I lived in houston in 80's and most of the 90's. I saw what happened to Warren Moon. how he was the hero one day but as soon as he started to get old the fans treated him and his family like crap, and at the end some paper articles started attacking his personality and his relationship with his wife i.e. Dale Robertson ( ithink he used to write for Houston Post. I am not in Houston anymore- obvoius from my name. But I am startig to see the same type of treatment is starting to gear towards Hakeem. Not as harsh as what Moon got YET. It makes me sad and concerned that we, or some of us as houston sports fans and media can be so shallow to treat these peopel this way. They are suppose to be our SPORTS heros. may be Karl malone was right on his comments about Hakeem. Maybe the Jazz organization would never, ever treat him that way if he ends up with chronic injuries. Ewing does not get this treatment from NY fans. Maybe maxwell was right in 94 about us as Rockets fans. Think about it and if Hakeem decides to stay for another year go to the games and chear for him loader than ever, i Know i will. Or, trade him to another team that actually gives him the ball 20 times a game the way he used to, and watch him shred us to pieces. Think about it..... ------------------ HAKEEM... the best ever!
While I agree with the points you are making, I just wanted to point out that NY was yelling at Ewing to go away and let the new team take over. Remember, they were saying it was better that he got injured. Then he came back and has been playing well. Now they like him again. All fans are fickle. Any time you have a large group acting as one (fan base) they act stupid and only want what is good now. ------------------ rimbaud post-a-thon 2000
Of course they shouldn't demonize Hakeem... and they won't... especially not as disgracefull as the way NY fans treat Ewing. Did you know when he gets the ball, he *still* often gets booed? And he's playing substantially better than Hakeem did this year. Regarding Malone's comments, what do you *want* the Rockets to do? Malone said that Hakeem should still be a focal point of the offense, basically. Is that what you want? Once, when you passed Hakeem the ball, you could expect an incredible move and two points. Now, when the ball is passed to Hakeem, I find myself crossing my fingers that he doesn't make a move that's an awkward parody of a dreamshake, or turn the ball over. If we did as Malone wished, and let Hakeem continue to be the offensive focus, can you *imagine* how bad Houston would have been this year? Francis was our best player, followed by Mobley and Shandon. Hakeem came after them, and was often less effective than KT and Rogers. Our offense operated as it should have under the circumstances with regards to Hakeem (some would say it didn't change soon enough early in the year). One man should never be put above the team. ------------------ [This message has been edited by haven (edited May 06, 2000).]
One other point to make with regard to the media attacking Moon for his relationship with his wife: He was arrested and taken to court because his wife had him charged with assault. He admitted the problems and went to counseling. It wasn't really attacking to report the story. ------------------ "No one gets out ALIVE!" SaveOurRockets.com
The major difference I see in these two cases are 1..Moon being traded pretty much predicated the Oilers going into the tank and hence moving to Tennesee. 2. Warren Moon is my favorite football player ever, but the guy almost choked his wife to death (allegedly his son called 911 because he thought his mother was gonna die). Hakeem has yet to have his character damaged like that. ------------------
I think they are two separate cases. Most people appreciate Hakeem and all that he has done. I think you are hearing more frustration than anything. People want the Hakeem of five years ago, and he hasn't been able to do that. Most of the calls are for his retirement, and have more to do with not wanting to see their hero struggle. Very few people have even mentioned 'getting rid' of him. The Rockets and Hakeem are bound together now -- their is absolutely zero possibility of a trade. The Rockets want to keep their icon to retirement, and no other team would request a trade while his health conditions remain unresolved. Hakeem's play has had nothing to do with how much he was given the ball. He has struggled with a knee injury and respiratory illness. They actually gave him the ball more than they would have with any other player when he did play. He just had a really bad year health wise -- he never fully recovered this year. ------------------ Stay Cool...
