Something strange occured while the nation attacked the Spurs on everything from dirty play, flopping, and destruction of the NBA and Western civilization as we know it.
Spurs fans got a taste of being the bad guy. And you know what? I kind of like it. After years of criticism for being too soft to be a dynasty its a little funny our silver and black would be associated with the Raiders black and silver.
While I suppose it would be good to show some class and look the other way, might as well revel in rooting for a team hated by every other fan base in the league--Especially Suns fans. If you're still reading just know your team still sucks, your coach is fired, and Amare and Boris still got of the bench on their own.
With all that being said, I give you--in no particular order--the top 10 reason a good chunk of New Orleans fans are #### bags.
1.) Bandwagoners. Going into the season it was obvious Chris Paul was amongst the most electric players in the NBA and a top flight point guard. Did that stir excitement? No. New Orleans still ranked towards the bottom of the league in attendance until after the All- Star break when a playoff spot was secured.
2.) A continuation of take one. New Orleans has now shown shaky support for two of the most exciting players in NBA history, so what's to make people think its going to change? New Orleans should still be the Jazz. Instead they banished LSU icon Pistol Pete to Utah.
3.) In a town of voodoo and superstition, why would you change up something that was working? Where were the yellow shirts? The change to white was just bad karma all over it.
4.) For a couple of days Hornets fans and Suns fans were one and the same over Robert Horry. While the Spurs victory will last only until the next series, all the YouTube shots of Horry and Bowen the past two years will last forever.
5.) Speaking of YouTube, reason five is New Orleans' media. Putting a byline and credit over a blog that just takes YouTube clips and puts them on a page. That's just horrible journalism.
6.) Because Robert Horry hit more than David West's back. Those threes were big.
7.) Refusal to take blame. It was the refs fault in San Antonio and somehow Robert Horry's fault in the grand scheme of things. A rule of thumb, you can't blame the President for something as complex as the levies when you can't handle something as simple as a mascot routine.
8.) For David West looking like someone pooed in his cereal the entire series. Smile guy.
9.) Throwing ice onto the floor. Real mature. [And yes, I know chanting Robert Horry while West is writhing in pain is also. I don't condone it. Am saddened by it. But F-- it. You want a villain now Spurs fans are more than happy to oblige].
10.) Woooooo. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. Woooooo. Wooooooo. Woooooo. Woooooo. Nothing's lamer than coming up with an unoriginal chant for a player scoring just to try and get the home crowd involved. Woooo. Woooooo. Wooooo. Wooooo. Wooooo. Wooooo. I'm not sure why everyone wanted the Hornets to advance. Wooooo. Wooo.
P.S. Nah, you're right. I probably will show some class. If you've read anything I've ever written here it's easy to see what I'm being serious about and what I'm just saying to get a laugh or get a rise out of someone.
There were some great fans. The good people of hornets247.com are a great example of a website who do their basketball better than any other fan site.
That being said, this post is just a week of frustration from having a team verbally abused by fans and media alike. It was a good series. Exciting basketball. Chris Paul is freaking unbelievable.
Woooooo is still a-a-a-a-a-a-annoying. A final four with Woooooo and B-b-b-b-b-illups would have made me shoot myself.
Will get back to being serious for Lakers-Spurs series.
You will not get a rise out of this Hornets fan that you are so despratly looking for. Congrats to you Spurs.
I have just two things to say about your 10 list here. The wooooooo is because Ric Flair is from Charlotte and a friend of George Shinn. I'm sure you seen he was at each Hornets home game.
The ice thing never came from any Hornets fan. When Chandler sat down he knocked a cup out of a Hornets players hand. It was an accident but I guess you was to busy thinking up this post if your team won to hear what realy happened.
I post on your blog all the time and I congratulate the Spurs although I am a Laker fan and expect this series to go 7 with no idea who will win. But be nice.
Ublani, as a Spurs fan, I understand your frustration with the attacks on the everything that has to do with the Spurs during the last few days. But I think you are a little hard on the Hornets fans. You should get your facts straight though, like the ice thing. Didn't you hear the explanation on the TV? If you are going to go into journalism, you have to catch these kinds of things.
By the way, were you anywhere nearby during the fire?
Actually, missed the first half while I was covering a city council meeting.
I know the story behind the Wooooo. That doesn't make the chant any better.
Don't take the post seriously. I'll get what I want out of it for the next day or two--mainly reaction--and then I'll delete it forver and come back Wednesday morning with a well thought out analysis of the Spurs-Lakers series.
In fact, my last two posts have been anything but what I usually do. Just a way to get fans who have been complaining for two whole series a small slap to the face.
In reality, Chris Paul is a great point guard. I enjoy watching him because I know my team will have to rise to the occassion just to beat him. Same with Kobe.
And despite my respect for a few, New Orleans fans are still suspect. It's going to take a while for me to get over losing Pistol freaking Pete. Then Baron Davis. And I'm not sold you'll stick behind Chris Paul. If you do, God bless.
Spurcse: What fire you talking about? The ring of fire or the one that engulfed my alma mater? If it's at the latter I was on my way to play a basketball game when the fire broke out.
I arrived at OLLU at the same time the first fire truck did. I stayed and watched the entire night as the main building burned. I hugged a nun, whose office was lost. Right now I'm helping my journalism professor get things going back at our school paper, the Lake Front, where I got my own start.
And just so you don't think I'm completely bagging on New Orleans. I had a teammate on the basketball team who was displaced by the hurricane. Good guy. Great sense of humor. At the free throw line he had a cheering section that held up a sign that said sink it New Orleans. I wrote a feature on my teammate, it's in one of my earliest posts.
I also met a couple great people at journalism conventions there. Great writers. Much better than the garbage on NOLA.com and much better than what I present here on this blog.
And I am in journalism. I'm a news reporter [I interned at the Express-News in the sports department but jumped departments when the guy who interned before me got the last staff job on my first day].
My advice to anyone who wants to follow: save up money now because they sure as hell don't pay enough when you start out. Don't read this blog: this is my dessert after hours a day doing research and covering news.
3.) In a town of voodoo and superstition, why would you change up something that was working? Where were the yellow shirts? The change to white was just bad karma all over it.
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basically you didn't need a top ten. if this act alone doesn't prove beyond a reason of a doubt that hornets fans are dooshbags, then i don't know what does.
I was talking about the fire at OLLU. I watched it on TV and was just sick. I was glad they were able to at least save the facade. That is one beautiful building.
Sadly, and to be honest with you, maybe it's for the best. As a university, OLLU had been sliding since 1999 and was on the verge of collapsing as an organization. Attendance has been down and the school itself was becoming an afterthought.
If they play there cards right, they can use this to rebuild not only the building, but their standing within the city. Not to mention revitalizing their alumni base.
A playoff spot was not even NEARLY secured around the All-Star break, and the Hornets had been pitiful since they arrived in NO, and the only time they were decent was in front of Oklahomans. Plus I think the people of New Orleans have been worrying about more important things, and I don't care what you say the majority of fans (including many of your "loyal" fellow Spurs fans) are bandwagon fans. Maybe not you, but loyalty to the Spurs will last as many years after the last championship as total championships won in recent memory...Give it four years of futility and the Spurs will play in front of an empty house, and you will be sitting in the upper deck with a paper bag over your head watching Chris Paul go for 40 and 20, while yellow shirts will be scattered throughout the arena.
'Fraid not. True, NO may have other things to worry about but that wasn't the case back when they had Pistol Pete. There will be no paper bag over my head while I watch Chris Paul go for 40 and 20 because he's too amazing to let anything remotely obstruct my view.
As far as futility, Tony Parker is an elite--if slightly under Paul--point guard in this league and only 26. Throw in Duncan at an All-Star level for at minimum another 3 to 5 years and the Spurs aren't going anywhere.
Whatever happens in the next series or two, just remember. We're in better position to reload than you are. Next year we get European standout Tiago Splitter and D-League standout Ian Mahinnini. Not to mention cap space next year to add a free agent or two.
While I have nothing to say about West or Paul, enjoy Peja eating up your cap space.
I was not in any way saying the Spurs were going to fade into futility I was speaking hypothetically. My point is, not every city enjoys a perennial playoff team like San Antonio, it is easy to be loyal when you know your team is a contender at the start of EVERY year. What if Mbenga takes out Timmy and ends his career than what? Parker is good but not great, he will need someone to replace Duncan as far as being effective on the pick-and-roll which is where he does the most damage with his mid-range. I dont wish anything bad on the Spurs, just be careful not to be too hard on everyone else. I am not a New Orleans fan personally. I am a truly loyal Miami homer. I still watch the Heat, Phins, Marlins, and Panthers even when they blow. All I know is when they win it's that much more special. I get you were just joking, I just think it is unfair to bash on them. They are all Saints (pun intended) next to Jazz fans who ironically root for New Orleans' reject of a team.
ublanj
In every contest that takes someone'll be made out to be the hero. And offcourse there's got to be a villain.
What'll no doubt grate on some people's minds are the fact that not every team out there is liable to play like they're out for the kill. A lot of the problems we've seen throughout the series stems from the ref's interpretation of the rules and how they actually define it.
They continue to be consistently inconsistent so is it any wonder that some fans are just plained miffed at a lot of their decisions ?
rampant' aka tophatal ..........
Last edited by rampantfanatic on May 20th at 2:20 PM.
I am a 5th year senior at Our Lady of the Lake University. I changed my major from art to journalism (which explains why I'm taking an extra year) half way through. Sports are my thing, play as often as I can. Would be pretty good in fact if it weren't for the fact that I have little athletic ability. Seriously, my vertical leap is tip-toe. So, I decided to try and break into sports journalism, which is hard to do at a university with no sports program. Well, we play community colleges and get blown out all the time, but that's another story.
