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I was unaware that the the Knick & Warrior fans were the best.
The power of the roar of the crowd
May. 2, 2007 | feedback
It's easy to discount the spiritual impact of basketball crowds if you haven't attended a playoff game with special fans before. There's no way to understand it unless it's definitely happened to you. Then you know. As strange as this sounds, it's like a woman being unable to tell whether she's ever had an orgasm. If she thinks it may have happened, or it felt like it kind of happened one time ... it didn't happen. When it happens, they know. Then they feel stupid for all the other times when they thought it happened.
After I wrote last week that two special NBA crowds remain -- Madison Square Garden and Oakland Arena -- the predictable slew of e-mails arrived from Sacramento, Chicago, Toronto and many other cities, all of them asking, "What about us?" I don't blame them for being deluded because they don't know any better. (See example above.) When the Celtics climbed to the Eastern finals five years ago, I convinced myself that we'd turned the FleetCenter into the old Garden all over again ... but looking back, that wasn't really the case. Maybe it was loud, maybe it was raucous, maybe we willed the boys to come back in Game 3, but since New Jersey captured Games 4 and 6 in Boston, were we really that great?
Game Six, Rockets-Jazz
Just wanted to go on the record: I'm predicting an easy Utah win tonight. Once the Jazz finally figured out that nobody could hurt them except for T-Mac, this series took on a totally different feel after Game 2. Utah has three guys who can get quality shots -- Williams, Boozer and Harpring (coming off screens) -- whereas the Rockets have T-Mac and that's it. And to answer your "What about Yao?" question ... exactly. What about Yao? Defensively, he's been a liability; offensively, he can't even post up 6-7 Paul Millsap, much less Boozer or Memo Okur. It's his fifth season in the league. He should be KILLING a team like Utah -- the Jazz don't have a single guy to guard him. So why isn't he killing them? Great question. If you're a Rockets fan, you should be petrified right now. Your team needs a superhuman performance from T-Mac to win one of these next two games. Anything less and they're going home.
Once upon a time, the Celtics had the most significant home-court advantage thanks to 15,000 savvy hoop lunatics crammed into an overheated lunchbox. Since I was blessed with the chance to attend most of their pivotal games during the Bird Era, you have to believe me on this one -- we swung the outcome of six different series ('81 Sixers, '84 Lakers, '87 Bucks, '87 Pistons, '88 Hawks and '91 Pacers) in which superior opponents failed to handle the mythical combination of Bird and the Garden. Off the top of my head, I can remember 20-25 games in which we carried the team to a higher place.
Now, you're saying to yourself, "Doesn't every crowd do that?"
Actually, no. Most of any sport, the fate of a basketball game hinges on the connection between players and fans. Last year, you could have dressed in white, headed to a big Miami game, stood and cheered at all the predictable spots and convinced yourself that you impacted the game ... but you really didn't. You did exactly what you were expected to do, nothing more. You obeyed the Jumbotron, followed the musical cues and served your purpose. In other words, you were just like every other NBA crowd.
These things don't happen at Warriors and Knicks games because they're the only two places left with old-school fans, fans who have been coming to games for 30-40 years, fans of all colors, fans who genuinely understand basketball and every nuance that comes with it. They don't need the Jumbotron to help them out; , they don't want the Jumbotron to help them out. These are the fans who recognize a beautiful pass as it's happening, not after it happens, simply because they love basketball and see the same angles that players see. These are the fans who instinctively understand stuff like, "Mickael Pietrus just threw down a ridiculous putback, I'm going to stand and keep cheering for an extra 30 seconds because he's a young kid and we need to keep pumping him up so he'll do it again."
Why are New York and Oakland the only two throwback cities remaining in the league? It's simple. The Knicks haven't priced out their real fans because so many people have money in New York it's impossible to price everyone out. They also have an old-school arena with luxury boxes situated 50-60 rows away, so fans are crowded around the court and it's a much more communal experience. And since New York has always been the capital of basketball -- for further details, read the Pete Axthelm classic "The City Game" -- the fans have an inherent appreciation and understanding of the sport that distinguishes them from nearly every other city. (Yes, including Boston, which will always be a baseball town.) The real tragedy of Isiah's catastrophic tenure is that we were robbed of some monster basketball crowds. The Knicks should always be good, if only to show every other fan base how it's done. Or, used to be done.
As for Warriors fans, it's a little more simple: They play in Oakland and have the most eclectic mix of fans in the league, so their home games have a different feel, almost like an upscale version of Rucker Park. Earlier this year, my wife and I were trying to determine if we wanted to leave L.A. and live somewhere else for a few years (just to mix things up), and during the course of the discussions, she brought up the Bay Area. Well, you know why I couldn't live there? Because of the Warriors. If we moved there, I'd end up purchasing Warriors season tickets; inevitably I would be compromised by those unique crowds, placing me in a precarious sports bigamy predicament since I'm utterly and completely disgusted by the Celtics' front office and ownership right now. It would be like a guy who hates his wife hiring the hottest 20 year-old Danish au pair on the planet. Just a bad idea all the way around.
What does this have to do with Game 6 of the Warriors-Mavs series tonight? In the words of Russell Hammond, everything. I don't believe the 2007 Dallas Mavericks have the collective heart to prevail in Oakland, not with the Warriors' fans smelling blood and providing one of the all-time electric/rabid/emotional/crazed atmospheres in recent sports history. As good as they were in Game 3 and Game 4, the fans will be better tonight. They will rise to the occasion. They will. I am convinced. They have been waiting for a night like this for 30 long years. Literally.
Maybe a veteran team like the Spurs wouldn't be fazed, but the Cuban-era Mavs have proven time and time again -- in Miami last June, against Phoenix two years ago, even last weekend in Oakland -- that they have no qualms about folding at the worst possible times. The right crowd can get to them. The right mix of shaky calls can get to them. They fall apart when you least expect it. In fact, they squandered a 21-point lead in Game 5 and would have ended up on one of TNT's "Gone Fishin'" cards if (A) the Warriors hadn't stupidly slowed things down with a six-point lead, and (B) the Mavs hadn't gotten FOUR major calls in the final 50 seconds: Barnes getting whistled for a clean strip of Nowitzki, Nowitzki not getting whistled for clobbering Richardson on a go-ahead 3, Davis getting a sixth foul for not touching anyone and Nowitzki going over-the-back on the biggest rebound of the game. Whatever. The league wanted this series to go back to Oakland and it did.
To beat this particular Warriors team -- an undersized group that thrives on dunks, killer 3s, alley-oops, energy plays and everything else that ignites a great crowd -- when they're playing at home you need five guys who won't be afraid (as far as I can tell, Dallas has Nowitzki, Stackhouse and Howard and that's it), and one special player who can pull a Clint Eastwood and jam a stake in the crowd's collective heart. On paper, Nowitzki should be that player -- we even caught a glimpse in Game 5, when he did a superb impression of the 2007 MVP during the final three minutes -- but as I wrote in Tuesday's piece, he's looked like a mess for most of this series. Even in Game 5, Nowitzki disappeared for nearly the entire second half. This was an elimination game! How could a team's best player attempt only two shots in the first 21 minutes of the second half against a surging Warriors team that clearly smelled an upset?
When Dirk finally stepped up with a couple of 3s and a monster block, TNT headed to a commercial as Stockton excitedly yelped, "Dirk Nowitzki, playing like an MVP in the last minute!" Really, a whole minute? That's what it takes to be an MVP these days? Sure, you can't discount Nowitzki because he has shown flashes -- like the end of Game 5, or his incredible 3-point play to save the Spurs series last spring -- but at the same time, not since Kevin Garnett's Game 7 against the 2004 Kings have we seen an NBA superstar face a bigger career gut check than the one Nowitzki faces tonight. KG was playing at home and came up huge (32 points, 21 rebounds). Nowitzki will be playing in one of the toughest environments in sports. If he ever wanted to be challenged as a basketball player, tonight's the night. If he shows any sign of weakness at all, the crowd will smell it. If he falters at all, so will the Mavs.
It's the second best subplot of tonight's game, right behind the crowd itself. For the past week or so, I've been swamped by e-mails by readers who were unequivocally delighted by this series -- not just Golden State's fan-friendly style of play, but those two home games in Oakland and how much they meant to anyone who cares about basketball. It's been a throwback to the days when crowds actually mattered, when players liked playing with one another, when every playoff game didn't end with the same predictable "everyone clear out for the alpha dogs so they can go 1-on-3" sequence. I haven't been this excited for a non-Celtics game in years.
Maybe the winner tonight doesn't matter, just that the game is happening at all does. But I'll be rooting for the Warriors for selfish reasons: If they advance to Round 2, I'm flying to Oakland and attending the next slew of home games. Maybe it won't be as good as hopping into a time machine and heading back to the old Boston Garden, but it's better than nothing.
I was unaware that the the Knick & Warrior fans were the best.
Good read. That crowd will be salivating tonight.
Still trying to figure out why the Neutral fan is getting behind the Warriors?
What guy on that team am I supposed to like? Baron Davis? He's the best player in world according to him who only plays 50% of the time. Not only that, but to my knowledge Byron Scott wasn't the only coach to question his work ethic. Stephen Jackson? That Fool takes a gun out at a strip club and fires multiple shots in the air, nails a few Detroit fans with some haymakers, and reportedly has the grammar of a pirate. Jason Richardson, it's not my fault everyone else around me sucks, I'm a star. Matt Barnes, I have hair like a Skunk and look at me I'll be in Jim's Circus when I retire with all these tatts. Al Harrington? I don't want to play in Atlanta I can't win here I demand a trade because I'm a freaking crybaby.
Don Nelson? Sure funny guy I suppose, but really hasn't he sold his own soul at this point?
because everybody hates the Mavericks except for Mavs fans.
Everyone likes the underdog plus everyone hates Cuban. I could go on but those are the main reason IMO.
Gotta admit -- GS does have one uva crowd. That place will be insane tonight.
Good read. Thanks.
Bitter much?
Won't matter. Mavs will win this game, and win the series. Done deal.
Every non serious basketball fan has david and goliath syndrome, everyone loves to see the giants fall. Not to speak for others but I salivate at the level of basketball a Spurs and Mavericks series would product this year, therefor I root for that. However I will definitely root for the game to be a close one tonight, well because I like good basketball.
Cuban's such a he makes every Mavericks opponent into America's Team.
What a bitter little Mavs fan.
You want to know why everyone roots for GS? It boils down to two reasons:
1) Fans root for the 'dog unless their team is the favorite
2) Your owner is an asshole
You pretty much nailed it.
Golden State has definitely taken on the national underdog role for the moment. They're definitely undermanned and they are, as Nellie says, "a bunch of midgets" playing a game meant for long, tall men. It's not just that the Warriors are the inferior team; it's that they're perceived as having no real chance because, superficially, it would appear to most that the Mavericks have every conceivable advantage (the MVP, playoff experience, bigger players, a free-spending owner, etc.). It's very much like the swell of support for a team like George Mason in the 2006 NCAA tournament. By the time they played Connecticut in the Elite 8, there were, I suspect, very few casual observers who weren't rooting for Mason. They were perceived to have no chance, but they played like they didn't know that.
But I think people are rooting for the Warriors as much because they play a free and open style that appeals to those who might not have a dog in the fight. They are very athletic and want to get up and down, which is certainly something that appeals to the casual basketball fan. They play with almost a reckless swagger. I don't think people who are captivated by this series are necessarily spending time learning about the character quirks of these guys; they're captivated by "The Little Team that Could" story that the Warriors have been to this point.
And I don't think the Cuban thing hurts the Warriors popularity at all.
I thought it was obvious why people are behind theWarriors, just like the NCAA tourney, people want to see the #1 seed fall to the #16 or in this case #8 seed, especially in the first round. Plus if I was the fan of the NBA and the team wasnt the mavs in this situation, of course I would want to see history made and witness the biggest choke job in the NBA ever
So basically he's saying that the San Antonio crowd sucked major ass last year in game seven, SWEET! LOL at Bill Simmons, the ultimate bandwagon fan who jumps bail on the Celtics and ridicules them in favor of the Suns and Warriors. It's fine to do that, just don't pretend you're witty and cool whilst doing so.
When has he ever jumped off the Celtics?
He hates their coach, their management and (it's almost like family), he can make fun of his team(s), but you can't.
The Spurs crowd became lazy after the first le. I doubt it'll become strong again until Duncan retires and they have a few losing years to make fans hungry again.
Yeah, I don't get why anyone would say that Simmons jumped off the Celtics' bandwagon. He's downright obsessed with New England sports and the Celtics are clearly the focus of his obsession. Quarreling with or laughing at the way the team is run right now isn't the same as saying he's given up and moved along to another team.
What the does this mean, "he can make fun of his team, but you can't?" Why the heck would I make fun of the team I root for?!?!?! Even when the Mavs are struggling, I will continue to root for them. I may take exception to certain things like Cuban's antics, or when Nellie coached, his lazy fat ass just sitting on the bench complacent about winw/losses in post-game interviews, but I'm not going to ridicule and trash them, i.e. "make fun of them"
Anyway, Bill Simmons will be rooting for the Suns in the Spurs/Suns series as he watches their, to quote the Sports Guy, "historically good" asses try to win a game against the Spurs, enjoy.
I actually like the Mavs as a team, and I have a healthy respect for some of the Mavs posters on this board. But they are the one team in the West that I could see getting in the way of a Spurs le this year.
Don't get me wrong, there are a few things I absolutely abhor about the Mavs: Jason Terry, though I respect his game, acts like a 4 year-old regularly on the court. In that same vein you have Marc Cuban, simultaneously the most awesome and most idiotically childish owner I have ever seen. I also dislike the amount of press the Mavs get which has been denied to the Spurs for so long, but that's not their fault and as such don't hold them accountable. I have the feeling that a lot of Mavs fans are of the younger sort as well -- this was a franchise in trouble in the mid-90s. If they aren't playing well, they don't sell seats, and I have issues with that kind of a fanbase (which is most of the NBA).
I like a lot of Mavs players (JHo will likely be a guy to build le-winners around even if Nowitzki doesn't produce), and there are things that I don't mind about the Mavs too. But they are (or were) the odds-on favorite to win the le this year. I always root for the underdog unless the underdog is from NY, LA, or has a particular collection of players that I do not enjoy watching at all (Miami currently has the worst, with Shaq AND 'Tione). Barring that, I usually always go for the low men on the totem pole.
It all comes down, in the end, to seeing Duncan & Co. lift the trophy. I think even the most ardent Spurs fan would admit that the potential for that increases if the Mavs fall tonight. I love love LOVE great basketball, and I have no doubts that it would likely go 7 games in the WCF between the respective franchises. But if there's one thing I like more, it's Championships.
Furthermore, if we win this year I think the Spurs have to be considered a dynasty. It vindicates Pop's style of play and the incredible ability to keep the team together -- and elite for this long. It cements Duncan as the #1 PF of all time, much respect to Malone (whom is also on my me no likey list), Barkley, and the other great fours who have come along before. Duncan has a real chance to get it done this year.
Most of all, it flips a big "F U" to the media for doubting the power of defense time after time after time, for hyping the team that's flashy, for all of it's idiocy. People like Kiszla who watch a single game and think they understand what one of the finest compe ive sports in the world is all about.
Post of the week.
Fixed it for you
He also jumped on Dirk's jock last year after the 50-point game and ripped the Suns to shreds (calling them floppers and whiners).
It's all relative and, as a fan, I basically think you like Simmons if he's riding on the same bandwagon, but once he jumps off, you hate him again... that's how I was until he came out with the massive Suns love-fest article and he reeled me back in.
What I mean is that it's like family (or friends) when you can talk BS and smack your friends around, but you would be the first to defend them if others did.
And I'm of the opinion that you can always be a fan of your team, root for them and still "make fun of them."
Ask the people that hang out from ST and we always find something to poke fun at the Spurs. Tony's accent in his new Taco Bell commercial...Manu's commercial with "Mrs. Ginobili" on the Caller ID of his digital phone..."The gnomes are out of bounds."
If you (and in this case, unlike my previous posts responding to you, I mean you specifically) can't see the difference and fun in that, then you're not having enough fun with your team.
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