‘Ring Night’ generally means big celebration and opening-night loss

On October 17, the Golden State Warriors opened their season at home versus the Houston Rockets. Before the game, the Warriors unveiled their 2016-17 championship rings. After the game, they tried to explain their subsequent heartbreaking 122-121 loss. Such is the nature of “Ring Night” in professional sports.

On one hand, the opening night of the season is a perfect night to celebrate the previous season’s championship. After all, this is generally the first time a team formally competes after the ultimate experience of “winning it all.” On the other hand, defending champions rarely win their opening game.

Consider the Chicago Cubs, who last fall broke the longest championship drought in professional sports, vanquishing a vast array of silly curses by defeating the Cleveland Indians 4-3 to win the World Series. The Cubs’ flagraising ceremony took place on April 12 in a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who promptly defeated the Cubs 2-0.

Super Bowl LI was certainly one of the most dramatic in the history of the NFL, with Tom Brady leading the New England Patriots back from a 25-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 3428 and cement the Patriots’ legacy. Apparently somebody forgot to tell the Kansas City Chiefs, who spanked the Patriots 42-27 in this season’s opening game.

And then there are the Warriors. However fans feel about Kevin Durant’s decision to defect from the Oklahoma City Thunder, there is no debate that Durant’s Warriors enjoyed one of the most dominant postseasons in league history in winning last year’s title. Yet the Rockets defeated them as well (albeit in dramatic, nail-biting fashion).

Is this phenomenon a result of a “championship hangover?” The dreaded distraction that coaches hate and that a banner unveiling inevitably provides? Or the motivation that an opponent feels watching said banner unveiled? Most likely, it’s a combination of all three. Major sports teams aren’t going to change the format of “Ring Night” to open a season – there’s simply too much money to be made. Fans who show up to watch these games, however, might want to resign themselves to a seasonopening loss.