How many times have we seen it? heard it? or even been part of it? the home team is losing, and the crowd begins to chant their expressions of disapproval....or in other words..."BOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
After taking notice of the lack of real support some fans give their teams... a friend of mine told me that Jeff Van Gundy commented on this during the Pistons-Celtics game, and i thought to myself ...wow...check out Van Gundy trying to be profound!
The truth is, well, it's true. Imagine for a moment, that your (home) team has blown a huge lead, and now find themselves facing utter defeat, as well as humiliation for blowing the lead to begin with. How do YOU react as a fan? Doesn't it make more sense to cheer your team on in spite of the uphill battle? Why does the home crowd tend to get quiet when the visiting team mounts a comeback? Why don't they just cheer louder, or nastier, or happier? I just want to know...
When the Arizona Diamondbacks won the world series, everyone in Phoenix tried to be a fan...but 2 years later, when they stunk like pure unadulterated stink...they had almost zero fan support. The games were like ghost towns. Today, with them once again being one of the hottest teams in baseball, here come the fair-weather fans again. Now, if those fans had stayed and cheered their team through the rough patches, maybe they would've done better sooner. I'm not a Diamondback fan, but i live in AZ, so i used them as an example.
Part of the advantage to playing at home is the home crowd...or so i thought. Any real sports fan should know this. players just feel more comfortable at home, playing in their own place, and in fron of the fans tat supposedly love them. Well if the fans know this (and they should), then just imagine the crowd giving the home team an emotional boost when they're doing bad...and not just when they do good.
Even the ESPN team wasn't in total agreement; while Van Gundy said that the fans shouldn't be booing (and Mike Breen agreed with him), Mark Jackson said they should be booing. Who would know more about a fan reaction than a former player? And you know what? It may have inspired the Pistons to win yesterday's game in a rout. I think the fans can play a major role if they're vocal in their pleasure (or displeasure, in most cases). It would be worse for the team if their failures were met with silence.
alot of people dont understand that a good athlete or official will tune out the crowd!!! you almost have to!!! let them brake your consentration and your doomed!!!!!
Just my opinion Storm but don't you think a lot of it has to do with the American way of only supporting 1st place and nothing but first place? You read europeans and they brag about their teams getting 2nd or 3rd and how "next year".
Who remembers the ice skater or sprinter who finishes 2nd in the Olympics as a rule? Nobody. We consider them a "failure". Never mind that 100,000 sprinters world wide started 4 years ago to try to get to that final 8-10 whatever it is that start the finals.
I think we've become a bully nation. We cheer when our teams are stomping someone but have no guts for the fight when our teams get down. We get quiet, leave early because we don't want to be identified with a "loser". There are no losers in the NBA at this point. Final 4 is something special.
kelly... i agree, and that's exactly what makes the true superstars rise to the top...their ability to stay focused and perform at high levels despite the situation or circumstances.
Nique you're totally on point with that. Remember the Buffalo Bills of the 1990's? now there was a really really good team...who happened to lose 4 super bowls. who even remembers the players now?
when we support our children in sports, as parents we KNOW that it's important to pick them up emotionally when they're losing, or playing bad. I guess that lift becomes less significant when there's money on the line....
Funny you mention the Bills because once my dad and his friends were argueing about the Bills and my dad called them ####'s and said "You know how good you have to be to lose 4 super bowls? DAMN GOOD."
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In basketball the crowd rarely affects the starters on the road. Starters are starters because they are the most able to perform at a consistent level, including road trips. The road may affect the bench or role players to a noticebale degree. These same bench players find comfort in the support of the home crowd and play at a higher level.
