East Coast Bias

For as long as I can remember, the term "East Coast Bias" is constantly referred to by individuals who follow West Coast teams, or mainly any team that isn't the Yankees or Red Sox. ESPN is chastised for showing a large number of Yankee or Red Sox games, or even New England Patriot Football games, all because of their supposed "East Coast Bias."

Frankly, I've grown sick and tired of hearing individuals bicker over the fact that their West Coast teams aren't given enough credibility or air time and it's all some sort of media conspiracy to shove East Coast teams down their throats. If the fact that the West Coast is 3 hours behind the rest of the World and the sporting world's biggest media outlet (ESPN) is located in Connecticut, isn't enough for you, let me say this once and for all, to make it extremely clear:

If the West Coast teams actually WON something, they'd be talked about more.

Seriously, if the West Coast could actually win a major sports championship, they'd be talked about more. But, what have you done for me lately West Coast? It seems you do a lot of whining, a lot of complaining and not enough follow through. Since you've all realized by now that I absolutely love statistics, let me further illustrate the fact that there exists only the illusion of an East Coast bias, because the West Coast hasn't really proven they deserve the air time in any sport.

In football, the last time a team from somewhear near the West Coast won the Super Bowl was the 1999 Denver Broncos. The last time a true West Coast team won the Super Bowl was 1995 and the San Francisco 49ers. In fact, if you want to know the last West Coast team not named the 49ers to actually win the Super Bowl, you'll have to travel back all the way to 1984 and the Los Angeles Raiders.

For basketball, the last time a West Coast team own the NBA Championship was 2002 and the Los Angeles Lakers. Aside from the Lakers three-peat at the turn of the Century (2000 - 2002), the sport has largely been dominated by teams from the Central Time Zone over the past two decades. Of the past twenty NBA Champions, 9 have come from the Midwest (Bulls 6, Pistons 3), 7 have come from the South (Spurs 4, Rockets 2, Heat 1), 3 have come from the West (Lakers) and only 1 has come from the East Coast (Celtics). The last time the West Coast held any superiority in basketball was the 1980's, when the Los Angeles Lakers won 5 NBA titles and played in 8 NBA Finals. You can't even really argue that there's any bias towards East Coast teams in basketball, since the Midwest has dominated the sport for the past twenty years.

The last time a West Coast team won a World Series in baseball was the Anaheim Angels of 2002. Besides that and the Arizona Diamondbacks improbable World Series run in 2001, the last occasion that a team out West was crowned World Series Champion, were the 1989 Oakland Athletics.

And lastly, hockey. I know, it's not really America's most time honored sport, but hear me out. The last (and truly only) time a team from the West Coast won the Stanley Cup was in 2007 and the Anaheim Ducks. Aside from that and two Stanley Cups from the Colorado Avalanche (1996 and 2001), no other team from the West Coast has ever won the Stanley Cup.

Now I understand why hockey is largely thought to be a Canadian sport, considering teams from Canada have won the Stanley Cup 40 out of 81 times (but not since 1993), which means that of the first 65 Stanley Cup Champions crowned, 60% came from our neighbor to the North.

Sure there is parody in sports with mid-market teams winning Championships and being competitive with the cash-cow franchises in every sport, but one thing that hasn't changed over the past two decades in nearly every major sport is the West Coasts inferiority compared to their East Coast counterparts.

Obviously this won't change anything. People will still bicker over the fact ESPN televises more Yankee and Red Sox games in primetime than they do San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, or the fact the New York Giants or New England Patriots play in more Monday Night Football games than the Oakland Raiders. But, that's the way it is. And that's the way it's going to stay until the West Coast does something to show that they are worthy of more widespread exposure.

Kudos to ESPN for reporting about the teams that actually matter and not giving into the backlash for supposedly showing bias. I look forward to watching a half dozen Yankees - Red Sox games in primetime and only reading about what happens on the other side of the country.

Maybe in 10 years this will all be a moot point and I'll be complaining of a West Coast bias, but until those Westerners start piling up championships, it won't be happening any time soon.