Bibby Calls Celtic Fans Bandwagoners

[ncthompson11]

Really no surprise since they are the best team in the NBA. It just gets old when people say theyve been long time Boston fans in every sport when if they werent good they wouldnt be. Glad to hear someone speak up about it because they seemed quiet on TV.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/h...ksnot_0423.html

[Packfill]

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Really no surprise since they are the best team in the NBA. It just gets old when people say theyve been long time Boston fans in every sport when if they werent good they wouldnt be. Glad to hear someone speak up about it because they seemed quiet on TV.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/h...ksnot_0423.html

Being a New Yorker it pains me to admit this, but Boston sports fans are some of the most die hard, live and breath for your team, sports fans around. Bibby doesn't know what he is talking about.

[IonSen88]

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Being a New Yorker it pains me to admit this, but Boston sports fans are some of the most die hard, live and breath for your team, sports fans around. Bibby doesn't know what he is talking about.

He said Celtics. If you seen their arena prior to 2007, you'd know what he is talking about.

[lifelong]

well I'm guessing there will be a TON of those "bandwagon" fans in our building this Saturday night, probably at LEAST half the building. maybe even more. Game 3 still isn't sold out. What does that make "Hawks fans?"

[AtLaS]

I don't understand how we haven't sold out when we sold out the REGULAR season game against the Celtics 2 weeks ago..

[Guest]

I get so annoyed when our arena is filled with a large amount of other team fans. Kobes, Heat, Boston, AI...we really don't have a fan base right now. We do have a large base of basketball fans though.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Bibby needs to shut his mouth, and take some extra shots before tomorrow night's game. Work on that schizophrenic jumper, not your trash talk with the fans.

[Eddielives]

I was just about to say the same thing. Where is this guys head right now? With his terrible performance in game one and inconsistent play down the stretch, it is becoming really hard for me to appreciate this veteran and his game....on and off the field.

[Packfill]

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I get so annoyed when our arena is filled with a large amount of other team fans. Kobes, Heat, Boston, AI...we really don't have a fan base right now. We do have a large base of basketball fans though.

Team Dime will half the arena so no worries.

[Atlantaholic]

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Really no surprise since they are the best team in the NBA. It just gets old when people say theyve been long time Boston fans in every sport when if they werent good they wouldnt be. Glad to hear someone speak up about it because they seemed quiet on TV.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/h...ksnot_0423.html

Awesome... I was already missing the Hawks embarrassing me, good to see Bibby open his mouth and give me my dose.

Bad mouthing Celtics fans when you play for the Hawks??

Bwahahahahahah.

Bandwagon fans? I'll bet everyone right now that at least a third of the fans at the game in Phillips will be wearing green.

If anything most Atlanta fans are bandwagon fans... For Celts, Lakers, Pistons, Cavs etc. etc.

[Seano]

Bibby is entitled to his opinions and he can say whatever he wants, but frankly I wish he'd just shut the hell up and concentrate on playing basketball. I mean, what is the point of even saying something like this right now? How is it relevant to his job as a basketball player? It's just stupid, and Bibby really annoys me sometimes....

RE: the Celtics fans being band-wagonners, I don't know about that. They have got a hardcore and very dedicated fan-base, with so much history and tradition surrounding that franchise. A lot of old-school fans who really know their stuff and who are also very demanding, because they expect the best. I've been to a few C's games, and personally I think their fans are great. I wish we had that kind of backing, but that's the kind of thing that takes years and years and years to build.

[jhay610]

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If anything most Atlanta fans are bandwagon fans... For Celts, Lakers, Pistons, Cavs etc. etc.

Exactly. Born and raised Atlantans will gladly put on whoever's jersey is hot at the moment and go to the arena and yell like they are a lifelong fan from the other team's city. B4 and after Vick the Falcons always ha(d),(ve) a hard time drawing more fans of the home team than the road, esp. when a good team is in town. When they had a superstar in Vick, all of a sudden people came out of the woodwork in their Birds gear.

If the Hawks had a young superstar (2005 Draft) they would do a lot better on their bottom line. Unfortunately, bad management can render any number of lottery picks useless...

That said, the majority of fans around the nation are fairweather. When you put a crap product out there for years on end you can't expect to sellout every night. If Ruth's Chris started glazing their steaks with feces then you can bet that no one would eat there anymore. Such is the nature of the free market.

And this from Kendrick Perkins:

Although the Hawks have yet to sell out Philips Arena for Game 3 Saturday, Perkins is under the impression that the crowd will be bigger than usual in Atlanta.

"It's about time," he said. "It takes us going down there to pack their building out."

Ouch.

[Johnnybravo4]

Like I said before, you know they are bandwagoners because you see more Garnett jerseys than Paul Pierce Jerseys.

[Peoriabird]

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If the Hawks had a young superstar (2005 Draft) they would do a lot better on their bottom line. Unfortunately, bad management can render any number of lottery picks useless...

You act like the Hawks have never been good or never had a young superstar! Ever heard of Bob Pettit, John Drew, Moses Malone, Dominique Wilkins? Even with these guys on the team there were more Boston, Detroit, LA, and Chicago fans. And I guess you don't think much of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith or Al Horford

[JackB1]

Bibby really shouldn't be talking about ANYONE in Boston, fans or whoever, after his horrible performance in Game 1. Put up 25 points and then you can talk. I only hope that this gets him fired up for game 2.

Not smart, Bibby.

[Johnnybravo4]

Maybe thats the way he gets fired up.

[jhay610]

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You act like the Hawks have never been good or never had a young superstar!

I wasn't saying they haven't had one in their history. I was saying they don't have one now and haven't had one in a while. The fact that you had to go back to the late 80's for your most recent example says alot. Just for arguments sake:

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Ever heard of Bob Pettit

Never played in Atl; irrelevant to this conversation.

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John Drew

Nice player. Superstar? How many championships did we win with him again?

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Moses Malone

On the downside of his career when he got here. Hardly a star, much less super.

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Dominique Wilkins

The only bona-fide superstar on your list, and we never got past the conf. finals w him.

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I guess you don't think much of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith or Al Horford

Love those guys, but you are in la-la-land if you think they are superstars. Kobe is a superstar. Lebron is a superstar. CP3 is arriving before our eyes.

JJ, Smoove and Horf have led their team to the 8th best record in one of the weakest eastern conferences of all time.

[LOL_Hawks]

The old generation of Celtics fans were very diehard. When Bird, McHale, & Parrish were around, they were diehard. And then they died a hard death when Pierce & 'Toine were running things. And don't get me started on last year. If Celtics fans were so diehard, then why were they chanting MVP for Kobe Bryant last year? If they were so diehard, then why didn't they fill up the Garden last year?

Even though Bibby shouldn't be the one saying this...he's got a point. Most of those fans wouldn't have been caught dead in a Celtics jersey last year.

But it's somewhat the same down here, seeing as how Atlanta is basically bandwagon city.

[TheDude]

I will say this: Although I live in Florida, most of my good friends are Celtic fans. It's quite strange that I know so many people from that area or near there....HOWEVER. I am the only one who has bought the season pass for my team (the Hawks of course) and I have for the last two seasons. I am the only one who brought up NBA basketball in our drinking conversations (and we are talking about sports fans here)...I am the only one who wore their basketball team clothing in public...even though my team sucked (as did theirs) I would ask them what they thought the development or status of their team was and they'd just "ahhh" it off and not have much to say. I could say alot about what was going on with my team even when they sucked, they could not, BECAUSE THEY STOPPED PAYING ATTENTION WHEN THEY SUCKED.

NOW, at least one of them wears his Celtics hat around. The others TRY to watch some games here and there (mostly when they play the hawks and they come over to my house to watch because I invite them) and now they are all about the watching the team in the playoffs. And they like to talk their smack. In the beginning of the season I heard one say it was the most excited he had been about the team in a long time. Which I could understand but I think only because he heard these big names go there. I was more excited this year than I have in awhile with the Hawks because of the POTENTIAL we had with these young UNKNOWN players.

so basically what i'm saying is even though in the past the Celts fans have been some of the better more loyal fans, they have really sorta sucked in recent years. They have been focused on the redsox and the patriots and not really even thought about the Celtics. Those people filling the stadium now werent there last year.

Atlanta fans arent great either, they probably downright suck since we can't fill the arena for crap. But I can see where Bibby was coming from, whether his timing sucks or not.

[Traceman]

It's EASY to be a "fan" when your team just went 66-16. But like Bibby said, I too remember seeing highlights of Celtic games last year where several folks in their empty arena were waering bags over their heads.

Atlanta fans are no different. We LOVED the Falcons when Vick was hot and we were winning but now that he is gone and we are losing, we are back to playing in a half full Dome.