Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?
This thread was pretty much doomed from the beginning. However to toss in my two cents about it, because, why the hell not? lol And this may be lengthy, so I apologize in advance.
Honestly, I don't hate the Heat. Why? Because as a Bulls fan, I can sympathize with the amount of unwarranted attention the team gets. It's sensationalized in 2014 with the non-stop media onslaught we endure today, but it's in the same vein.
My issues lie with one, the way the team was constructed. Four years later, I've been waaaay over it, but I'm not a fan of the conspiring to form a team and it was heavily publicized that these guys had made this decision 2 years prior when they played together in China. And it makes sense, seeing they all structured their extensions to line up in 2010. I don't like that and to me, that is not how a team should come together IMO. Seems scripted and fabricated. There is nothing organic about the Heat in that sense. That is why I think this Finals is so great, because you have two organizations that couldn't be more different. On one hand, you have the Spurs who built their roster from essentially the ground up, through the draft and picking up role players along the way. Sort of a nod to the old school in that regard. Then on the other hand you have the Heat, that has a roster full of guys that all gathered in one place looking to accomplish the same thing. It works. Whether people like it or not, we need a polarizing team like the Heat to root against. It makes basketball more fun. Hell, it makes this forum more fun. If everyone liked each other, the league would be boring and no one would care. Yeah people get mad, people troll, and things like that, but for most, it's part of our passion for sports and wanting to see the underdog prosper. Just as people rooted against the Bulls for that very reason as well.
My other issue, and this is mainly a LeBron issue (although applies to a couple other players on their roster as well), is the way he conducts himself on the court. You can be arrogant and cocky. That is fine, because we like our superstar players to be that. But the sense of entitlement he possesses, the constant whining about what seems like every play when there may be contact, and the flopping around like a soccer player, to me is inexcusable as a superstar. As an ambassador of the game and seemingly the face of the NBA, you can't be promoting that type of on-court behavior. However, there is one thing you cannot knock and that is his work ethic and character as a human being. I respect the hell out of his game, and how he has developed himself into a complete basketball player. Now, was The Decision a bad choice? Yes, it was ****ing awful (brilliant from a marketing perspective, but in terms of showing some class to his former team/city/fans, not so much) but that doesn't erase all the good things this man has done in his community. The millions of dollars donated to charity. The countless foundations he supports and the one he has started. The guy genuinely cares about helping people, and that is admirable.
Everyone has their own reasons for not liking the Heat, but the reality is, the league needs them, or someone like them to root against. When it isn't the Heat, it will be someone else. And at the end of the day we need to remember, it's just basketball.
This thread was pretty much doomed from the beginning. However to toss in my two cents about it, because, why the hell not? lol And this may be lengthy, so I apologize in advance.
Honestly, I don't hate the Heat. Why? Because as a Bulls fan, I can sympathize with the amount of unwarranted attention the team gets. It's sensationalized in 2014 with the non-stop media onslaught we endure today, but it's in the same vein.
My issues lie with one, the way the team was constructed. Four years later, I've been waaaay over it, but I'm not a fan of the conspiring to form a team and it was heavily publicized that these guys had made this decision 2 years prior when they played together in China. And it makes sense, seeing they all structured their extensions to line up in 2010. I don't like that and to me, that is not how a team should come together IMO. Seems scripted and fabricated. There is nothing organic about the Heat in that sense. That is why I think this Finals is so great, because you have two organizations that couldn't be more different. On one hand, you have the Spurs who built their roster from essentially the ground up, through the draft and picking up role players along the way. Sort of a nod to the old school in that regard. Then on the other hand you have the Heat, that has a roster full of guys that all gathered in one place looking to accomplish the same thing. It works. Whether people like it or not, we need a polarizing team like the Heat to root against. It makes basketball more fun. Hell, it makes this forum more fun. If everyone liked each other, the league would be boring and no one would care. Yeah people get mad, people troll, and things like that, but for most, it's part of our passion for sports and wanting to see the underdog prosper. Just as people rooted against the Bulls for that very reason as well.
My other issue, and this is mainly a LeBron issue (although applies to a couple other players on their roster as well), is the way he conducts himself on the court. You can be arrogant and cocky. That is fine, because we like our superstar players to be that. But the sense of entitlement he possesses, the constant whining about what seems like every play when there may be contact, and the flopping around like a soccer player, to me is inexcusable as a superstar. As an ambassador of the game and seemingly the face of the NBA, you can't be promoting that type of on-court behavior. However, there is one thing you cannot knock and that is his work ethic and character as a human being. I respect the hell out of his game, and how he has developed himself into a complete basketball player. Now, was The Decision a bad choice? Yes, it was ****ing awful (brilliant from a marketing perspective, but in terms of showing some class to his former team/city/fans, not so much) but that doesn't erase all the good things this man has done in his community. The millions of dollars donated to charity. The countless foundations he supports and the one he has started. The guy genuinely cares about helping people, and that is admirable.
Everyone has their own reasons for not liking the Heat, but the reality is, the league needs them, or someone like them to root against. When it isn't the Heat, it will be someone else. And at the end of the day we need to remember, it's just basketball.
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