Bay Area In 2010s: A Sports Decade Filled With Childhood Heroes And Champions
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- If ever there was an anthem for a decade, the thundering refrain of Queen's "We Are The Champions" represented 10 years of hopes, dreams and prayers being answered by Bay Area professional sports franchises.
Victory parades became a part of the very fabric of life for Bay Area sports fans in the 2010s. All six major franchises earned post-season playoff berths with three World Series titles and three NBA Championships celebrated robustly in San Francisco and Oakland.
The decade began with the rise of the San Francisco Giants. Homegrown stars Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Crawford and Madison Bumgarner fueled the unlikely surge to MLB titles in 2010, 2012, 2014. The numerical oddity only added to their charm and legacy.
But it was the unexpected nature of it all. The Giants were considered underdogs to powerful teams in Texas, Atlanta, Kansas City, Detroit, St. Louis and Philadelphia. Somehow they triumph over all of them.
While the stars did shine, performances by the likes of baseball journeyman Travis Ishikawa, Marco Scutaro, Edgar Renteria and Cody Ross were pivotal in bringing the championships home.
Along the way there were three iconic moments that will be forever etched in the hearts and minds of Giants fans.
With Detroit opening the 2012 World Series with the nearly unbeatable Justin Verlander on the mound, Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval -- the loveable 'Panda' -- strutted to the plate. Not once, not twice, but three times he ripped homers to crush the Tigers spirits on the way to a World Series sweep.
The other two came in the 2014 post-season. In Game 5 of the NLCS, Ishikawa strolled to plate in the ninth inning of a 3-3 game and launched the Giants into their third World Series of the decade with an improbable 3-run homer as AT&T Park erupted into pandemonium.
In the World Series, Bumgarner earned a place in Giants fans' hearts for eternity. After two dominating winning performances, Bumgarner was called into service as a reliever in the deciding Game 7 with just two days rest.
His confident strut in from the bullpen in the fifth inning will be forever remembered. After holding the Royals in check in the fifth, Bumgarner retired 14 batters in a row before a nail-biting ninth inning that secured the Giants title.
San Francisco would make its final run at glory in 2016, but a late Game 4 bullpen meltdown against Chicago Cubs eliminated them from the National League playoffs and the dynasty had come to an end.
A characteristic of those Giants teams was what fans loving referred to as 'torture' -- games decided in nail-biting fashion in the ninth inning. The term could also apply to the sudden rise to the top of the NFL by the San Francisco 49ers as the decade came to a close.
The team rolled to a 13-3 regular season record with their three setbacks coming in the final seconds to Seattle, Atlanta and Baltimore.
Even the clincher in a rematch with Seattle proved to be torture as San Francisco rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw tackled Seattle's Jacob Hollister just inches from the end zone on fourth-and-goal to preserve a NFC West title 26-21 victory.
The season marked a return to glory for the 49ers, they began the decade with great promise with Jim Harbaugh at the helm and Colin Kaepernick being called a model of the quarterback of the future.
By the decade's end, Harbaugh was coaching at the University of Michigan and Kaepernick would be heralded as a civil rights leader and not even be on a NFL roster.
The 49ers captured NFC West titles in 2011-2012 -- falling to the New York Giants in the NFC championship game in overtime in 2011 and in the Super Bowl to the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.
Those were the glory years and what followed was a steady decline into mediocrity and early round draft picks. There were signs of a rebirth under the guidance of general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan as Jimmy Garoppolo and Emmanuel Sanders arrived via a trade, Richard Sherman was signed as a free agents and draft picks Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa, DeForest Buckner, Greenlaw, Deebo Samuel and Fred Warner emerged as young stars.
Meanwhile, across the San Francisco Bay in Oakland another amazing sports story was written in the decade. Those lovable losers, Golden State Warriors, had suffered years of disappointing seasons, breaking the hearts of the their amazingly loyal fans.
But a change of ownership and the arrival of a trio of draft picks -- Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green -- transformed the team's fortunes from league doormats to conquering heroes.
The addition of head coach Steve Kerr, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Andrew Bogut and Shaun Livingston along the way created a true dynasty that earned five straight trips to the NBA Finals and three league titles. Every game become a memorable feast of ironic and OMG moments.
But it was more than the championships, Curry and Thompson's 3-point prowess change the way the game was played during the decade and Green evolved into something called a point forward and a model for what teams needed to add if they wanted to contend. Innovation not only transformed the neighboring Silicon Valley, it also transformed the NBA.
Curry became a childhood hero to many as Bay Area grade schools were peppered with boys and girls wearing his jersey and his shoes. He along with his wife, Ayesha, emerged as community leaders.
The Warriors packed the NBA record book and in the only season LeBron James was able to beat them in a final, Golden State set the regular season mark of 73 wins.
As the decade drew to a close, the lights fell dark on the team's 'Roaracle' Arena in Oakland as the Warriors moved to a high-tech palace on San Francisco's waterfront. Winning was once taken for granted, but free agency and injuries made a successful evening a rarity at Chase Center in the 2019-2020 season.
The Warriors weren't the only team to depart Oakland as the decade came to a close. The beloved Oakland Raiders were also awaiting the moving vans, heading to a new home in Las Vegas. The famous 'Black Hole' would linger as the team's lasting legacy of it East Bay years.
Six head coaches would try their hand at making the Raiders a winner, but only Jon Gruden would guide them to the postseason which ended with a 27-14 loss to Houston Texans. That team was led by quarterback Derek Carr -- who would miss the playoffs with an injury -- and defensive player of the year Khalil Mack, who would end the decade on the roster of the Chicago Bears.
As the 2010s came to a close, the lone franchise still standing in Oakland was the American League Athletics, who were also a fixture in post-season play throughout the decade.
The cash-strapped A's became a model of small market team success and general manager Billy Beane's economic survival guide became the subject of a popular movie -- 'Billyball.'
In 2012 and 2013, Oakland lost to Detroit in the American League Championship Series and then fell in 2014, 2018 and 2019 in the American League Wild Card Game.
The team ended the decade with a roster filled again with promise and blossoming young stars in Matt Chapman, Khris Davis, Matt Olsen, Mike Fiers and Marcus Semien.
In the South Bay, the Joe Thornton-led San Jose Sharks were a picture of consistency the entire decade. Only once, in 2014-15, did they not qualify for the NHL playoffs and they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015-2016 only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins by a 4-2 margin.
Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski were the pillars of the decade long run and while there were certainly memorable moments none will outshine Sharks-Las Vegas Knights Game 7 showdown in the 2018-2019 playoffs.
With the Knights holding a commanding 3-0 lead mid-way through the third period, Cody Eakin cross-checked Pavelski, sending him to the ice with blood streaming out of his head.
Eakin was given five-minute major and a controversial game misconduct. The injury ignited a Sharks rally as they quickly scored four goals in a matter of minutes and eventually won the game in overtime.
San Jose would advance to the Western Conference finals where they would fall to the St. Louis Blues in six games.
Pavelski would join the Dallas Stars for the 2019 season but as the decade came to a close Thornton, Marleau and Couture would still be on the ice for the Sharks in what may just be one last hurrah.