Championship Windows Shut A Lot Sooner Than You'd Think

In the world of professional sports, the pursuit of a championship is something each franchise and player is striving towards. Especially for the athletes that put their blood, sweat, and tears into their craft, the dream of winning, or even just competing for a title, is what fuels them. Competing for a championship for a lot of these people in the professional world is why they play through pain, make so many sacrifices of time with family, and put so much pressure on themselves to succeed.

However, what makes sports so beautiful, yet cruel, is that there are no guarantees, and despite all the work you may put into it, you never truly know how long your championship window is open.

In a matter of seconds, you can be considered the championship favorite for years to come, think you are in a great spot, and have those aspirations ripped away from you and your team in an instant.

Just look at Jayson Tatum and the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Coming off last year's title run, the Celtics seemed poised to compete for NBA championships for the foreseeable future. Their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, whose supporting cast was elite and under contract for at least the next two seasons, the Eastern Conference as a whole was considered fairly weak, and their coach, Joe Mazzulla, was only going to get better as a young bench boss.

Boston seemed all but certain to win multiple championships in the Tatum-Brown era, but in game four of the second round against the New York Knicks, Jayson Tatum was having perhaps the best game of his career as the Celtics were looking to even up the series.

Tatum had 42 points, was grabbing boards, running the offense, and playing like a maniac on defense. If the Celtics had won that game, it would perhaps have been one of the best nights of the 27-year-old's career, but with about four minutes to go, it became Tatum and the Celtics' worst nightmare.

In a season that began with expectations of this being the start of a multi-year championship window, Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles, and this injury doesn't just cast a shadow on where his career goes next, but where do the Celtics go next?

In the matter of one play, the Celtics hopes at winning another title this season all but went out the door, and with this injury to their best player, it takes them out of the championship picture next year and reemphasizes that these so-called "championship windows" in sports are never really open as long as everyone, including myself, ever thinks.

This is the difficult reality that fans, coaches, and players have to cope with. One injury, one bad matchup, or simply just one mistake can lead a championship team seemingly with all the right pieces for years to come, just disappear right before your eyes without you expecting it. 

Think about it, in 2010, if I told you LeBron James was only going to win two championships with his superteam in Miami, I bet you would have been shocked: "What? only two?"

Or how about in 2016, when Kevin Durant made so many NBA fans by joining the Warriors? I know I expected at least three championships from a team with KD, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, yet, because of unforeseen circumstances, they only won two.

Even outside of the NBA, I have had to hear Colin Cowherd bring up over the last couple of days the one that hits home for me, "the dynasty that never was", my Seattle Seahawks.

In the world of professional sports, the pursuit of a championship is something each franchise and player is striving towards. Especially for the athletes that put their blood, sweat, and tears into their craft, the dream of winning, or even just competing for a title, is what fuels them. Competing for a championship for a lot of these people in the professional world is why they play through pain, make so many sacrifices of time with family, and put so much pressure on themselves to succeed.

However, what makes sports so beautiful, yet cruel, is that there are no guarantees, and despite all the work you may put into it, you never truly know how long your championship window is open.

In a matter of seconds, you can be considered the championship favorite for years to come, think you are in a great spot, and have those aspirations ripped away from you and your team in an instant.

Just look at Jayson Tatum and the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Coming off last year's title run, the Celtics seemed poised to compete for NBA championships for the foreseeable future. Their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, whose supporting cast was elite and under contract for at least the next two seasons, the Eastern Conference as a whole was considered fairly weak, and their coach, Joe Mazzulla, was only going to get better as a young bench boss.

Boston seemed all but certain to win multiple championships in the Tatum-Brown era, but in game four of the second round against the New York Knicks, Jayson Tatum was having perhaps the best game of his career as the Celtics were looking to even up the series.

Tatum had 42 points, was grabbing boards, running the offense, and playing like a maniac on defense. If the Celtics had won that game, it would perhaps have been one of the best nights of the 27-year-old's career, but with about four minutes to go, it became Tatum and the Celtics' worst nightmare.

In a season that began with expectations of this being the start of a multi-year championship window, Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles, and this injury doesn't just cast a shadow on where his career goes next, but where do the Celtics go next?

In the matter of one play, the Celtics hopes at winning another title this season all but went out the door, and with this injury to their best player, it takes them out of the championship picture next year and reemphasizes that these so-called "championship windows" in sports are never really open as long as everyone, including myself, ever thinks.

This is the difficult reality that fans, coaches, and players have to cope with. One injury, one bad matchup, or simply just one mistake can lead a championship team seemingly with all the right pieces for years to come, just disappear right before your eyes without you expecting it. 

Think about it, in 2010, if I told you LeBron James was only going to win two championships with his superteam in Miami, I bet you would have been shocked: "What? only two?"

Or how about in 2016, when Kevin Durant made so many NBA fans by joining the Warriors? I know I expected at least three championships from a team with KD, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, yet, because of unforeseen circumstances, they only won two.

After dominating Peyton Manning’s Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII to conclude the 2013 NFL season, the Seahawks were young and hungry for more. They may be the best defense in the NFL, a young up-and-coming quarterback on a rookie deal destined to be great, a Hall of Fame coach, and a culture that felt like it was built to last.

In 2014, after a slow start beginning the year 6-4, the Seahawks rattled off 6 straight wins to close out the regular season to capture the NFC's number one seed, and after a miracle comeback in the NFC championship game, they found themselves back in the Super Bowl for the second straight year, and then, we all know what happened.

The Malcolm Butler interception at the goal line and the play to not run the ball changed everything in that locker room; it divided the team and caused tensions beyond repair, and while they were still a good football team in the following years, they never sniffed another Super Bowl appearance with that core of players.

It was almost as if Butler came in himself and shut a window that seemed like it was set to be open for years with no warning.

And as much as I hate talking about it, that's why we love sports. the urgency of each moment, game, or season is what get's our attention, but also what makes a loss so or missed opportunity so gut-wrenching.

As fans, we assume our favorite teams or players window at a championship will be open longer than it ever is, and that's the harsh reality of sports.

This injury should serve as a reminder that winning in sports is so hard.  

Whether it is the Celtics uncertain future with the injury to Tatum, the Seahawks' heartbreaking loss for me over a decade ago, or any opportunity, or any other instance in which a run ends. 

In reality, each championship window is brief, and even while we think our team will be the outlier, it always usually ends sooner than we think.