wait, Heal was the one that nudged Barkley didn't Heal play in NBA eventually, I think for the Timberwolves?
Random Post # 1 photo of Chris Paul - you also happened to get Jim Foley (former Rockets radio broadcaster for the team) in that photo sitting courtside with his wife.
I was thinking the same thing. I live in Sydney, Australia and have supported the Rockets since the mid to late 80's, but couldn't get regular footage until 1989-90 on NBA Action, Saturday morning with a replay of a game of the week, usually Bulls or Lakers games. Everyone was a Bird fan, Magic fan or Jordan fan. I liked Rap-a-lot records and the 'Geto Boys' from Houston, and remember seeing a playoff game with Olajuwon and Sampson, vs the Lakers then fell totally in love with everything Houston. That was my team and the rest is History. I see so many Aussies on Clutch fans, I can remember having to order my caps and uniform and even still have the retro rip em off track suit, Olajuwon championship mug and an autographed Moses Malone game shoe. Rockets all the way!
Howard had that giant grin when he was 7 points down against the Celtics with 30 secs to go, lol, it's just who he is.
Same reason so many Chinese love the Rockets. And probably Argentinians for that matter (though I haven't heard any posters on this board claim to be from South America). Several of our players (present & past) may not have the LeBron hype in this country (except Yao of course), but in their own country, they are gods. I'm bummed about the lack of real fans at the home games. It tells me that even if we wanted to attract star players, they wouldn't bother with us if we can't fill the seats (and keep them filled) with adoring fans. And that we risk losing this franchise to another city.
Wow I was court side that NOLA game too (except I was looking across court at NOLA bench), and I noticed the same damn thing about Chris Paul! It also looked like CP3 was really happy to be playing into Houston. He took his jersey off after OT and gave it to this kid right in front of me. That man is a blessing to the NBA.
I think it is so cool that a sports team from 10,000+ miles away could gather so many fans from another country. FWIW, I would love to live in Australia only if the wife didn't enjoy Vegas so much.
Not really defending the local people who don't go to the games, but it has been almost a generation since we were last relevant in the NBA. Even when we had Mac and Yao healthy, we didn't advance in the playoffs. The lack of deep playoff runs, the kind that temporarily pulls a city together, might explain the apathy surrounding home games.
Have a safe trip back! & Thanks again for the seats! Good thing I convinced you to go to the Wizards game, or you would have been really bummed about only seeing 1 win. lol Thanks for the pic of Stan Van Gundy <3
