Rudy's return (LA Daily News)

man...I love Rudy to death....but I dont think it is fair to say he single handedly was responsible for the arena initiative passing....

I believe one of our own had a HUGE role in that..

for those of you not around here when that happened.....just remember...without the hard work of Jeff...we might not be enjoying the Houston Rockets today...thanks again Jeff.



btw...Rudy may be with the antichrsit of nba basketball teams...but he damn well deserves a standing O when he comes to town Saturday.

 

Thanks.

I have an extremely fond spot in my heart for Rudy. I was fortunate enough to attend his basketball camp in 6th grade and, when I got REALLY sick, he was the guy that talked to me and basically comforted me when I felt bad that I could do as much as I wanted in camp.

When I worked on the arena campaign, he was the ONE guy who would show up for anything, anytime. He really did go door to door and participated in multiple events when he really didn't have to. For that matter, so did Van Chancellor.

We did an overnight event and Rudy came out early in the morning and shot hoops and hung out. He and Tim Frank (one of the others in the story) spent an hour telling me hilarious stories about Gene Peterson and Hakeem while we shot baskets - pretty much a dream come true for me.

Every time I saw him after that, he came right up to me and said, "Hey, Jeff, how are you, man?" and we'd chat for a few minutes about basketball or whatever. I remember that even at the end of that season when the Rockets missed the playoffs, a few of us (including Clutch and Kagy) were watching his press conference from the backstage area of Compaq Center and, when he was done, he made a b-line right over to me to thank me for the hard work on the arena and basically just say "hi."

Thing is, he is like that with everyone he meets. He is a genuinely great guy and it is going to be really weird seeing him coach from the visitor bench.

 

I would like to second that. I was out there with Jeff with my little brother, I think that less than 20 poeple showed up the night before voting. Even less were there to show their support the next Morning. Rudy did show up that morning and gave tickets away. I'm Glad that we got the stadium, but am still very upset at the lack of turnout at Jeff's function.

 

I had the opportunity of chatting briefly with Rudy courtside during one of the games at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis. I think it was US vs. Angola after China vs. Germany. I've been sitting in an empty seat at courtside from the beginning.(The games were hardly sold, much less sold out) Then someone sat next to me and I looked, it was Rudy. I said "Hi, good luck in the upcoming season with Yao" and I didn't want to bother him because I respect his privacy. He actually started a conversation with me and asking me about where I come from, where I go to school. The impression I got from talking to Rudy was that he was certainly a down-to-earth guy. Some people tried to get his autograph and the security stopped them. But Rudy just waved them through and signed autographs. The game was a blow-out anyway. After watching the most of the period's play, Rudy got up and wished me good luck with my future. I wished him the same and suddenly Shawn Marion yelled up:"Yo, Rudy!" while the game was still in play. The crowd around us laughed. It was one of the best moments I had at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

 

Kudos to Jeff, kudos to you, and kudos to Rudy, along with everyone else involved. (including Clutch) Is this the thing where Jeff and some of you "slept" in your cars overnite? I remember reading about that here, if my brain is functioning properly. (no way of knowing! ) I still can't believe the Rockets got new digs, a multi-decade long lease, and they didn't pull a Bud Adams. All of you deserve our heartfelt thanks, even if you've gotten it before.

 

Yeah, guys, thanks for everthing. I don't even want to imagine houston being a no basketball city. I'd definitely die...

 

RT is pure class, and easily the best head coach this organization has ever had.

 

You guys are killing me here. All these touching stories about Rudy and all, I'm about to cry. Stop it already.

 

I wish Calvin could be at the game

 

Rudy Tomjanovich will always be a Houston Rocket to me, even if he is on the opposing sidelines. I won't be at the game, but I'll be cheering for Rudy from my couch almost as much as I'll be rooting for my Rockets. Dude wasn't just our coach, he bled Rockets red. He's an icon, and a Houston legend, and I wish him success as a coach and in life.

 

Here is the original article from the Chron:

Basketball fans line up for early vote
Some think arena's worth an all-nighter
By ERIC BERGER
Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle

Under normal circumstances, the MTV generation spends hours, if not days, in line for tickets to a concert or the first screening of a Star Wars movie. Under not-so-normal circumstances Saturday, dozens of Houston Rockets fans spent hours in line to vote.

To vote? The MTV generation -- or slackers, as some call them -- don't vote in large numbers. Nationwide, fewer than one in three did so in 1996.

Welcome to the world of dotcom denizen Jeff Balke and his cyber-pack of faithful saveourrockets.com volunteers, who wanted to be among the first voters to cast an early ballot in favor of the downtown arena.

Some had been there a long while. The party began Friday night outside a polling location just west of downtown, 17 hours before early voting started.

Balke, 31, and about 100 of his favorite, mostly younger, rabid Rocket fans pitched a tent, popped in a videotape of Rockets and Comets highlights, noshed on chips, cheese and crackers, shot hoops on a portable goal and talked about what it meant to be a basketball fan in Houston.

"Politicians are so serious when they're campaigning, God forbid you even crack a joke," Balke said. "I just wanted to do something a little off the wall."

With the pump-up-the-jam style music that plays during breaks at Compaq Center pulsing in the muggy evening air, the festivities hummed until about 11 p.m., when the last of the television cameras left for the night.

Only two of the revelers were to stay the night, the unceasingly upbeat Balke of course, and Lori Heidelberger, a self-described basketball nut. Even the security guards went home.

Past midnight, both Balke and Heidelberger spoke of the spark that propelled them to spend the night in a city parking lot, waiting for a polling booth to open. Voting first, after all, doesn't mean a vote counts more than once.

It was the Rockets' first championship, they both agreed.

"It's a high, it's really incredible, and I really don't know what you can compare it to," said Heidelberger, a sports fan who is still disgusted by the Oilers' departure and who claimed she still gets choked up when watching a video of Rockets superstar Hakeem Olajuwon in his prime.

After the Rockets championship game in 1994, Balke recalled driving near Compaq Center on Richmond.

Instead of looting, the people of all nationalities were were telling each other not to litter.

"It's unbelievable," recalled Balke as he drank from a plastic water bottle and checked his watch. Just past 1 a.m., all was quiet except for the occasional police siren.

"There's a unique camaraderie you don't get from anything but sports. And more so in Houston. People are so nice here. And then, when your team wins, it just becomes one big lovefest. All of a sudden it's like, welcome to the 1960s. It was like they'd just signed an armistice."

Balke and Heidelberger finally went to bed shortly after 2 a.m. He slept in a trailer courtesy of the pro-arena campaign. She slept in her Ford Explorer, waking up the next morning with, she said Saturday, every joint sore.

In the early morning hours, Balke was awakened by a call from his wife. It's OK, he said. Saturday was the couple's fifth anniversary. She's very understanding, he said.

Fans soon started to trickle in. Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich arrived at 9 a.m. and served breakfast to a growing number of people waiting for the polls to open.

Half an hour before the first vote could be cast at noon, dozens of fans had arrived and were beginning to line up inside the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on West Gray. Some were wearing the blue-and-yellow "Let's Build it Together" shirt of the arena campaign.

Michael Perry, a supervisor of the polling place, was firm: Turn those shirts inside out, or you'll have to abide by the campaigning distance restrictions of the Green Party and other political groups that were standing outside talking to perspective voters. The bathroom's down the hall, Perry said.

No matter, Balke simply turned his shirt inside out right there. He'd spent all night a few feet away, and wasn't going to give up his space in line.

"I'm not just voting for the Rockets and Comets; this vote is for the whole city," Sharon Robertson said. She and her husband, Jim, had been at the polling place for five hours.

Standing in line next to the Robertsons was David Ojobaro, a Texas A&M University junior who drove in from College Station for the weekend to vote and to see his parents, in that order.

"I didn't vote last year because I thought it would pass," he said. "I'm not making that mistake again."

By 1 p.m., when Perry opened the doors and let the first group of voters in, more than 75 people were standing in line, most of them Rockets fans.

Early voting continues today from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 29 locations in Harris County, with longer hours on weekdays, and ends Nov. 3 in advance of the Nov. 7 general election.

The county's election administrator, Tony Sirvello, said he welcomed the all-night fans. Anything to let people know there's an election, he said.

Between now and then, Balke admitted, he will be busy. He has gone from starting his Internet site to keep the Rockets and Comets in Houston to also making a few bucks on the side as the campaign's official Webmaster. He's also a popular speaker at civic groups. His enthusiasm is genuine.

But he admitted he's ready to go back to helping his wife with their antique jewelry business.

"I will be very glad when it's all over," he said. "This is fun and all, and it's interesting, but it's a tremendous amount of work. That, and I don't like politics."

Shortly after 1 p.m. the first voters walked out of the booths. Balke raised his arms triumphantly and then stopped a moment.

"I just voted for Ralph Nader and the arena. Now I'm going home to take a nap," he said.

 

It's going to be wierd just seeing him seating there on the other team's bench. I will always think of Rudy as a Rocket and wish I could be at the game. I hope he gets a standing O...

 

heh...for someone that "doesnt like politics", you sure manage to keep yourself fully aware of local political issues and candidates....

cool story tho...

 

LOCAL. Key word. He failed to include the word "national" in there.

 

I know thats right. I know I will at home giving him a hand. He's legenedary and I am so glad he is well again. If anyone, he deserves it.

 

LOL! From what I've seen, you were certainly on the level!

 

Can't go to the game tomorrow, gotta work. If I could be there, I would yell until my face turned red when they introduce Rudy. He will always be known as the coach who got the perverbiale monkey off Houston's back. Because of him, no one can EVER say Houston will never win a championship again, like they did pre-94.

I'm going to tape the game and I'll be standing and yelling at my TV when they introduce him. I might even get a little choked up.

One time, I called into his radio show back in the day. I asked him what his favorite music was and he said it was blues. Then I asked him what his favorite music movie was and he said The Commitments. How cool is that?

When Rudy was a player, he used to come to a lot of functions that the company my Dad worked for put on. I still have a picture of me and him taken when he was a player and I was a little tyke. Must have been the same year of 'the punch' because his face is still very swollen in the picture. Yet he still came to the function (it was a very popular charity that will remain nameless). Just shows you what kind of class the guy has.

Thank you Rudy.