Re: Celtics Barely Win: Celtics 100-Rockets 96

[opi@unesco.org]

Jim Meninno wrote:

>  I mentioned I went to the
> game on Friday, and I couldn't believe the reactions Walker was getting.
> EVERY TIME HE MISSES A SHOT, the entire building lets out a sort of moan.
> There was one kid a couple of rows behind me who responded to any Walker
> move that didn't result in a basket, and possibly some that did, by yelling
> out "What was that?" or "Trade him!".  People who engage in this sort of
> behavior are not fans.  They are sad, pathetic, jealous people, with no
> sense of self respect, who need to direct their venom at an easy target.
> And what easier target is there than a young millionaire who is compelled to
> appear before a crowd night after night?  He can not so much as yell back
> "Bite me!" without newspaper articles being written about him.  If he did
> any more than that he'd be fined and suspended.  No, these people are not
> fans.  They are not there to see the Celtics win.  The Celtics did win, and
> Antoine played fairly well.  If you ask me, this problem is already having a
> negative affect on Antoine's play and if it continues it could get very
> ugly.

The fact that the papers reported it as "Make me" instead of "Bite me" sounds
kind of deliberate and suggests in my mind that the Boston media took a pretty
visible incident (one they had little choice but to comment on) and did what
they could to portray Walker's part in it in as favorable a light as possible
under the lame circumstances:  either because even THEY actually feel a bit
sorry for Antoine or perhaps they are also motivated by guilt over the role they
played in creating this seething hatred toward the young man.  In my mind you
can really pin much of the blame for this lynchmob Boston ambiance on Bob Ryan
and Peter May, who legitimized Walker-bashing (at least in the minds of retards)
as the traditionalist or even decent thing to do. Now that they are seeing the
power of their pens in action, they may be feeling a bit of revulsion and
sadness. I certainly hope they are happy now that the chickens have come home to
roost.

Antoine is in a tough situation because everyone is waiting for him to trip up
and finally lash back at the fans publically, such that they can feel even MORE
justified in heeping abuse on him as a spoiled and potentially crazy non-white
man. Thus, he has to take the same diplomatic line, pretending to think that all
this crap he hears around him only happend because "the fans are used to
winning" etc.  I'm sure (I'm 100% sure) he sees what's going on after talking to
Bill Russell, but it's a no win situation. At least he has his teammates. As
remarked on ad nauseum, it's totally obvious they see a different Antoine, and
maybe that's enough to make him stay. To the extent that it's fair to say so,
Toine brought a lot of this on himself with his "Jekyl and Hyde"
hyper-sensitive, hyper-competitive attitude the minute he steps out on the
basketball court (whereas he's so soft-spoken and thoughtful in every interview
I've heard once he's off the court).

Go figure. The one player in the last 15 years who reminds me of Larry Bird (a
lobotomized Bird) in terms of his competitiveness, triple-double caliber tools
and last-second bombs, but he turns out to be "too black" for Boston even before
he reaches Bird's rookie age. Like I've said before,  he'd at least make a
fantastic villain on another team.

Joe

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