Mike Greenberg gets called out for his insane take on Warriors vs. Cavs
Setting all politics aside, ESPN has long since given up actual sports journalism in lieu of fiery debate shows and scalding hot takes.
It’s one of the many reasons the network has been in dire financial straits lately. Most sports fans just want sports news and analysis, not Stephen A. Smith screaming about how Allen Iverson was a better athlete than Donovan McNabb because of loud reasons.
Sports debates are a fun way to kill time with fellow sports fans, not necessarily something you want to see on television 24/7.
So it’s little surprise that ESPN’s newest show “Get Up!” has found itself under fire after co-host Mike Greenberg made a virtually indefensible hot take about the looming NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
.@espngreeny can't wait for Cavs-Warriors Part IV. pic.twitter.com/FYMLIVLb4w
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 30, 2018
The cynic might point out that the NBA Finals will be broadcast on ABC, a Disney affiliate. Disney also owns ESPN. Hence, it makes sense that an ESPN employee would be trying to goose ratings by hyping up what will likely be a lopsided and short NBA Finals.
But that still shouldn’t excuse Greenberg’s absolutely idiotic take that Cavs-Warriors is “the greatest rivalry in the history of American sports.”
The occasional hot take can be defensible. Had Greenberg said Cleveland-Golden State has the potential to be the greatest sports rivalry ever, you could argue that he might have a point.
What Greenberg actually said is just asinine. Most NBA fans would agree that Cavs-Warriors isn’t even the greatest rivalry in NBA history. That honor goes to the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.
Venturing beyond just the annals of the NBA, Greenberg’s comments prove to be even more of a stretch. Fans on social media were quick to remind him of his folly.
Most of college football… OSU/Michigan; Bama/Auburn, USC/Notre Dame, etc
— Rob Peterson (@rpeterson2317) May 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/tballgame09/status/1001841153820577792
Getting desperate for ratings Greeny?
— Ron Wilson (@rwilson002683) May 30, 2018
Even Greenberg’s fans struggled to defend his take.
I like Greeny, I really do. But this is a bad take…
— Brad Press (@bradpress) May 30, 2018
Here’s an uncomfortable truth for many NBA fans: The sport simply doesn’t support true “rivalries” anymore. There’s almost no real bad blood between teams anymore. All the players in the NBA have been close friends since childhood, oftentimes coming up together on the same AAU teams.
Heck, it’d be fair to call Celtics-Cavaliers more of a rivalry than Warriors-Cavs. Boston fans were raining down chants of “F— you, J.R.” to Cavs guard J.R. Smith after a flagrant foul on Al Horford in the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s bad blood. And also classless Celtics fans (never forget that they once chanted “Ugly sister” at then-Lakers forward Lamar Odom while he was dating Khloe Kardashian.)
Warriors-Cavaliers also lacks the competitive oomph one would expect in a true rivalry. As one Twitter user pointed out to Greenberg:
Dogs often use the same tree to relieve themselves. That's not a rivalry. T
— Karl SMA (@xaviercross1971) May 30, 2018
What will likely be a four- or five-game Finals win for the Warriors begins on Thursday night.
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