The Adelaide Crows are the older of the two Australian Football League clubs from the port city of Adelaide, about two hours from Melbourne. Last year, the Crows missed the eight-team playoffs by a game, losing a couple of very winnable games against comparable foes (in particular, a six-point loss to the North Melbourne Kangaroos that they led late in Week 22 stands out). Meanwhile, their younger rivals from across town, the Port Adelaide Power, had a great season, starting out 11-1 and making a strong run at the Grand Final before losing to eventual champs Hawthorn by a goal in the preliminary final. The Power are up-and-comers; the Crows are when-you-gonna-make-gooders.
Their American counterpart: The New York Knicks
With Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and a host of talented players, this storied franchise hoped to make a charge at an NBA title over the last couple of years. Instead, they've wallowed in the mires of mediocrity, struggling with in-fighting, and failing time and time again to make the playoffs with a roster that seems playoff-ready.
Similar to Adelaide, the Knicks have watched their younger brethren across the river, the Brooklyn Nets, reach the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference last year with a mixture of old and (some) new talent. Admittedly, they also failed to reach the championship, but they've achieved much more recently than their more storied rival across town. Both teams have struggled with coaches, Adelaide having just sacked Brendon Sanderson because he was out of touch with his veteran players, and the Knicks having brought in legend Phil Jackson to the front office in hopes of his magic rubbing off on the team. The Crows' Patrick Dangerfield is one of the three or five best players in footy, as Carmelo Anthony is in basketball; both players have also been the subject of trade or free agency rumors in the very recent past. Their titles are a distant memory, but then folks in New York and Adelaide have long memories!
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