Well, my sucky memory seems to be giving me away as one of the "OS" guys. I was thinking about '86 but trying to be thoughtful and acknowledge '81 too. We lost both of those series, but that's all this city had to cling to as far as "championship experiences" prior to 1994.
And the loss to the Celtics in the finals in 1981, or in 1976-77 a loss on a questionable call on a charge by John Lucas in the EC finals. And for those thinking the Rockets won the first championship for Houston....don't forget the Oilers of 1960-62 (which I was not around for) but more importantly the Aeros with Gordie Howe and company in the 70s....(which I was round for) DD
Thank you for bringing them up... I might not sleep straight for the next month, and you guys think the rockets blow leads.
If you suffered through the loss of Dream, the Franchise years and are still posting on this board. B!tch all you want. I'll listen. If under your Username the word Since: is followed by 2006 or later...not so much. But I still got love for ya You could be pissin' and moanin' on a Jazz board, but you are smarter than that.
I joined this BB recently because not living in H-Town anymore, I was complaing to a buddy about the lack of Rockets coverage here in the bay area and he then mentioned clutchfans.com to me. I read for awhile before I registered to post to get a feel of the BB and who knew what they were talking about and who were the flamers of the BB I registered aroung the beginning of the streak and posted a whats up introduction post and was called a bandwagon fan, rookie and other things by a couple of people.. the problem is/was I have been a Rockets fan and only and Rockets fan since 1973. I lived thru most of the teams history and highlights as well as all the lowlights and lean years.. Ive had my heartcrushed more than some have seen actual games. I grewup watching Hayes and Moses, saw Rudy get his nose broke, Calvin set the free throw record and then dork out everytime someone got close to breaking it,Sampsons prayer shot with like .04 left on the clock to win,, the unveiling of the stupid pajama uniforms about 10 years ago, I watched the Dream play at U of H and then for my home team.. The sweep of the Magic, Starks getting his shot blocked to win the game,, it just goes on and on.. Fans come in all shapes an sizes, young and old. The highlight of my being a sportsfan for almost 45 years came thru the Rockets and the championship years. Sitting in a bar packed to the rafters screaming at the top of our lungs with every made basket. Running into the streets when we finally one game 4 against Orlando - Houston had never experienced anything like that in this town from the big 3 sports. Not counting the Houston Aeros back in the 70's.. I guess Im old school but damn I love this years team and every Rockets years team for the last 30 years or so. Win or lose.
I've been a Rockets fan for longer than alot of the people here, i just didn't own a computer until like 04' and i starting lurking here for years before i ever registered. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter if i don't b**** that much.
I got another one: 1. people who are emotionally connected to the team 2. people who are emotionally connected/disconnected to its current players
They have 4 NBA Finals appearances. They also lost in the Championship round to the Boston Celtics in 1981 and 1986.
I've watched the Rockets suffer against Seattle (Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, once again a PG and PF better than ours) and finally overcome the hump. I've watched Robert Horry mature into Big Shot Rob. I've watched in pain as Allen Leavell played the point. I watched Ralph deterioate into 7 foot stiff. I've just seen a lot and nothing takes my breath away like Dream giving David Robinson the business and Tmac scoring 13 in 35 seconds. I'm amazed every time I watch it. I don't understand this Tmac who is so dynamic and then falls back to earth and starts blaming everyone. Dude play hard every night just as Dream did. Even if dream didn't have a big night offensively he still rebounded and played lights out D.
I see your point on OS and NS fans, but I think its simply the fact that old-school fans are just.. older, and dare I say "wiser." They understand that its kinda pointless to think you are the best team in the NBA after every win, and then to want to trade everyone from TMAC to Rafer Alston and say the team is done after every losing streak.
They may react differently after a win, or a loss, but they are all real Rockets fans, just have different way to express themselves after an emotional game However, when you care about a player's stats over the team's well being, then you are just a celebrity-follower, not a basketball fan. We have quite a few here on this very board.
My classifications of fans: 1.) Seasoned fans. They've been around since the back-to-back championships. They're veterans. They are realistic, knowledgeable, informative, and occasionally amusing. Usually, don't mess. 2.) (player name)-Only-Fans. Annoying posters usually, which the exception of pryuen since he gets us so much inside info. Completely myopic and irritating. Know little of the sport of basketball or even the Houston Rockets sometimes. Make clueless threads frequently. 3.) Blind fans. Can never see that sometimes a player for the Houston Rockets may actually not be a good player. Frequently calls other negative posters "haters," even if the "hater" is simply being realistic or observant. Frequently calls for locks on "T-Mac sucks at FTs" threads, even if the threads are true. Will constantly think that the Rockets get bad calls just because the Rockets get on the receiving end, even if the call is legit. 4.) Clueless fans. Probably still in high school, or lower. Doesn't understand the subculture of Clutchfans. Usually rookies. They make noob mistakes often. 5.) One-hit-wonders. They post once to say something epic, and then they disappear...
Watching sports is emotional gambling. Everyone decides how much they are putting in, and they will either be that much happier or that much more depressed at the end of the game. The distinction, I think, is how you vent your frustration/depression after a loss. There are those who whine and moan and complain and insult the players and generally freak out, and those who handle it a bit more respectfully. Maybe clutch should label us, whiners and adults next to our member status.
So are you saying the OS fans are better than the NS? I look at it by age. It seems like a lot of the NS fans are younger.. and OS are obviously older if they've been around since Hakeem's draft. I would think the younger lads tend to be more emotional and erratic with how the team is doing. I know I was like that when I first followed the Rockets, then a few year of mediocrity since Dream left got me used to the team under performing. I'm not as annoyed and pissy when the team doesn't win anymore. But I do get upset when the team has such a huge potential and lose games and series that we were supposed to win.
ya I guess U can consider me and "oldschool" fan meaning I have been following religously since 1992. I don't mind new ROCKETS fans, but for some reason yao only and t-mac only fans annoy me. I have heard so many of those people say that if they get traded then they are no longer fans of the rockets. I have converted about 4 of my friends to be die hards. they have only been following since 2005, but with the history I taught them people would think they have been fans since about 92 like me lol. I am 22 yrs old btw
I'm just a fan of the Houston Rockets, win or lose. We could never make the playoffs ever again and I'd still follow and try to watch every game. As long as the Rockets are here, I will be a fan. I can't help it.
You fail. he had it all bunched up at first, and then broke it into paragraphs after Yaozer made his post.
Actually .. . I have found NS Fans tend to use the word BANDWAGONER and HATER more than the Old Skool Fans but that is my observation Rocket River Notive how many folx screaming and hollar with less that triple digit posts [maybe old skool clutchfans vs new skool clutchfans]
