by WCT, The Ship of Fools
“Calling You Out!” is a periodic segment where WCT takes people to task for irresponsible journalism, foolhardy activities, or just general douchebaggery. Nothing is sacred, no one is spared, watch your ass mister! You could be next!
Today - A group of utterly classless fans
Those that know me, know that when it comes to the NBA, I am partial to the Cleveland Cavs. No, I did not jump on the bandwagon during the "LeBron James Renaissance," I have (unfortunately) been cheering for the Cavs since the days of Mark Price, Craig Ehlo, and Hot Rod Williams, back at the old Richfield Coliseum. So in terms of the Eastern Conference, that's where my loyalty lies. In terms of the Western Conference, I have just been watching as a casual fan. But now I know who I will be cheering against.
First lets take a step back. Without a doubt, the story of last season's Western Conference playoffs was the emotional roller coaster endured by then-Jazz guard Derek Fisher. During the second-round, Fisher was forced to leave the team to be with his infant daughter, who had been diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer. After his daughter's condition improved to the point where her life was no longer in immediate danger, Fisher left his family, flew back to Salt Lake City, came directly to the arena, rejoined the team in the middle of a game, and hit a key 3-pointer in an overtime win.
During the off-season, it was determined that Fisher's daughter would need more treatment to fight her cancer, and Utah simply did not have the facilities that she needed. With that, Fisher asked Utah management to let him out of his contract so that he could go to a team in a bigger market with better medical facilities. As a result, he returned to the Lakers last summer, and his daughter began taking treatment in L.A.
So how did Utah Jazz fans respond, when Fisher returned to Utah (coincidentally, exactly a year to the day from his heroic return in the '07 playoffs) with the Lakers for game 3 of this year's Western Conference Semis? They booed him. They booed him when his name was announced with the starting lineups, they booed him when he was on the free throw line, and they booed him the first few times he touched the ball early in the game. Nice.
So I don't know about you, but for the foreseeable future, I will be cheering against the Utah Jazz. Not because of anyone on the team (although I'm not crazy about Carlos Boozer, but that's a whole other story), but because I think their classless, callous fans don't deserve to have a winner. I'm not saying that they have to give the guy a standing ovation every time he scratches his butt, but would it kill them to boo the other 11 Lakers and just sort of give Fisher a pass?
Monday, May 12, 2008
CALLING YOU OUT! - UTAH JAZZ FANS
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7 comment(s):
Jazz Fan thinks he orchestrated the whole thing to get out of Salt Lake.
Jazz Fan also, for the most part, thinks that wearing special underwear will keep you out of Hell, and that baptizing your dead ancestors will also save them from the Eternal Pit.
Jazz Fan Has Issues.
First of all, dmtshooter, we're talking basketball, not Mormonism. And now for the point, directed at the author of this posting; Fisher didn't want to be in Utah. Fisher told the Jazz organization that the medical help that he needed was in New York. Come to find out, Fisher already had a deal set with L.A.....on the opposite end of the country of New York. The surgury was completed in the summer, and Tatum has monthly visits....where?....New York. So tell me, why would Fish want to fly from L.A. to New York instead of Utah to New York? Because he is a shady, lying, dishonest human being who deserves to be boo'd, EVERY time he steps a foot in our arena. This is not his home, and he betrayed us (which I must say did an unbelievable amount of good for our youth). The relocation only moved Fisher farther away from the medical help that he needed for his daughter. By the way, we have one of the top children's hospitals/cancer research hospitals in the nation, right here in Salt Lake City.
Jason S., I love to know where you got this information, because evry word of it is new to me and I've read a few articles on Fisher and this ugly situation. I'd love to see a link if possible. I'm not saying you are lying, but if you pulled this fr5om the rumor mill off some Jazz fan blog, I'd say you need to check your sources before trahing Mr. Fisher.
its a game. are we supposed to cheer when an opposing player scores? gee-whiz that would sure be nice of fans wouldn't it! maybe we could all go out for ice cream after each game and discuss getting a pedicure.
fans that don't boo are soft and need to have a gut check. Fisher is great, but now that he is on an enemy team (any team that plays the jazz) he should be booed. furthermore he is a pro-athlete and should have a thicker skin to this sort of thing - especially since he is a veteran of what, 12-years?
clean the sand outta your cracks and relax... or i'll boo you too.
for the record:
fisher was flying to NY for his daughters treatment. it was stated he needed to move to a team closer to NY while he was transitioning out of a UTAH jersey. then less than a week or so later, he's a LAKER. the misinformation that was being leaked by the media led to his demise in the fan's eyes.
I remember when the Golden state series was going on when he arrived at halftime for the game, the announcers stated "he just flew in from NY from his daughter's cancer treatement."
now, LA does have a direct to NY flight that is non-stop whereas Utah doesn't so i'll buy into that. bottom line: Utah came out on top with his leaving, we got cap space and had more opportunity to put money towards the future.
good luck D-Fish!
You're right jared ray conger--This IS just a game....That's why fans need to take it upon themselves to show some humanity and restraint for someone who by all accounts (outside of Utah) is a well respected player. Utah fans don't boo him because he's on an opposing team, otherwise we'd hear every laker player getting booed. Thet boo him because they feel deceived, and that just may not be the case. So given his track record as a positive role model in the league, maybe Utah fans should stop acting like an angry mob, drop their pitch forks and torches, and get over it! Boo Kobe instead of focusing attention on a role player.
Fighting Irishman;
I've received my information off of local sports radio. They have inside information and discuss information such as this with the owner himself on Thursdays at 5. There has been articles written in Utah newspapers on the issue as well. Everyone knew his doctor was in New York. As a wise man posted earlier in this forum, Fish flew in from New York for that game two victory against Golden State last year.
I'm surprised to hear that you didn't know the full story, and it's obvious that the author of this post didn't know the full story; or he is just ignorant.
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