7 replies to this topic

[TROUBLEMAN69]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writ...ider/index.html

I really do wish these so called experts would get their facts straight.  

Here are some examples of his inaccurate comments:

In reply to:

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In an effort to get over the top the following season, the Hawks signed Moses Malone as a free agent and traded for Reggie Theus (while getting rid of reliable Randy Wittman in the process). They didn't even make the playoffs.

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The truth is, that team lost in the 1st round of the playoffs to the Milwaukee Bucks, after going 52-30 during the regular season.  There was constant friction between Nique/Theus and Fratello/Theus.   That team also averaged 15,000 fans per game in the 16,000 seat Omni.  

In reply to:

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This might be a bit of an overstatement, but I trace the Hawks' downfall to a memorable day in May, the 22nd to be exact, of 1988. I was there, in a typically boiling Boston Garden, when the Hawks' Dominique Wilkins almost outshot the Celtics' Larry Bird in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, one of the most memorable playoff games in NBA history. The Hawks fell short, 118-116, and the "almost" nature of the game came to define the team. Atlanta was never the same after that

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That moment wasn't the downfall of the Hawks.  The downfall of the Hawks actually started with the hiring of Pete Babcock.  Pete made some good moves during the Lenny Wilkens era, except for the trade of Dominique Wilkins.  The Hawks actually should have traded Kevin Willis, because he was the one who thought he was a superstar and caused friction with Nique with their famous battles over the left block.  The friction was on the court, and didn't carry over to their personal lives, but it hurt the team.  

Pete made the bad trades for Blair Rasmussen, Isiah Rider/Jim Jackson, and Dan Dickau(who was a draft day acquisition).  In his defense, he also made some good ones, acquiring Mookie for Rumeal Robinson, Steve Smith/Grant Long for Kevin Willis, signing Dikember, and acquiring Christian Laettner for Spud Webb/Andrew Lang.   Pete's draft choices were, to put it mildly, horrible.  Rumeal Robinson, Adam Keefe, Doug Edwards, Priest Lauderdale, Ed Gray, Cal Bowdler, etc..   Babcock/Kasten did more to setback this franchise than a playoff loss.

In reply to:

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The only consolation in this whole mess is that, after providing such lukewarm support over the years to a successful and entertaining team, Atlanta fans don't deserve a winner.

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Fans will support a winner that seems to make good sound decisions.  We have all seen the wasted draft picks, the dumb trades, the bad free agent signings.  The Lenny Wilkens era Hawks, while they were a good team, they played a very boring brand of basketball.  The team did draw ok, especially after the Mutombo acquisition.  

Winning teams continue to win, because they make smart draft picks.  Those young players are allowed to develop and over time they will replace the veterans as they get older.  That is why the consistently good teams might get down for a while, but they don't stay down for long.   The Celtics are the only example of a great team with tradition, that was down for long periods, and that was because of tragedy with the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis.  

TROUBLEMAN

[macdaddy]

Troubleman.  Good job pointing out the inaccuracies.  I don't know why the national press loves to hammer Atlanta sports.  The Nique/moses/theus team as you point out was very good and won a lot of games.  
I don't get why he says the Hawks teams have sucked for 20 years and then says they have been 'successful and entertaining'
And how offensive is it to say Hawks fans don't deserve a winning team.  Its the same shiite with the Braves.  If were not pooring out $50 a game for crappy seats then we are bad fans.  Since most team revenue comes from TV contracts I think the best thing you can do is sit at home and watch it on TV.  
But really I want to hear examples of other cities fans who get trashed on a regular basis.  Did these folks notice the packed house when tickets were $7.50 on Monday.  One big reason the Hawks and Braves don't draw is that upper level seats in both places are way too expensive and are terrible seats.

[Dejay]

I guess with the Super Bowl being two weeks away, the national press don't have anything else to write about so they have no choice but to trot out their 'Atlanta sucks as a sports town' columns once again.  My $64,000 question of the week is simple; what did our town do to them to bring such an ire?  When they aren't complaning about the city being too cold when the Super Bowl was here in 2000, it is about how we don't sell out for Braves playoff games and how they should move the Hawks to a city that cares.  What gives???  I think this goes back to when Atlanta won the Olympic Games in 1996.  Remember, the Olympics were once regarded as a money pit for years (see Montreal) until L.A. hosted it in 1984.  It reminded me of the type of girl in high school that other guys wouldn't mess with because she wasn't that hot but you hung with her anyway when no one else would, married her, and she blossomed into a beauty queen.  Now the other guys desire to have her and resent you for it by stating every flaw you've had since age 3 and piling on whenever possible.  Common sense says for them to 'let it go' but they just can't do it.  Same case here.  Up until the Olympics, I've never heard such constant resentment from the national media before; we were just another 'hick' town with a few tall buildings, a place called Buckhead, and bad sports teams to boot.  But now, everyone, from Rich Eisen to Jack McCallum to Michael Wilbon to Stuart Scott to Charles Barkley to Linda Kohn to Steven A. Smith to Mitch Albom wants to get in line to rail on this city and it makes me sick to my stomach.  I'd love for one of them, FOR ONCE, to do their due diligence (i.e. homework) and do a story on WHY we don't go to the games instead of just pointing out that we don't every night on ESPN and TNT.  Didn't the Lakers have attendance problems after 'Showtime' ended (pre-Shaq)?  Where were the columns about them?  What about the no-shows in Giants Stadium when the Jets went 1-15?  How easy is it to get a ticket to Cominsky Park these days?  What about the Tigers in Detroit?  They have a new park and they can't draw either.  We never get columns blasting those cities for its non-support, don't we?  Instead, we get to hear them rationalize it with 'well, the owners of those franchises don't care so the fans are right by not showing up' or 'well, the GM was so bad that the fans stayed away'.  But here?  Well, Atlanta just stinks as a sports town and the team should move.  HUH?  It's real easy to get on your soapbox and cry about the 'horrible' fans in Atlanta when you have a six-figure income, free press passes with a free buffet on press row, while driving to the game in a $50K car and living in a $300K home with a nanny to babysit your kids.  I wonder if ANY of them would actually take $$$ out of their pockets to pay for this product on $27K with a mortgage, car note, student loans, past due credit card bills, a spouse and three kids at home.  I seriously doubt it.  Again, what is wrong with having a higher expectation for your entertainment $$$??????

[Gray Mule]

Amen!!  Preach on !

[pathway23]

couldn't agree more DJ. Well said.

[DocHawk]

dejay you brought a tear to my eye........not really but good speech anyway...

[OGRat]

Dejay,

Thanks for expressing so eloquently my feelings exactly.  You should email that post directly to all of Atlanta's detractors.

OG

[Dejay]

All I'm saying is that for all the flak we get down here, we never, EVER hear a negative statement about another town.  And for all of the folks who love to pile on about the 'fairweather fans' here, give me one city, just ONE city, that has two or more pro sports teams that didn't have its share of non-support when things went south and piling on the bandwagon when things were great again.  I said cities with TWO OR MORE TEAMS so the San Antonios, Sacramentos, Portlands, and Green Bays don't count.  It's real easy to come out when the Blazers are the only game in town but what if they had an NFL, NHL, and major league baseball team to contend with year-round?  Give it a shot.  St. Louis?  Nope; check out the no-shows in the that place BEFORE Marshall Faulk came to town.  Besides, didn't they lose an NFL team already?  Denver?  Nope (see Nuggets before Carmelo Anthony came to town).  Chicago?  Nope.  Boston?  [censored] no (remember the Patriots when [censored] McPherson ran the show?).  Philly?  Nope (see Sixers after they traded Barkley before AI arrived).  Again, where is that perfect sports town????