Not to say there would be any effects, but if possible could we market to urban families that are tired of Basketball players being terrible role models? http://content.collegehumor.com/media/movies/nba-riot.wmv thats the clip if u wanna watch. There is a kid crying in his mothers arms.
Absolutely not. Urban families look at these athletes as role models because they make millions upon millions of dollars. They also do so from a common background and by playign a game that's tremendously popular in urban enviroments. Saying that they're going to turn to soccer is like saying they're all going to up and start playing golf.
OK, how about rewording the question to: "If possible could we market (even more than we currently do) to suburban families that are tired of Basketball players being terrible role models?"
Yes. But it's not the Security Moms that are buying NBA jersies, it's their kids who are wearing them while listening to Eminem.
The only effect on MLS is that the stadium suckurity will continue to view soccer fans as potential hooligans and continue to treat us like the scumbags we aren't.... well most of us..... Yes I'm talking about you.... NJSEA Nazis !
I think its funny that a bunch of overpaid babies threw a fit because someone threw a beer at them. Boohoo, try having a bag of piss or a battery thrown at your head. These kids need to grow the hell up.
To continue the ESPN News lovefest from the expansion draft, though, I saw this guy Mark Steyn (sp?) on their "Four Quarters" show, or whatever it was called, and he actually drew an entirely appropriate and insightful comparison to soccer with regard to the situation, in saying that Detroit will likely be punished, as a team, for the actions of their fans, as this is how it goes down in international soccer. Great googly moogly, was that all one sentence? I need more coffee. Later, COZ
Of course last night watching some news program I think it was fox news..had some old guy compare the basketball incident in his words to "the kinds of things that go on at European soccer matches". I couldn't believethere were sports columnists yesterday sticking up for the players...what they did was just totally uncalled for. Being sprayed with beer is much different then getting punched in the face a few times by a 6'8" 230lb guy.
The only effect on MLS will be the league and league security getting more worried about brawls and the liability. As lawyers swoon to sue everyone from Artest to the Pacers to the venue to the Pistons to the city, professional sports teams around the US will become more scared of a similar situation and how to mitigate the risk of it happening to them and mitigate the risk of getting sued to hell because of a similar situation. Maybe CSC security will be worse next year.
Yah, but if you toss a beer in a guys face and expect him to just take it, you're a moron. Don't matter how much you pay a man, there is no reason to expect someone to accept that kind of treatment. Accepting that it happens to our soccer players when they go to central America is just sad and pathetic.
You,ve got to be kidding. That is why there are police and security at games to take care of people that throw beer. It is not up to the player to take punishment for a rogue fans actions into his own hands. Your as bad as those NBA apologists like John Saunders and Steven Smith on ESPN. It would be total chaos if everytime something was thrown at someone they went into the stands after people.
Not trying to defend the actions of the players, but I must say that the behavior of the fans contributed to the mess. And obviously, the lack of security didn't help. There were fans ON THE FLOOR looking to fight the players! The barrier btw fans/players was completely torn asunder, primarily by the actions of Ron Artest. So players on the floor were suddenly thrust into a situation that they themselves had not provoked. A former NBA player was on NPR last night and he explained that in the post Monica Seles era, pro athletes do not know what to expect.
There is almost nothing that is universally wrong anymore. It's pretty sad. You can always find people to defend the most horrific of acts.
I agree. The problem with these "commentators" is that they are jock sniffers that need the players for interviews so they are never going to be critical.
exactly. i dont see why NBA players should be expected to accept that stuff. im glad they fought back, sometimes fans need an arse beating too.
I am not apologizing for anyone, I am saying that if you stand there and toss a beer on someone and are suprised when he comes after you, you are a moron. It doesn't matter the situation, setup, or circumstance. There is no rational reason to believe that any human being will accept that kind of treatment. It doesn't excuse anyone, going after the fan was clearly wrong, but you have to be joking or an idiot if you say you think this kind of response wasn't a decent possibility from the provoking actions. Poor handling all around by everyone....culpability all around, fans and players alike...but responses like that are certainly possible and it's foolish to think otherwise.
If one the often abused keepers in MLS suddenly rushed the stands and kicked somebodys ass, would that be ok? I'm thinking of Hartman at all star v Chivas match. Should he have beat on the fans throwing stuff at him that day? No , he stayed and did his job. If I was on the street and somebody threw a lemon in my face, I'd react with violence...if I'm at work, I'll leave it to human resources. These crybaby NBA guys make me sick, they are payed MILLIONS to play a scoolyard game. That's their job. I don't care how upset they get, there are rules. I think all of them should be banned from NBA. Period. If you want to blame the fans involved, fine ban them from the arena as well. Let the rest of the major sports degenerate into ghetto behavior. As violence, greed, poor sportsmanship make them less appealing, MLS can only benefit.
I hadn't considered that. Good point. A little integrity would be nice, but probably a little too much to ask for.
Mark Stein's (correct spelling) favorite team in Manchester City. He's a legitimate fan; thus, the use of appropriate analogy. He's also one of the best national NBA writers we have.
You are correct. Not to excuse the players, but if you piss into the wind, expect to get wet. Torment a pit bull, expect to get bitten. Doesn't mean what they did in reaction was right, but it was not unexpected.
What was ludicrous what when Steven A Smith started to pull the race card to defend the players. Un-Effing-Believable!