****The Official 2014-15 NBA Thread****

San Antonio is very literally over 70 percent brown-or-black (70.1 percent as of 2010 census data). That was the point I was getting at. This is not based on anything scientific but my perception has been that NBA fans around the country have a general positive opinion of them...and have since David Robinson's days.

With the exception of a few twidiots who started making racist comments when the Spurs trotted out a brown kid to sing the national anthem in the Finals a year ago.

 

I don't think that letter carried any hidden messages about LeBron James at all. It was a very milquetoast letter that was tossed to the fans kind of belatedly and very lazily.

I certainly didn't sense any animosity. He still refers to picking up Chris Bosh and LeBron James as "the most significant free agent acquisitions in league history."

Actually the most interesting revelation was mentioning Justin Hamilton side-by-side with James Ennis when it comes to the talented up-and-comers section.

 

Uh...what success has Houston had recently that would be cause for hate?

Lebron did not make Miami a winner. Pat Riley did that. The Heat/Miami have been hated since he left NY.

 

Spurs consistently get low ratings nationally, and get the "boring" label, although they don't deserve it.

 

For those who are interested in the letter, it can be found here.
Here is the first paragraph.

Nothing earth moving, but a nice gesture from Micky. Man I wish he'd own the Dolphins.

 

Lebron made Miami relevant and a winner.
When Houston won their chips, no one hated them. When Houston wins the chip next year, no one will hate them . When Houston stole Harden and got Dwight, no one hated them. When Houston almost stole Bosh and almost had their own big 3/big 4, no one hated them.

I don't even think people hate Miami, to be honest. I just think people see them as irrelevant now that Lebron is gone. I bet ESPN gets rid of that Heat Index, lol. That hype train has moved on to Cleveland.

 

For those wondering about how that run of 16 playoff teams inside of 19 seasons.....

If you base it solely on the avg. win% needed to make the playoffs in the NFL at the same time....

it is the equivalent of the Miami Dolphins making the playoffs 15 of the last 19 seasons.

 

Again. Pat Riley made them relevant and a winner.

Stop comparing your team with ours as far as "hate". Your team has had no success whatsoever as of late to hate.

The Miami Heat is never irrelevant, and with 2016 right around the corner, get ready for more hype.

and one more time....the proof is in the Q ratings and national polls. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that sports fans hate Miami.

 

So, you're saying that Miami wasn't hated until about 8 years ago. Because before that Miami hadn't won anything, basketball-wise. Until Wade begged Lebron to come there, Miami only had one chip. 1 chip doesn't make you relevant. Having the best player on the planet and him leading you to 4 straight finals makes you relevant. And if anything, if Miami was hated, it's because Lebron took them to 4 straight finals. Jealousy of having the clear cut best player on the planet.

 

Wade didn't beg anybody to come here. I don't understand your insistence on the loaded trolling language.

Miami was hated long before 8 years ago.

and one last time...Pat Riley made us relevant.

 

Half their stars speak broken english and the other half don't speak at all. What do you expect the nation to think of them? Point is nobody seems to hate them. Everyone seems to like them. They just don't often pay attention to or watch them.

You're right that people seeth hate at the Miami franchise for some reason but I don't think it's because the city is brown. San Antonio is overwhelmingly brown.

 

I am not trying to troll, just trying to understand your point about Miami being hated. I don't see it.

Give me an example of how Miami is being hated on. Not just a random fan or anything. Media wise/nationally...how are they hated?

Also, before Lebron chose Miami, i remember seeing a clip of Wade and Bosh (after he signed first) sitting at a table begging Lebron to come. (that is why i said begged...it's what i saw)

 

Look through the history of Miami sports teams. Most, if not all of them were hated nationally.

I work in media, so I have a little more scientific and circumstantial evidence that suggests that all of our sports teams are likely to be hated nationally.

As for Bosh and Wade sitting at a table begging Lebron to come..didn't happen. They announced 1 day before Lebron did the decision, and did it on ESPN with Mike Wilbon.

 

Yeah noone hated us before Lebron, that is why EVERY fan on the planet outside Miani tried to say we were given our title on a phantom foul call even after the still picture of the hand on Wades wrist.

Then it became "Well you can't call that foul in a finals".

 

Nobody hates the Dolphins or Marlins....so I agree with u

 

Were the Miami Dolphins ever hated nationally back in the day? I don't recall that. Maybe from rivals, but not nationally. When Shaq won a chip there, i don't remember the media or anyone hating Miami. I think alot of people hate Lebron (which is a whole 'nother story). I see that just from being in this thread. Whatever team he joins, they will get the ridiculous number of Lebron haters.

Also, right before Lebron's decision, Wade and Bosh were interviewed sitting at a table and begging Lebron to come.

 

No, just the owner, Loria.

 

of course they do.

 

The decision was only 4 years ago. I am sure you can come up with the video and show me this clip. Again, Bosh and wade did a remote interview with Wilbon, to announce their intention to sign with Miami. Lebron did the decision the next day.

Besides, I am pretty sure they knew he was coming then, because I knew he was coming then and said so on this site. So there was no need to "beg".

and Yes, the Marino Fins were despised in the North east which just happened to be the center of the Sports media universe.

The 06' Champion Heat were despised as well, and all three teams SHAQ played on here were hated and mocked by national media.

 

Seriously, screw that guy.

 

For ****s sake, Bill Simmons wrote in 2006 that the Miami Heat had ended the NBA as we knew it and were the worst thing to ever happen.

 

I don't see it. The negative press the Dolphins have gotten has been warranted (bullygate). You can't blame the press for that, blame the participants and the people in charge. I specifically blame Joe Philbin for being incompetent, Incognito/Pouncey for being idiots, and Jonathan Martin for not being a man. I don't blame the media.

Other than that, nationally the Phins are not even relevant. They haven't won anything in about 30 years.

 

Miami has the BangBus.

Yep, I think that pretty much covers all the bases as far as the envy part.

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Bull ****. The thing was blown out of proportion from the jump. You can't expect a coach to babysit 52+ grown *** men.

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Can't find the clip, but this is a picture from the quick interview. They had begged Lebron to take that chair they were holding.


Also, of course Marino was hated by the Northeast. Boston and NY are our division rivals. No one hated Marino's teams nationally though. If they hated him, he would be bashed more for not winning a chip. Most people still rate Marino as one of their top 5 QBs all time, even though he didn't get a ring. There isn't another athlete in football or basketball besides Barry Sanders who can say that.

 

I expect him not to sit in his office all day doing nothing (because he sure as hell isn't game planning) and check down in the locker room from time to time. I expect him to be on top of what the hell is happening right beneath his office in the locker room. When they are on their own time, i don't blame him. But when players are mimicking a rape scene down in the locker room, i expect Philbin to know and do something about it.

 

That's funny, I remember when the scandal broke, there was a Philbin presser. He said something along the lines of "And if your children come here to play football, it is my duty to make sure they are in a safe and nurturing enviroment", something along those lines. It sounded very tongue-in-cheek. But back to basketball...

 

It's pretty easy to hate Miami if you've ever watched an episode of "The First 48"
















Joking

 

That picture was taken in Chicago when both guys met with the Bulls.

When they did the interview with Wilbon, Wade was in Miami at his camp, and Bosh was in Texas. They never did any interview where they begged Lebron to join them.

 

lol. Houston, too.

 

I know about the Wilbon interview. They were both at the table begging him to come, which is why they both have their arms around the one chair.

 

It's pretty obvious that the Heat has been largely disrespected despite being one of the most successful franchises since Riley joined them. When they won in 2006, the cries about gifted fouls were rampant. When the big three came together the hate was obvious to even the most oblivious, it's just that they'll claim it was justified. Now that Lebron is gone you'd be hard pressed to find anybody who includes them among the top contenders for the East despite having 2 all-stars on the team. The Heat has been incredibly successful over the last 20 years, but every success is excused as tainted. Even in this thread you have somebody comparing the Heat to the Rockets who haven't won anything in almost two decades. I don't think Houston's made it out of the first round in the last 15 years?

I think part of the Heat hate is based around Riley. He has always been a polarizing figure. There are certainly some media members who don't like him. He always makes big moves that are going to garner attention. That will bring out both extremes of love and hate. Once you have that then the racists join the fray and add to the unjust criticism. Anybody who doubts it just has to read any message boards or comments sections. You seem to need the extreme attention to get the racists going though. I would guess that most people tend to hide their racist hate, but when they see a team that is being widely hated they'll forget to censor themselves. San Antonio and Houston don't elicit the extremes b/c they're irrelevant. Houston b/c they haven't won in a long time and San Antonio b/c even when they win few watch.

 

That was a restaurant in Chicago dude, before they met with the Bulls. Why would they be begging anybody to come with them to Miami before they had committed to Miami?

 

Take away the 4 years Lebron was there and what you have is 20 years and 1 chip. If that is the measure of relevancy, then how can you say Houston isn't relevant? They have 2 in a 20 year span and been in the playoffs pretty much every year just like Miami (maybe more). As I stated before, Lebron made the Heat what i consider relevant (title contenders every year he was there). Lebron has a massive amount of haters just like Jordan and Kobe. When he joined Miami, maybe that's when you started really feeling the hate. I don't know how many of you live in Miami, but i don't. And, from someone who is looking from the outside in, I know of no one who hates the Heat. I frequent Rockets forums quite a bit and when the Heat are brought up, i don't see any hating. Back in the day, when i was on ESPN's forums people always attacked the Lakers and Boston, but never really the Heat. They didn't win anything, so they were irrelevant. I've been on this Heat thread for quite some time and i have yet to see one Heat hater either.

 

Just telling you what i saw on t.v. Believe it or not. I don't remember where they were. They were at a table, hugging a chair, and jokingly begging Lebron to come. Take it as you will.

 

Not before the decision. I just went through all the tape of those guys before the decision. There was only the Wilbon interview, and that restaurant pic where it was captioned "there is somebody missing".

 

If you count the Rockets 2 championship seasons, there have been 21 seasons since then. Rockets have been to the post season 13 times out of 21. Heat in that same span, 17 post seasons out of 21. Since 1995 when Riley joined the Heat, the team has missed the playoffs only 3 times.

Lebron might have made the Heat prohibited favorites every year he was here, but Pat Riley was the one who made the franchise competitive and relevant.

 

The Miami Heat's inaugural season was 1988. Find me another sports franchise ANYWHERE with as much or more success than the Heat in this short a span in existence.

The record is clear since Riley got here:

19 years.
16 Playoff Appearances.
11 Div. Titles.
5 Conf. Championships.
3 World Championships.

3rd Best win% in Reg. Season, and 2nd Best win% in Post Season.

 

Rockets won the chip in 94 and 95. That's 20 years.