It happens to the best of them. No matter how popular or well-written the TV show, eventually they all jump the shark. You may not recognize the term, but if you’ve ever been a loyal viewer, you’ve seen it happen.
Basically, “jumping the shark” refers to the point in the life of a television series when it has clearly and irretrievably gone past it’s peak. It could be the departure of a star actor (such as when Suzanne Sommers left Three’s Company or Jimmy Smits left NYPD Blue) or it could be a plotline so ridiculously far-fetched that the show can’t recover. For example, the term refers to that episode of Happy Days when the Fonz did a water-ski jump over a great white.
Remember Oliver, the new little kid on the Brady Bunch, or the new little kid added to The Cosby Show, or the new little kid added to Growing Pains? New kids are a sign of sharkdom. E.R. jumped the shark when they dropped a helicopter on Dr. Romano, or perhaps when George Clooney left, or maybe one of their very special episodes. When a show begins having too many “very special episodes” (weddings, births, or just blatant attempts at filling Emmy reels) it’s headed into shark territory.
What does this have to do with a sports blog? Well, a peak and decline are part of any dominant team’s life span. Looking back, it should be possible to pinpoint when a dynasty has jumped the shark. Perhaps a star player left, or the team became so arrogant that they thought they could just trot anyone out in the jersey and win. Or maybe the off-field plotlines just became too crazy to suspend your disbelief.
Here then, are when some recent sports dynasties jumped the shark:
The late 1990s, early 2000s Yankees: It would seem that the 2001 World Series would be the moment they jumped. From the George W. Bush curve ball to the “Mr. November” sign being shown just before Derek Jeter’s home run in the wee post-Halloween hours. I’d put the moment a few months earlier, when the Yankees acquired Sterling Hitchcock. The shoddy starter flamed out in his previous stint in pinstripes, but after succeeding with Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, the Yankees brass assumed they could get rings for everyone. Tell me that’s not every bit as arrogant as E.R. sending Carter to the Congo…every other week.
The 2000’s Patriots: Troy Brown playing DB? And intercepting Drew Bledsoe?
The 1990s Cowboys: There are so many. I’d love to pick the Michael Irvin “don’t you know who I am” arrest, but how can you look past the whole Jimmy Johnston for Barry Switzer swap?
The 1990s Bulls: No, not when Jordan left the second time. When he returned, wearing #45, and then switched to 23 during the playoffs after being taunted by Penny Hardaway. Everything after that—winning the title on Father’s Day, hiring Tim Floyd, Dennis Rodman?!?—was too far-fetched to be real.
The 2000s Lakers: Pick a moment from the 2004 season. It could have been when Gary Payton suddenly became a Hall of Famer simply because he was on the same roster as Shaq, Kobe and Karl Malone (and “four future Hall of Famers” was a cool phrase to drop). I’ll go with an injured Malone allegedly hitting on Kobe’s wife on the sidelines.
Feel free to share any other shark moments from other dynasties! Was Joe Greene’s Coke commercial the end of the 1970s Steelers? Or was it Terry Bradshaw’s role opposite Bert Reynolds in Hooper? For the K-Gun Bills, was it Norwood's kick or Thurman's lost helmet? (I'll go with Bob Costas dissing them prior to the final episode of Cheers, "This isa Super Bowl-type atmosphere, except they'll also be smiling in Buffalo")
