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this is a response to CB Jack's post below about Carlos Boozer
I, too, read the guest post over at SLCdunk about Boozer (and also may have been a little mean with the "you are ignorant" comment). I must agree with the guest poster. This is not to say that I am not frustrated with the situation, I am. I am pissed that the first MRI didn't see the loose cartilage, I am pissed that Briggs burned his knee, delaying the surgery, I am pissed that he's going to be out for another month. Boozer is a great player who, despite what people think, LOVES to play the game and is just as frustrated as we are that he isn't playing. Believe it or not, my brother talked to him DIRECTLY and Booz told him how upset he is that he hasn't been playing. It's been his whole life for 20+ years, why would he NOT want to play? If he isn't playing, he isn't valuable. He knows this, the Jazz know this, and the fans know this. If he was healthy enough to play, he would be. He didn't milk it to stay out, that is simply ridiculous.
The guest post was mainly about why we shouldn't BOO Boozer, and True Hoop had a great post today about fans booing their team.
I suspect that in the long run supportive fans have a more positive effect on performance. Confidence is a huge part of performing well. And crappy, unappreciative fans ... that's just one more reason not to play hard, in the long run. It could also be a reason for a free agent not to sign in that town.
Fans didn't ride Deron when he was out, nor did they ride him when he came back too early and reinjured his ankle. We didn't ride him when he missed 7 more games and still wasn't GREAT when he came back. Why is this? How many of you reading this right now were ready to give AK away for nothing at the beginning of last season? Tell me that you AREN'T glad we kept him. The majority of Utah Jazz fans are quite fickle, when the Jazz are up the fans are optimistic and hopeful. When the team is down the fans are pessimistic and vicious. It's mostly a product of a lack of pro teams and a constant persecution complex.
We all just need to RELAX. It's OK to be a dedicated (or irrational) fan, but that doesn't mean we should be so vindictive or vitriolic. Just because a radio head doesn't agree with the fans, it doesn't automatically mean he's simply towing the company line. Locke is always calling out stupid fans who are being...well, stupid. He doesn't get paid based on what he says about Boozer. Fans like to state things like "I pay your salary!" That could not be further from the truth. The team and the coach and the trainers and the ballboys and the concession workers and the janitors all get paid regardless of how many people come to the game. The players work for The Jazz and Larry Miller owns the Jazz, they work for him. I have been to a Hornets game in New Orleans, does that mean that I pay those players' salaries? I've been to 3 Jazz games in Chicago, does that mean I pay the Bulls players' salaries? NO. This type of thinking clouds fans' judgments about what they "deserve." If you don't like what you're getting when you buy a ticket, then don't buy a ticket. You don't DESERVE anything as a fan any more than you deserve quality shows on HBO. Most of the time and most of the fans enjoy watching the Jazz for free on KJZZ (unless you've got DirecTV), what do they DESERVE?
As much as fans don't want to admit, the NBA is a business. The businessmen who run it make decisions based on risk vs. reward scenarios. Why should the players do any less? It's their job and their livlihood. Of course they make boat loads of money, but that doesn't mean that they should forego what they are worth in the name of "loyalty." We'd all love it if AK renegotiated his current contract, or if Collins and Harpring could be forced to retire. But the truth is that they go to work everyday (more than 30 hrs a week) and have bosses and bills just like we do. We get caught up focusing on superstars and forget that the vast majority of athletes are out of the league in about 6 or 7 years and then have 40 years of non-NBA income headed their way, after earning much much less than what the big boys make. It would be hypocritical to say that Boozer shouldn't do what any other player in his position would do.
There are a lot of teams in the NBA that would LOVE a player like Boozer. A lot of fans might be happy to see him go, but when he comes back to the ESA and posts a 25 and 14 game, we'll remember why we signed him in the first place and we'll be mad we let him go.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have met him personally and find him to be very nice and very generous with fans. As you can see below, I had a picture with him at the game in Chicago. I have no delusions that my defense of him will put me in his good graces or that taking a position against him would hurt a chance to get to know him better. I'm a realist.....and it's not like he reads TBJ. At least not yet. I hope we've put this matter to bed, for better or worse, because the Hornets are in town tomorrow!!
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