Mark! Pay attention to this quote. Once you learn that all fans are like this, you'll understand the ups-and-downs fans go through and won't take it so personally. This takes a while to learn when you're growing up as a fan. If you're always happy and looking on the bright side, then you're on some type of medication. Do you groan when a bad shot is taken? Do you cheer when the team wins? Why? You're not actually a member of this team. Why do you care when Steve is criticized? When he's applauded? It's not affecting you directly. We as fans are living vicariously through these guys; there's something that attaches us to the Houston Rockets. That attachment is one that wants us to see them SUCCEED. If any player/coach/member of the organization gets in the way of accomplishing the main goal (this year, playoffs, soon a championship, right?), then that person will be criticized. If you follow Steve only or Yao only, then things are different. I just hope those people ultimately attach themselves to the Houston Rockets TEAM as well, even 20 years down the road when all these guys have retired and are in the Hall of Fame. Hippieloser - no, he's not talking about you.
If you believe Francis should be traded for the greater good of the team, that should not make you Steve hata. It also does not mean that Steve is crap. If he were crap we couldn't trade him anyway. We have no drafty picks of note and we have no cap space. We have Cato as our starting power forward, no back up small forward and a 500 year old back up point gaurd. Can we win it all with these guys? No. we need quality depth and the only way we can achieve it is through a trade. Who is the only player worth trading. SF3. BC Melbourne
not true Im always optimistic...and contrary to popular opinion...Im not on medication. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...Another bad guy with his hair pulled into a ponytail."
Hey Moron, I posted that thread "Steve becoming a Van Gundy Type Player" and I have been supporting Steve since we acquired him from the Griz and have been a Rox fan since I moved here in '92...I have backed him from day one even when all these haters on here were hating. You should spend alittle more time on this site before you critize. Obviously you're a bandwagoner as you have only posted 22 times in your so called 3 years. If you were really passionate about the team I think you would have contributed your ideas more often. I always said that trading steve would be the biggest mistake the franchise EVER makes. I agree that there are too many pessimistic fans who are very impatient and want instant gratification and it sucks to see everyone jump on the bandwagon but that's the way this city is and always will be. I think every city is like that, no one likes to support a loser. Get your **** straight before trying to clown. Peace.
Is this how you defend your demand to trade francis - by attacking other fans? I'll say this, I think those who were jumping on Francis were not the majority - but it definitely was a lot. I mean it wasn't just Houston fans thinking he should be trade, it was across the league that everyone said Francis didn't fit in. In fact, I think the reason Francis is playing better now is because he realized that everyone DID think he wasn't fitting in. Even big egos will relent from time to time when they realize they can not be right. Still, Houston fans aren't the best. New York fans aren't either but they are not like Houstons (they still care when their team loses - they still go to the games and cheer hard even when the team sucks like this year) If you really want to see great fans, go to a Cubs game. Houston fans are fair-weathered as a whole. There's plenty that aren't, but there something wrong with the fact that an exciting team still has trouble filling seats. Oh yeah, great post Mark
Honestly, how can you compare Houston to the likes of NY or Chicago? If Houston has had an NBA team for as long as the Knicks have played along with the tradition, AND the population of Houston is made up of mostly natives, then I can see your point. The Cubs haven't won since what, the beginning of the century? The Astros didn't even exist until about 2/3 of the way into the Cubs current WS slump.
You're awesome, Mark. I've always despised the fickleness and rampant criticism that this board has to offer. I never understood the point of rooting for a team solely to support the name behind it, or the logo, or the jersey, or even the city - regardless of who plays for you as long as you win. I mean yeah, I want the Rockets to win, but I want us to win with the star players that we hand picked unless they do something to piss us off or betray us (many Blazers players come to mind). I don't normally like to give up on players... ever. Everyone who ever liked Steve before and doesn't right now or hasn't within the past 2 years can't be a real Rockets fan, IMO. There's so much more pride in winning when you can do it with the players you started with. If it makes any sense: I don't just root for talent, I root for players. I don't care if we trade Steve and get something "equal in return" or even something better. I don't want to trade Steve. Regardless of who we get in return, I'll view the trade as counterproductive. And yes, the same goes for Yao. Hell... maybe even Cat...
"Counterproductive." That's not really the right word. It's pretty clear that you follow a team because of emotional attachment to players. Alright - there are worse reasons. But don't get that confused with actual production. What you really mean is this: the entertainment value that the Rockets provide for you will be lessened, even if the trade makes the team better. Fine, but your assertion that somehow rooting for a team requires one to embrace all of the significant personnel is self-righteous and unnecessary. You have a certain view of rooting for a sports team. It's not exclusively correct. It's not even a matter of logic - just preference. Calling other people "bad fans" for not falling in line is absurd. God forbid we'd rather the Rockets win that keep a collection of incompatible personnel that fell into the Rockets hands in a somewhat random manner.
Geez this thread is still alive? Well, I hope everyone will start this week with lots of positivity and happiness, since they appear to have enleashed all their rage in this thread.
I'm with mark II. I am Mark I in this case.... anyway beside the point! Most people on this board excercise their "right" to critisize the team too much! How can supporting you favourite team possibly be fun when you get SO frustrated over stupid/rediculous little things. Acting like a spoilt kid EXPECTING more then what we have is ludicrous when thinking of how lucky we were to land Steve for Dickerson (retired) and scrubs.... not to mention the ping pong ball that got us Yao. Really, by all means we SHOULD be still an Atlanta-like team if we didn't get lucky as we have.
I probably should've deleted the first part of the post I was responding. Because I was trying to compare Houston with NY/Chicago in terms of being a good "sports town". Because of the makeup of the city, you can't expect sellouts when the team's not playing great. There's not enough of a core fan base for that. My post didn't exactly say anything about any player or even the team itself. Is building an average or an above average team really what fans want? I'm guessing not. Otherwise, we wouldn've have been selling out the Summit back in the Championship days, while seeing chuncks of empty seats in the past 4-5 years. For me personally, if my team isn't competing for a championship, then I want to see progress. Something which gives me hope for the future. Something that allows me to imagine this team becoming a contender in the future. Whether this would be trying to land a lottery prize(as was the case 2 years ago), or simply seeing the team play well together and improve(as is right now). So right now, I'm a pleased Rockets fan, even if we're probably not contenders. Because I do have hope for the future. Something I didn't have 3 years ago, when dribble-mania ruled the team and there's seemingly no hope on the horizon.
All you Moochie haters are NOT true rockets fans. You all suck for wanting to trade him. True Rocket fans should have all support Moochie and all those turn overs.
IMHO, Steve is still not a smart basketball player (though he is a great athlete) and I am not really sure if he will ever be. But Mobley takes the cake in the "anti-cerebral" department - he is certain dumber. I am allergic to dumb basketball players...period (7-game winning streak or not).
There's a few things you misunderstood about my post, but I'll only cover what matters... I stated more than once in my post that everything I was saying was in "my view" and "my opinion". It weakens the argument, sure, but all that means is that "counterproductive" was indeed the right word for me. A trade would be counterproductive for the Rockets as I see them. And also, in MY opinion, those are the reasons that I could probably never consider you or half the people who have posted on this thread "true" Rockets fans. It's not an insult - I can still respect your posts/opinions, but I won't see them coming from a Rockets fan, just a basketball fan. Fair enough? P.S. Just to make one thing clear, there are Rockets that I hate/have hated. Glen Rice, Moochie Norris to name a couple... Cato a while back. I just don't think it's fair to hate our star players when they've done nothing but play to the best of their ability to get the team wins while maybe not always being able to produce the results we've come to expect.
That's a true statement. I always appreciate other fans like daka, Haven, Jeff... who posted a lot. That's one main reason I come here everyday though I can't write much. Don't just read their words, try to read their mind and heart. Sometime, I love these fans even more than this team.
Your logic is ridiculous. It does not take a pro athlete to understand what the necessary ingredients are for winning in the NBA. Anyone with a T.V. and spare time can do it. It's not like it takes a rocket scientist to understand the game of basketball. Minimal brain power at most.
I feel your pain Rocket River I can barely listen to the *Ss clowns on 610 Their afternoon show. . .which should be called the ASTROS and yea some texans hour
