Re: Bird the Hick

[Kim Malo <kmalo19@idt.net>]

At 09:15 AM 1/19/98 -0500, Dan Forant wrote:
>Larry Bird is still a hick. The hick from Indiana still hasn't learned how
>to get along with the world off the basketball court. At present, living
>off his past laurels, he is popular because he has been out of site for
>awhile.

Alright, it's dinner time, I'll chomp down on the flamebait.
Er, first, someone who doesn't know the difference between 'site' and
'sight' might find discretion's the better part of valor before ranting on
about someone else being a hick.
Next, if the Pacers were stinking the place out every night and showing all
the other signs of being in incompetent hands (public bickering and
complaining, lack of effort, etc), you could talk about Bird just living on
his past laurels. As it happens, that's not the case.
 
>He has inherited a team that will be a contender at best for the
>2-5 spots in the NBA for a year or two. Why because they are getting older.
>Let's see what happens when they start the rebuilding phase.

This I agree with, and will add that the fact that it's being a veteran team
is part of what made it a perfect situation for Bird to come in to as a
rookie coach, Would he have done as well with a team like the current Cs?
Very likely not.

> My bone with
>Larry is his arrogance. Did he give the Celts or Pitino any credit for
>gains we have made as a team? Haven't seen any remarks from him.

Then you didn't catch the local Boston news and radio broadcasts, where in
fact he did praise Pitino for the job he's done, and has been quoted as
saying something along the lines of their being a big man and a couple years
away from being a serious contender, with the progress they're making.

I don't disagree that he's arrogant, BYW. He couldn't have become the star
he did unless he was. There's no such thing as a truly great player without
arrogance. So the arrogance is part of the package that made what we admire
about him.

> Oh yes he
>said "Definitely my biggest win since I've been coaching" Down deep he
>feels the Celts organization let him down, by letting him go.

Nope, he left. He's smart enough to know that he and Pitino could not
co-exist, so once Pitino was in place, his departure was inevitable. What
there seems to be consensus on from those in a better position to know is
that when his back started to feel better and he tried to take a more active
part, the Cs, and especially ML, ignored what he said, while making public
relations hay out of his image as part of the team. And that he resented this.

> Only a big
>hug with Miller after the game, as if it were the 7th game of the playoffs.

Oh for cripes sake, we ARE getting petty here. Boston and his reputation in
Boston means a lot to him.  Remember, that's why he said he would never
coach here? And he will always be a competitor. So he wanted very badly to
win the game. And he did, so he celebrated. Shame on him, how dare he.

>Bird's statement about the All Star game "I have no desire to coach an All
>Star game" and "I have no desire to go to an All Star game" Just who the
>hell does he think he is?

This one we agree on.

> No wonder he never really got along w/McHale.

They were not close friends, because they are very different people.
However, most reports from those actually around the team are that they did,
as a rule, get along. Just not to the point of drinking buddies.

>Another quote "I have no ties to this building, I loved that place next
>door" You just know anybody else would have said something nice about the
>new facility and the new Celtic start.

See above re: comments on the new Cs. As to the building? What he said was
true. You'd rather he lied and gushed about how wonderful the Fleece is?
It's just another cookie cutter new stadium. And you'll notice he didn't
diss the place he actually played in, so he wasn't thumbing his nose at the
city or team. Just being straghtforward and honest. Some people consider
that a virtue.

>He's living in the past.

<shrug> Your opinion. Mine is that if he was doing that, he wouldn't have
gone to another place to coach, he'd be retired in Florida with his memories
or hung on with nothing but an 'honorary' title and salary with the Cs.

>After the
>way the Celts gave him and his team the run around Sunday I think the
>Pacers are a little overblown, even though their #2 in the Eastern
>Conference. He could be a great promoter of the NBA, but he isn't. He
>should realize the applause will start to fade as time moves on. Love ya
>Larry, but your still a hick.

How is he not promoting the NBA? By coming back to the league and to a place
other than Boston and coaching a team to a complete turnaround from an
insipid previous season, seems to me he's helped generate a lot of interest.
What do you want him to do, run around spouting "The NBA is fan-tastic" at
10 minute intervals to whomever he meets? Don't think it would accomplish as
much.

Oh, and, take the comment about site and sight and calling other people
hicks. Insert 'your' and 'you're'. Which may seem unfair, but my point is
that so are you. I dislike gratuitous name calling, even something like
hick, that most people would find fairly innocuous. It's still a cheap shot,
as is my pointing out your errors, when I certainly make enough of my own.
Easy to do, but annoyingly unfair to receive, isn't it?

Love ya Larry? Tough love, I guess.

-Kim
Kim Malo
kmalo19@idt.net