it is said all day, every day that "Heat fans" don't deserve this. That "New York, Cleveland, insert city here" deserve to have a team like this. What fan base gets attacked on three shows in one day by three different personalities? The Heat fan base does. They can't attack the team, because it looks pretty good now..so hey..let's attack the fans.
I enjoy the hate on the team..that is fine. I am talking about the current shift to attacking the city and the fan base.
You can get all huffy but there is some truth to what I am saying, while he didn't do nothing wrong signing in Miami you really think it doesn't bother him that he didn't get his first title in Cleveland? Honestly? That he had to form a three headed monster that no one in the NBA comes close to in talent, he got his title a certain way but it's not they way I'm sure he perferred.
Stop it. Stop it now. It’s just silly. Please. The lower bowl attendees are rich people and celebrities who got tickets either because they paid exorbitant prices (think 4-5 digits) or because they did something to earn a one-time ticket (Ludacris got 2 Finals tickets for his T-Mobile concert at the AAA during the ECF Game 5). Nor are the seats completely and totally vacant as popular belief would hold. Hell, it’s not even that the people who bought those tickets arrived late. It’s that they spent the first few minutes inside a lounge at the AAA, then went to their seats. Attendance rate—not sales, but actual attendance rate—doesn’t lie. Even non-fans show up to watch this team. Quit with the bandwagon crap already. You were being perfectly reasonable until you whipped that out.
I disagree that the comparison applies b/c you're saying the championships didn't change the general opinion on A-Rod and therefore it won't change on Lebron. You may not like Brady or Kobe, but the opinions on both of those guys became predominantly positive. They will be seen as being among the greatest players and in retrospect things like a rape allegation will be largely forgotten or minimized. The same will happen for Lebron if he gets several championships.
I see the argument that people don't like how the team was built as one of those irrational excuses. Boston did the same thing and wasn't criticized for it. The Lakers brought in Kareem and Shaq to get their championships and weren't criticized for it. People want to pretend it's unprecedented, but really it's how most championships were won.
I never said bandwagon. Anywhere. My entire point about the fans was about them being in their seats, making noise. The "homefield advantage". You just admitted in your post that most of the lower bowl is made up of celebrities and people who aren't chearing. That doesn't make Miami less deserving or make the Heat suck. It means their fan base isn't as rabid and crazy as those in other towns.
I'm getting sick and tired of the constant s******g on the Miami Heat fan abse. Espescially because it mostly comes from New York/Boston clowns who apparently think bandwagoning was born in Miami. I present Exhibit "A". ESPN.com's NBA attendance figures going back to 2001. http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance The Heat outdrew the Cavs from 2001-2004. Cleveland is supposedly some rgeat sports town while Miami is garbage right? With true blue fans who always support their team? Well Cleveland was dead last in attendance in 2003. Then miraculously were 5th in 2004. Hmmm, were all those real fans in hibernation? On Mars? And what happened in 2004? Some fella named LeBron James was on the team. And wouldn't you know it, those die hard true blue fans reemerged on planet Earth. No chance there were a ton of sad sack Clevelanders jumping on the bandwagon, not those fans. Here's one I partuclarly love: http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance/_/year/2005 In 2005 the Heat was 4th in the NBA in attendance. The Heat outdrew the Knicks, Cavs and LAKERS. And oh yeah, this year, Boston was 24th in the elague in attendance, barely cracking 85% capacity. I suppose that had nothing to do with the fact the Celtics sucked. Those great sports fans must have replaced Clevelanders on Mars. http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance/_/year/2006 Holy Moses! The Heat finishes 4th in attendance AGAIN. Once again outdrawing the KNICKS and LAKERS (this should seriosuly be impossible given the combined 40 million people in those two populaces) and Cavs. The celtics get 5% of their true fans back from Mars and finish 18th. http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance/_/year/2007 Holy mother of Vishnu. 3 years in a row the Heat outdraws NY, LA and Boston. Boston slides back to 20th overall. The Cavs finally outdraw the Heat, but barely, they drew about 30,000 extra fans total http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance/_/year/2008 This has to be a typo. The Heat outdraws LA, NYK and Boston 4 years in a row. This has to be a David Stern plot. 2009 and 2010, ok, you got us. The Heat fell to middle of the pack, but still outdrew Philly and Indian (supposedly great fans) by wide margins http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance But ta dum, the Heat outdrew the Knicks Lakers and Celtics again. In short, only Bulls fans, who ere #1 or #2 every year can claim to be better than the Heat with any credibility. So suck it NY/Boston/Cleveland
Whoa - I'm calling BS. You know I've been attacking the fan base WAY before now. Give me some credit.
Do me a favor. Scan your psychology degree and post it on here, because your insight on what some professional athlete "thinks" and "feels" is impressive.
You didn’t have to. That’s the entire basis for everyone criticizing Miami fans in general. And I’ll admit that our hometown Heat hero, Dan Le Batard, has done a lot to stoke this by going on PTI and ESPN in general and calling us a bandwagon town. He means it one way, the country takes it another way. Go watch some tape and tell me if they aren’t cheering. No, it means you’ve arrived at a distorted conclusion based on superficial and incorrect information which multiple posters in this thread are trying to correct you on.
IDK maybe it is because I am up here, but nobody likes Kobe...I dont care either way, I dont like one team enough to hate anybody in basketball.....It can go both ways......
I've honestly never seen that said. It wouldn't surprise me of some jaded fans said it, I just personally can't recall ever seeing it. What else I know (well feel), is that before the playoffs I didn't want the Heat to win the title. I didn't want them to win the title mostly because I selfishly didn't want him to get a title right away (though I think I've been reasonable as an opposing fan, since I have said all along I uunderstand why Lebron went to Miami and I didn't blame him). But I watch him play, as I had the pleasure to watch him play in Cleveland for a few years, and he's good. I mean so good. And then I hear all the talk about not being able to compare him to Jordan because he doesn't have a title yet, and blah, blah, blah. Well I would actually like Lebron to be recognized (universally) for the great player that he is, and never be associated negatively with Marino (a great player who never won a title), and if that means winning a title this year, then good for them. I won't be rooting for Miami to win (nor will I be rooting for Dallas), I'll just keep rooting for entertaining games, but if Miami does end up winning I'll certainly be cheering for Lebron.
Just pointing out that you are projecting the arguments of others on me. And I've watched plenty of Heat games to see the crowds and empty seats myself. I'm not just repeating a narrative. I've put a LOT of effort into hating the Heat this year.
Is that radio only? Because I don't listen to sports radio except when I go to the Houston area. The only other sports talk I watch is PTI and Around the Horn, and I don't recall them saying Miami (fans or the town) is undeserving.
Yes, it's radio. And Michael Smith on around the horn just last week did a huge harangue against Miami fans.
Lol, yeah that's what I thought, can't talk to you sometimes, you got one of the most defensive fans I have ever talked too. It's my opinion, you don't care for it you don't care for it, no reason to be an *** about it.
Trust me..it has been said. Ad Nauseum by MANY media personalities and "respected" "journalists". Who can forget Bill Simmons making it his mission over 3 weeks to go on every show, write in every column, how much heat fans don;t deserve this and that they should go to Chicago or New York, because they are "better" cities. There are many more as well..most notably Michael Smith's rant against Heat fans on national TV, and Barkley on TV, almost every night.
I believe you, I don't take you for a liar. I guess I don't pay enough attention to Heat talk since they aren't my team.
Ding ding ding ding!!!! Thats what a lot of other arenas do not have. Lounges with TV's all over the place so no one misses a play
And by the way, Orlando Magic fans have started to be like this as well. Since the enw arena opened this eyar, with dozens of lounges/clubs etc., on the lower level, suddenly fans dawdle getting to their seats. It happends everywhere. Miami gets singled out, mainly due to jealously and simple arrogance that makes it impossible to believe that athletes would choose Miami over "better" cities like NY/Bos/Chi
Sec might be funny, but you can't talk Heat basketball with this guy without him going ape on you and talking down to you, you might think it's funny but I honestly think it's sad.
That's even a crazier notion if I ask myself. This City is part of the fanbase, and many of them cannot or will never be able to afford to go to a Heat game. Unless it's in the upper, more affordable levels. TV ratings are excellent which shows there is a huge, rabid, crazy fan base.
The entire context of my comment about Heat fans was the in-arena "homefield advantage". And, again, the gripe that most people have with the Heat has almost nothing to do with Miami, or the Heat. It is the idea that three of the best players teamed up to play together. Miami just happened to be the place that benefitted from their decision, and I think the hate for what they did should not be confused with hate directed specifically towards Miami.
Excellent work man!! I used to have this site where it gave actual attendence for every game in every season of football. They folded it up a couple of years ago but I used to use it to shut people up who though Miami Dolphins fans were so bandwagon, and so on. Only a select few teams in SPORTS have great fanbases to begin with, and history shows that even cities with a good solid fanbases have trouble filling their stadiums when their team sucks!!!!
Regardless, the hard numbers prove your assertion wrong. Who are you going to believe, the piles of cash or your lying eyes?
There actually should be no hate towards what they did! There are a ton of NBA Teams who have done the same thing. Miami signed Lebron and they already had Wade. Bosh is an excellent player but he is no Kevin Garnett in his prime. Lebron is or could be one of the best players ever but when LA signed Shaq away from Orlando the only town that showed hate for it was Orlando and at that time everyone thought it was Shaq who would end up the best ever...
Eh, you're arguing attendance numbers, I'm arguing butts in seats and actual participation. You have numbers, I have visuals - we can do this dance forever. My point was never really about the Heat fans - it was just one side point in why NBA fans aren't jumping up and down for the Heat.
I'm bowing out here. As a Heat fan, of course you're not going to see an issue, as a Cavs fan, of course I'm going find every fault. I'll enjoy the whole world hating the Heat now and in 2-3 titles when everyone forgot to hate the Heat, you can say, 'Told You So' - we'll both have our moment.
Any city will see attendance dip during long periods of mediocrity/losing. Even NY/Boston. Chicago was the one counter-example/ they were #1 or #2 basically every year, during some very lean years. Very impressive. But even the Knicks, all that Mecca bullc rap, had ten eyars of irrelevance wear on them to where they went 5 years in a row without filling MSG to capacity, which really should be impossible. I mean, there are approximately 20 million in the NY metropolitan area. To not fill a 22,000 seat arena to capacity is stunning
They’re one in the same. Again: a lot of people in that lower bowl are there before the game and are at in-arena lounges with a perfect view of the game. They take their time getting to their seats, but they’re in the arena. They are in attendance. This reminds me of criticism of Dolphins games at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. You know why it takes so damn long to get back to your seat to start the 3rd? Because the bathrooms are a joke and the concessions are run by Rip Van Winkle. Same thing here with the Heat in the first few minutes of the game: there is something going on elsewhere in the arena, namely TVs everywhere and a comfy lounge seat.
