what is a great fan

Not going to lie to you guys... I was pretty upset after I attended the Knicks, Lakers game on friday. Not because we lost. I actually thought we played a great game and really put up a fight. I was proud of the way we competed against the top team in the NBA.

It was all the Lakers fans in MSG.

Like why are you people there? Are you New Yorkers? All the people there couldn't be out of towners. The people who attended the game could attribute to this fact. More than half the people in MSG on Friday were Laker fans.

I was really upset, but then i read this beautifully written post by Knicksonline's johnstarky. He explains the different kind of fans in this world.

1.People who don't like sports at all:A large number of people fall into this category but they don't make up the majority.

These people could care less about rooting for or following a sports team.Knowing about a team is basically a waste of time for them.They find no significance or social benefit in liking a particular team.Even if that team is the best team,plays in their home city and makes the playoffs every year they'll never pay attention to them.Their priorities seem to occupy most of their time and day for them to attend a game or watch a sporting event on television.Sports is something that is completely oblivious to these type of people.

2.The casual fan:Most people fall into this category and sadly but true, they make up the majority of the population.

Bandwagoners, frontrunners, fairweathers and people who are easily persuaded by glamor and success fall into this very category.But they're not the only ones that fall into this list.Some people actually do like a team but their twenty four hour schedule doesn't allow them to dedicate as much time as they'd like to their team.And people that root for a particular individual of a team rather than the team as a whole go under this category as well.

Most people in this category won't watch 95% of any sports season and will turn on the tv only if their home team is competing in the playoffs and is the talk of the town.These are the kind of people who aren't that passionate about a team but will celebrate amongst passionate fans if that team happens to win it all.Sure they'll be happy and excited for a few days after watching a championship run but they'll totally forget about the team until that team makes another championship run.They could go more than 15 years ignoring a team if that team happens to be irrelevant for that long.

Example:Many people who rooted for the New York Knicks in the 90's and the NY Mets in the late 80's have been reported missing for more than a decade.The Knicks in early 2010 are to New York what the Yankees were to NY during the first half of the 1990's.

Only winning and triumph can resuscitate the part of the brain in these people which allows them to pay attention to and like a sports team.But if that team happens to fall from grace they'll turn their backs on them once again.Some of these people even have the nerve to claim that they've been a fan of that team for most of their lives.

I forgot to mention that these are the people that attend championship parades and have limited knowledge about sports teams.They could probably tell you the jersey colors of a team but can only name you 2 or 3 players on that team.This is why I consider them casual fans because of their erratic knowledge and attitude towards teams.

3.The True fan or die-hard fan:They make up the minority and are very rare to find in a large city with a big market.

These are the people like us who follow their teams religiously.They'll buy the newspaper everyday just to read the latest news about their teams.They'll show up at games even if the stadium or arena is 3 quarters empty.They'll go ahead and watch the same highlights over and over again and never get tired of it.They'll root for their teams wholeheartedly even when nobody else wants to root for them.These people can tell you the history of their teams like the back of their hands.They do not root for a team because they're popular, successful or well liked by the masses.The'll get frustrated or even depressed after their team loses a game and will watch every single game of the season even if it's an exhibition game.Whenever they hear someone criticize their team they'll defend their team as though it was their birth right.And would never turn their back on their teams to root for other teams.

These are the best fans in the world and this is why I decided to leave them for last.

This post really made me feel better, Knicks fans. It is people like you who read posts like these that really show the commitment to being a die-hard fan. The feel-good victories and the painful losses are what make us who we are. And when the Knicks are given that championship trophy one day, you can all feel proud because you stuck with the team through it all. You can tell your kids "I saw us at our best and worst times." Just as we were told the stories of Willis Reed, Walt Clyde Frazier, Red Holzman, and Bernard King by our ancestors, you could tell them the horrors of Isiah, the rebuilding that started with Mike D'Antoni, and whatever the future holds for us. It will come one day Knicks fans. The day we can say we have truly seen the best and worst times.

It will all be worth it in the end Knicks fans. I promise.

Arenas to the Knicks? Interesting, but no thanks.

Hey guys,

I just want to comment on the recent "speculation" regarding All-Star Gilbert Arenas coming to the New York Knicks. (you can read the article here. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/12326/arenas-to-knicks-walsh-says-wait-and-see )

First of all let me just say that Walsh was probably just being respectful and trying not to degrade the 28 year old Arenas. I really don't think Walsh is dumb enough to fall into the trap that Isiah fell into so many times in his tenure. Walsh will not sacrifice 20 million a year for someone with personal troubles like Gilbert Arenas, especially someone who cannot take himself seriously. But just for fun, lets pretend the Wizards call the Knicks with an offer of Arenas, DeShawn Stevenson, and Mike James for Al Harrington, Larry Hughes and Jared Jeffries. (It works on the Trade Machine)

I still think Donnie has to reject that deal. No one can argue that Arenas has a lot of talent, but I can't fathom how the Knicks can take a prima donna like Arenas after dealing with Stephon Marbury for five years. We would end up reading about D'Antoni and Arenas having a gun-fight after practice one morning. Plus Arenas has 5 years left on his atrocious contract.

So Arenas, thanks but no thanks.

Other notes

• Remember when I wrote about Larry Hughes being a great pick-up for the Knicks? Forget I ever wrote it. I can see why the Bulls wanted to get rid of him so badly. The way he is handling himself is disgusting and I can't even look at him anymore. I feel bad for the other players who have to see him every day. What a poor display of sportsmanship. Larry, your making 13 million dollars... Sit down, shut up, and be ready to play when your call to. Thats all I have to say about this.
• Nate was picked to be in the dunk contest again this year. As happy as I am to see a Knick be represented at All-Star weekend, I am getting kind of sick of seeing Nate in the contest. I mean this is the fourth time he is in it, how many dunks could the guy have? And don't buy the whole "champions have to re-enter." Remember Fred Jones? He didn't enter again after he won. I love Nate, I really do, but I think it's time for him to step down and let other people represent.

Thats all for now Knicks fans. Thoughts or comments? Email me at nyec2010@yahoo.com

Knicks Pacers recap

A dominant performance by the Knicks tonight.

They started hot in the opening minutes of the game and never looked back. It seemed like they couldn't miss, hitting over 50% of their shots. Wilson Chandler was the leading scorer with 23 points, followed by David Lee with 22 and 16 rebounds (If he isn't considered for the All-Star team I am convinced the coaches don't watch his game enough), Danilo Gallinari with 20 on 7-9 shooting, and Chris Duhon with 18 on 6-8 shooting, with 7 assists. I was impressed with the fact that we took the lead early in the game and instead of relaxing and letting them back into it, they kept up the intensity and built the lead. However, as impressed as I was with the win, I could not help but notice the effort put forth by the Pacers. It seemed like they weren't even trying. The effort they came with was embarrassing. They were throwing up shots at will and didn't bother to even try on defense. (sound familiar Knicks fans?) Although on a bright note- I really like Pacers PG, AJ Price. He was the 52nd pick in the draft this year, he tries hard on offense and defense, is quick, and he has a nice shot stroke. He may be a player to keep an eye on as we go forward. Don't get me wrong Knicks fans, I'm not saying he'll be a great player, but if we need to fill roster spots somehow, if the Pacers don't want him down the line, he may be someone we could look at.

The next point I want to get to was Nate Robinson's play tonight. He was really off tonight, only scoring 6 points on 2-11 shooting. But he seemed to hustle on defense, which was good. But the good thing is that despite his weak play, his teammates, specifically Al Harrington, were able to cover for his play. That was the beauty of our second line, Knicks fans. Even though a weapon like Nate was off, someone else was able to take his place on the scoring load. As long as Nate continues to play hard on defense and hustle, he will be in the rotation despite offensive nights such as these, because Coach knows that he will have other nights like the one in Atlanta. We have a lot of scorers on our second line, and they are becoming very good at seeing who is hot on the specific night and getting that person the ball. The method is working very well and I hope they continue it.

The final point I want to cover is the play in the fourth quarter. I know this was a point that most of you shut off your TV's, Knicks fans, but if you watched you saw a rare occurance where our second line, players that are usually warming the bench, got to play the entire quarter. At one point Coach D'Antoni fielded a team consisting of Nate Robinson, Toney Douglas, Marcus Landry, Jonathon Bender, and yes Knicks fans, Jordan Hill. Nate and Bender were mostly ineffective in the quarter, Bender had a few nice shots but mostly the quarter was about the two rookies, Toney Douglas and Marcus Landry. Landry hit a pair of very nice threes and Douglas stole the ball on 2 occasions and dunked it with ferocity. They played very well in garbage time. Hill... Not so much. He hit a nice mid-range jumper and almost blocked a driving dunk which the refs called as a foul but that was about all he had to show tonight. Every time he got the ball in the post it was swiped from him. He just looks lost out there. It seems like he tries hard and attempts to replicate a lot of things David Lee does out there, but he doesn't seem to have the timing right. I recall one possession where he tried to pick and roll and gave up on it and it seemed like he was wondering what he had to do next. Knicks fans, watch David Lee when his pick and roll fails, he runs to his position, knowing exactly where to go and what to do next. Jordan Hill just doesn't have those instincts yet, and I don't know if he ever will.

Thats all for now Knicks fans, Bobcats and Raptors won tonight, which hurt because they played very good teams. But we have another shot at the Bobcats on Thursday, which we need to come out of the gate strong and hard because they can be a tough team to beat.

Chat with you later!

Thoughts on Nate

Hey guys

I have to first apologize for my absence from the blog. I have been enjoying my time off a little too much, and I deprived you of my posts. I've decided that I'm not going to update after each and every Knicks game, as I started to feel like I was repeating myself. Instead, what I will do is I am going to update the blog for news and rumbling that I hear, plus give my thoughts on the situations. If there is a game I feel like I need to recap because it showed something I wanted to talk about, I will give a recap on that game.

That being said, I want to talk about the game last night involving Knicks guard, Nate Robinson. For the first time in a month, Nate was given a chance to play. And boy did he light it up, scoring 41 points on 18-24 shooting, while grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 8 assists. It seemed like there was nothing Nate couldn't do, scoring off the dribble, sinking threes, (3-5 from three) hitting mid-range jumpers, he showed the full arsenal. It led to a win against one of the best teams in the league. We are now one game out of the 8th spot in the East because of Nate's efforts. (if the Bucks and Bobcats lost tonight, we would be tied, but nothing you can do about that Knicks fans.)

However Knicks fans, I am weary. Nate showed us what he can do best, score when he is hot, and he is very charismatic and fun to watch. But we have to remember what happens when Nate controls the ball, the ball movement stops. In the game last night, it was the Nate Robinson show, with Nate going 1 on 5 on every possession. Nate is a player who thrives on streaks, if you remember last season, when Nate goes cold, the team is in a tough position. If I'm a Knicks fan, I do not want our season to rest on the shoulders of Nate Robinson, as talented as he is. I prefer to see the ball movement that has worked so well for us in the past month and a half. Now, this isn't to say that Nate needs to go to the bench. D'Antoni said that Robinson is taking Larry Hughes spot in the rotation, and if you remember Knicks fans, Hughes would play with Al Harrington, Jonathon Bender, and sometimes Toney Douglas for long stretches. I Believe Robinson is a big upgrade over the struggling Hughes, and I think Nate would be great off the bench with Harrington and Bender, as those are the ball stoppers. But those players have proven to score when they are hot. I think that the bulk of the minutes should still go to the starters, who have excellent chemistry together and share the ball effectively, and when it is time to give the starters rest, put in Robinson and Harrington to carry the scoring load. Robinson should not be used as our main offensive weapon night in and night out, that's how we dropped out of the playoff race last season. We should still have our starters take the bulk of the minutes, and only use Robinson when we need an offensive spark. And if he gets hot like he did last night, great. No one take him out and let him ride the streak. But if we see him jacking up bad shots, put him back on the bench and let the starters carry the rest of the game.

Thats all for now Knicks fans. Thoughts on the situation? E-mail me at nyec2010@yahoo.com

Talk to you soon