And so, it is done. Another basketball season has come to a close with the Miami Heat raising another trophy and LeBron James fitting himself for another ring. These were an NBA Finals for the ages with unfortunately, one team having to be the loser… that being the San Antonio Spurs.
Aside from being thoroughly entertained by these playoffs, I actually learned something this year.
I was under the impression that most basketball fans were rooting for the Miami Heat. Maybe it’s because I live in Florida (where there are still plenty of Heat haters afloat) but I just assumed that much of the resentment surrounding LeBron’s “Decision,” his subsequent Clevelabandonment and his overwhelming desire to play alongside his BFF had subsided.
I was wrong.
The majority of fans around the nation were rooting for San Antonio. While both teams are likeable in their own right, with all-time talents and several sure-fire Hall of Famers, most still wanted to see the Heat go down in flames.
So to celebrate my wrongness, I’m hosting a little hate hate hate hate hate contest.
As Clayton Bigsby once told us, if you have hate in your heart, let it out. In the comments section below, if you hate the Miami Heat, please tell me why, in 250 words or less. If you like the Heat but understand why others are repulsed by them, please do the same.
The commenter with the most prolific and sound entry will receive not only a hate-free, SportsChump t-shirt to call their own but a brand new copy of Craig Carton’s “Loudmouth.”
As I am my own editor, please note that I will account negatively for run-ons, incomplete sentences and misspellings and look favorably on originality. Profanity is permitted. After all, we’re all grown-ups here. However, I can assure you that simply saying “I fucking hate LeBron James” will not win you a fucking SportsChump t-shirt.
Best of luck, sports fans. Break out your thesauruses and let the hate commence.
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All right. Here it is. Why do I hate the Miami Heat? There are many different reasons, from Lebron James to Pat Riley. First of all, I don’t care for the way this Heat team came together. For me, its okay to build a team through trades, the draft and signing free agents, but when a couple of superstar assholes get together and decide where they’re going to play, it throws the whole balance of power out of whack. Its as bad as when some super sized ego in the league (Dwight Howard) tells the team owner that he doesn’t want to play for a particular coach and demands that the coach be fired. Shit like that doesn’t happen in the real business world. So I despise Lebron James for how he orchestrated this whole deal and Pat Riley for how its perceived he pulled the strings of these clowns from behind the scenes. As you’ve pointed out how many more people hate the Heat than you thought, this is precisely why Lebron James doesn’t have and never will have the kind of commercial endorsements that Michael Jordan had and still has. PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE HIM! And we thought it was because he was butt ugly.
Snake….
Here’s some devilish advocate for ya.
Superstars getting together? You mean like KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen?
Or players getting coaches fired? Like Magic and Paul Westhead?
It’s unfair to compare professional sports to the real business world. We’re all expendable despite what we bring to our particular company. We’re replaceable. Guys like LeBron who, as Liam Neeson once put it, have a very particular set of skills. A franchise like Cleveland loses a guy like LeBron and it loses half its value as he walks out the door. That’s not LeBron’s fault. It’s no one’s fault really. That’s just the way it is.
It wasn’t all that long ago that the NBA decided to market the individual athlete over the team. It worked for a while. Now we’re starting to see a little backlash, wouldn’t you say?
KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen? That’s total bullshit and should be beneath you. KG And Ray Allen came to the Celtics via trades. Magic/Westhead? Definitely like Howard/Van Gundy. I never said that Magic wasn’t an asshole. Proof that you’re wrong about the business aspect of sports? Don’t all of the players keep spouting that “its just a business” when they get traded? All of this shit gets put on the desk of the commissioner going back to Jordan, for making the game about the player and not the team. FUCK STERN! I hope Adam Silver is better, but even more so, I hope the owners select a different commissioner rather than a clone of Stern.
Regardless of how it happened, Snake, it still happened. Via trade or free agency, those guys all wanted to play together, just like LeBron and Wade. I don’t fault them for that just like I don’t fault Ray Ray for wanting to play in Miami for one last shot at a championship. If you had a better offer from another company, with better benefits and a greater chance at success, working with people you’d rather work for and with, wouldn’t you take it?
I’m interested in seeing how Stern handles the rest of the Clippers deal when KG’s and Pierce’s names resurface. Do you think they’re all just hoping he kind of forgets about it? Like, oh, it’s been two weeks, there’s no way this deal could be related to the one that just sent Doc out west. Approved!
He’s rich, famous, and tall.
What’s not to hate?
KG & PP will stay and play in Boston, maybe as co-coaches.
And once again, you missed the point. There was no collusion between Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
heat hate haiku:
Lebron’s obnoxious
Ray Allen’s smirk is the worst
But damn they are good
Chris
The balance of power is now in the hands of the players and there is not a damn thing that the consumer or league hierarchy can do about it . That is my take on it all , in terms of superstar players getting together to fulfill a life`s ambition .
Kudos to Miami and may their reign be as long as they want . In the end , it could end up doing more harm to the NBA than good .
The Miami Heat are already seen as persona-non-grata in a number of circles and the NBA`s answer to The Evil Empire (New York Yankees) .
Ex NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter is seeking to sue te players union for wrongful dismissal and is said to be looking for monetary damages in excess of $ 5 million . Did I miss something there ?
Was it not Hunter who squired in members of his family as employees , who would then remove tens of thousands of dollars from union finances without the executive committee`s approval ?
tophatal ………………..
Aer…
We may have a winner… in ten words or less.
Snake…
There’s a fine line between collusion and not. Do you mean to tell me that Paul Pierce didn’t pick up a phone, call KG and Ray Ray and suggest they all play together? I’m pretty sure that happened.
Of course, that can’t happen now because KG doesn’t have Ray Allen’s number in his phone any more.
http://sportschump.net/2012/10/01/kevin-garnett-updates-facebook-status-to-%E2%80%9Cno-longer-in-a-relationship%E2%80%9D/10217/
SD….
Someone’s been listening to a little too much Jim Rome… or reading a little too much poetry.
Saw that you called. Call ya’ back in a bit.
I hate the Heat because stubborn Shaq got in shape for them and not for the Lakers…Wait…Wrong Heat title.
I hate the Heat not because of the collection of talent, but for how it came together. The Decision was anything but. LeBron told Cleveland that they were his first choice all along and that they would have first crack at retaining his services. That was lip service. He knew all along that he intended to take his talents to “Sowf Beech”.
The sideshow that followed was the NBA version of premature ejaculation. The site of the three stars celebrating on stage complete with flames, posturing and predictions of, “…Not five, not six, not seven championships” was stomach turning. Win something before gloating.
They have since delivered on a fraction of the titles promised but have a long way to go before living up to that level of hype.
I do think that these two titles justify LeBron bolting Cleveland as it solidifies his legacy as an all time great. That most likely would not have happened in a Cavs uniform.
Winning back to back rings is impressive no matter the era. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. This Heat squad is very good, but it will take at least another title to be considered great in my book…And another 3-5 to back up the prediction made on that stage.
They have gone to three straight Finals, but lost one and escaped another. They are not as great as they think they are. Injuries to the rest of the league helped them…Not their fault mind you, but relevant. They are not dominant, just better than most. They still have some proving to do to earn the great label. I’d take most other back to back NBA winning squads over them. Detroit in 89-90, Houston in 93-94 and of course Da 90’s Bulls and Lakers of the 80’s and the 2000’s.
Huck the Feat.
All valid points as usual, Bleed.
I wouldn’t consider this Heat team great by any stretch. Good yes. Great no, at least not yet.
They did have that winning streak, which in retrospect, may have been more impressive than their back to back titles.
Teams like Indiana and San Antonio gave them all they wanted and not taking anything away from those teams, it just seemed like the Heat weren’t playing all that intensely against ’em. They certainly weren’t as disciplined and that’s one thing championship teams like Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Boston and L.A. were back in the day when they were running things.
The East is gonna be a lot better next year with another year under Indy’s belt and a healthy Chicago team. Miami will make off-season adjustments, I’m assuming. They’ll need to to keep up with the joneses.
My Heat hate will take much, much less than 250 words.
*ahem*
Jordan will always be better.
/rant
Well look who stopped by to say Hi.
What’s up, JP?
Look, isn’t it about time we stopped comparing people to Jordan? It’s totally unfair. I mean from Harold Miner to Grant Hill to Kobe Bryant to LeBron, no one has and no one will be the next Michael Jordan.
Jordan’s career was story book. The UNC game-winner, the battles against the Pistons, the slam dunk championships, the retirement, the comeback, Space Jam (which was on cable and I watched last night, yes, total geek), I mean, nobody can possibly mirror that career.
It’s what makes Jordan the best.
LeBron is incredibly talented and in my mind, already one of the top ten players to ever play the game yet along with his four MVPs, and perhaps more to come, he also has two finals losses.
I just think it’s time we stop the comparisons and enjoy watching him for what he is right now, which is the best player the game has to offer.
You still don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Let me take you back to 2007. Ainge wanted to trade for KG. Garnett didn’t want to come to Boston. Then, after Ainge traded the #5 pick (Jeff Green) and other players to the Sonics for Ray Allen, did KG finally agree to the trade. That’s a lot different than Lebron getting together with Wade and that other douchebag Bosh and deciding that they would play together. If you can’t see that, either you need glasses or you shouldn’t be wasting your time with this so called sports column. Just stick to your night job pouring drinks. I know you think that you’re clever and funny but you’re really not. Just speaking for myself, I’m not impressed and I certainly don’t worship at your feet. Actually, I don’t know why I’ve stuck around so long because you have a very insulting way about you that turns me off. I won’t b
I won’t be one of your sycophants.
Interesting, Snake.
I thought we were friends first and foremost. I didn’t mean to offend you and I’m not sure why you’re so upset.
All I’m saying is that the sport has changed, for better or for worse. I don’t know any of these guys nor do I pretend to or want to. I’m just an observer and a fan. We can either accept it for what it is or choose not to watch.
I’m sorry to have lost a reader and a friend.
And please, people, I don’t pretend to know everything. I’ve been corrected before and readily admit to it.
I don’t think I’ve ever talked down to or condescended anyone.
More than anything, this is a forum for me to express myself and for us to interchange ideas.
Nothing more.
I know I can’t do this in 250 words or less but here goes….
In my colleges days I spent absurd amounts of time playing pick up basketball. Far more time than I spent in class and far less than I spent drinking beer and chasing girls. It seems like every spring, after the college basketball season was over, a few of the college players would show up and grace us with their presence by showing up and calling “next”, ignoring the rules and the unwritten etiquette of pick up basketball, pick up a couple scrubs from the bystanders and basically say “The three of us and any other two players are better than you guys”. In those days, I was in much better shape and I, along with many of the guys I played with, could have played at some small colleges or gone the junior college route. So, with our wounded pride and average skills, we would try our hardest to keep them from running the court for game after game. In most cases it was a one and done for them. They would quickly leave while loudly commenting on how they weren’t really even trying or how we got “lucky”. The losses may have come because, ironically, they couldn’t grasp the fact that basketball is a team game and would completely ignore the two scrubs they abducted from the sidelines but I am pretty sure it was because their arrogance pissed us off and we played harder because of it.
What should you get from that story and why do people hate the Heat? Nobody likes a bunch of arrogant assholes… Nobody likes to feel they aren’t good enough, or in this case there team isn’t good enough and the Heat violated the unwritten etiquette of basketball by trying to do things the easy way… and then rubbing everyone’s face in it.
Or…. if that’s too long. Go Spurs Go!
He he…
Very nicely done, Fabes.
The Heat are imbeciles…nuff said.
Now give me the gear!
C’mon, Jedly. I know you can do better than that.
Poppa – why I hate the fucking Heat…in 250?
Most NBA players never make it to the Finals, even fewer win ONE championship, and these three amigos get up on stage and promise a fucking sevenpeat when they haven’t even laced their sneaks – GTFO (get the f out if ur wondering). The great teams all did it through the draft or trades – mofo’s ain’t three-peating next season coz basketball jones is dribblin’ in Chi-town – Gimme two steps cause three is travelling….
That ain’t bad, dude. Not bad at all.
Considering you already took all my Poppa Jays t-shirts, what’s a SportsChump t-shirt to add to your collection, right?
Between New Jersey (er… Brooklyn), Chicago and Miami, next year in the East should be a real dog fight. Woof!