http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1994_1202603 NBA playoffs/Emotions high for pivotal fifth/Max: "All aboard the bandwagon' FRAN BLINEBURY Staff TUE 05/17/1994 HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Section Sports, Page 1, 2 STAR VERNON Maxwell knows you're out there. He knows you'll be back inside The Summit tonight holding up signs of support, shaking homemade pompons, maybe even leaping up out of your seat and throwing your hands over your head to do "the wave" if the Rockets can manage to get the Suns down by 20 again with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. He knows you might have been among that small portion of the audience that booed him during the pre-game introductions last Wednesday night or the larger group that cursed him as you trudged in a state of shock out of the building after the great collapse was complete. You might have been the guy who caught his attention from an aisle just behind the Rockets' bench, ripped up a photo of him, crumbled it into a ball and then stomped on it. Or you might have been the fan who held up a banner that read: "Go Maxwell -- And Take Mitch Williams With You!" He knows you'll all be back. And Max has a message for you. "Hop on board," he said. "There's plenty of room on the bandwagon." No apologies necessary. "I ain't mad at anybody," Maxwell said. "Never was. I was just kind of disappointed that we had beat Portland in the first round of the playoffs, we were coming home, we were on national television and it seemed like nobody in town was behind us." So he said of you, "To hell with them." "Yeah, well, that's me," Maxwell said. "I'm one of those guys who wears his emotions on the outside and says the first thing that comes to his mind. It gets me in trouble sometimes. But it's part of who I am and it's part of what makes me the player I am." Hakeem Olajuwon criticized you for your lack of support and so did Mario Elie on the same day Maxwell made his comments. Even Matt Bullard, whose only contributions to the playoffs have been to thoughtfully stroke his oh-so-fashionable goatee during timeouts and offer up criticisms of the best head coach the Rockets have had, ripped you for your absenteeism on Mother's Day. But it was Max who received your wrath. "I'll take all the flak, because I know I can handle it," he said. "I'm still glad I said what I said, because I think it got the fans behind us." Maxwell is the lightning rod for criticism as surely as he is the ignition spark for the team. He is the Rocket who was bold and cocky enough to lock horns with Michael Jordan in the past, bumping, shoving, jawing and even matching shot-for-shot with His Airness, and he remains the emotional leader of this team that has suddenly climbed back into the picture as a contender for the NBA championship. The roster is filled with names who responded with clutch efforts in the most difficult situation, but it should be remembered the Rockets did not begin to get back up off the floor from the 0-2 hole until Maxwell started to streak to the basket in the second half of Game 3. He scored 31 of his 34 points in the second half, 16 in the fourth quarter, and the Rockets were off and running to their 118-102 victory. Maxwell knows you're ready to blame the media for burying the team after those first two home games. He knows that you're saying you never doubted the Rockets' ability to go to Phoenix and climb out of that 2-0 hole. He doesn't want to debate that. None of it matters now. He's too busy being Ralph Kramden, driving the bandwagon. "Hopefully, everybody will just be there to support us," Max said. "That's all that really matters. "You know, I can understand the attitude of the fans in Houston. I can see why the people are so afraid to really get behind any of the teams in town. I know the history. I know that none of the teams has given the city what it really wants -- a championship. "It's a three-way thing with us, the Oilers and the Astros. We can all feed off each other, and we can all pull each other down. I know that one disappointment by one team leads to less trust for the next one. "But what you have to understand is that we're all busting our butts out there -- the Rockets, the Oilers and the Astros. Nobody wants to lose. None of us wants to be embarrassed. The Oilers didn't want to blow that lead in Buffalo, and we didn't want to blow that lead to Phoenix. It happens. You just deal with it. "So much of the problem is the big money of today. Most people don't think we deserve it, and that immediately becomes the focus any time a team doesn't deliver. People are jealous of the money. They think we have it made. They think we don't care. "We do care. We're professional athletes. We're in this thing to win." Now, the Rockets are back in a position where they can win again, and that means you're ready to ride the bandwagon. Even if you booed him last week. "Jump on," Max said. "I'm saving everybody a seat."
Thats Houston, even after all those years after the article have been written. It seems when its regular season not really many people are into it, but when we make it to the playoffs, it seems like everyone wants to hop on the bandwagon. I wonder way we can't have a sell out crowd everynight
Unfortunately,that's the way it's been for years. Houston has had many disappointments since the end of the Championship years. It's a football city first.
The Warriors and Knicks sell out every game and their not even capable of being an 8th seed in their respective conferences.
Do the Comets not count because they are female? I notice alot of people forget the Rockets ain't the only pro team that have brought a championship to Houston.
Win Championships and we wont have these conversations. Its that simple. People complain about fans but when the teams win that takes care of it. Do your end and the fans do theirs. Its really that simple. it can go both ways. Its ok to watch Rockets just because you enjoy them or any other sports. Just paying for them to just support them? Well thats a money issue and value issue. Houstonians have money and value system where they assess if things are worth their money. In Houston if you arent winning its not worth most middle class income families money to waste it on teams who are not trying to build a Championship team. Thats how Houstonians value money. If we lived in New York where everything is expensive and about throwing around cash everyday? Yes it makes sense that that crowd waistes its cash even on losing organizations because that type of crowd wastes cash in their everyday lices as habit. Its a matter of social habits more than fans. No one fan is any better than any other. For instance the horrid Lakers fanbase who are stuckup and obnoxious at every corner to every other fanbase. They sellout games. Doesnt mean they are better fans. Even when they arent winning. Its about social economic times and their spending habits. Houstonians are more frugal traditionally. They spend money on what they think is a good value and product.
This is how it is for almost any city...especially one growing so fast and filled with transplants like Houston. Still, attendance is fine during the regular season and you see plenty of Texans/Rockets/Astros/Dynamo bumper stickers, jerseys, etc., around. It's just that when the playoffs start, people actually talk about them more. I mean...it's the PLAYOFFS!
They do count,but a large number of causal basketball fans haven't supported pro basketball, since the Rockets started to lose.
Maxwell = leadership, tangibles, and intangibles. No need for propaganda pieces in the NY Times, no need for obscure statistics, and no need for random quantitative measures to demonstrate contributions...just results. Maxwell = Clutch. The next time the "no-stats all-star" pours in over 30 points in one half while holding the man he's guarding below his season average in a must win playoff game will be the first time.
You're right. Vernon Maxwell's intangibles are simply indescribable. There truly isn't anyone like him in Rockets history. Spoiler Rockets Gave Maxwell Walking Papers NEWSWIRE July 13, 1995|From Staff and Wire Reports Vernon Maxwell, who faked a hamstring injury in the NBA playoffs because he couldn't handle sitting on the bench in Houston, won't have to any more. The league-champion Rockets confirmed Wednesday that on June 30 they had waived Maxwell, whose playing time was diminished when they traded for Clyde Drexler on Feb. 14. Houston is obligated to pay the value of the final year of Maxwell's contract, $1.8 million, because he was not claimed on waivers. Wait, I take that back. There was another Rocket like him. I believe his name was Scottie Pippen.
Maxwell stood up for the Astros and Oilers. For the Ernest Givens, the Billy Hatchers of the town. He understood the city and what it needed, he knew that the fans were tormented and that they needed heroes to light the way. We need a hero beyond the Astrodome.
(Thanks for the article tinman, I agree. What I am going to say doesn't reflect on your article.) lol, oh gawd. I know we have people who work for the chronicle who post here, probably rockets staff as well. There is a lot of money involved in fan opinion. Well just to be honest I actually am a big fan of the Chronicle and (seriously) probably buy/read it 3-4 days in the week. They have an excellent writing staff and they beat the Houston Post for a reason. I believe, probably like most fans, that if the owner of a team and the organization is doing what the fans want, you have to reward and pay the team back by supporting them with your money not just your cheering (but this is important as well). The Rockets ownership/management has said they want to win a championship (and are showing it by their actions and spending), not just try to sell tickets (pirates, raiders and clippers owners). They have gone over the luxury tax to bring us a competitive team and make us a winner, not all owners and team do that (or do it competently), so I am all about supporting the team by buying tickets (even to not so exciting games), jerseys and food at the games when I can afford it. So yeah I agree, support this organization/team and the Houston Chronicle (the paper really needs your support in this internet news age) because they listen to the fan and are doing (in my opinion) what we want, spending the money to win it all.
