Absit invidia
Frustration evidently breeds contempt.
It hasn’t been a good 60 days for the local Toronto sports fan. While the Leafs gave their fans a glimmer of hope, it seems the Raptors felt they needed to instill some fear into the hearts of their fans.
While the players themselves feel they can look internally for help and, hopefully, hope, where do you turn as fans and supporters? What do you do to offset the pain and hurt you feel as the losses mount?
For those that have known me through my Usenet days and the past year or so in the forums here on Altraps, I’ve been pretty critical of the local fans. Many a time I felt alone in this battle, but more and more I am seeing people take my side. The dark side of the “fan” is showing through a lot lately, be it booing for not getting 100pts, being selective as to which players you welcome back with boos or cheers, or even the epic “must beat the traffic” scenario when there is :45seconds left in a 2pt ballgame. Class acts like that made me change my moniker of being a “fan” to that of “supporter”, since if those were Raptor fans, I wanted no part of that fandom. With the introduction of the (legal) League Pass in Canada, you can see how other cities react when their team is down: sure, some are just like us, but more and more you see and hear fans cheer on their team, giving them support, letting them know that home is really HOME.
Lately, while compiling Linkage, I have noticed this same “bah, you guys suck unless you win” mentality hit the online world. Be it bloggers who haven’t posted a blog for over 2 weeks after being consistent since last years playoffs, a local paper that has seen its Raptors articles go from two or three to one a day the past week, sites that are taking a week off to wait for the playoffs, inconsistent postings from a national newspaper that now are referring to that bastion of truth known as RealGM for stories, or guys who flip around during the game or PVR it and never watch it since they lost. Frustrated? Sure. More fun to be had by going to Home Hardware, buying a 42 piece drill set and seeing which size hurts your eye the most? Absolutely. Fair to your readers or viewers? Not so much.
That post game tirade Sam Mitchell whipped up after the last game was gold. He’s right. People act like the players don’t care. They do. We do. We should. As supporters of this team, we need to be there with them while they are down just as we were when they raised that banner last year or when they took us to within one shot of a conference championship round. Yes, the easiest thing to do is say we don’t care and move on with something more enjoyable and easier to swallow (hey, I hear The Hills is back on), but sports aren’t easy. You don’t think every single Raptor would like to take a week off and come back better? Sure they would. They can’t. They have to fight and live through it, just like we should.
I’m well aware that it’s a fine line. We hurt because we love, we lash out because we feel let down…all the old sayings. Personally, though, to this day it pains me that my last game as a season seat holder is just around the corner. You would think that the savings of $12,000 a year and not having to be exposed to those lovely roast beef sandwiches at $10 a pop would make me happy. Nope. I’m already dreading opening day next season, knowing I won’t be there supporting my guys. I’ll have this little corner of the net to curl up with and espouse my hatred of Colangelo with fresh ammo, sure, and even if very few changes are made, I’ll still be hoping for a miracle. I have been just as cynical and full of distaste as many of you, but I refuse to turn my back on this ballclub.
We all have our theories. We all have our favourite targets. We all get frustrated. However, any person who gets paid to follow the team, takes the time to write a blog, checks in on their favourite forums daily, gets irritated that hockey highlights are shown before basketball highlights….they need to step back, take a deep breath and support this club. You have the ability to support any NBA team, but you have chosen the Toronto Raptors. That love should be like a marriage, in sickness and in health. Sure, you might disagree on a restaurant to go to, but in the end, you both ate. Bumps happen. Major bumps happen. Hell, crashes happen. Rather than keep your loved ones dangling in a heap, though, maybe you should look at supporting their head a little and re-assuring them that “our house” will always be full of support, no matter what the outcome is.
Apr 7th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Except that … when the house is always full of support, no matter what … the end result is what has happened with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last 41 years and counting.
Proposition: being a fan of a specific pro sports franchise IS NOTHING LIKE what a marriage IS or SHOULD BE (for that matter).
When the owners of a ‘pro sports’ franchise want to sell their team to a different owner or ownership group they DO NOT consult with their team’s fans.
When the owners what to relocate THEIR team to a different city (e.g. like the Cleveland Browns did years ago and the Seattle Supersonics are trying to do right now … thos owners DO NOT consult with their team’s fans.
No, sirreebob, being a ‘fan’ of a specific ‘pro sports’ franchise is not the same as being in a marriage … with all due respect.
khandor’s last blog post..The Dream Shake that changed the NBA
Apr 7th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
The few, the proud … the unproductively engaged.
I do think the booing sucks. They are trying. Home is the last place you should be booed.
I join you in the “supporter” camp.
Apr 8th, 2008 at 1:50 am
It seems like a decade ago that the Chicago fans were chanting Kobe’s name.
It WAS a decade ago that they were selling out night after night while the team compiled one of the worst winning percentages over a five year period in professional sports history. People would whip out their (then not ubiquitous) cellphones and snigger “Hey Bob! I’m talking to you from the UC huhuhuh” during an improbable (and inevitably faulty) 4th quarter rally.
Every other night on average, between the yuppies finally getting tickets to what was once the hottest ticket in town and a franchise tanking for draft picks (oh, and to make up the huge $ shelled out on payroll during those dynasty years), a basketball game would break out.
There is a little window here I keep open in my dark, bile-pumping heart which wants to believe men half my age (okay, a decade younger than me) from Switzerland and Argentina and Sudan and Sioux City, Iowa are fighting on my behalf, for my hometown’s honor. It’s the thing that drives my rivalry with a maintenance guy from New York over which team will have the better record (we’re now up to “triple or nothing!” — he offered to pay after the first season, but I wouldn’t take it, because that’s beside the point).
I keep that little window propped open despite the fact that it’s kinda dumb, kinda lame, kinda doesn’t make much sense — scratch that, any sense — in my world or the wider world. It’s tied up with some childhood memories, some young adult memories, some HOLY SHIT JORDAN JUST STRIPPED THE BALL FROM MALONE AND IS DRIVING ON BRYON RUSSELL memories. I realize this is going into George F. Will wonkish territory, but like all belief systems, that window can snap closed in an instant.
So yeah — that’s my thoughts on being a fan. They can take it for granted, but they do so at their own peril. And the whole “a fan does THIS but not THAT” stuff kinda gets me, because when people say “everyone does THIS,” it’s in my DNA to do some of THAT.
Granville Waiters Ghost’s last blog post..Absit invidia
Apr 8th, 2008 at 5:16 am
I like to follow the Raptor’s team and watch whenever I can. But the bottom line is they are in the entertainment business. They have lost consistantly since the all star break. That in it’s self is not really unusually and at some time in the future will be a lottery team again. I think the worse part of all this is the unrealistic expectations that were put forward by the announcers. Sure every coach starts off the year saying they are going to be competitive, contend and make the playoffs. But the announcers had them winning 50 games , when they knew full well that would have been over achieving. Maybe we all should enjoy the last few games and tune the announcers out.
Apr 8th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Khandor, I have to disagree - fanhood is much like marriage, and your examples provide a perfect illustration. When one spouse wants to leave the other spouse, it’s not always a negotiation, just like it’s not always a negotiation when an owner wants to move their team. One side often feels jilted in both situations.
As for the rest of this blog post, I agree entirely.
Apr 9th, 2008 at 12:50 am
well said, i think booing is ok…only for particular instances, not because you didn’t score a 100 or are in a prolonged slump. my only hope is that the powers to be hear the boos, and do something about them.
as far as posting goes, it is hard to consistently post when the same problems always arise. writing compelling (in my case legible) ramblings always suffers in these situations. people who get paid to do it tho, that’s a different story…they have to deliver at all times, no questions. for the rest of us, it’s a best effort endeavor, and hopefully the people who do a good job of it reap the rewards of building their own little solid raptor community on the web.
don’t worry about opening day, we will make our own roast beef sandwiches, and put cheese in em…good cheese…a mild cheddar melt. it will be dope, trust!
good job as always bro.
Raps Fan’s last blog post..Sam Mitchell - Raptors Practice - Apr. 8/08
Apr 10th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Raptors have made the playoffs for the 2nd year running after missing for several years running and are in a rebuilding phase. Teams have winning runs and losing runs all the time. Teams also need the fulltime support from their fans to help make their home court a hostile environment for the opposition. Believe it or not it does not help motivate teams or players to boo them at home when they are losing. I agree completely with Alt Raps, MY TEAM deserves my support WIN or LOSE.