Forget title chasing......go back to being fun

[HawkItus]

As a long time Atlanta fan I remember the best years of sports in this town like old girl friends.

 

1991-1995 Braves

1985-1992 Hawks

1998- Falcons

Vick era

2014-2015 Hawks

2016 Falcons

 

Thing is people think these seasons were about the winning.  It was.  But, even though most of these teams did not win titles fans would gladly live these seasons over again.  Why?  These teams were fun.   They were a hot ticket and appointment TV.   Everyone had the shirts and the hats.  The media couldn't get enough of us.  Even in a loss you walked away happy to be a fan of these teams.   Ressler needs to win a title at some point and the sooner the better.  But, if I could meet with him I would tell him not tank.   Entertain this city and we will fill your coffers and adore your team.   Atlanta isn't Boston or Chicago.  We are glitzy cars, new Jordans, and stylized cheese burgers.   Make the Hawks fun again.

Edited June 1, 2017 by HawkItus

[Guest]

 

 

 

.............................................................can't we have both.

[HawkItus]

7 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

 

.............................................................can't we have both.

Hopefully we can, but the title chase leads teams to break up teams that are winning, but just aren't champions.  Especially in the NBA.   I saw it with Jordan.  We did it trying to beat the Pistons.  The Warriors were an ideal before they became an idolized franchise.   Win the hearts first.

[bird_dirt]

BRING BACK JOSH SMITH!!!

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.

.

Right?! Right?!

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.

....no?....

.

.

ok. nevermind.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Good post.  

One of the things people never consider when talking about "building championship level" teams, is that not many people are going to shell out $40 - $200 a game to see a bad product during a bottom out type of rebuild.  Only your die hards and people with a large amount of disposable income with nothing to do, are going to be at most games ( until a superstar comes to town ).

With all of that young talent, the T-Wolves were 29th in attendance this season.

The Hawks losing a ton of home games this year, made that ticket somewhat undesirable, which is why we finished 26th in attendance.

 

Yes, the goal for teams SHOULD be to win a championship.  But all of these teams are chasing titles.  Some, if not most of them, are also worried about the bottom line.  And if they can't put a good or entertaining enough product out on the floor, people will not come to see them.

Bud has to let the kids play.  He finally took the leash off of Prince.  It's time to do it with Bembry too.  Give him the minutes and let's see what he and Prince as a tandem can do.   Hardaway Jr was definitely entertaining to watch at times this year, especially when he got hot.  And maybe Dennis can add some "hot dog" to his game, to make the crowd go "oooooooooo".   Atlanta loved the Jamal Crawford crossovers and the Josh Smith transition dunks.

 

So I agree.  If you aren't chasing titles, at least put an enjoyable product out on the floor.

[Lurker]

It'd help to not get names just to get names....wait s***.

That's one thing I've said though, if you're not going to win it all, if you're not going to be "fun" then it doesn't attract people.

[hawkman]

1 hour ago, bird_dirt said:

BRING BACK JOSH SMITH!!!

.

.

.

Right?! Right?!

.

.

....no?....

.

.

ok. nevermind.

Honestly, this team could use some 'athletic arrogance'. This is ATL not Utah and this is entertainment after all. If you're not going to win championships give me a Vick, 'Nique, or even Smoove all day every day. At least entertain us while we're on the treadmill.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Good post.  

One of the things people never consider when talking about "building championship level" teams, is that not many people are going to shell out $40 - $200 a game to see a bad product during a bottom out type of rebuild.  Only your die hards and people with a large amount of disposable income with nothing to do, are going to be at most games.

That's me all the way. My entertainment dollars are few, so including food, parking, a visit to the gift shop - I at least want to know that the team I'm rooting for at that game has a chance to win.

[Peoriabird]

Excellent thread...This is exactly my sentiment! It's not always about Championships.  IF you didn't enjoy the Falcons last year because they didn't win the Superbowl then you definitely need to move because Atlanta is not title town..But the sports teams have been great entertainment!

[AHF]

1 hour ago, Peoriabird said:

Excellent thread...This is exactly my sentiment! It's not always about Championships.  IF you didn't enjoy the Falcons last year because they didn't win the Superbowl then you definitely need to move because Atlanta is not title town..But the sports teams have been great entertainment!

I loved seeing that Falcons were committed to being real contenders for a title and watching them make that happen.  It was a joy to be a legit threat even if we had a combination of bad luck and self-inflicted wounds that kept us from the ring.

[GameTime]

I agree lets go back to elite ball movement and shooting. 14-15 Hawks were one of the funnest teams i've been a fan of, even with the underwhelming EC Finals series.

[bleachkit]

I am not in favor of tanking. The only upside to tanking is high draft packs, which are a crap shoot in of itself. And we are not going to be bad enough. Even If you royally suck, there are going to be 4 or 5 teams that are even worse. Is it worth it to be really to bad to get some mediocre college combo guard with the 6th pick? 

[CP61]

2 hours ago, AHF said:

I loved seeing that Falcons were committed to being real contenders for a title and watching them make that happen.  It was a joy to be a legit threat even if we had a combination of bad luck and self-inflicted wounds that kept us from the ring.

This. I enjoyed it more than the usual season because we were contenders.  Contention is fun. Watching a season knowing it's pointless isn't as fun. Either a championship or a top pick. The Hawks have never been that fun except for the one seed year. Always chase championships.

[macdaddy]

I think fans, especially Atlanta fans, love real contenders or underdogs.   What sucks is fake contenders and we've had a lot of that.    91-96 braves started as underdogs and quickly became real contenders.   after 96, braves fans started to take heat for being spoiled but the truth is that fans could see that a lot of those teams weren't real contenders.  Pitching won us a lot of games but we didn't have enough quality hitting to produce in the postseason.

Smitty/Mooke years were awesome because they maintained that underdog mentality almost the whole time.   They played hard and were often outmatched talent wise.  That was fun stuff.   

2 years ago that Hawks team was really good.   Sure it was a long shot to get past cleveland but we could have if it wasn't for 2 issues.  Our health and the Cavs acquiring Shump, JR, and mozgov midseason.   So I don't consider that team a pretender.   It was a one and done though.  Still exciting.  

[StrayDogThaGawd]

On 6/1/2017 at 10:53 AM, HawkItus said:

As a long time Atlanta fan I remember the best years of sports in this town like old girl friends.

 

1991-1995 Braves

1985-1992 Hawks

1998- Falcons

Vick era

2006-2007 Thrashers

2014-2015 Hawks

2016 Falcons

Exciting times at Philips.  Still my favorite experience as a sports fan, and Nashville probably feels the same right now.

[thecampster]

On 6/1/2017 at 1:29 PM, bird_dirt said:

BRING BACK JOSH SMITH!!!

.

.

.

Right?! Right?!

.

.

....no?....

.

.

ok. nevermind.

I still miss Josh. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

On 6/1/2017 at 0:37 PM, Lurker said:

It'd help to not get names just to get names....wait s***.

That's one thing I've said though, if you're not going to win it all, if you're not going to be "fun" then it doesn't attract people.

One of the most exciting Hawk plays this season was this

 

On 6/2/2017 at 3:34 PM, StrayDogThaGawd said:

Exciting times at Philips.  Still my favorite experience as a sports fan, and Nashville probably feels the same right now.

I'm leaving work early today so I can be in Nashville tonight.  That city is on FIRE.   Honestly, all of Middle Tennessee is on fire for that Predators team.  When Black people start wearing hockey jerseys and watching the games, you know the bandwagon effect has taken place.  

It helps that P.K. Subban is the unofficial face of the franchise too, because he has that swagger to him and is funny as hell.  Everybody loves that dude in Tennessee.  And I think he likes the minimal amount of pressure in Nashville, compared to Montreal, which is basically the equivalent of Celtics in the NBA.

It may as well be New Year's Eve in Nashville today.  Country concert right outside the arena.  News media all over the place.  Police blocking off roads.   Thousands downtown RIGHT NOW as I type this ( 4 pm . . . 3 hrs before the game ).  And if the Preds win, the atmosphere is going to be electric afterwards.  I want to be a part of that, even if they don't end up winning it all.

It wasn't even that hype for the Tennessee Titans, when they went to the Super Bowl back in 2000.  And that was fun as well.

 

Speaking of P.K., that's why I kind of wish Bud just stop trying to control Dennis, and let him do what he does.  Like it or not, he is ( or should be ) the face of the team now.  He's the one that is the main cheerleader when he's on the bench ( even more than Baze ).  He's the guy willing to take on the burden of being "the man".  He's the guy that from Day One, has never been timid or scared ( unlike our last point guard ).

The gold car.  The flashy style.  Dennis, for all intents and purposes, IS ATLANTA.

Time to start promoting him as such.  Maybe the city will get behind him and make at least the home games fun again.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 minute ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

One of the most exciting Hawk plays this season was this

 

My bad.  Wrong clip.  It was this game vs Houston at home.   Watch the crowd.

 

[Lurker]

You got me, but lobs can be caught by almost anyone. That game and Cleveland blowing a 26 point lead, I will remember forever.

it does not really overcome those lackluster efforts, but you got me, those two games will stick for a long time in my brain.

[Lurker]

4 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Speaking of P.K., that's why I kind of wish Bud just stop trying to control Dennis, and let him do what he does.  Like it or not, he is ( or should be ) the face of the team now.  He's the one that is the main cheerleader when he's on the bench ( even more than Baze ).  He's the guy willing to take on the burden of being "the man".  He's the guy that from Day One, has never been timid or scared ( unlike our last point guard ).

The gold car.  The flashy style.  Dennis, for all intents and purposes, IS ATLANTA.

Time to start promoting him as such.  Maybe the city will get behind him and make at least the home games fun again.

As long as Dwight is here, the chance of Atlanta fans (at least the dumb ones) getting behind Dennis is at 0% because most will spend a lot of time being angry at him for not getting Dwight involved more.

But now on another subject, you brought up a good point with what I was trying to talk about, that KB21 basically skipped around. KB21 has been crying that any prospect that wasn't brought up through “AAU culture” is better just because of it. I'm sorry, and I'm a goody goody two shoes young adult so I can't really relate too well, but that's just not true.

I'll even expand it to a bit younger. 16-24 year olds are going to be 16-24 year olds if they are in America or Antarctica. All of them are going to do things that older adults are going to shake their heads at. I remember I started out at a Christian college and with a group I was sitting with, I heard about them drinking and partying off campus, ffs. That'd be normal elsewhere, but at a CHRISTIAN college (and I think it happened more than just with “this group”)?

(I am a Christian but a fairly mild one, and I didn't feel like I fit in there ultimately)

But anyway, I do not think the older fans in Atlanta (and those that route for Atlanta sports) can relate with Dennis. I can and I bet the younger generation, which probably should be targeted anyway mostly can. The swagger that he held won me over quickly, even though I do criticize him at times.