Dallas/Fort Worth is a major metropolitan area where sports play an important role. Dallas is one of those sports cities called “the Big Four.” The Big Four a city that hosts teams from the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. There are 7 league championships between the Mavericks, Stars, Rangers, and Cowboys, far below expectations. This city has seen only one championship this century with the Mavericks in 2011. It is well past time for a title as it is now 12 years and over 44 combined seasons since the last. The 28-13-10 Stars have a slight chance of bringing the city a title.
Rivals Winning it All
Rivalries are a big part of sports and Dallas has a lot of them. All of Dallas’ major sports rivals have a championship since this city last saw a title in 2011. The San Antonio Spurs won it all in 2014. The Rangers were 1 strike away from winning the World Series twice in 2011 but failed to get the last out. Now the Houston Astros have 2 with a title in 2017 and are the current World Series Champions with their winning effort in 2022. The New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles both have Super Bowl wins in that time frame. This current Super Bowl next week sees the Eagles with another chance. The Blues eliminated the Stars on their way to winning it all in 2019.
Kind of a Champion
Dallas has other sports such as soccer (football) with FC Dallas who do not have a title themselves. Dallas actually has 1 recent champion in 2022. If you consider Esports then the Dallas Fuel just won the Overwatch League World Championship in 7 games over the San Francisco Shock. The video game Overwatch 2 is among the many where professional leagues and teams are created. The Fuel have a whole arena in Arlington at the Esports Stadium, across the street from Six Flags Over Texas.
How the Stars Can Do It
Western Conference Champions has a nice ring to it but Stanley Cup Champions sounds better. The Stars lead the current Western Conference standings going into the All-Star break. The Stars can become Stanley Cup Champions this year but there is a long way to go before that happens. They are doing one thing very well, putting the puck into the opponent’s net and keeping it out of theirs. They are 2nd place in the league with a +40 goal differential which is a good number compared to last season’s -8. Jason Robertson is the player to lead them. His 66 points in 51 games are 7th best in the league. Anything can happen in the NHL playoffs but the Stars may be a team that can win it all this year.
Dallas has only one championship since 2000. It is time for one of our sports teams to bring home a title. The Stars can be that team to finally bring one home after over 44 seasons of drought from the cities’ sports teams. 1 champion in 88+ seasons is unacceptable for a city that prides itself on sports. Dallas will have another champion eventually and the Stars look like a good team to bring an 8th title.
Photo Credit: Dallas Stars Twitter