American sports generate the most revenue and gain more exposure because of their players than any other country in the world. In every major sport, individual players and teams have identities that separate them from others. These different factors have enabled teams to become feared by players and fans league-wide. Many historic squads have struck that fear between the three major American sports: baseball, football, and basketball. Each sport has had its intimidating teams and for different reasons.

  Back in the 80’s and 90’s, the National Basketball Association allowed play to be nearly as rough as rugby. The ‘Bad Boy’ Detroit Pistons of the late 80’s took this allowance to the extreme. After coming short of titles because of superstars Magic Johnson and Larry Bird the entire decade, they intended to win their share nearing the 90’s. On the court, the Pistons were known for clotheslining, elbowing, tripping, and tangling anyone in their way. Different team members would be chosen to take out their opponent’s best players each game, like bounties. This was the same time as Michael Jordan’s rise as the greatest basketball player ever. Hated by everyone not from Detroit, the Pistons’ most memorable moments came in the 1989 and 90 Eastern Conference Finals by using their dirty style to stop Jordan and the Bulls. Even though Chicago went on to win 6 championships the next decade, and post the second best regular season record in history, no opponent was feared more for player safety than Detroit in the late 80’s.

  The National Football League’s scariest team played a decade earlier during the 70’s. Out on the West Coast, the Oakland Raiders were not to be messed with, especially when their defense took the field. Led by Jack Tatum and George Atkinson, their hard hits were known league-wide. Looking back, many people say that their players would be suspended on a regular basis by the NFL, if not in jail in cause of their actions if they were playing today. Reckless on the field, the Raiders were just as crazy in their regular lives. Known for after practice parties filled with drinking, smoking, and strippers, they behaved like a rock band. Their seemingly unprofessional approach to football followed by their dominating performances made them a headache for opposing teams and fans. Sport and Entertainment Marketing teacher Mr. Cain said, “The Raiders of the 70’s were by far the scariest NFL team ever. They were so rough that they based the movie Necessary Roughness off of their style of play.”

  Baseball is the oldest of the three sports; however, it also contains the least physical contact. Teams scare you with their skills more than with their physical abilities. No team in Major League Baseball’s history is more popular than the New York Yankees. In the late 20’s and early 30’s led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, they won four World Series and set the American League’s win record at the time. In the 50’s the team took their dominance to another level, winning five straight World Series between 1949-53. Led by Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra, the team appeared in eight of the World Series during the decade going on to win six of them.  They have won twenty-seven world series, sixteen more than the second highest team.

  American sports have changed through time, but feelings towards certain teams and players never change. Teams are always going to be remembered for something, and sometimes it is for the fear they struck on everyone around them.