Current Events > Were the 2020 Lakers/Dodgers/Lightning "mickey mouse" rings?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I keep hearing stuff like that, but does CE agree?

No

*

Of course. If 2020 didn't count for anyone else, why should it count for athletes?

No

Two Eastern conference teams in the Stanley Cup Finals and one of them was wasted on Tampa. Imagine if it was Montreal vs Boston (or Toronto but I know Toronto in the finals is unimaginable).

lilORANG posted...

Of course. If 2020 didn't count for anyone else, why should it count for athletes?

What do you mean it didn't count for anyone else?

I don't even know what a "Mickey Mouse" ring is, lol.

Bass posted...

I don't even know what a "Mickey Mouse" ring is, lol.

I don't know about the other sports, but a lot of people call the Lakers' 2020 championship the "Mickey Mouse ring" because they don't respect it as a real championship due to the shortened season because of COVID and the fact that they played in that "bubble arena" in Orlando without fans (but a lot of it is because they hate the Lakers/LeBron). Basically the 2020 playoffs had no fans and there were no home team advantages, so people claim it wasn't a real championship.

They won the championship under the format it was conducted under. That said, it feels like an asterisk championship.

Bump

No not really. I do kinda think it was for the Lakers the most, but eh they still had to ball and win. The Dodgers and Lightning were already good to great teams so them winning didn't really seem like an anomaly. I don't think the Lakers were a bad team, and they still had a prime LeBron, but something about that one just seemed more off. I watched the Herd discuss how this wasn't the case, but I don't remember his points exactly. That's why. I tend feel less harsh on the Lakers championship now. It still feels like the odd one out.

IIRC, the Lakers were the number 1 seed before COVID hit anyway. So if anything, they lost the advantage they would have had in in the finals.

^ That must have been one of Colin Cowherd's points, people just forgot how good the Lakers were that year. I certainly don't remember them being that great heh also I don't know if home advantage really matters that much in LA. People there can be fickle fans or leave at halftime win or lose because there are other things to do that night. I guess for the players it's probably nice to know your building.

I dont like the dodgers so for them? Definitely

__starsnostars posted...

Two Eastern conference teams in the Stanley Cup Finals and one of them was wasted on Tampa. Imagine if it was Montreal vs Boston (or Toronto but I know Toronto in the finals is unimaginable).

What was the other Eastern Conference team? I mean I thought it was the Dallas Stars in the Finals.

Cornmuffins posted...

I dont like the dodgers so for them? Definitely

Even though the Dodgers won the World Series last year as well?

"The pandemic resulted in the league suspending the regular season on March 12, 2020, and then scheduling a special 24-team playoff format to be held in two neutral "hub cities" (Edmonton and Toronto) that began on August 1.[1] Thus it became the first Stanley Cup Final to be played in the month of September."

I just pulled this from wikipedia I should have looked harder but iirc I think the "special 24 team play-off format" was unusual because it wasn't traditionally based off the two conferences. Yet it still ended with Dallas vs Tampa.

Ok this explains it better from CBS Sports:

"That is, of course, unless you're one of those people that insists this Cup win is, and always would be, stained by the mess that is 2020. Ever since the NHL announced its return to play plan over the summer, there have been questions as to how legitimate a Cup win would be: A four-month break between meaningful games? An expanded playoff format? A play-in qualifier and seeding based on a three-game round robin? No fans? No home ice?
All of it made for an unprecedented, slightly unfamiliar Stanley Cup Playoffs. But all 24 teams that entered the restart did so with an even playing field and the ones that made a deep run still had to navigate the brutal, grueling grind of postseason hockey."

Playoff qualifiers and seeding based off a round robin tournament. That was wild. So I did remember something strange about it.

Every ring counts. I do think it should have been Clippers/Bucks in the 2020 finals.

Cynrascal posted...

Even though the Dodgers won the World Series last year as well?

Im a hater, but not that big of a hater. Do you know what its like rooting for the Yankees?

No, fuck that. Those championships absolutely count. They played under the same conditions as every other team in those playoffs, and they still had to fight to earn those wins against other great teams along the way.

Cornmuffins posted...

I dont like the dodgers so for them? Definitely

I hate the Dodgers and Lakers (and the Lakers beat my Miami Heat in those finals too!) but I'm not going to let that bias affect my logic.

The-Apostle posted...

What was the other Eastern Conference team? I mean I thought it was the Dallas Stars in the Finals.

I guess I am remembering the 2021 playoffs which were also unique because of COVID. That one featured Montreal and Tampa. 2020 was Dallas and Tampa.

The slightly shortened season and long break and being in the bubble/lack of travel is a key reason Anthony Davis was able to stay healthy enough to win that ring. Feels like a fraud title to me but the Lebron fans don't want to hear that.

Yes all of the teams dealt with the same conditions. It was an even playing field. But in a full regular season I feel like Davis wouldn't have been healthy and without him they weren't winning that title. I mean the guy has been a walking bandage his whole career and he definitely benefitted from resting from March until August.