Warriors and Sharks in Western Conference finals

BAY AREA (KTVU) - It’s a glorious time to be a Bay Area sports fan, with two teams in the Western Conference Finals - simultaneously - for the first time ever.  But one franchise is the clear headliner.  The other? 

“Oh the Sharks - how they doing?” asked one Warriors’ fan, only half-kidding.

Yeah, still skating - under the radar.

“It seems like a lot of the media gives short shrift to the Sharks and more coverage to the Warriors,“ said Stu Ganz, 2-year Sharks season-ticket holder. 

And don’t think the players haven’t noticed. 

“Obviously they've won championships so it's gonna get a little bit hyped for sure,” said Sharks’ forward Joel Ward.  “We don't have a Steph Curry marketing guy that's branded on the league.  We can't do nothing about that, we can't worry about the excess of what we can take care of on the ice, just care about ourselves.”

As much as the Warriors are enjoying the spotlight, they can empathize with the team in the South Bay.

“Anytime you have success, put a lot of work in, you want the acknowledgement of your craft,” said forward Harrison Barnes.  “I would say just because we're taking headlines or whatever, it doesn't take anything away from what they've accomplished.”

But that’s of little solace to some Shark fans… who aren’t entirely accepting of their perceived place in the local sports pecking order.

“Fair is fair,” added Ganz.  “I mean,  they're on a run so it should be covered with a lot of gusto right?”