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whatever. I'm not going to argue with you. wish you had an open mind as to whatwe were trying to do. but as always someone will come along and be negative towards something the rockets were trying to do for the fans. whether it ended as planned or not, at least something fun, different and exciting was tried. no one can ever say we did not do everything the rockets could to try and make the team better
i'm trying to discuss this with you. If i was close minded i'd stop responding or ignore your specific comments. Your welcome to explain what y'all were trying to do because we didnt get it. We speculated it was just a PR stunt, but we'll never really know for sure. Was there something else told to you all? Honestly, what stood out to me the most was the meeting with Kmart, that's what i'll remember from this. He seemed really ready to come to play next year and i'm thankful for seeing that, but that wasnt event he focus of the trip. Everything else isnt memorable IMO, in part because we didnt know where y'all were half the time or what you were trying to accomplish. Why did y'all visit Raysville? And Leeds? I know bosh got messages from ex-rockets big men, but is that when they were recorded? Was that the point of the visits? Why was the Clearwater visit not revealed? And most importantly, do we know for sure Bosh knew about the trip? Did Morey mention it to him last night and explain why it failed? I dont think we kow any of these answers, which is why i keep saying we dont know how much of an impact this had on free agency, if any. I'm not saying they didnt happen or that y'all weren't riding with pride for the Rockets, but that not enough was done to show us, the media, or even the free agents, which was the whole point. It's great to try something new, fun and different, rather than not try at all, but if the outside world doesnt get enough exposure to it, then the ones who truly enjoy it and are affected by it are only the ones who lived it, in other words, the 12 who were there. the proof is in this thread...early on it was mostly the same posters replying and becoming involved with it. As the anticipation grew and grew and we though something would happen that would suck us in, then you had even lurkers popping in and making their first posts, participating like never before, only for nothing to really happen in the end and i think most walked away wondering what the point was.. If anyone disagrees, please post what you gained from this experience, i'm sure there's people who did gain something, but if you feel like i do then post that as well because i know there's plenty of those too..i'm sure im not just one negative fan, i'm just the only one who bothered to post all this after everyone ran away from this thread after it let them down.
Diane, What exactly was the point of the trip? I agree the Rox did something cool and loved that you guys went, what did they tell you was the purpose? Thanks in advance. DD
Somewhat of a response to the disappointment of the caravan many felt and and map is updated: http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/on_the_road_the_official_blog_2010_06_28.html On twitter:"One last, long ramble from the road. What a ride it's been: http://bit.ly/9K4Sxx " JULY 2, 3:00 PM - PENSACOLA, FLORIDA Home beckons. After a much-needed day spent relaxing on South Beach – complete with the requisite sand, surf, “scenery,” and sunburn (note to self: in the future stay away from cheap spray-on sunscreens, lest the objective is to sport a body with random, hieroglyphic-esque white patches all over) – the Rockets Caravan is back on the road, homeward-bound. As one would expect, the final leg of our journey is providing plenty of time to reflect upon the week that’s been, in addition to the days that are to come. None of us knew precisely what awaited us when we departed Toyota Center Monday afternoon, so for those who wonder whether or not this trip lived up to expectations, I’d perhaps propose a different line of questioning. The journey wasn’t perfect (how many are?) and I think hindsight definitely revealed a few things we could have done differently. Leaving a couple days earlier, for example, would have allowed us time to make more stops, do some additional exploring and interact with the people we met along the way. It also would have had the desirable effect of alleviating some of the exhaustion and cabin fever which descended upon our group during an exceedingly grueling second day. Then again, exhaustion and cabin fever are part of pretty much every road trip – they’re like rites of passage and badges of honor. Obviously the biggest bummer was not being able to pick up Daryl Morey for his meeting with Chris Bosh Wednesday night. But I seriously doubt any amount of pre-trip planning could have helped us avoid that particular situation. Since league rules prohibit teams from contacting free agents-to-be and their agents before midnight of July 1, no meeting time or place could have been arranged ahead of time (I know what you’re thinking: What about all the reports which stated that several teams had meetings scheduled with free agents days in advance of July 1? To that I say draw your own conclusions and let’s just move on before I get in trouble). From the beginning, we knew missing Daryl was a distinct possibility since these situations tend to be so fluid, literally changing by the minute on Free Agent Day Eve. We took a calculated risk and, as I argued in my previous post, I firmly believe it was one worth taking. Because, by and large, I think the pros have FAR outweighed the cons on this trip. We’ve received calls from radio stations all over the country – and even one in Canada – to find out about our caravan and to continuously check-in on our progress. The idea obviously captured the attention of sports fans and got people talking about the Rockets during a time when they were being largely ignored anytime the free agent conversation came up. And on a more personal level, I can honestly report that everywhere we’ve gone people have come up to us, asked us what we’re doing and then, upon hearing the details, commented about what a cool concept this is. This also seems like the ideal time to answer two questions I’ve been receiving again and again, be it from people on the street or the media: 1.) Why would a free agent choose the Rockets over the clubs with cap space? 2.) Do you honestly think a fan caravan consisting of 12 people can make a real difference in a player’s decision making? Might as well start with question No. 1. If we learned one thing from the recently completed NBA postseason, it’s that even the most elite players in the NBA need a significant amount of help to win a title. In a 6-game loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics, LeBron James put up numbers that compared quite favorably to the stats Kobe Bryant produced in LA’s 7-game victory over Boston in the Finals. Yet Kobe took home the title and the MVP, while James was vilified for choking and coming up empty. Yes, James’ mysterious disappearing act in Game 5 had something to do with the thrashing he took in the media but the larger point is the same: no one man can carry his team to the top. Kobe had help. LeBron largely did not. Players around the league took notice. And those big-time free agents that truly make winning a top priority would be doing themselves, their careers and their legacies a disservice if they don’t at least take a serious look at what Houston has to offer in terms of a supporting cast. Play for the Rockets and you’re guaranteed to be part of one of the strongest 8-man rotations in the league. Several teams have the cap space to field 2 or even 3 max-contract players but very few will have the leftover resources, assets and cap room to surround those stars with anything more than a bevy of veteran minimum players. If the ring’s your thing, then Houston has to at least be on your radar screen. As for question No. 2, I think it’s important to see this caravan within the scope of the big picture. In a vacuum, no, I wouldn’t expect a player to base one of the biggest decisions of his life on the fact three Toyota Tundras filled with Rockets fans drove across the country in an effort to express their passion and desire for his hoops services. But that was never the point. The caravan wasn’t the sales pitch or presentation, it was an attention-grabber; a relatively small piece of the total package dreamed up and put together by Daryl Morey and the rest of the Rockets staff. Zooming out even more, this project now takes its place alongside the other unique endeavors the Rockets have enacted since Morey took charge, all of which have helped to reinforce the notion that this franchise ranks among the most creative and forward-thinking in the NBA. Whether it’s taking statistical analysis in basketball to another level, engaging the fans in the wooing of Bosh and Marcin Gortat, or operating at the forefront of social networking (Morey was the first GM to embrace the power of Twitter), the Rockets have refused to go the cookie-cutter, formulaic route, preferring instead to seek out new and (hopefully) better ways of doing things. There’s real value in that. I look at it much like any band or artist that dares to be great. You can choose to stay in your comfort zone by producing the exact same safe sound and style every album, or you can dare to be different by switching things up and continuing to evolve. The former approach might keep album sales steady but it’s unlikely to ever lead you to the top of the mountain. With the latter comes more risk and more opportunities to fall flat on your face, yet is also offers the only path to true greatness. Name me a great band or artist and I’ll show you someone who continued to search for new sounds and opportunities for growth. The same concept holds true in any business of course and sports are no exception. You either continue to evolve or you wither and die. If Kobe Bryant chose to maintain the status quo after winning his first three rings, he’d never be mentioned among the all-time greats as he is now. The NBA landscape is rapidly changing today and it will take creative, new ideas to get to – and remain at – the forefront of the league. The Rockets have shown their willingness and desire to dream big, regardless of the inherent risk occasionally involved. This caravan is one small, yet telling, example of that mindset. There will be misses to be sure but there will be big hits as well. And as those hits add up and the Rockets’ reputation builds, players will soon recognize, if they don’t already, that Houston is one of the premier places to play in the NBA. OK, I’ll get off more soapbox now. More than anything, I just want to thank everyone who followed this blog from start to finish and sent in all your words of encouragement, comments, criticisms and everything else. A giant thank you also goes out to the entire Rockets organization and Toyota for providing the means to make this happen. And of course, the biggest thank you of all goes to my fellow traveling companions who kept me sane and entertained, while simultaneously managing to somehow put up with my ever-increasing crankiness. No small feat, that. Oh wait. Miley Cyrus just came on again. I take it all back. Just kidding. Sort of. Thanks for reading. JCF
After reading all that i appreciate some of the questions brought up at the end of this thread were addressed, but i think the most important one (did Bosh even find out about the caravan and if so, what does he think?) is still unanswered. I'm assuming the attention this was suppose to grab was mainly his and not other media/fans. Hopefully we'll hear about it when Morey meets with him officially.
You think Morey will tell Bosh the rockets are even unable to organize a fans event successfully?! It's an embrassment.
Is it really? Morey did not know where Bosh was until like a few hours before they met. I guess thats an embarrassment also?
You think it is not an embarrassment for Morey the wizard?! I think even some fans here knew Bosh was in Dallas.
Im not expecting morey to show him this thread and say "sorry we messed up"...maybe that could be embarassing...but there's nothing embarassing in explaing to him what the idea was and showing some pictures or something. I mean, that was the whole point, to get his attention...or maybe that's not the point anymore since morey already paid him a visit, so he may not mention it at all...who knows. we knew where bosh was... his gf tweeted they landed back in dallas monday i believe, plus someone here who's suppose to be credible also confirmed it...he wasnt in miami and a report said he'd take meetings in chicago...so yeah, there is a problem there...i dont know if i'd say it's an embarassment, more like a poor excuse made.
