Simmons: Rose Garden Crowd Best In NBA
In Part One of his year-end recap, ESPN's Bill Simmons gives the "Best Crowd" crown to Portland.
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I think Portland had the best home crowd this season
The perfect blend of creepy intensity, genuine devotion and a massive inferiority complex. I never stumbled across a Blazers game in which their fans weren't totally bringing it. Two great examples from last Monday's Oklahoma City game: first, OKC had such a severe free throw advantage, and Portland fans were so furious about it, that it seemed like we were headed for the first ever triple ref homicide. (I tweeted that the whole situation reminded me of Chris Rock's old joke, "I haven't seen white people that mad since they cancelled 'M.A.S.H.") Only Portland fans and Utah fans can make a casual observer feel like the officials are in actual danger. That's a good thing. In the old days, every crowd did that.
Second example from that night: Because news broke of Brandon Roy's soul-crushing knee injury that same night, there was particular meaning to Marcus Camby's get-on-my-back performance (30 points, 13 rebounds) ... which the Blazers fans recognized by passionately chanting "Mar-Cus Cam-Bee!" when he finally left the game. Just a great moment. Only Knicks fans (if they had a good team and were presented with a similar situation) would have seized it with the same gusto. Made me remember the days when NBA crowds knew what the hell they were doing. Gotta love Rip City.
Best NBA crowd rankings for 2009-10: 1. Portland; 2. Utah; 3. Golden State; 4. New York ... then a big dropoff to the next group of cities.
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-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
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Ben Golliver
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now if we can only suit up some fans for the game!
Btw….. 1st…!
by 1ofthe7 on Apr 16, 2010 9:51 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Bill Simmons is awesome.
We just didn’t know it.
"[S]ince men enjoyed very great leisure, they used it to pursue many kinds of commodities unknown to their fathers, and that was that first yoke they placed upon themselves without thinking about it, and the first source of evils the prepared for their descendants. For, besides continuing thus to soften body and mind, as these commodities had lost almost all their pleasantness through habit, and as they had at the same time degenerated into true needs, being deprived of them became much more cruel than possessing them was sweet; and people were unhappy to lose them without being happy to have them." -Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Same ol back handed compliments
creepy intensity
and
Only Portland ……..fans can make a casual observer feel like the officials are in actual danger.
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Apr 16, 2010 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions
he followed the second comment with
That’s a good thing. In the old days, every crowd did that.
so how would that be backhanded
Michael Jordan is the Nicolas Batum of America
by thomasikehara on Apr 16, 2010 9:57 AM PDT up reply actions
Simmons enjoys creepy
He appreciates character. It probably has something to do with his being a Boston fan.
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
It's so great how Simmons can "That's a good thing"
and some Blazer fans will still look for a double meaning and take it as an insult.
"Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute. We must march to the sound of drums." -Captain Kirk
by terryisntbald on Apr 16, 2010 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions
But its crucial
Ever been to Autzen Stadium on gameday. Its kind of like that. You’re awed by the sheer volume of the crowd but you’re secretly afraid of them.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
yep
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Apr 16, 2010 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions
How so?
I thought it was very complimentary despite his usual sarcastic metaphors and adjectives.
by BlazerDavid on Apr 16, 2010 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions
I don't think it was backhanded really.
The part about the inferiority complex…well it’s true.
He couldn’t resist taking a shot at Oden later in the piece though.
Bill Simons loves us.
The only reason he picks on us so much is because he actually gets a response. If he picked on Laker fans the same way they would just go “meh.” It is no fun hitting a guy that just turns the other cheek.
I'm not really a Bill Simmons fan
but I like this piece. I think it summarizes our fans pretty well. That Camby chant combined with the night vs. Dallas when the fines refused to put up with the crap those officials were trying to pull makes me so proud to be a blazer fan. There have been so many moments that have made the the hair on my arms stand up because of how proud it makes me feel. A couple more proud moments: earlier this year when Greg Oden had his best game vs. Chicago and the fans took notice by chanting, “O-DEN!!, O-DEN!!, O-DEN!!” and when Rudy got clobbered by Ariza and our fans tried to pick Rudy up and hammer Ariza at the same time. There are so many memorable moments that the fans have provided. Thanks Blazer fans!
The funny (or unfunny) thing is we had a pretty bad home record this year.
We actually only won 2 more home games than road games. (26 home, 24 road) It looked like our great crowd backfired at times because the Blazers felt the pressure to win every single game and played tight.
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
It seemed to me like the NBA was putting an emphasis on not giving the home team all the calls.
Not sure if this is true or not.
Maybe not giving the home team so many calls was a point of emphasis for the refs coming into the year
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
Bill Simmons is a very good writer
I know a lot of Blazers fans don’t like what he writes about the Blazers sometimes, but he is a very gifted sports writer. In contrast to much of the stuff on the internet these days (Dave and Ben excluded), its a pleasure to read something well written and not have to suffer through mis-spelled words and grammar errors left and right.
So many better
There are so many better sportswriters. Steve Kelley out of Seattle is but one, who make a joke out of most of those we have nationally and Canzano despite his awards.
Down with the Ruskies
Uggh, Steve Kelley is terrible.
The guy I really like though is Joe Posnanski, who used to write in Kansas City. I think he’s probably the best sports writer I have ever read.
50!
I still root for Bill Simmons over Jeff Van Gundy
in a steel cage death match.
Treat people well because Karma can hit you at any second.
he still got his Portland dig in
by lumping Okafor’s bust potential with Bowie/Oden….
You mean, Bowie/LaRue/Oden
Three of the six worst picks in his mind, Blazers.
I am starting to enjoy his stuff more
even with the cracks at Oden all the time, and his amazing ability to not understand his own arrogance. His statement about Durant’s future was really absurd to me, the fact that he believes 52%FG 44% 3pt, 90%FT with 11+ FT attempts resulting in 37-40 points per game is not just possible for KD, but likely shows me he is on crazy pills. Durant is obviously a major scorer in the NBA, but no one has put up those type of numbers as a wing player, not even MJ. (MJ’s best scoring year was 86-87 @ 37.1ppg, 48% FG, 18%3pt 86%FT with 11.8FTA) Why can’t he just appreciate what KD is doing right now, after all it is pretty amazing. NBA players typically have 1 big jump in their production, early in their careers, KD made a huge jump this year, another huge jump like that is unrealistic at best.
That said, the more I read BS the more I enjoy his stuff.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
what I e-mailed Bill after reading this column:
“Pre-season, you predicted that the Blazers would tune out their coach and underachieve their into 41 wins.
Instead, the Blazers put on a toughness clinic, dealt with more injuries than any other playoff team, integrated Miller and Camby into the starting 5, and won 50 gritty games.
Frankly, I’d like to see you eat crow. Since that won’t happen, you should at least acknowledge their achievement in your column, instead of giving backhanded compliments.”
I think his compliments were sincere. He's East Coast...less sensitive than folks on the West Coast.
Yes, this
The crowd does have a creepy element to it. I say this as someone with a quarter season ticket package. I enjoy the intensity.
He's West Coast
LA specifically.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
He's not from LA originally.
I think he’s from Boston.
by Nick Van Excellent on Apr 16, 2010 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions
You're right
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
Yeah, but they need to tone down the canned music and video screen
It’s really disappointing how controlling the management is at the Rose Garden.
Guess it shouldn’t be surprising coming from people who ejected the people with the “Fire Whitsett” signs.
more from simmons
BILL SIMMONS’ MVP BALLOT
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Dwight Howard
4. Steve Nash
5. Dwyane Wade
6. Kobe Bryant
7. Deron Williams
8. Dirk Nowitzki
9. Carmelo Anthony
10. Greg Oden’s Cell Phone Camera
Would have preferred to see B Roy in there,
but when you miss a quarter of the season…
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
I would have liked it too...
but it is simply not true from an objective standpoint this year. Heck I would even dare to put Joe Johnson above this years B-Roy.
of course
he nailed the “massive inferiority complex”. The Northwest as a whole is very sensative to how they are viewed national… just think of how many times you’ve heard the term “World Class City” when referring to SEA/PDX.
M, period. Fresh, comma.
leave it to simmons to give us a prize while insulting every last one of us all at the same time
How’s that Trailblazer’s season record prediction treating you Billy Boy?
I was blinded to that by sick alley-oops and facials
not to mention Greg crotchifyin’ suckas
See I think Bill Simmons actually misunderstands us
and just happened to get the wording correct here. I think when he was talking about the announcer’s is where that was most highlighted. While NY is an NBA city, Portland is a Blazer’s city.
Mike and Mike are homers to serve a purpose. So that way we can look at Mike Rice saying something like “What?? That’s not a foul!”, when it clearly is and point to him as a homer instead of ourselves. We can pretend to be the objective viewers, while we are listening to the ultra-homer.
I mean honestly how many of us regularly watch regular season games besides the Blazers? 30% of the most hardcore of the hardcore Blazer fans? Yea we’re a great passionate, devoted fan-base, but not at all like NY. Would Lebron or Kobe ever getting a chant in the RG? I mean ever?
Not that I mind or am different at all. Just thought it was a distinction that BS misses in his analysis of TBNBAC (The Best NBA City).
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
I think you have a good point
Though as for pointing to MnM as the ultra homers…I don’t pretend to be objective at all. I just homer it up with them and enjoy the hell out of it.
Oh same here for sure.
It takes one to know one.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
Bill Simmons is great.
Always has been.
by Nick Van Excellent on Apr 16, 2010 1:44 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
he seems to have confused monday against OKC as last week against Dallas...when the refs were in real danger from the fans
Frye-lock and I'm on top rock you like a cop
From that same article
We knew it was a desperation move to give Hedo $50 million, and it didn’t seem far-fetched at all that someone who peaked two years ago would struggle in a new city in a new offense for a new coach without Dwight Howard protecting him defensively. But I never thought he’d become Enemy No. 1 in Toronto. Hedo fell off a basketball cliff; he’s almost unrecognizable.
Who knew the toxic contract was actually directed at Toronto? KP is genius!!!
Most inexplicably NOT Clark Kellogg?
Addicted to Quack
other than the big games
with the exception of the big games and the OKC game…the RG has been fairly quiet this year compared to the past 2 years. Its still much louder than a lot of other places however, but I’m worried that driving the price up year to year is starting to effect crowd noise.
"There was a time when this blog was for intelligent BASKETBALL fans. It has unfortunately become O-Live 2…" ~Ilikeemall
"Did they really expect me to bow down to Jesus?!?" ~Sophia
"At first glance, I saw a fairly unremarkable penis." ~Sophia on Greg Oden
Total agreement
I’ve noticed a staler air in the RG this season. Maybe there’s a little disenchantment with the rising ticket prices, but I put the responsibility on the fans. It seems the fans are more looking/waiting for something to happen instead of being engaged the from tip-off and being responsible for the atmosphere.
Also, please stop doing the Adams Family song.
by blazillionaire on Apr 16, 2010 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions
He also rationalizes the same way we do with Durant
From his description of the Thunder getting Tyreke Evans instead of Harden:
The Evans Universe: Makes the Zombie Sonics better on paper, screws them up in real life. Russell Westbrook would be threatened as the primary playmaker/distributor; Durant would be threatened as the alpha dog. From a chemistry standpoint, I’m dubious. I just don’t think you need him. Think of it this way: I’m already making you dinner with Durant as my main course. He’s the $200 slab of filet mignon on the bone. We’re at a table with 10 other people. We’re chowing down. We already have a Caesar salad (Westbrook), cream of mushroom soup (Serge Ibaka), potatoes au gratin (Jeff Green), asparagus (Thabo Sefolosha), sweet potatoes (Eric Maynor) and the filet (Durant). Harden is delicious corn bread done southwestern-style; Evans is a $150 rack of lamb. Do I really need the lamb? If I brought that out, wouldn’t you say, “Good God, this is too much food; I’m gonna have a heart attack!” It might be delicious, but I don’t need it. I need the corn bread.
THIS IS THE EXACT LOGIC EVERY BLAZER FAN APPLIES TO THE ODEN PICK.
noted that too
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Apr 16, 2010 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions
and our potatoes au gratin (LMA) have bacon bits. Real bacon
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Apr 16, 2010 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions
People get mad if you suggested Roy and Miller might have trouble playing together
but it’s an established fact on BE that Roy and Durant would have made each other worse and couldn’t have possibly played together. If you try suggesting KD could work you’re wrong because Roy needs the ball in his hands, but if you point out times earlier in the season when Roy stood around while Dre ran the offense you were insulting the Blazers and not a true fan.
"Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute. We must march to the sound of drums." -Captain Kirk
by terryisntbald on Apr 16, 2010 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Terry honestly
I’ve been meaning to sit you down. I think…I think you might be…bald. Maybe I shouldn’t have been the person to tell you this, but… I just feel like you might be living a lie, and I…I can’t have one of my friends living like this.
You're saying that they look like they're giving it their all. And you know why they look that way? Because they're bad, and it literally takes them the maximum physical effort to accomplish basic baseball tasks like throwing the ball from short to first. When David Eckstein throws the ball to first base, he has to wind up like a shot-putter, spin around forty-three times, and launch it at an angle 89 degrees from the horizontal. Afterwards, he undergoes an IV drip for a fortnight and he's so out of breath that he requires several months of acupuncture to regain the power of speech. For this we laud him. -Junior of Deadspin on 'scrappy' players
I do agree with that, but...
Durant was the 07-08 Rookie of the Year, then made a quantam leap in 08-09, and then led the league in scoring this year while staying healthy all three seasons and turning a pretty much dead franchise into a playoff team. You’re telling me that we’d be worse off with that than with the 82 games we’ve gotten out of Oden so far?
Anyone who thinks Simmons has a vendetta against the Blazers is a moron
He’s come out and said that Bill Walton is one of his favorite players in history, that the ‘77 Blazers are one of his favorite non-Celtic teams in history, and that “Breaks of the Game” is his favorite sports book in history. He bashes us for Bowie-over-Jordan and Durant-over-Oden…big deal, so do a lot of people. Yes, he focuses on the latter one a lot more than he should, but remember that he was one of the few that had Durant as the #1 pick prior to the draft; obviously, he wants to be right, so he’s going to name-drop that draft pick as often as he can. Same with Marvin Williams-over-Chris Paul (he rightfully thought Paul was the best player in that draft going in), which he also referenced in that column. Pimping things like that makes people remember that he was right in regard to those discussions, and that’s all he’s really going for. In constantly mentioning the Oden/Durant thing, he’s not trying to torture Blazer fans, he’s just trying to make himself feel better. So you can form your own opinions on him as a person, but to suggest that he has anything against the Blazers personally is ludicrous.
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