Today, I am a proud fan of the Rockets. Incredibly proud. There are so many facets of the game that I want to discuss and specifically with those that were there. As for those that weren't, I want you to have the benefit of these comments. In short, the game was incredible. 1. First, the fans impressed me. I was in the lower bowl (good view of the Rockets bench) and most of my section stood for the entire game. Strangers hi-fived each other, hurled obscenities at the Fakers, lead chants of Beat LA, urged the Rockets on . . . it was everthing the Rockets players could have wanted. I have never been to a Rockets game that was this loud, including the championship runs. I saw few empty seats and the entire building was alive with electricity. Everyone seemed to be doing their best to will the Rockets to victory. The Rockets players could not have asked for more. 2. The 4th quarter run . . . When the Rockets were down big, I saw a spark that I have never seen in this team. They did not hang their heads. I saw defiance and frustration. I saw a team that believed they could compete with the Fakers and did not lose heart. The defensive stands in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter were incredible. Over and over, the Rockets refused to allow Shaq to get the ball and trapped Kobe over and over. The crowd was just deafening during that run, and I believe we gave the Rockets the extra energy to sustain that effort. And the Rockets responded with vise like defense, refusing to allow any open looks. This run was reminiscent of the Drexler led run against Utah in game 5, when the chips were down. 3. Boki - Bosjan Nachbar has my respect. Even if he does nothing else in his career, he has my respect. On one play (not he Malone related plays), he was to make the entry pass to Yao, but Kobe was overplaying the passing lane. With a confidence that I was not sure that he had, Boki crossed over, attacked the lane and blew by for an uncontested layup. That ability to drive to the hole, elevate and finish is what Rudy saw when he drafted Boki. It is something that we should see more next year when Boki gets regular minutes off the bench. When Boki hammered that dunk and was undercut by Malone, the crowd just roared its approval to Boki. Some of us yelled Karla Sucks, others chanted Boki's name. The block by Boki on Malone was equally stunning. Boki would not back down and, for a moment, I thought Boki would not just go for a block, but would try to injure Karla. 4. Today, the Rockets played as one. When you watch on TV, you can't see the players not involved in the play. At the game, I saw all 5 players committed to helping on defense, communicating on double teams and cuts, sliding over to box out someone else's man when that person left the paint to challenge a shot . . . everything that Clutch City I and II did so well. People, understand this. The Rockets are coming together. There's a faith and understanding that is being built. 5. Finally, the result. Up 4 with 2:15 remaining in overtime, I knew the Lakers would still make a run. Ultimately, the turnovers by JJax and Francis, and Yao's foul Malone was the difference. I had hoped that Van Gundy would go Hackashak to take the game out of Kobe's hands. Nonetheless, the late in the 4th quarter and inthe first half of overtime, the executed and showed poise that they never showed this year. Pessimists can point to the fact that we lost because of critical mistakes down the stretch. However, we were beaten because Karl Malone and Kobe are seasoned superstars that know how to get to the rum. Finally, I got on Fan Cam and Kiss Cam with my wife. I'm pretty sure it was because we were hurling obscenities at Karl Malone the entire game. The camera guy was even laughing. I was the handsome asian dude wearing the old school Rockets red and gold.
good post oh cool..hmm y'all kissed twice lol Great game..man sucks that we lost..but the crowd was great.....man disappointing...still awesome I am a proud fan of the Rockets too
just got back to austin from the game...was there what a heartbreaker..great crowd today i am a little horse. i was on jumbo tv witht he old Believe IT Again posters a couple times...
I was with the group of people who had a Kobe life size cardboard cut out, on which we put white posterboard and black posterboard stripes to make him a little jail outfit. TOO bad they didnt let us take it into the stadium, but we showed it off through the sunroof of my friends car after the game
Good write up! I was proud of the Rockets performance today. It was a shame they didnt come out on top. The Rockets showed a lot of resolve in the 4th quarter while Yao was out and the Rockets were getting the short end of MANY foul calls. Hopefully the Rockets can take these playoff experiences with them next season and improve their play and decision making.
i was there also and the crowd was so awesome, man it brought me back to the old days i saw the kiss cam and the old we believe signs lol boki!!!
wow clutchfans members representing!!! today was really unbelievable and i hope the fans can be this good each game.. BOKI!!! sigh...sucks that we lost..but still fantastic game..for 15 bucks lol
The crowd was good. You can't hear me though -- I've COMPLETELY lost my voice. I sound almost like JVG because the only way I can get anything out is to lower my voice and it's all scratchy then too. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!
Truly unbelievable game. That was as loud of a crowd I have ever been a part of. I do remember seeing Rileydog and Tyree on the big screen...especially Tyree, I was thinking it was a CF member when I saw that sign. One thing I will remember about this game is the damn Laker fans sitting about 3 rows ahead of me. They were rowdy the whole game, trashing the Rockets and everytime the Lakers did something he'd turn around and look at everyone. When the Rockets got into OT and took the 4 point lead, he was sitting there biting his nails. Truly awesome. I hate bandwagon fans (which most of Laker fans are).
lol yeah remember that segment where it displayed two guys in a row...BIG PIMPIN lol...it had one for a guy wearing a kobe jersey that said BANDWAGON FAN..
On ABC during a timeout or something a fan behind Doc and Al was visibly mouthing "F--- Kobe" over and over and over again. this was after Kobe made the steal and the layup. It was kind of funny.
I just hope that if we do lose this serie, I hope we at least get one win in Fakers' homecourt. I WANT REDEMPTION and espcially against the feMAILMAN. I want to see more RETURN TO SENDER!!!
Great post Rileydog! My wife and I were at the game as well. I was nothing short of proud of the Rockets. The 4th period stand was something to behold and it was loud as heck. I'm still hoarse as well screaming "defense" and "beat LA". On a sidenote, we had no idea that William Hung was singing at halftime. Man I was dreading it but I have to hand it to the kid he can certainly laugh at himself and it was great fun to laugh along and sing with him. His rendition of Rocketman was the clincher!
lol Tango I totally agree. haha we were like oh nooo william hung..but we listened to the whole thing lol. He's horrible but it's funny..I hate him but I love him! It's nice that he said..I'm a Rockets fan..lol that made him more favorable...nice nice. Hmm I wish Nelly sang instead.
Deuce, I gotta say that the officials did a great job over all. During the 4th quarter run, they called fouls on the Fakers that had previously been let go. If I were a laker fan, I would be ticked about that. However, that was offset with the ticky tack 6th foul on Yao. We lost the game because of the JJ turnover, SF turnover and Yao foul on Mailman. We lost the game because we shot miserably beyond the arc. It wasn't the refs. By the way, I'm ready to keep Francis for next year. I'd been calling for his head most of the year, but he has played his best ball against the lakers. He has made his share of mistakes but Yao is just not yet ready.
I thought the refs were horrible...they did give us some calls eventually...whenever we attacked the basket...but Yao was getting abused and assaulted in the low post..and I don't think one foul was ever called on the Lakers. But I guess they did a pretty good job. OH YEAH THAT ONE CALL...in the very beginning of the game...they said it was Lakers ball when it was clear that one of the Lakers knocked it out..but maybe they said Lakers ball because one of the Rockets fouled the Laker or something. The refs didn't call a tech on JVG which was nice lol..JVG was pissed! I am also ready to keep Francis...this season...gave everyone lots of headaches..cuz of Stevie and company..but yeah he has been our MVP and franchise player and point guard and leader this series...he has been great..he has just dominated...almost a triple double every night
Good Post ... Thanks for bringing in some positive aspects of the team. I am proud of them too, and I think this is something we can build on regardless of who is here next year Go Rockets!
