In our world, the direction of humanity seems to be plummeting towards the toilet with each passing day (with a few exceptions). Part of that free-fall is heard with all of these overused, robotic sayings, otherwise known as clichés. In sports, some of the most spoken terms include “It’s the biggest game because it’s the next game,” “keep the main thing the main thing,” and everyone’s favorite, “it is what it is (probably the worst out of the bunch).” As much of an attempt to keep any feeling out of the equation these clichés amount to, there’s one that definitely misses the mark when it comes to competition, and while there’s an understanding why it’s used, it’s hard to get behind when truth is completely missing.
What’s that specific cliché ? It’s the one that says a series doesn’t begin until the road team wins a game. The origin of this misplaced saying is unclear, but it’s typically used around the NBA and NHL (MLB also), sports associations that use series as their playoff format. There’s a lot that is put into having a home court or ice advantage. The feeling of playing in front of a home crowd, particularly for the role players who don’t get as much spotlight as the stars, can elevate their performance. Therefore, when the road squad is able to steal that advantage, it’s seen as a monumental shift in the tone of the series. For an example, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to win Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals battle with the San Antonio Spurs Monday night in San Antonio. Now, the Timberwolves have the advantage as long as they win at least their home games, and the Spurs have to get it back (their first opportunity comes Friday night in Minneapolis). Of course, the rest of the series has to work itself out, but if we’re supposed to follow the meaning of this cliché, it officially became real when Minnesota won.
But what happens if a whole series happens without a road team winning, or said away team wins for the first time to actually advance to the next round? If any of those two instances occur, there’s factually no way anyone can use that saying, which frankly makes it sound idiotic. Case in point, let’s use the recent first round series between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers, won by the Cavaliers in seven games (Cleveland is battling the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals). The home squad won all of those contests, and it’s certain the players, coaches and fans who watched the series knew they were in a battle, regardless of result. If we’re to believe the cliché in question, that means the Raptors and Cavs never played, and a whole series can actually play out before it even begins. A road squad can win Game 6 (or perhaps Game 7 if the series makes it that far), ending a series the home team won the first five games, before it starts. How crazy does that sound?
Even with going to the other side of the aisle, lets say the away team wins every game in the series. Does that mean the battle never happened because the home team lost every time, or could it be deemed one of the best of all-time because nothing but road victories occurred? Are we going to tell the players and coaches who went through the series, making all of these adjustments physically and mentally, the series never began because the home team won all of the games? What if a player gets injured during one of these contests? The injury never happened (I guess) because the series never began, due to the road team losing time and again. There’s too many items available to poke holes at this cliché, and it’s not because of any deep searching. Stories are written, and items are documented. The combination of the two equals said analogy being factually not true.
It’s understood clichés are used to explain a lot of the experiences we go through in life. There are even a few, such as “the more things change, the more the stay the same,” that make more sense than others, and are probability more appropriate with today’s times. This one about the series beginning when the road team wins is not one of those clichés that hit the mark. Sometimes, a fancy saying in an attempt to sound philosophical isn’t necessary. Let’s cut the complications out of it (which is hard to do for most), and say a series begins when the ball is tipped, or the puck is dropped (or first pitch), to start Game 1. After all, it’s not like the teams involved are caring about when and where they win. They just want to win, and frankly, so do the masses.
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