Inspired to write this thread based on a previous post about Mo Taylor and Cato sighting and the fact that they're lousy tippers. Let me preach for a minute, if you will. Many athletes, as has been mentioned numerous times by numerous people in-the-know, are overpaid, egotistical, spoiled human beings who, if you knew them in real life aside from their fame, or in spite of it, you would not walk across the street to meet. That being said, there are a handful that are generous, kind, and worthwhile individuals. The problem is that the nicest athletes aren't necessarily the ones you want on your team. Maybe, but maybe not. If Yao Ming is a complete jerk but is a good teammate and excellent basketball player, I could care less how he treats the general public. In working at Victors for 3 years at I-59 and the Sugarland exit, I waited on almost every Rocket imaginable- Horry, Elie, Cassell, Sam Mack, Moses Malone, Barkley, Eddie Johnson, Herrera, you name it (except for Dream). I could say who was nice and who wasn't - Sam Mack was a cheap b*stard, Barkley left me $50 on a $7 tab, Horry was indifferent, I couldn't understand Sam, Herrera was extremely polite, Moses was kind of a jerk- but it really doesn't matter in the long run. As much as I didn't care for Mo Malone personally, it has no bearing on where I rate him among the all-time centers (sometimes, I even rank him ahead of Dream). The point is- here's my sermon- the point is that this is all about the Rockets. The Rockets used to stand for ineptitude, failure, shortcomings- but now the organization stands for excellence in athletic performance. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything that athletes do in public don't surprise me at all. This is why I don't get heartbroken over the Rudy T decision, or Hakeem leaving, or anything else. Disappointed yes, but not heartbroken. It's all about the Houston Rockets. And what the players do on the court. Moochie could be the nicest guy in the world, but that ain't stopping me from trading him first chance I get. And I don't care if Steve Francis might be an unpolite, cheap person to wait on- give me 20/10 and that is all that matters. P.S. Exception to the rule- athlete does something illegal- drugs, wife abuse, etc. Thanks for the space.
I understand where you are coming from, BUT I think you underestimate the effect of CHARACTER on game performance. Bad actors rarely produce championships. I know, what about the Detroit Pistons championship years? They were bad boys on the court but hardly a bunch of criminals. Jordan and Magic weren't faithful to their wives but were and are basically good guys. The Celtics may have boozed a bit, but not a bunch of thugs.
I'm glad to see that you feel basketball is more important than life. I'm sorry but if one does not respect myself or others for NO specific reason than he/she is an ass who deserves to be ostracized. Respectable people trump athletes, movie stars and yes even Victoria Secret models who act with disregard to other people. Respect is something that should be natural to most but it's been lost on way too many people. Condoning that behavior is just as despicable.
dandorotik, I could care less about how they tip, what they want to do with their money is their business. The point is these two, Taylor and Cato, are getting starter salaries and are both coming off the bench. I think the low tipping, if the story is true, further exemplifies how crappy these to players are .
I dont see how one can seperate the Character off the court and the character on the court. How can a person who life is a mess and socially unresponsible be expected to be the the all attentive team player, that gives of himself to the Team and his Coach.
Excuse me, Judge Judy, but nowhere did I say that basketball is more important than life. And besides, some of the things these people do- we have no idea about because they're done privately to where we can't see them. My point is that I don't root for players for what they do off the court, I root for what they do on it. Sorry, but a lot of what you and I and others know about players is what the media tells us. You know, Rasheed Wallace is actually a pretty nice person to everyone but the refs. Same with many others. Since you missed the whole point of my post, Wapner, I won't bother to explain further. I am just not particularly interested in hearing about how much Mo Taylor does or doesn't tip in a restaurant, and if Moses Malone is generally unfriendly to the public, so be it! He doesn't owe having to talk to me. Of course, you obviously have the inside track on what the rich-and-famous do on an everyday basis, so we'll anxiously wait your updates. I would particularly like updates on the Rockets- how much they tip, whether they sign autographs or not, etc. - so I'll know exactly which Rockets to cheer for. Swish.
I kind of agree with both if not all. You look at guys like Rasheed Wallace who at times is a bomb waiting to happen, but off the court everyone speaks volumes about his character a beaing a loving husband. Then you look at to consumate pro's like Kidd and Hill, but off the court both has had to go to anger management classes and stuff. It works both ways, i think, but still the story about the $3 tip for $150 worth of food makes no sense.
The only time off-the-court matters is when a player's not that good on-the-court. The truth is if this entire Rockets team consisted of bad guys, most Rockets fans would ignore it if they're winning rings...
Usually bad guys and rings do not go together. If that were the case, the Rockets teams from the mid to late 80s would have killed the Lakers and Celts. How many crackheads were on the Rockets back then?
Vernon Maxwell wasn't exactly a saint during our first championship run... Dennis Rodman wasn't a very good guy either.
dandorotik, Don't forget the towel throwing on Sabonis. By the way, what did Sabonis every do to deserve that, other then to come to play hard every night? I'm not sure but didn't Sheed get caught for smoking dope? I'm not suggesting pot is good or bad just simply illustrating that Sheed isn't the best role model in the world. There is a reason why Wallace was ranked on the top 10 list of most cancerous persons in the NBA, his personality on the court matches that of Bobby Knight.
basketball is a metaphor for life. All that matters in life and basketball is learning to take it to the hole. Tipping your waiter well or poorly rarely effects your ability to score.
