nbascribe
06-21-2006, 10:03 PM
James Ragland: Billions can't buy dignity in defeat
09:32 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The sun rose bright and early on Wednesday, ushering in the first day of summer.
Unfortunately, for sports fans, Dallas started melting down a week ago.
It all began the day the city issued an ill-advised victory parade route for the Mavericks, who went on to lose their next game.
After that first loss, henceforth known as "the game that got away," everybody started coming loose at the seams the owner, the head coach, the players and even die-hard fans.
It reached a low point Tuesday when the Mavs unexpectedly collapsed at home in front of an anxious and at times agitated crowd.
And then, with a national TV audience looking on gulp frustrated fans started booing while NBA Commissioner David Stern presented the championship trophy to the Miami Heat.
It was a tad embarrassing almost as shocking as Josh Howard pulling his pants down during the game to take a bandage off his leg. (Guess he was afraid to call another timeout.)
Good news first.
Two experts in sports and business etiquette told me that, despite faux pas by the owner, coach, players and fans, the Mavericks and the city still came out on top.
"That's a tough one [to lose], but everybody in the world enjoyed the series," said Dr. G. Lynn Lashbrook, a Portland-based sports management professor and author of Fan Etiquette. "What a great franchise you've put together, and Dallas is such a great sports town."
Dr. Lillian A. Chaney, distinguished professor of management at the University of Memphis, has written extensively about business etiquette. She said the team and city would rebound quickly from any negative images it projected in the heat of battle.
"Honestly, for the short term it may be perceived negatively, but people do not have long memories for things like that," she said.
There's certainly a lot to forget:
The tone was set at the top, with team owner Mark Cuban earning himself a quarter-million-dollar fine for misconduct, including confronting a referee after a loss in Miami and cursing during an interview.
"Stern doesn't know what to do with Mark Cuban," Dr. Lashbrook said. Fining Mr. Cuban $250,000 "is like telling your kid he can't go to Dairy Queen tonight."
Mr. Cuban also dropped the vulgar F-bomb in his blog several times, and then much to my dismay he comes out and defends his coarse language rather than apologizing.
"When you start letting that be a part of your blog, you'll start seeing your fans and players using it," Dr. Lashbrook said. "They'll say, 'If the owner says it, it must be OK.' "
Dr. Chaney put it this way: "[Mr. Cuban] has made his own little world and the rest of us don't understand what drives someone like that."
For some reason, even the classy Avery Johnson briefly lost control. The Little General, whom local sports enthusiasts started calling The Little Genius after he figured out a way to beat intrastate rival San Antonio, suddenly turned into The Little Geyser. He lost his cool and started blowing off steam.
Mr. Johnson took a page from Mr. Cuban's manual and insulted a reporter who asked him a question about a noncall during a tough Game 5 loss. Mr. Johnson later apologized for his unusual behavior, thank goodness.
Team star Dirk Nowitzki was fined $5,000 for punting the basketball into the seats after Game 5. The outburst seemed tame, but it was a clear sign that the team was losing its composure and pouting too much. Seemed like Mark Cuban was everywhere.
Dallas officials started publicly talking about a victory parade after two wins. Some superstitious fans think that jinxed the city.
"The next councilman that makes victory parade plans BEFORE victory is actually achieved should be taken out back of City Hall and shot!" one Plano reader declared in an e-mail to me.
Dr. Chaney agreed, sort of. "That was poor taste," she said, adding that a city should plan for such events but not release details prematurely. "You just can't do it."
Finally, with our beloved Mavs cut down on their home court, some fans lost control. Many left the arena before the Miami Heat were crowned champions, but some who stayed booed the coronation especially when Mr. Stern appeared.
Dr. Lashbrook said he dismissed the boos as a show of frustration. He doubts the image will linger. He's got a point it's not like fans were tossing batteries or bottles on the floor.
"People are talking about the upset [of the Mavs], not [about] the fans," he assured.
Hundreds of people responded to a question this newspaper posed online: "Are you embarrassed at the actions of the Mavericks and the fans?"
The conclusion: some are, some aren't. But plenty of people are talking. That's a start.
Tuesday night was not a shining moment for Mavericks fans, not by a long shot. We must demand more of ourselves.
If Dallas truly wants to be remembered as a great sports town, we must lose with grace, dignity and class and that goes for the owner, first and foremost.
E-mail [email protected]
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jragland/stories/062206dnmetragland.ab7f81e4.html
09:32 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The sun rose bright and early on Wednesday, ushering in the first day of summer.
Unfortunately, for sports fans, Dallas started melting down a week ago.
It all began the day the city issued an ill-advised victory parade route for the Mavericks, who went on to lose their next game.
After that first loss, henceforth known as "the game that got away," everybody started coming loose at the seams the owner, the head coach, the players and even die-hard fans.
It reached a low point Tuesday when the Mavs unexpectedly collapsed at home in front of an anxious and at times agitated crowd.
And then, with a national TV audience looking on gulp frustrated fans started booing while NBA Commissioner David Stern presented the championship trophy to the Miami Heat.
It was a tad embarrassing almost as shocking as Josh Howard pulling his pants down during the game to take a bandage off his leg. (Guess he was afraid to call another timeout.)
Good news first.
Two experts in sports and business etiquette told me that, despite faux pas by the owner, coach, players and fans, the Mavericks and the city still came out on top.
"That's a tough one [to lose], but everybody in the world enjoyed the series," said Dr. G. Lynn Lashbrook, a Portland-based sports management professor and author of Fan Etiquette. "What a great franchise you've put together, and Dallas is such a great sports town."
Dr. Lillian A. Chaney, distinguished professor of management at the University of Memphis, has written extensively about business etiquette. She said the team and city would rebound quickly from any negative images it projected in the heat of battle.
"Honestly, for the short term it may be perceived negatively, but people do not have long memories for things like that," she said.
There's certainly a lot to forget:
The tone was set at the top, with team owner Mark Cuban earning himself a quarter-million-dollar fine for misconduct, including confronting a referee after a loss in Miami and cursing during an interview.
"Stern doesn't know what to do with Mark Cuban," Dr. Lashbrook said. Fining Mr. Cuban $250,000 "is like telling your kid he can't go to Dairy Queen tonight."
Mr. Cuban also dropped the vulgar F-bomb in his blog several times, and then much to my dismay he comes out and defends his coarse language rather than apologizing.
"When you start letting that be a part of your blog, you'll start seeing your fans and players using it," Dr. Lashbrook said. "They'll say, 'If the owner says it, it must be OK.' "
Dr. Chaney put it this way: "[Mr. Cuban] has made his own little world and the rest of us don't understand what drives someone like that."
For some reason, even the classy Avery Johnson briefly lost control. The Little General, whom local sports enthusiasts started calling The Little Genius after he figured out a way to beat intrastate rival San Antonio, suddenly turned into The Little Geyser. He lost his cool and started blowing off steam.
Mr. Johnson took a page from Mr. Cuban's manual and insulted a reporter who asked him a question about a noncall during a tough Game 5 loss. Mr. Johnson later apologized for his unusual behavior, thank goodness.
Team star Dirk Nowitzki was fined $5,000 for punting the basketball into the seats after Game 5. The outburst seemed tame, but it was a clear sign that the team was losing its composure and pouting too much. Seemed like Mark Cuban was everywhere.
Dallas officials started publicly talking about a victory parade after two wins. Some superstitious fans think that jinxed the city.
"The next councilman that makes victory parade plans BEFORE victory is actually achieved should be taken out back of City Hall and shot!" one Plano reader declared in an e-mail to me.
Dr. Chaney agreed, sort of. "That was poor taste," she said, adding that a city should plan for such events but not release details prematurely. "You just can't do it."
Finally, with our beloved Mavs cut down on their home court, some fans lost control. Many left the arena before the Miami Heat were crowned champions, but some who stayed booed the coronation especially when Mr. Stern appeared.
Dr. Lashbrook said he dismissed the boos as a show of frustration. He doubts the image will linger. He's got a point it's not like fans were tossing batteries or bottles on the floor.
"People are talking about the upset [of the Mavs], not [about] the fans," he assured.
Hundreds of people responded to a question this newspaper posed online: "Are you embarrassed at the actions of the Mavericks and the fans?"
The conclusion: some are, some aren't. But plenty of people are talking. That's a start.
Tuesday night was not a shining moment for Mavericks fans, not by a long shot. We must demand more of ourselves.
If Dallas truly wants to be remembered as a great sports town, we must lose with grace, dignity and class and that goes for the owner, first and foremost.
E-mail [email protected]
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jragland/stories/062206dnmetragland.ab7f81e4.html