Which Team Would You Want to Win It All?

"Look boss, the plane, the plane!" shouts Tattoo to Mr. Roarke, and your visit on Fantasy Island begins.  You stumble upon a gold lamp while walking along the beach and rub the lamp, after which appears a genie offering you his services. You've been given the key to the world, and get to choose as you wish! The Raiders, 49ers, Warriors, Giants, A's, and Sharks await your choice!

If any of the above happened and you were able to choose one sports team to win it all next year, which team would have this honor bestowed upon them? At first this might seem like a fairly simple question for you die-hard sports fans, but there are many fans who have allegiances with more than one team.

There are San Francisco fans through and through, cheering for the Niners and Giants with all their hearts every season. Then there are the Oakland fans who tirelessly and endlessly support the Raiders and A's. Of course there is a great presence of San Jose Sharks fans that live and die with Team Teal, and then the most courageous and loyal fans in the NBA are the passionate Warriors fans.

But as you dig deeper, you will also find that there are Raiders/Giants fans, Niners/A's fans, and then add to this any combination or both of the Warriors and Sharks. So as you look closer at the Bay Area sports scene there are fans who may root equally for the Warriors and Giants, Raiders and Sharks, or Niners and A's.

So now comes the hard part, as all the teams mentioned above are deserving and long overdue for a championship. The Bay Area has not enjoyed being the center of the sporting world for a particular sport since the 49ers beat up on the Chargers back in Super Bowl XXIX on January 29th, 1995.

The Giants have gone the longest, having appeared in three World Series since their move to San Francisco back in 1958, and though they have the most wins of any team in the history of baseball, no World Series championship ring adorns any of their fingers yet while calling San Francisco home.

The Warriors last won the NBA championship in the 1974-1975 season when Al Attles roamed the sidelines at the Oakland Coliseum as coach, and players such as Rick Barry, Clifford Ray, Charles Johnson, and Jamaal Wilkes helped sweep the Washington Bullets 4-0 to win the NBA finals.

The San Francisco 49ers have enjoyed the most success regarding the sporting scene in the Bay Area, but their recent struggles and playoff drought pains the denizens supporting the red and gold; and no Super Bowl victory parade has made its way in downtown San Francisco since 1995.

The Oakland Raiders are currently enduring their worst run in franchise history, which began with the end of the 2002 season. This ongoing playoff drought has lasted since Rich Gannon threw three picks that were returned for touchdowns and Jon Gruden helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers breeze past the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII on January 26th, 2003.

The San Jose Sharks, the dominant sports team currently residing in the Bay Area have given its loyal and vocal fans more than a few recent playoff heartbreaks, and though they finished with the best record in the NHL last season and enjoy one of the loudest home crowds in hockey, no Sharks player has drank from Lord Stanley's Cup since the team was born back in 1990.

The Oakland A's had three straight World Series appearances from 1988-1990, highlighted by the Bay to Bridge Series that saw the A's sweep their neighbors across the Bay 4-0. But since then, no World Series appearances or trophies, with the last few years being especially painful for fans of the green and gold.

So there you have it, wow what a drought! It's a good thing we get a lot of rain here in the Bay Area, because with all the empty trophy cases, stale champagne, and unused ticker-tape for the parades; the Bay Area sports world is as dry as a desert and the fans are waiting for relief!

Pick one. And only one. Who will you crown king of the Bay Area and the team that saves us all from our current sports hernia? Let the debate begin....