Photo by Justin Ford
While the entire city of Memphis was up late watching the Grizzlies battle the Clippers in Game 5, so was the basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest.
Metta World Peace liked what he saw from Lionel Hollins and company. He shared his thoughts via his twitter:
Email: kevin@memphisport.com
Twitter: @cerrito
SEE ALSO:
How Memphians should feel about the Clippers and Chris Paul.
I am a Memphian. I am a Grizzlies fan.
Those two statements go together as naturally as any two phrases in the English language.
The following phrases do not go together:
I am a Memphian. I am a Thunder fan.
I am a Memphian. I am a Heat fan.
I am a Memphian. I am a Lakers fan.
I am a Memphian. I am a Clippers fan.
Unfortunately those statements are heard, and more importantly seen, all too often in Memphis and at FedExForum.
Since Memphis is a small-market city with a relatively young NBA franchise, we often fall prey to our own citizens swearing allegiance to other, flashier, more superstar-laden teams. And you know something? It’s pathetic.
With the NBA Playoffs upon us, let’s take a second to look at those teams that load their bandwagons with hundreds of our city’s residents and rank their despicableness. You might disagree with the order, but we can all agree that this is Memphis and the Grizzlies should be the only team we love.
Note: If you are from a city that features another NBA team or have traveled to see your favorite team play here, you get a pass. The following is directed at Memphians.
Honorable Mention: The Oklahoma City Thunder
Out of all the teams listed above, a Memphian being a fan of the Thunder should be the least offensive because the Thunder are what the Grizzlies could be if things had shaken out just a smidge differently in terms of drafts, signings, and money management.
Like the Grizz, OKC is a young franchise that was uprooted from the Northwest and moved to a small city by pro sports standards, but they are one that has seen immense success in a small amount of time. Through some good fortune they got the rights to draft a superstar in Kevin Durant. Through more good fortune and savvy drafting acumen they got the rights to take another superstar in Russell Westbrook. Then, through even more good fortune they got the rights to pick a third superstar in James Harden (after Memphis took Hasheem “The Bad Dream” Thabeet no less) and Serge Ibaka. In those drafts, the Grizzlies got Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, and the aforementioned Bad Dream. One of those players has worked out well for the Grizz, but Conley is still not a superstar. However, all of the Thunder draftees have panned out better than anyone could have imagined. And to top it off, they managed to make great financial decisions to keep multiple superstars on their team for the foreseeable future without compromising the quality of their role players.
To say the Thunder front office is smart would be an understatement. General Manager Sam Presti is a genius, albeit a pretty lucky one, but one nonetheless. He has made incredible picks, great signings, great trades, and wise financial decisions. The once in a lifetime luck of getting Durant and Westbrook (who are both still so young) mixed with Presti’s front office smarts (See the James Harden trade) will keep the Thunder relevant and contending for championships for a long, long time.
Yes, the seven game playoff series with the Thunder in 2011 was brutal and heartbreaking. Yes, Grizzlies fans should be crazy jealous of how much success they have seen in such a small amount of time. Yes, it hurts to see people show up at The Grindhouse, and cheer on the Thunder. But are they the worst of the bandwagon fans? No.
Hopefully one day we can build a juggernaut like they have.
Disclaimer: My wife is from OKC. Putting a positive spin on the Thunder was necessary for my marriage’s sake.
Now, the real list of the Most Despicable Bandwagon NBA Fans in Memphis:
3) The Miami Heat
Being a fan of the Heat would have been excusable when Memphis didn’t have a team. In the 1990s, they were an upstart franchise. They had cool jerseys. They had Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway and Jamal Mashburn. I had plenty of friends in elementary school that loved the Heat.
But now becoming a Heat fan means one thing: You are a front-runner. You cheer for a team that wins all the time. You cheer for a team that has three superstars that all decided to play together. This team didn’t draft well or make good trades. They signed two future hall-of-famers to support Dwyane Wade’s ailing franchise, and now the NBA is their playground. Any team that has Lebron James is going to be able to compete for a title (2007 Cavs anyone?), but a team that featrues James, Wade, and Chris Bosh has a distinct advantage over everyone but the Dream Team.
Cheering for a team always includes heartbreak and agony. It’s feeling like you’re in the trenches fighting it out by the players’ sides. There are no trenches for the Heat. There is no heartbreak. After the 2011 NBA Finals, there was a thought that maybe this team couldn’t coexist well enough to win, that maybe there was too much talent. Now that thought is foolishness. This team, if they stay together and as long as Lebron keeps breathing, is going to win title after title after title.
You could make the comparison that the Heat are like the 90’s Bulls teams that featured Jordan and Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, but we have our own team here in Memphis now. Cheer for them. Don’t cheer for the team that is the best and most dominant. Where’s the fun in that?
2) The Los Angeles Lakers
Five years ago, if the Grizzlies played the Lakers, FedExForum would have been jam packed with people. And sadly about 90% of those people would have been cheering on the purple and gold. That was when Grizz stunk. It was frustrating, but getting to see Shaq and Kobe and Phil Jackson was a treat for their fans in Memphis.
Since the Lakers have had such a dominant grasp on the NBA for the better part of the last four decades, it makes sense that they would have picked up some fans in places besides L.A. along the way, Memphis being no exception.
But now, Memphis is good. Memphis is really good. We are going to finish with a better record than the Lakers despite them having four future hall-of-famers. And yet we still see The Grindhouse full of Lakers fans when we play them. Fans that taunt our fans. Fans that cheer anytime Kobe Bean Bryant touches the ball. Fans that are loud and obnoxious and act like the Lakers are the end all be all of professional basketball. Come on Memphians. How can you let a team that is 2000 miles away from your home be your home team? When Memphis got a team, your Lakers love should have taken the backseat to the Grizz.
1) The Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have been terrible forever. They have made the playoffs only a handful of times. They have always played second fiddle to the Lakers. Their owner is a horrible person. Their beat writer has said that Memphis “smells like no one showers.” They have the reputation of being a team that whines, flops, and plays dirty. They have made a brand out of dunking and alley-oops, a miniscule portion of what makes the NBA great. They are the worst.
And yet every time I see the Grizz face the Clippers at FedExForum there are still hundreds of people cheering for the Clippers. It’s disgusting.
Memphis’ Clippers fans cannot say they have been fans for life because this team wasn’t even relevant outside of L.A. until Blake Griffin started playing for them which was 10 years after the Grizzlies came to Memphis.
Memphis’ Clippers fans can’t say they love Chris Paul and Blake Griffin more than any other player in the league. Why would anybody want to cheer for two of the biggest whiners the NBA has seen in the past 20 years?
Memphis’ Clippers fans can’t tell me they love the Clippers because they are dominant. This team is far from dominant. They have a mediocre record for the talent they possess. If anything they are underachieving because Vinny Del Negro is a horrible coach.
This Clippers team is among the league’s most deplorable, and somehow they manage to include some of Memphis’ citizens as their fans. Those “fans” that this team of babies and Prima donnas has won over are the ones you should heckle berate when you see them in the Forum. You should let them know that this is Memphis, home of grit ‘n grind, a blue collar city full of blue collar people, and that Memphis wants no part of them if they cheer on the Clippers.
You’re going to have plenty of opportunities to give the Clippers fans a piece of your mind as the Grizzlies are set to battle the Floppers for the second year in a row in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Go Grizz. Beat L.A.
Warner Russell is a regular contributor for MemphiSport and The Wise Guise. Read his non-sports stuff here. Follow him @uncle_warny.
SEE ALSO:
Use #GrizzNation or #gotigersgo on all your Grizzlies and Tigers tweets and instagrams to increase your odds of being included in our social media stories at MemphiSport.com.
SEE ALSO: Photocap: Grizzlies’ 11th Annual MLK Day Celebration
Use #GrizzNation or #gotigersgo on all your Grizzlies and Tigers tweets and instagrams to increase your odds of being included in our social media stories at MemphiSport.com.
It is quite possible that Luke Walton may never sit on the University of Memphis bench for a single game, but his hiring has already proven to be a rousing success for the Tigers. Social networking sites such as Twitter were set aflutter with the news, including a tweet from Dick Vitale referencing Pastner as a “rising star” and calling the hire a “very creative and positive move.” The publicity alone represents an immense triumph, and you can bet that if Vitale is singing his praises, the rest of the college basketball world has also taken notice.
Remember how John Calipari perpetually used the NBA angle to lure players during his tenure at Memphis? Josh Pastner has taken the idea a step further. Nevermind rambling on about how you’ve coached in the NBA and know what it takes to get there. How great is it for a potential incoming recruit to be able to speak with a member of the staff that is currently PLAYING in The League? How can a young athlete possibly avoid being overwhelmed as he listens to stories of playing alongside Kobe Bryant or being coached by Phil Jackson? How can he help but notice the championship ring gracing the finger of a man that is trying to recruit him?
Pastner has always been a phenomenal recruiter; that’s why Calipari brought him to Memphis in the first place. But it would have been easy to doubt whether that ability would enable him to bring in top caliber players when he served as the head man. After all, the head coach is often the closer, and the assistants often just follow the guidelines and proven formulas their boss has been using. But there is no doubt now that the U of M’s current coach knows how to get it done on his one. No one should ever question his capacity to be innovative or doubt his unrelenting desire for success.
It remains to be seen if Pastner will be able to coach a team to an elite level. So far, his teams have won exactly zero games in the NCAA tournament, and that particular squad attracted doubters all throughout the regular season. But if this latest move is any indication of what he’s willing to do to get there, there is ample reason for Tiger basketball fans to get excited about the future of the program under his leadership.
Michael Jones covers Tiger Basketball for MemphiSport. You can follow him via Twitter @MemphisMJ.
The Grizzlies have been in this situation before. It’s the middle of March and the team is battling for a playoff spot. This time last year they faded down the stretch, narrowly missing the playoffs.
This year, the team is one year more experienced with new and old weapons added to their arsenal. Now, is the time to jump back on the bandwagon and be a part of Grizz Country at FedExForum.
Here are 5 reason you should go see the Grizzlies live in person:
5) It’s a Great Deal
The Grizzlies promotion staff does a pretty good job in keeping ticket prices fair and reasonable compared to the other teams around the NBA. Plus there are tickets available to every game, which is not the case for all NBA teams.
Sure, the usual complaints will come, “well parking is too much” (which is true), and “the food is too much.”
Go eat dinner beforehand at one of the restaurants downtown, or eat something at home before you go. So, if you do get hungry, just get a snack like popcorn or candy instead of something like barbecue nachos.
There is some type of promotion every night, some in game, like the “FedEx Delivery of the game”, or pre-game giveaways to the first 5,000 fans like “Bobble-Head Night” or “Poster Night.”
Another thing that is done to make tickets affordable is the choices of packs or deals that you can buy.
The price shouldn’t be the thing that keeps you from coming to the game.
4) Fans of Opposing Teams Have No Trouble Showing Up
It seems that when the big name teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics come to town, the crowd at the FedExForum isn’t as pro-Grizzlies as the crowd is when the team is playing other teams around the NBA. It has been this way ever since the Grizzlies moved here from Vancouver.
It is time for that to change. There is not another team in the state, or for that matter within three hundred miles of the city, so you can’t claim local allegiance to any other team either, unless you are actually from that city.
We’ve heard the excuse, that “Oh, I was a (insert NBA team) fan before the Grizzlies came here.” Well it has been ten years and chances are, the franchise that you were a fan of ten years ago, has different players on the team then they had when the team moved here. I’m not saying that if you really have been a die-hard fan of a team for 30 or so years that you should change allegiances now, but at least support your home town when they play every other team and come to cheer them on, not just come to the Forum once a year to cheer “your team” on.
The Grizzlies feed off the crowd, and that was very evident this past Wednesday in the game against the New York Knicks. The crowd was into it from the pre-game introductions in which Carmelo Anthony was heavily booed, all the way to the final buzzer. Unfortunately, Carmelo had the last laugh as he hit the game winner with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Memphis was down by 17 points at one point in the third quarter and as they battled their way back into the game, the crowd got louder and louder for the Grizzlies.
Bring your kids to the games too, as now is the time they start choosing teams and who to root for, and who better than the home town team. I am sure that most kids are brought up to root for the Tigers, why not the Grizzlies too?
3) It’s a Great Place to Compare Your Playoff Beard with other Fans
Grizzlies games have become the Mid-South’s largest gathering of bearded people ever since the team started growing “Playoff Beards” and encouraging the rest of the fan base to do the same. Is your beard as good as Rob Fischer’s or the ones in the Pepsi Super Fan Section?
Grizzlies bench celebrates during last week's win over OKC.
2) This Team is Fun to Root For
You don’t have to take my word for it, they do have other media outlets(ESPN and SI) talking about the Grizzlies in a positive light for the first time in a long time. This team is on a roll and fun to watch.
Being one of the hottest teams in the league has gotten the league buzzing about the Grizzlies and none of the teams they play are taking them lightly and their recent run has them right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. They have done a good portion of this run without their franchise player Rudy Gay. Now, you can argue that Zach Randolph is the franchise player, but that is an argument for another day.
Bringing in old faces like Shane Battier and Jason Williams also should bring in some fans that the franchise has lost over the past few years in which questionable front office decisions were made such as the Pau trade and a flurry of under performing draft picks. Those two are arguably two of the most appreciated and well liked players this franchise has ever had. Maybe these two guys are a little older and not as quick as they once were, but they bring experience and familiarity to this franchise.
As for the rest of the team, Z-Bo and Tony Allen embrace the city and take on the “hard working, we get no respect” attitude that this city loves to embrace. Whether Tony Allen is going loco on the bench waving his towel or Z-Bo is taking off his head band, the crowd loves it when those two guys get going and those guys feed off the energy of the crowd as well. It also seems that as the season has progressed the rest of the team has taken on that attitude and being on the same page has definitely turned this team into a dangerous team to watch and one that nobody wants to see in the first round of the playoffs.
1) Ownership is Finally Serious About Winning
Many of the common complaints on why people don’t go to the games or down to FedExForum to watch the Grizzlies have been addressed so far. The main one though is the fact that some fans felt the Grizzlies weren’t putting a winner on the floor or were even trying to be competitive.
They missed the playoffs last year, but made vast improvements in every facet of the game and increased their win total by eleven games. That set up this year, the final year of Heisley’s “three year plan” in which he pledged a playoff berth for this franchise. In this three year plan, the development of Hasheem Thabeet was one of the main priorities in order for this team to become a contender. Well, that plan fell through, but in trading Thabeet (with DeMarre Carroll and a first-rounder) to Houston for fan favorite and defensive stopper Shane Battier (and Ish Smith), Heisley basically admitted making a mistake in drafting Thabeet and wants to win now!
Maybe the Rudy Gay injury played a part in making this deal happen, but that rumor was swirling well before the injury occurred. Heisley knew that if the Grizzlies were to get to the playoffs and make some noise, that move had to be made.
Heisley is not a man that admits many mistakes and he also does not like to give up on something he had so much riding on, but he did.
Now, it is your turn to buy into the Grizzlies making a run at the playoffs because everyone else is pitching in and buying in to this team.
Do what you can to make this town a Grizzlies town and give the team a unique environment for opposing teams to come into and fear the beard.
Ben Hogan is a regular contributor to Memphisport. You can follow him on Twitter @notthegolfer. For more live tweets during Grizzlies games follow @memphisport, @douggillon, @cerrito, and @chasingphoto.
Story photo by Chase Gustafson.
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