Fellow Clutchfans, I wanted to address something that may or may not need to be discussed, but that I feel is actually having an adverse effect on the national perception of our team. That is, of course, the unending hate directed towards our team and our players, particularly Harden, regardless of the outcome of the games. Before I start, a couple assumptions I make: 1. The NBA is the one league in major sports where perception becomes reality. Superstars get better calls, narratives dictate media-driven awards, and for the most part the most high profile and hotly covered teams are propelled, by some magic force, into the championships. 2. Nationwide perception, just like public opinion in politics, is often this amorphous amalgam of various clouds of opinions, but slowly and surely it can be manipulated. Some of us have already pointed out ESPN's bias, or at least the biases of several of their most prominent members, but lately I've got the sense that the mantle of Rockets hate has increasingly grown not from the TV or print side, but rather from the online community, a prominent component of which is Reddit. Log onto their /r/nba page after any major Rockets game (I won't link to it out of principle) and you'll see pretty much the same thing: a smattering of posts about how Harden flops, or video clips isolating one particular play that ends up being pretty embarrassing for us. This happens to us against the Thunder, against the Spurs, pretty much against any team. Normally this shouldn't be a problem; hell, we at Clutchfans are guilty of doing many of the same things in the opposite direction. The big difference, however, is that we collectively acknowledge our bias by being members of a Rockets fan-site. Reddit (admittedly a small slice of the nation's demographics, predominantly young white males 18-29) masquerades itself as comprising the unbiased middle ground, where fans of all kinds meet and come to consensus. This of course is the opposite of what happens, and any dissenting ideas get downvoted in favor of the loudest voices...hence the "circlejerk" namesake. I just started looking at their site in the past couple months, and my sense is that things are not healthy for Rockets fans there. Maybe it's because Clutchfans is so good to us that we don't feel the need to enter a hostile arena, but man do they hate Houston, and man are the posters on there who defend the Rockets total wimps. If the struggle to get the Rockets to returning to contender status is a war of perception, then we may need a call to action. Either defeat Reddit by engaging their posters in a way that's commensurate to the hate they've given us, or by hitting them where it hurts and boycotting the website altogether--aka, not feeding the trolls. You may disagree with me and say that Reddit is a total nonfactor, and that this is just the product of another bad loss to a team that we have more talent than but unfortunately not the psychological edge against when things get close. Nonetheless, I would encourage anyone on here who feels the need to post there, to concede no points and stand your damn ground. It discourages me to see people with Rockets logos in their names acting like such pushovers. Go Houston.
**** Reddit. Why the hell are you looking for Rockets talk from a bunch of teenage trolls? Get yourself together man.
Let's be honest here. James Harden is a unlikable player due to his style of play and if he wasn't playing for the Rockets you would agree with me.
Since when do people ever like superstars who don't play for their own team? Kobe was hated, Lebron was hated. James Harden is simply the next player of a lineage of all time great but polarizing players. Nothing has really changed much here, other than Harden not being blessed with the great supporting casts of Kobe or Lebron as of now.
It's not a big deal. Like the_dude said: superstars are usually always hated. Out of all the current superstars Harden is just the easiest to pick on right now. Players like Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins, Paul George, and Damian Lillard receive very little hate because their teams aren't good enough and are a bit irrelevant. They're not expected to succeed. John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, Giannis, and Paul Millsap simply aren't good enough to be focused on. This leaves players like Westbrook, Harden, Lebron, Durant, Curry, Kawai, and CP3 as the players who are actually relevant and actually good. It's hard to hate on Lebron, Curry, and Kawhi because they've actually won before or have won in a redeeming way. Westbrook is being given a pass this and future seasons because of the KD thing. KD gets made fun of, but we all know he's going to laugh in the end. That leaves 2 players: Chris Paul and James Harden. Two players who haven't won a championship, and two players who are good enough to make their teams great when healthy. NBA players get hated on all the time. It's not a big deal. And who cares if someone thinks that Harden isn't a top player? Their favorite team is probably the Nuggets. edit: I also want to add that I'm sure there's a good amount of Harden lovers on the internet that aren't as vocal with their opinions. People with negative things to say about anything are usually more vocal than people with positive things to say. I'm positive there are people who appreciate Harden's game and recognize the Rockets as a good team on that website, but they simply don't care enough to talk with someone who believes in nonsense.
r/nba is complete trash, no matter what team you're a fan of. The tides completely turn every game there and each post-game thread is filled with trolling attempts and the “I told you so“ crowd. Love reddit, but r/nba is one of the most cancerous subs on the whole site.
why do you care? Everyone is hated sooner or later. And then loved back..and then hated again. The Warriors 3 years ago were loved and then since then they are the public enemy no.1. If you think Rockets fans have it tough in Reddit, then what about Warriors fans? Lebron was hated and since last year everyone loves him. and so on and so on. r/nba is a great site to get all the important news fast, and watch some highlights. Stay away from game threads. It's also a lot funny. Don't pay attention to the circlejerking. If you want more civil discussion with other teams fans go to realgm.
I thought harden was amazing on the thunder. I don't know what you're talking about I loved that team people just hate him now because he's on the Rockets. Just like they hated yao and McGrady who weee both amazing players The Rockets just don't get any love from the media and only hate which trickles down to the fans. I talk to people abou the Rockets and all they can say is I just don't like James Harden I hate James Harden I don't know why. Where do you think they get this from they are brainwashed by the media. if Russell Westbrook have the same exact game tonight they would've been like oh my God he got a triple double, and they would've quickly gave him the he got tired excuse
I just get the feeling that if I go on that website and post with the Rockets flair I will get way more dislikes than I would if I posted with a thunder badge or Warriors. That's just how it is. this going back to when that website started, long before Harden
another reason is the Rockets are a tough, competitive team who never quits. If your team is playing them then you get caught up in these competitive games and you get upset when they come back and beat you, even when your team is up by 10 into the fourth quarter. also, in their eyes we only have one star so we are easily beatable and their team should not lose the rockets. ultimately, that's why I think they hate the Rockets. We are not like the Warriors who will just expectantly blow you out causing the casual fan to just turn the game off and forgot about it. we are not that team who you go up 30 on and goes away. we are the team that will fight you to the end and compete win or lose. so the fans watch the entire game and their team loses or the Rockets come back and they hate the Rockets for not quitting.
When Harden is hooking your favorite team's arm behind the arc and shoots 3 free throws you will grow to hate him too. When he gets the call for your team you will like him.
not as bad as the warriors illegal screens and flopping done by most nba teams especially the spurs, thunder, and warriors. I respect the Rockets because they do not flop. harden is just smart for forcing the refs to call the hand check. but guess what, The Spurs are playing great defense with Kawai Leonard because he doesn't have to do that crappy ass defense. harden is not getting that call anymore. Therefore they're not reaching on him so how can you hate him? Hate dumbass defenders for playing bad defense.
Enter a game thread after a Thunders or Warriors loss and you'll see every OKC fan get trashed, it's just how r/nba works. Same with Rockets winning a game, the whole thread will be dominated by Rockets posters.
People think with their hearts not their mind. It is easier to hate Harden than address the issue. Logic won't change that... Ever.
Reddit was only relevant during the Fappenings! Dun mind boycotting or ignoring it down the stretch for a period.
