1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

Change of Pace.....

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by FranchiseCat, Jun 6, 2001.

  1. FranchiseCat

    FranchiseCat Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2000
    Messages:
    257
    Likes Received:
    0
    Just to change things up a little around here, has anyone truly despised a Rockets player and then later grew to absolutely love them (no, child comments here, ok?)? If so, tell your story.

    Here's mine.....

    Steve Francis - Hated him, period. M. Dickerson to me was the man (outside of Dream and Chuckster). I really liked MD and Othella (My fella) and was sooooo pi$$ed off when they traded them for Wink. Literally, I vowed not to go to another Rockets game because Rudy T. and company didn't know jack-$h!t about trades (God only knows why I thought so stupidly). Anyway, I kept watching the Rox, because, well I am a true fan, but when I saw Francis and the hundreds of TO's he was having in the first 20 games of his pro career, I would go ape-$h!t!!!!!! That was until one of my friends said "man, give him a chance. This guy is something special." My friend watches all college games possible and knew Francis' game from Maryland. Me, I CAN'T watch a college game to save me life. Anyway, long story, short....I took my friends advice and started to look at what he was doing right, instead of what he was doing wrong. Then I took into consideration that he is a rookie and my heart started to soften, not to mention that he had a few incredible dunks during this period helped alot as well. But what really turned me around was one particular jam that I have never seen the likes of before.....THE DUNK ON ARVYDAS SABONIS!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys (and gals) know which one I am talking about. It was such a nasty facial that I literally dropped my Blue Sapphire Bombay Gin Martini (something I would never do, you would have to pry that drink out of my cold, dead hands before I would drop it!). I mean, Francis was literally sitting on his neck after the dunk....It was so freakin awesome!!!!!! Anyway, after that, I became a die-hard Steve Francis fan. So much so, that I replaced all of my Dream Wallpaper from my computer (home and office) to whatever I could find of Steve Francis, he is my first pick in all the fantasy leagues I get involved with mostly because he told me to. See, I live here in Houston and had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times at a few night clubs, he is such a cool guy. I will never forget.....when I met him, I didn't want to seem that I was jockin him or anything, so I said "what's up" and he responded with something like "nothing, just checking out the scenery (talking about the women at Maxi's 2001 Night club)." I said something very ethnic like..."fo sho", then I said "you know I have you in my fantasy league" and he said "really, was I your first pick?". I said "no, had to go with Shaq." He laughed and said "well pick me first next year and you won't be disappointed." After words he and Cuttino bought drinks for almost everybody. I think they had won a big game and was celebrating. After that, I was a Francis fan for life and you know what? I picked him with my first pick this year (2000) and he was right, I wasn't disappointed at all. Well, that is my long story, but I wanted to share it with all my cc.net "friends". Hopefully, I won't get slammed for such a long, silly, trival post. It would be a great honor if those who respond tell their story.

    ------------------
    "...Do you hear 'em? They're everywhere!!! AAAHHH!!!"

    That's what the other teams will be saying after being shellshocked by Steve Francis and Co.
     
  2. Franchisedream

    Joined:
    May 30, 2001
    Messages:
    166
    Likes Received:
    0
    A great idea for a post.

    Mine is Charles Barkley. I hated him. I stated that I would rather the Rockets never win a championship than to have someone like Barkley on the team. At phoenix Barkley talked a lot of crap, and when the Suns were up he kept saying how they were going to beat the Rockets etc. Then when the Suns lost, and reporters wanted to talk about Charles' boasting, he backed down, and changed the subject, by claiming he was going to retire. Natrually the reporters would then stop talking about his mid-series boasts and talk about whether he would retire. Both years he did that, and it made me so mad. In addition, he took a cheap undercut shot on Hakeem when he was going for a dunk in one of the games. Of course there was the spitting on a child incident etc.

    Then he comes to Houston. I think the class of the organization wore off on him. He told the coach to bench him so he could spark the team off the bench. He actually worked out one of the off-seasons too. He actually sacrificed his playing time for the team. He also put scoring secondary and concentrated on the teams need of rebounding. He changed my mind bigtime. I still have to weigh his past in with his present. But he has more or less won me over.

    ------------------
     
  3. Steve_Francis_rules

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 1999
    Messages:
    8,467
    Likes Received:
    300
    I didn't really dislike Barkley, but I got really upset when the Rockets traded for him because I loved chucky brown, horry, and cassell. It took a while, but with the successful season and all the emotion he shows on the court, it's hard to stay mad at Charles.

    ------------------
     
  4. oeilpere

    oeilpere Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2000
    Messages:
    1,015
    Likes Received:
    1
    Well my most recent was Barkley also.

    One of my all-time favorite Rockets at the time was Robert Horry. One of the purest trey launchers I have ever witnessed. Loved his long arms. Loved watching him have fun. Every game. Never missed a game back then. He worked on defense relentlessly. His saundering low key attitude was deceiving (unfortunately it is more saunder than deceit these days).

    Next there was ET and he was a delight to watch. Oh, Sam could make you cringe every now and then, especially when he did some illogical thing like pass to no one within thirty feet of the ball, or when he threw up a sixty footer to "end the quarter" with 34 secinds still to play. He was fun to watch. At court level he was a treat to listen to. Always jabbering away and grinning. Great fun.

    That year Mark Bryant took some heavy responsibility on his shoulders and never asked for relief. Hakeen was hurt, we had injuries galore. Mark was a friendly giant who elevated his offensive game to one that he has never since come close to repeating. His defense involved running and banging and knocking anything and anyone near the rim. he was a terror at times. He lost something outrageous like 10 - 12 pounds a game. He came to play everynight. All heart.

    And we got who?

    That loud-mouthed, aging, short, fat, "superstar (Mike's a friend of mine)" power forward from Phoenix.

    Who's %&*&#@+@!# idea was that???????????

    Sorry.

    It took me a long, long time to get over that.

    Eventually I saw some merit and favor in the trade to get the Round Mound. And I grew to like his antics. Loved his post game, hated his three point stance and illogical decision to put it up at twenty plus feet sometimes. But compared to some of ET's decisions I could live with it. I grew to like the guy. Look forward to the games. Started seeing more and more and I got right back up on that horse after a week or two of pouting.

    One of my favorite occasions include Charles's retirement game since most published pictures of that event have me in the background. AP, UPI, ESPN, Fox, etc... all have your's truly in full view.

    My kids love it. They call it that picture where that guy you used to hate is in front with a bunch of chairs and basketball machinery. (His lazy-boy and the portable basket rack they gave Sir Charles.)

    Yeah, it turned out to be not too bad a trade I guess. (Well, except maybe for Robert).

    ------------------


    [This message has been edited by oeilpere (edited June 06, 2001).]
     
  5. Milos

    Milos Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2001
    Messages:
    1,237
    Likes Received:
    1,138
    Mine is Kelvin Cato...oh wait, I still hate that guy.


    ------------------
     
  6. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    34,059
    Likes Received:
    13,408
    I'd say Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen, with reservations. I absolutely despised both before they arrived.

    With Barkley I managed to keep on hating him for at least a year. After a while, he impressed me with his heart and now I like him. I wouldn't say I loved him though. And I still think it was stupid to give up Cassell for him.

    Having learned from Barkley, I decided to try to like Pippen from the start, simply because he was a Rocket. I hated the trade because I hated Pippen and the Bulls but that was done. So, I built a lukewarm fuzzy feeling for Pippen. Then he b****ed and moaned and lost us the playoffs and got himself traded. I was so happy to be able to hate him again! I HATE SCOTTIE PIPPEN!!!

    ------------------
    RealGM
    Gafford Art
    Artisan Cakes
     
  7. 4chuckie

    4chuckie Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 1999
    Messages:
    3,300
    Likes Received:
    2
    Although he wasn't a Rocket, I had always hated Danny Ainge. I started as a Philly fan with Dr. J & Bobby Jones, then along came CB4. Naturally I had to hate all Celtics and especially Ainge who I considered a punk.
    Finally he came to Phoenix with CB4 and I saw how hard he always played. Also Ainge is almost naturally one of the guys you love on your team and hate on any other just because he does alot of Dirty work.
     
  8. FranchiseCat

    FranchiseCat Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2000
    Messages:
    257
    Likes Received:
    0
    >>Milos<<

    LOL!!!!! [​IMG]

    That is funny as hell.



    ------------------
    "...Do you hear 'em? They're everywhere!!! AAAHHH!!!"

    That's what the other teams will be saying after being shellshocked by Steve Francis and Co.
     
  9. FranchiseCat

    FranchiseCat Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2000
    Messages:
    257
    Likes Received:
    0
    >>JuanValdez<<

    I agree, giving up Cassell was a little too much, but I got over it when one night alien head (some call him E.T.) actually, tried to pick up my wife at Cody's (night club). Needless to say, I didn't care for him too much after that. But I will say this, the Rockets went backwards when Cassell was traded, even though Barkley was brought in. Back then, the Rockets had a real need for a good point guard and getting rid of Sam didn't make much sense.


    ------------------
    "...Do you hear 'em? They're everywhere!!! AAAHHH!!!"

    That's what the other teams will be saying after being shellshocked by Steve Francis and Co.
     
  10. EB

    EB Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2001
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    How can any Rockets fan like Ainge after he nailed Elie in the face with the ball in a temper tantrem over getting their a$$ kicked. I hate Danny Ainge because of that. I have never seen worse sportsmanship.

    ------------------
     
  11. raww

    raww Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 1999
    Messages:
    129
    Likes Received:
    0
    I got a question.... what if...

    John Stockon or Karl Malone ever became Rockets? Could any of us ever learn to "like" them?



    ------------------
    RAWW
    Paid for by the Frudy T. Gin and Juice Daquari Factory.
     
  12. FranchiseCat

    FranchiseCat Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2000
    Messages:
    257
    Likes Received:
    0
    Raww,

    John Stockton....maybe.

    Karl Malone.....not no, but HELL NO!!!!!!!

    ------------------
    "...Do you hear 'em? They're everywhere!!! AAAHHH!!!"

    That's what the other teams will be saying after being shellshocked by Steve Francis and Co.
     
  13. rocketsfan

    rocketsfan Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2001
    Messages:
    111
    Likes Received:
    0
    What about liking a guy at first and then later hatting his A$$$$? If that is o.k. then I have to go with Quitten! [​IMG]

    I'm sure if I write a story about Quitten it would be somewhat alike to all other's.

    ------------------
    take it one day at a time
     
  14. UofTOrange

    UofTOrange Contributing Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2001
    Messages:
    113
    Likes Received:
    1
    There is no way on earth that I could ever like one those punk, whining, old, pieces of...ok this is going no where. No I could never like them.

    Mine is Horry. I like many unwise fans wanted Harold Miner, and I just didn't think Horry could do it. I mean, they had all that talent at Alambama and weren't that good. I couldn't believe the Rockets "mistake" even the front page of the Chronicle, or maybe it was the Post at the time, had fans crininging. All in all he became my favorite Rocket next to everyone's favorite the Dream. I couldn't believe they would trade him and Sam. You can insert everyone else's hate for Barkley and then liking him for me here.

    ------------------
     
  15. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 1999
    Messages:
    62,496
    Likes Received:
    56,074
    I hated Dream at UofH...then wow!! I wake up one day in 1984 loving him.
     
  16. Lil Francis

    Lil Francis Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2000
    Messages:
    3,772
    Likes Received:
    0
    Anybody who knew basketball knew Francis was going to be something special.

    ------------------
    President of the Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford,Larry Hughes, and Charles Woodson fan club.
     
  17. Bingo

    Bingo Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2000
    Messages:
    125
    Likes Received:
    0
    I won't lie, I thought Pippen and Cato were going to be the $hit on this team (I guess they did turn out to be that after all) but I knew for a fact that Collier and Langhi were huge mistakes and I hated that we drafted two white boys with our only two picks in the draft. I mean you're lucky to find one good white boy amongst ten NBA players, what are the chances of drafting two in the same draft? Damn Rudy!

    ------------------
     
  18. UofTOrange

    UofTOrange Contributing Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2001
    Messages:
    113
    Likes Received:
    1
    That is hilarious. Now I am about as white as they come and I totally agree. Every year around draft time my only dream is that we don't draft a white guy. I am tired of hearing "he's the next bird" and him being the next Jon Koncak.



    ------------------
     
  19. Sonny

    Sonny Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2001
    Messages:
    5,436
    Likes Received:
    8
    b**** ass quitten. No doubt about it.

    Sorriest POS in the NBA.

    I wish someone would take Pippen,Cato, and Ainge and stuff their asses in a trash can and roll them off a cliff...

    ------------------
    Go Rockets!!!
    SS
     
  20. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 1999
    Messages:
    62,496
    Likes Received:
    56,074
    Bingo and Wink,

    Do you guys have dyslexia or something!? The question is "Hate THEN Love", not "Love THEN Hate". Otherwise, this would be no "Change of Pace...." topic, as we'd all be bashing #33.

    ...please stay on topic for a change of pace [​IMG]
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now