Rowdies put Rockets on win map [Chron]

Sorry if this has been posted. Way to go Rowdies!



Jan. 8, 2007, 10:29PM
Rowdies put Rockets on win map

By KEN HOFFMAN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

''Hey, we might as well apologize before the game starts. It's going to get loud around here. If you want some Tylenol, just ask. Tylenol is standard issue in this section."

The guy telling me this had a red Bozo wig on his head. The guy next to him was wearing an Elvis mask. And the guy three seats down had a Superman cape over a Yao Ming jersey. All three had painted faces.

I should have taken the Tylenol.

If you've been to a Houston Rockets game this season, you might have noticed something new: Section 114 in the premium lower seats is crammed with screaming basketball nuts banging drums, waving signs, cheering their heads off and helping the Rockets put another game in the win column.

They're called the Red Rowdies, and they're doing their job well. Excitement is contagious this year at Toyota Center, from the last fan in the top row down to Tracy McGrady standing on the free-throw line.

You might have noticed something else. The Rockets are one of the best home teams in the league with a 12-3 record.

Last year at this time, the Rockets were a miserable 3-12. And the year before that a modest 8-7 at home.

Also new: packed houses. The average attendance is 16,705 this year, compared with 15,885 last year and 14,864 in 2005. Wednesday night's game against the Lakers should be the team's 10th sellout of the season. Last year at this point, only four.

Coach Jeff Van Gundy knew the team needed a boost at home. So he took out his checkbook and bought 50 tickets to every home game. And he makes sure that they're given free to crazy Rockets fans.

Presto. Change-o ... 12-3.

"The idea stemmed from comments I had been hearing from the players. They noticed that other NBA arenas were louder and other teams had more of a home-court advantage than we were getting," Van Gundy said.

"I wanted to change that. The first thing I knew we had to do was play better at home and give fans a product they wanted to see. I knew it would help if we somehow got younger, louder fans closer to the court. That's how the Red Rowdies started."

I sat in the middle of the Rowdies last week when the Rockets hosted the Utah Jazz. I've never felt sorry for the visiting team before. McGrady scored 44 points, and the Rockets didn't trail for a single moment. The Rowdies weren't exactly a welcome wagon with warm cookies.

"Tracy is a good example of a player who feeds off the fans at home," Van Gundy said.

"Actually he was the guy who made me think of starting the Rowdies. Last year McGrady said to me, 'It's really quiet in Toyota Center. We need to get this place louder.' McGrady is naturally a laid-back guy. He does play better when the crowd is loud."

Enter the Red Rowdies. At the first pre-season game, McGrady heard all the commotion in the stands and asked Van Gundy, "Are those your guys?"

The next day, McGrady dug into his pocket, too, and bought 20 season tickets for more Rowdies.

And then there were 70.

There's an old expression in sports: "You can look it up."

McGrady's statistics are better at home this season.

"It works for Tracy. I would like for other players to step up and contribute tickets," Van Gundy said. "It really helps us to hear the fans going wild."

Some of the Rowdies tickets go to a core unit of regulars. But each night, Rockets employees prowl the entrance on La Branch looking for one-night-only Rowdies. You might want to consider wearing red. A wild wig helps, too.

"The Rowdies have only three rules. They have to be clean, creative and clever," said Chrislord Templonuevo, Rockets promotion coordinator and chief Rowdies recruiter.

"We have a family atmosphere in Toyota Center, but there's nothing wrong with fans creating a little hysteria cheering for the Rockets."

Most of the Rowdies stand the entire game. When a Rocket shoots free throws, they yell, "Whoosh." When an opposing player shoots free throws, well, the Rowdies don't exactly help ...

When Carlos Boozer stepped to the free-throw line: "Boozer is a loser!"

When Mehmet Okur was at the line: "Detroit reject!"

No profanity, no ethnic remarks, no mothers. But everything else is fair game. It's loud — Tylenol loud — and it's fun.

"I've been in this league a long time, but I've always wondered why teams play better at home — but they do. It's hard to explain," Van Gundy said.

"When people are screaming in the stands, how does a player know if they're cheering for or against him? Somehow it works. They say players are more comfortable at home, but I can assure you that the bed in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is better than the bed we sleep on at home."

The Ritz-Carlton lobby isn't packed with Red Rowdies, though.