectory. They are on the elite teams with the unlimited resources to win. I think for sure they each win a title and possibly multiple titles in their careers.
I don't have a #10, this went farther than I thought it would already. Enjoy the nostalgia while you still can, and the way things are going you'll have plenty of time to keep looking back at the past and comparing it to today.
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