No offense to rocketgirl, but is our best fan really not even 30? There's gotta be someone in the running who got started in the old days.
The best rockets fan is JVG. Who else would still be constantly rooting for the former employer that let you go? Also the fact he had so much success with the New York Knicks as compared to Houston and wasn't fired in NY.
My 2nd vote would be Adam Clanton. I've followed him from sports radio 610 all the way to Sports Talk 790 for the main reason that when he talks about the Rockets/NBA he's a fan and not just being forced to talk about it between Texans talk.
My entry. sorry for the horrendous writing, wrote it during a class, only proofread it one time, and wrote it after seeing on this thread who people think are or who they consider "fans". My name is _______ and I am not the best Houston Rockets fan. My fandom story started when I first immigrated to the states. I came to Houston, Texas in the fall of 92' at five years old. My first year in Houston was difficult to say the least-new school, new language, just trying to be as American as I could be at the time. And as a kid that first year, I was really never attracted to football or the Houston Oilers for that matter, probably because the concept was completely new and different to me coming from a different country. But basketball was a lot easier to pick up and I guess that's what attracted me to the sport. And at the height of an era where everyone wanted to be like "Mike", I didn't. I wanted to be like Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. I remember something about the Chicago Bulls winning it again that year, but I didn't care. I lived in Houston Texas now and I had no loyalty or allegiance to anyone but to my new city, and my new home. In 93-94, my first full season as a Rockets fan, the Rockets started off with a bang winning their first 15 games. And the fandom and obsession had officially begun. I soaked up everything that first year about the Houston Rockets, from memorizing the roster, stats, and even the smallest detail like every players jersey number. I didn’t watch every game that season, only a handful of regular season games that came on local tv, plus all the nationally televised games during the playoffs and finals on NBC. But the random memories I have of the first season as a fan are what I remember the most because it was my child hood. Sam Cassell going off against the Knicks, Vernon Maxwell hitting a game winner against the Warriors, the memories of Bill Worrell and Calvin Murphy in his crazy suits announcing during the first round of the playoffs against the Portland Trailblazers, being deemed Choke City, then Clutch City in a matter of weeks. The most memorable moment of that first season though started during Memorial Day weekend on a family trip. The day before my birthday the Rockets had played game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. I however did not watch that game because we were doing family stuff in South Padre and was not able to watch. And I was an angry 6 year old about to turn 7 year old kid. But to make up for it, my uncle OJ promised to take me to a game if the Rockets made the finals that year. And just my luck, they did, and so my first game ever as a fan happened to be game 1 of the 93-94 NBA finals. The Rockets ended up of course winning the Finals in 7 games that year against the Knicks, and to take a partial quote from my main man Gene Peterson-how sweet it was. Just a quick side note though, Scottie Brooks was my favorite player during the championship years, other than Hakeem Olajuwon of course. And when I Found out they traded him in the winter/spring of 94-95 to the Dallas Mavericks I was devastated. I still remember the exact place and moment I was at when I heard about the trade-in my dads car 7:50 amish getting dropped off for school in first grade. Ever since that first season though I have been a serious and avid Houston Rockets fans. From staying humble and hungry and owning a pair of Hakeem Spaulding shoes, the second championship run and heart of a champion speech, the failed three peat attempt at the hands of Shawn Kemp and the Supersonics, to the formation of the big three, the joyous moment of being at game 4 when Eddie Johnson hits a game winning three then witnessing heart aching loss from John Stocktons game winner in game 6, the subsequent failed Scottie Pippen experiment, to Hakeem leaving the team and our 13-14 game losing streak that season that eventually helped us get Yao Ming which lead to the Tmac and Yao era, I have been there every season. Even when I was in college far far away from Houston, I would find ways to watch or some how keep updated during every Rockets game. Be it through continuous refreshing of an ESPN page to downloading programs that let me watch streams in Chinese, I never missed anything Rockets related. And upon graduating from college, even setting a goal for myself of eventually getting a job with the team, which I did as an inside sales representative for two seasons. In my interview I remember them asking me why I should be highered and I remember responding with something corny like “Most people bleed Rocket Red, I just don’t bleed Rocket Red, I also Pee Rocket Yellow..not because I am dehydrated or anything but I will give everything I have to this job”…To this day my managers there still make fun of me for this. And as an employee for my favorite organization/team it was a dream come true to come to work everyday. This was it. I was finally living the dream that the 7 year old in me wanted so bad. I started at the bottom of the department but eventually worked my way up because the Job came so easy to me. I couldn’t believe they actually paid me to talk to people everyday about the Houston Rockets. But the NBA lock out of 2011 hit and unfortunately my department was the first to be let go. That drive home after finding out might have been the most depressing drive home. Ever. Knowing that this day might eventually come though, I planned on going back to school if this unfortunate fate did happen. Luckily, shortly after being let go by the Rockets I found out that I got into law school which is where I currently am now. After the lockout had been settled, I was one of the two employees the Rockets asked to return to the department. Which I more than happily accepted. So during the shortened season of 11-12, I came back to the organization, working during the day while attending school at night. Another side note from my story- One of my favorite moments in life happened during that season. It was a game night against the Knicks and I was again per usual running around that night meeting and greeting clients when I happen to run into a Co worker of mine who asks If I could help him with something. Always trying to be a good co worker I said yes. Little did I know that the thing he needed help with was giving a signed autographed ball to a fan at center court during a time out. So there I am standing center court during a game, giving a ball away to a fan in front of 16-17k people. The little 7 year old boy in me was definitely going crazy inside. But back to my story. So working during the day, and attending law school at night finally took a toll on me mentally and physically, and So I made one of the hardest decisions in my life thus far and decided to leave the Rockets in the spring of 2012 to focus solely on school. All these things though that I have experienced with the team is not why I call myself a THE fan. In the fall of 2012 when the Rockets decided to switch and partner their tv rights with Comcast and CSN Houston was when it happened. For those who might not be familiar with the situation, because of this move, only 40% of the City of Houston now has the ability to be able to watch Rockets game. I unfortunately am not because I have a different cable tv provider. I was outraged when I found this out. How could my favorite team, my favorite organization, the place that I had given my blood and sweat to work for end up doing this to my city? I first tried to reach out through to the organization through social media lambasting them over this decision to screw the city of Houston over money, but was only met with quip responses like “be patient”, “this will get resolved”, “we know the problem and hope to get it resolved soon”. So because of this I did and have been doing what I think is right. I haven’t watched a Rockets game since the CSN partnership that has not been nationally televised. Don’t get me wrong, I still follow the team everyday to watch game highlights and follow player stats and what not, but as to watching streams of the game on line , I will not. This is coming from a fan who hasn’t missed a beat with this team since 1993. I missed all of last years regular season games except for the nationally televised games which were few and far between. More games than I have missed in the 20+ years I have been a fan combined. Because as a real fan, I will not stand for an injustice, especially to my city, even when its my favorite team. So until this whole CSN Houston debacle gets situated I will continue to not watch any games unless they are nationally televised. Luckily for me this year the Rockets are on tv a tad more than last season. This is why I am a THE Rockets fan though. I dont have a twitter where I use it to get attention for being a fan, nor do run a popular a fan cite for money. I may not meet best fan standards to people but I am THE FAN because I set an example and standard for being one. Because I am not the fan the Houston Rockets need, I am the fan the Houston Rockets deserve. So I’ll continue to protest and make the sacrifice by not watching. Because I can take it, I can make that sacrifice for the greater good to be the fan that sets the standard, because I am the silent fan, that guards the integrity of being a fan. The unwatching watching protector that stands up to an injustice even when its done to him by the thing he loves most, the Red Knight. Because the 7 yr old boy in me wouldn’t have it any other way.
That's Rocketgirl's mom. She looks exactly like Rocketgirl, except the those glasses are too small & not as colorful. :grin:
