Joe Johnson on the Hawks Mess

[Vol4ever]

Joe was a class act. He had no supporting cast or coaching staff.

[AHF]

No complaints about Joe from me. He was a solid second tier guy. Annually the worst All-Star but an annual All-Star. Overpaid in that last deal but I blame Sund / Gearon not Joe.

[yungsta]

Only complaint about Joe is that I wish he would showed up more during big games and didnt disappear for long stretches.

[DrReality]

Don't forget how he showed his ass to the fans during the playoffs.  hallmark moment for sure. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Don't forget how he showed his ass to the fans during the playoffs.  hallmark moment for sure. 

 

Why?  Because he told the truth?

 

I was at Game 3 of that Orlando series.  And it kind of sickened me at how the fans started booing that team as early as the end of the 1st quarter.  And as Orlando kept sticking it to us, the boos just got worse.   So instead of the crowd trying to will us back into the game, the majority of the crowd simply gave up, and started booing the Hawks as loudly as they've EVER booed any opponent in that arena.  

 

Then with microphones and tape recorders shoved in his face after that horrible loss to go down 0 - 3, a somber JJ was asked questions about the game and the mindset of the team going forward.

 

His infamous quote occurs at 1:54, with the question about hearing the boos in the crowd.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u01z0bbfPXg

 

Sometimes, the truth hurts.  The Hawks were playing like crap, and the crowd booing them shouldn't make or break them.  

 

So JJ simply said that he hoped that the boos didn't bother his teammates, and he could care less if the fans showed up or not.   If the fans weren't going to try to cheer on and try to will the team back with cheers, why would any Hawk player want to hear a chorus of boos on their home floor?

 

The boos were even louder in Game 4.   

 

So while the 2009 - 2010 Hawks, despite showing much promise during the regular season, ended up being a major disappointment to the fan base . . . . the booing fans just made us all looked bad as fans to the rest of the nation.    They booed that team like they hated them.   Then those same fans wonder why the players had an apathetic view of the fan base as a whole?

Edited September 29, 2014 by TheNorthCydeRises

[Randy]

Check my memory here guys - didn't Sund sign Joe to his max deal the very next summer after the Orlando series and Joe's infamous comment? 

[ATLSmith]

I really liked the years with Bibby, Jamal, Joe, and Smoove.  The system they ran kinda sucked but when they were rolling it was a lot of fun to watch, especially if Joe was on his game.  It was beautiful.  I never understood why Joe got booed when he came back to town as a Net.