Warriors highlight golden era for Bay Area sports

Anyone considering becoming an Uber driver just got new incentive.

You never know who your passenger will be. Like two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who took one reporter off guard when he began telling his story of how excited he is for Bay Area sports fans.

Curry said:

“This is great for sports fans, regardless of if you follow each respective sport all year-round or whatnot, this is a great time to kind of tune in and be a sports fan in the Bay Area. So, obviously, the world’s eyes are going to be here in Oakland, San Jose, Levi Stadium. So it’s fun. I was in an Uber yesterday, and the guy was talking to me about all three different things going on, and just the excitement over that ten-minute drive that he had, that in a nutshell speaks volumes about how much sports means to the fans around here and excited to be a part of that and obviously on the court here at Oracle, but I’ll be watching the other two events as well.”

Mr Curry, did you say you were in … An Uber?

Curry smiled:

“Of course.”

The Warriors face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for the second year in a row starting Thursday, while the San Jose Sharks face a 2-0 deficit in their battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Stanley Cup.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson chimed in on the Bay Area surging to the top of the sports world with a vengeance:

“Since I’ve been in the Bay Area. I mean, we’ve been blessed with some great sports organizations and success from when I was here, the Niners were so good. They were going to the championship game every year. They were playing in the Super Bowl. The Giants obviously won in the World Series, and the Raiders make another resurgence, and obviously with the Sharks and the Stanley Cup, it’s really cool, I think. It’s a great time to be a Bay Area resident.”

While the 49ers have cooled, the Raiders could take over the top spot in Bay Area football after going 7-9 last year, with expectations to win 10 or more games this year. Which would likely place them in the playoffs. The Giants, meanwhile, look set for another even-year surge toward the postseason.

With great expectations, though, comes weight. Sometimes, apparently, since Warriors forward Harrison Barnes, who denied any extra mental baggage due to being overwhelming favorites to win another title:

“I wouldn’t say it was a weight on our shoulders. We wanted to be in this situation. We wanted to have the opportunity to come back and come to The Finals. This is what you play for. I think everyone’s just more excited. Being down 3-1 to OKC, I think that was more of a wake-up call for us of just how hungry teams are to get to this point. At that point in time, we were not playing with that intensity.”

The Warriors begin their series with Cleveland Thursday, and the Sharks are currently down two games to nothing against Pittsburgh. Both Bay Area football teams are training hard in preparation for their season to begin, while the baseball season is in full bloom.

It truly is a good time to be a citizen of the Bay.

Jason Leskiw is SFBay’s Golden State Warriors beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @LeskiwSFBay on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Warriors basketball.