Yes, Warriors fans booed owner Joe Lacob during Chris Mullin's jersey retirement. They truly are the best fans in the world.
But as CSN's Ray Ratto pointed out, the booing had less to do with Lacob and more to do with frustration over cheering for a loser franchise.
Now he knows better. Now he gets the picture. Nobody escapes while the team is not winning. Nobody gets a pass for good intentions. Six playoff appearances in 36 years, and one in 18, shout far louder than a public relations gesture triggered by a generous spirit.
This wasn’t just Monta Ellis-trade booing either. This was all of it, unleashed by a fan base that knows how badly it has been taken advantage of over the years. This was the promise of a playoff position meeting the reality of being 13th in the West and looking at a future that remains tantalizingly distant.
Years after years of frustration boiled out last night for Warriors fans. Years and years of being told that the Warriors are "rebuilding" without results boiled over last night. Add to the fact that Warriors fans didn't want Joe Lacob as the owner and wanted Larry Ellison instead, and that frustration finally boiled over last night.
I apologize in advance for the boring anecdote, but every year since I moved back to Salt Lake (and even a few times when I still lived in Boise), I go to at least one Warriors/Jazz game here. Saturday night was no exception. The Warriors lost in OT, but not before Derrick Favors got a bucket and foul (fuck you very much, Andris Biedrins) to tie the game with less than 20 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm walking out of ESA, I run into another Warriors fan, another Bay Area ex-pat like myself, and all I could say to himthemselves was "I saw it coming." He just nodded, because in typical Warriors fashion, it happened again.
My anger with the events that have transpired over the past week, let alone the past two decades, is that Joe Lacob is writing checks his mouth can't cash. He promises the playoffs this year, then he along with Larry Riley FUBAR pretty much every move since the lockout ended. And then you have the insistence from Lacob that the only fans that matter are season ticket holders. Bullshit! Could you imagine any other owner saying something like that? Would the Maloofs or Jerry Buss have that mindset?
At any rate, call the Warrior fan base classless or short sighted because of last night, I don't care. That display of anger was not only bound to happen, it needed to happen if you ask me.
I don't blame Warriors fans one bit for booing. As I said in the title, that was years of frustration coming out.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I thought was worth adding to this topic is this: typically the benchmark of a good season in the NBA is getting to 50 wins in a non-lockout year. The last time the Warriors won more than that was in 91-92. (We did win 50 in 93-94). Getting to that point only twice in 35 seasons is an even more damning indictment of this franchise.
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