I was thinking about something that alot of us from back in the day use to defend. That is the right for athletes to be hyped. What? Well, let me refresh the memories of the old and explain to the new. First it was Jordan. Too much hype. We all know that. Even if the guy played the game like 2 or 3 players today play it, still, too much hype. Even though he had 6 rings. Still. Too much hype. All he did was win during his prime. Yet too much hype. Alot argued that nobody deserved that much hype. I and a few others disagreed. But what the hell. We moved on to Shaq. What the hell, right? How the hell can someone make all this money and have all these movies and have all fame and continually choke in the playoffs? The man was nice guy. He could play. Yet, alot of people said that he gets all the calls and that he didn't deserve being rated ahead of our beloved Dream. And why didn't Dream get all these endoresments? He is the man!! He played beautifully. But, Shaq got the endorsements and all the hype and I remember Drexler85 continually preaching NBC/NBA conspiracy for years. Fine.... We moved on to Kobe. And all the b****ing again. How? Why? Too young? Too overhyped? What has he done? Tired of all the commercials, etc. Lebron James is the new whipping boy. You get the point. Now, I am reading about Yao this Yao that. Even Francis this and Francis that. Francis on the cover of video games. Yao on the cover. Both making commercials. Both getting paid and hyped. Yao? The man is about to sign a global contract with Reebok. We got 19 national games if I am not mistaken because of two players...mostly Yao who has done NOTHING in this league. The new Car Center...home of the Rocks...they did that because Steve and now Yao are gonna bring the fans...like the other "hyped" players that alot of us complained about. Like always, I really don't care. Get what you can because you are one knee injury away from being finished. So...now that its happing to our guys, isn't that a little...two faced? Not one post complaining about the Rocks getting all these...perks? All the money? (GULP!) All the hype? **Hmm...we gonna say we deserve all this extra attention finally, right?
you're absolutely right, lets stop people with money from investing in things, too! from now on, only do things that are safe and moderate! the nba shouldnt be a business, its a professional forum for equal and fair competition!the nba should model itself after the nbdl, and people should stop worshipping false idols! now if you'll excuse me, im going to pick up my people magazine and update myself with the bennifer situation (half sarcasm, half agreement) its not just the nba, its human nature
If you are from Houston, consider yourself lucky. Francis has the personality and childhood to appeal to a broad market; the middle class "play-ground" market. That's a lot of people. Francis is NOT an "grangsta in the hood" like Iverson or Marbury, although he tries to be sometimes. Nevertheless, he's not necessarily "marketed" on the "bad boy image" like those guys could be. Francis, from Tacoma MD, a middle class to lower middle class neighborhood, that many people can relate to (on a national scale). Yao Ming, well, he's not a national story. He's an INTERNATIONAL story! Lots to be said about him: Civil rights, Democracy, International Basketball, and a changing of the guard in the NBA. Plus, he has a warm, yet humorously sarcastic personality. Oh, and he is TALL! Hakeem never had any of these qualities to market. He didn't speak very good english, he didn't like the limelight, he had a very narrow understanding of American culture, he misunderstood American humor (not very good for sound bites). Also, due to American bias, him being a muslim was another reason for the American culture to not "relate" to him. Remember, we're talking about America in the 80's. And with all of Hollywood portraying anything "Islamic" as a "terrorist," well, that didn't' help either. Religion aside, I think the reason that Hakeem never got the publicity was for one main reason: He was boring to interview. Most of his interviews were a collection of giggles, chuckles, barley intelligible, short conversations. Most people that watched those interviews walked away, going, "Huh? What did he say?" So, consider yourself lucky that we have players that have a large audience they can relate to. Not just Francis and Yao. But Mobley,Griffin and Pike. There's a lot of good stories those guys can tell. So, bring on the HYPE. It's just exposure. At the same time, those players have to back it up! P.S. Oh, and I hate to say it. But Mo Taylor is one of the best interviewers. He's the opposite of Eddie Griffin.
Man...I watched the 1995 championship run. Double Clutch. Man...Hakeem was AWESOME. I never knew he was that good...he owned David Robinson and Shaq.....amazing...so fast and agile. Robert Horry was highflying explosive!!! Anyways..Steve isn't from the ghetto?!? LOL.
shaq got hype and endorsements and movies long before he was winning titles and while he was busy getting annually swept out of the playoffs. until kobe became awesome, his teams liked to fold in the playoffs once the pressure was on from the other team (i.e. they won the first game).
Rockets Red Glare, I think the point that Almu is trying to make is NOT basketball related. It's "hype" and "popularity" before the rings. Something that Charles Barkley had a monopoly on! Hakeem didn't have it before the rings, and only a little bit more after. Although his legend is growing. But that's what *time* does for you.
I am old enough to remember when Jordan came into the league and all of the hype rubbed me the wrong way. By far, I preferred Magic and Bird...much less athletic than MJ but both very team oriented. Although I never became a big Jordan fan, I eventually came around to appreciating his "style". But by that time, he had changed into a little more of a team player. Francis? Not sure how I feel...player or hype. Maybe being a Rox fan with NBALP makes me more immune to the hype and a tad more critical (or at least cynical). Yao? For someone with my personal value system, I am absolutely ecstatic with his degree of genuine humility. The bottomline for me will be how I feel after the upcoming season under JVG. If SF and YM play the game the right way (I'm Old School), I will appreciate it beyond all the hype and won't consider it hypocritical.
Not really . Anyway, it's natural that one will not mind it much if the players of the own team are hyped - after all, one is a fan of this team, and will therefore not perceive it as hype, but as being well-deserved. You usually do not have the same passion for players of opposing teams, and therefore you feel they are getting too much attention. It's normal.
EXCELLENT post man! You hit it right on the nail about Francis and Yao bringing in fans from all different lifestyles. Francis has the streetball crowd (myself included!) backing him up, and Yao has the more traditional, old school fans backing him up. This duo is gonna win us a hell of a lot more fans in the years to come (especially when we get our championship! )
Hehehehe Its all about Money. You like you buy. You dont like than you dont have to buy! Well Houston has Ming as the "Dynasty" Well Houston has Francis as the "Franchise" Somebody in the right mind figures this is the next Kobe & Shaq duo, so yes lets just profit over this! Ming could blow his knee here at the last Qualifying game and be out for 2 years. Than where is the Reebok Commerical gonna come on? and when are the fans gonna pour in to the arena? Thats your two sided sword baby!
