Ad in the Houston Chronicle - First Draft - Need Your Feedback!

Rasselas, I see that all your points are very valid and think your letter is well-written and does your cause justice. If I shared the same views, I would be very happy for what you've done. I don't mean to disrespect your work at all, and I really thank you for hearing me.

 

The letter sounds okay, but it's rather wordy. I'd prefer a letter that's "short and sweet," to ensure that 1) people actually read it and 2) it fits in the ad space. Plus, remove all instances of ClutchFans, including the paragraph about the chat room (BTW, it's "Ahman Green" not "Ahmed Green"). We don't want to get Clutch in trouble.

For those of you who hate the idea of an ad, take your opinions elsewhere. There's nothing wrong with reminding the Rockets that they have an organized group of fans who are aren't afraid to act when they feel wronged. At the very least, in the future, when they eventually decide to short-change the team's future again, it might make 'em pause for a second to consider the possible fan outcry. And that would be a victory.

 

These millionaires are supported by us the fans. I think they care what we have to say. They're not going to go back on the trade, but we have a voice so I believe we should use it.

You say you apologize if your words anger or offend, but I wonder if you really feel that way. You call us "reactionary armchair quarterbacks" and "childish". I have no problem with people that disagree with the ad or love the trade, I would not resort to name calling unless provoked.

 

We shouldn't sign it with Clutchfans.

However, it'd be nice if we give Clutch a paragraph to express his thoughts, and maybe add a link saying "talk about the trade on clutchfans.net."

 

Sounds great!

I also like the idea of mentioning the track record of UConn players. Also who cares if a couple people don't like the idea of the ad. There are more of us that do. And the ones that do are the ones who will be pitching in. So if they want their own ad they can go ahead and do that. No one's stopping you . Anyway, I like the ad. It may be little too large depending on the size of the ad we get. Also another suggestion is we should also keep it catchy while informing. We don't want to have ONLY text(like a typical article). But maybe a catchy large title? We want readers to be able to instantly differentiate it from the rest of the pages of Houston Chronicle articles. Just my suggestion .

 

My opinion: if you want to come across with a stronger impact, it should be less sensationalized and more professional in a down-to-earth manner. Dramatized superlative words and phrases like "flunked the draft" accumulate to a less convincing argument imo. An true expression of how so many of the fans here have really felt heart broken and crushed and distraught by the move (maybe you could cite a good post, people giving up as fans and never to buy tickets again/switching fanbases) would strike more powerfully and balance the slapstick "OH GOD...!" type reaction which I feel your draft comes across. I like the numbered reasons but somehow the argument needs citations, support from other areas whether that be MemphisX's post, Jerry West comments, analyst's averages, etc.... And finally, each of the "We" or "Clutchfans" or any other stereotyping of Rocket's fans should be replaced with pronouns that mean "some." If you want to conclude that that "some" is a majority, support it with the bbs poll, rough % of forum reactions, etc.

 

Another thing, Lets get this set up SOON. In the next couple days lets have it the tip jar set up and hopefully printed ASAP. The sooner the better, every day could make a difference!

 

Love it.

 

I guarantee Clutch wants no part of this. We're not looking to pimp his site at the expense of the Rockets. That's an absolute recipe for disaster (unless you WANT the Rockets to shut this place down, forcing all of us to relocate to RealGM). There should be no mention of CF.net anywhere. Period.

 

^ Agreed. I don't want us disappointed fans to be depicted as crazy pissed off fans (even though most of us are). I think a sincere letter that shows how disappointed we are w/ the trade will come off a lot better than an angry/smartass (not to sound rude) type letter.

 

Excellent point here. According to the Feigen article, rockets were never going to pick gay for themselves anyway. So, in effect, the ad is complaining that the rockets didn't pick the player that you wanted them to? You realize that this happens all the time in sports.

 

I agree with this. I absolutely hate this trade. I was telling huypham that this is the worst Rockets trade I can remember. However, as much as I hate the trade, I am not a fan of writing a letter in the Chronicle. We have a standup guy coming back to this team. This is totally different from "Draft Vince Young" because it was not a done deal then. This is done, like it or not. Battier will be a Rocket and we'll have to live with it. It's not Battier's fault that he is coming to us in a lopsided deal. He's a standup guy and I for one will welcome him in a Rockets' uniform. If Rudy Gay becomes a superstar, it will just add to CD's "legacy." We can add Rudy Gay to the list of Eddie Griffin, Michael Dickerson, Bryce Drew, Mirsad Turkcan, Dan Langhi among others.

And by the way, it's "Isiah Thomas" and not "Isaiah Thomas."

 

Here's one I wrote this morning before I went to class...

Dear ******,

As long time Rocket fans, many of us have seen the great Rocket moments such as the back to back Championships, drafting Yao Ming, and trading for Tracy McGrady. We have also seen the not so great moments such as the 28 win season a couple years back, Rudy T leaving, the injury sustained 05-06 season, and most recently, the trade involving Rudy Gay and Shane Battier.

We would just like to express our disappointment in the recent decision making of the Rockets front office. While many of us understand the need for immediate improvement, the trade involing Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift for Shane Battier is a big shock and a disappointment for many Rocket fans.

Rudy Gay has the potential to be a star player in this league. Whether it happens next season or two seasons from now, many Rocket fans were excited to see Rudy Gay in a Rockets uniform and would like to see the development of potential star player just like we did with Yao Ming and Hakeem Olajuwon. It is very rare that an organization gets the opportunity to draft a talent such as Rudy Gay. And while we do understand it may take some time for him to develop, the many things said about Rudy Gay are very similar to what was said about a current Rocket.

But most of all, we felt that we've been lied to by your front office. During the weeks leading up to the draft, we heard many quotes about the Rockets' desire to add athleticism, size, and youth to the team. I believe that is why so many of us were excited when we selected Rudy Gay only to hear he was being dealt not even 30 seconds later.

Many of us understand that this letter will not change the trade or the decision making of the front office. We would just like convey our feelings about the recent activity of our favorite team. We are very disappointed with only 2 playoff appearances in the last 7 seasons, with both of the appearances being first round exits. We are disappointed in the current status of the team. We are disppointed in the unwillingness of the Rockets to add youth and athleticism to a very old team.

We will still support the Rockets and in true Houston fashion, we will greet Shane Battier with open arms. We understand that the Rockets desire to improve is just as great as the fan's. But that does not change our disappointment with the way our team has performed on and off the court. We would like to see a signficant improvement of the Houston Rockets franchise, this is something we haven't seen in almost a decade. Hopefully things will be turned around soon enough. We feel that this proposed trade is not a good start.

Sincerely,

Rocket Fans

 

I didn't mean it as name-calling. I just meant it as how people would view us. But I couldn't figure a better way to word what I was saying, so I posted it with that disclaimer. And I really tried not to put that tag on anyone - that's why I wrote "representation of reactionary..."

Oh, and I hate when people pull out the "childish" thing on me - it drives me crazy. I made sure to put "IMO" right after I used that word for this reason, but re-reading that post has shown me my hypocricy.


It's all Rudy Gay's fault that we don't have edit!

 

So Jerry West is not a professional?

Jerry West has how many NBA championships?
Jeff Van Gundy has?

 

More than fair DallasThomas. I think we just had some miscommunication. Thanks for the explanation.

 

Shane Battier today is better than Donyell now, but I think it's debatable that he's a better player when compared to Donyell in his prime. Okafor was injured for almost the entire year this year. Last year he won Rookie of the Year.