exactly. sports fans, in general, are extremely fickle. as long as tracy comes back and produces, he'll hear cheers again with ZERO PR.
Uh, this seems a little naive to me. Tons of people have made big PR types of mistakes and been run out of cities because of them..... If you are the owner and want to make money and need an asset to be embraced, you should do everything in your power to help revive that assets value. Tmac has a very low value around the fan base in Houston, it NEEDS some sprucing up. As sensitive as Tmac is, do you want him to be hearing fans yelling at him? That guy needs all the love he can get, he can not handle the negativity, he would shut down. DD
kobe's rape case? ben's current rape accusations? laker and steeler fans continued to cheer for these guys b/c they've produced and won. i don't think anything is bigger than rape/criminal charges. hell, kobe publicly threw his team and ownership under the bus and now the city is jockin him more than ever, even before he won the ring. steroids anyone? if i'm not mistaken, before manny's struggles recently, dodgers fans welcome him back w/ open arms b/c he PRODUCES. hell, they kept the mannywood section in the stadium. tracy just needs to have a 25 point game in his first game back at the TC and i GUARANTEE you that he'll hear some chants or something. however, he has to continue to produce. but if he does, the organization doesn't have to do a thing. it's up to tracy to produce and play well. the PR can be on full blast and tracy struggles, it won't matter.
Completely agree with DD. If we want our Rockets to be contending for a playoff spot, T-mac is gonna need more than just a contract year to motivate him. Im talking to you RED ROWDIES!!!!
Anyone arguing that TMac is more valuable hurt is crazy. A productive TMac is more valuable (to the Rockets) than an injured TMac in every possible situation. The big worry for me here is that the prime reason for a micro fracture surgery to fail is to over work the joint too early. The surgery causes the joint to FEEL good very quickly but the early tissue growth is very fragile. I hope the trainers and doctors are all over this, this is a 23 million dollar investment so please take care of it.
There is the difference between McGrady and the other guys you have mentioned. Actually, that and the fact that those guys are known for toughing it out and playing through injuries as well as leaving it all out on the court/field every game. McGrady isn't know for doing any of those things (even if some of it is unfair).
If hearing negativity would lead to him shutting it down, then why did he do the complete opposite this offseason?
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Gah, It'd be really depressing if I come across a video within the next year where he says the exact same words, but in Houston wearing another team's jersey.
If you haven't noticed this is a Rockets fan board. Rockets fan will cheer on the Rockets to do well, regardless of the player/s. If a Rockets player performs, he should be congratulated. It also doesn't mean we can't support him being traded at the same time.
it's not naive at all, fans are simplistic they want to win, or look good losing haha, if tmac came back and the first game back he dunked on kobe even dirtier than bradley the entire nation would be all over him once again, i only want a producing tmac on this team, i like the guy despite all his troubles because i remember and won't forget easily the things he accomplished as a healthy star, i hope he does well here, but the point of running a franchise is supposed to be to win so i have no desire to keep a player if all 9 of his lives have been taken point is - this is the last chance and i guarantee there will be crazy cheers and praise the first time this guy has a tmac like game
Well this is great news weather you like Tracy or not. I just don't won't him to rush hit way back he needs to take his time no matter how long it takes.
part of me dreams about a Tmac/Ariza wing combo...i don't know, I'm holding out some ever so slight hope that Tmac comes back in 07/08 form with Ariza on the wing with him. Brooks/Lowry Tmac (healthy) Ariza Landry Scola I want to see this 5 on the floor this season...
There are a lot of footage on skillzlab that only premium members can see. Can someone with acces please post the videos guys? I beg you.
I think he may have jeopardized his career by coming back to early and playing through injury. Funny how quickly people forget. If he had done it in the playoffs rather than the regular season, then maybe people would remember. Just remember this, as close as the West always is, every game is like the playoffs and I am sure that was his rationale for playing.
I agree. Personally, I can relate this to Ron. I wasn't a big fan of his before he came to Houston. Mid way through the season I bought his jersey. Months later I gave it away. I am extremely fickle towards players because I love it when my team wins.
When a good player is coming back from an injury, it is very similar to the expectations of a James Budinger. You wait and see if he's got game for real. Tracy has proven NBA experience, while Budinger doesn't. But in both cases, for different reasons, you now wait and see what happens in real games. Also, I think there has been the hope of finding a T-mac/?? duo, outside of Yao for quite some time. That may or may not be good for overall team ball. But any decision about trading T-mac at this point will be based on his health (abilities on the court) and how the team chemistry develops with the new talent. As far as T-mac having "something to prove", he does. He needs to prove he can be part of a "team". He needs to prove he can perform physically as well as before he was injured. He needs to prove that he will go down swinging no matter what happens in his attempts to "prove something". T-mac has/had the physical ability. The team play and the heart are the things that Darryl Eto can't help much with. Everyone remembers that T-mac seemed to quit in the series with Dallas when the Rockets got hammered in Game 7. He and his teammates need to make a pact: Nobody gives less than 100% until the buzzer goes off -- in any game. After last season's playoffs I don't think we have to worry about his teammates. I don't envy athletes who are in the center ring. Every little thing they do is scrutinized. They are just human, after all. Well paid, but human. I'm VERY willing to give T-mac the opportunity to prove as much as he can. But some things always end up being out of a person's control, no matter the intentions. If it doesn't work out as planned (on his and/or the fans part), as long as he has done his best I don't think he should be villianized. In the end, as Charles Barkley and others have said, "It's just a game." I'm hoping for the best for T-mac and the whole organization.
Im a huge tmac fan ...but all this and his new website my just be so he can secure a contract a year from now whether it be the rockets or whomever i hope houston re-signs him though
