Be The Hostile Environment

Posted by Earl Stevens on September 11, 2009

One of the hardest things about being a high-profile sports figure has got to be the sheer amount of verbal abuse that they take from fans.  Most of the time, players seem to let it roll off their backs and do an admirable job ignoring it.  Occasionally, something snaps and a player will let the crowd get to him.

We saw this just last week when Oregon’s LaGarrette Blount reacted to some post-game trash talk by sucker punching a Boise State player (Carmelo Anthony would have been proud).  Blount didn’t stop there.  He had to be restrained from attacking some Boise State fans and even appeared to be lashing out at teammates and assistant coaches before being shoved into the locker room.

The worst player vs. fan incident in recent NBA history was Ron Artest getting a cup full of beer in the face during a heated moment against the Pistons.  Artest ran up the stairs, attacked the beer-chucking fan, and then made it back down to the floor where more punches were thrown.  It was ugly.  Artest was suspended for the rest of the season, and eight other players received lesser suspensions.  The incident resulted in nine players missing 143 games during the 2004-2005 season.

So what does this have to do with us, as Jazz fans?  It shows that we have a lot of power.  In the two examples above, the “players gone wild” were playing away from home and had a history of flapping their mouths about the butt kicking they were going to issue.

The fans were on them from the beginning.  Blount, Oregon’s stud tailback with NFL potential, had negative yardage for the game.  Lots of credit to the Boise State defense, but the crowd rubbed it in every time Blount was gang tacked behind the line.

Before getting booted out of the game (and the season, and eventually Indianapolis), Ron Artest had a decent game (9/17 shooting, 24 points), but was getting a lot of resistance from the Detroit defense – and fans.  He was past the boiling point, and if it wouldn’t have been a cup of beer, something else would have likely caused the boiler to blow.

Am I advocating that we as fans conspire to incite violent outbursts from players?  Absolutely not.  In fact, that hurts us all (Ben Wallace of Detroit was also suspended following the Artest incident).   What I am saying is that we are picked to finish third in our division this year – behind Denver and Portland.  We can do something about that.  Jazz fans are louder, more boisterous, and more creative than the golf clappers in Denver and Portland.

We don’t need to throw batteries and beer to create an intimidating environment for visiting teams.  We need more cowbells to get under Josh Smith’s skin.  More signs to pester T-Mac (if we ever see him again), and (my favorite) more guys wearing lace-lined pink Kobe Bryant jerseys.

Blake Griffin’s first trip to Utah should feel as comfortable as Cirque du Soleil in the Dallas Cowboy’s locker room.  Kevin Durrant should step to the free throw line and think “Maybe I should have played baseball”.  You get the picture.

There are a lot of unknowns this season, but fan support shouldn’t be one of them.  We have the power to soften the opposition and be the wind at our team’s back.  Let’s use that power wisely and often this year!

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6 Comments

Steve on September 11, 2009 said:

What is ESPN on? 3rd in our division? I hope these idiots understand that everyone who got hurt last season is going to come back hard. I agree with this article who cares what the players say about our crowd. They wanted to play in the NBA so lets give em hell!!

J R Stewart on September 11, 2009 said:

Since we’ve moved up in the world (from the lower bowl to the upper bowl), it’s been harder to make my voice heard. I now have to confine myself to nearby hated Laker fans.

Jazzahoic

Linda Kay on September 12, 2009 said:

I certainly do not in any way condone what Artest did or many of the other antics that came from him, I have to admit after reading your paragraph I wondered why the fans did not receive any punishment. I understod from the paragraph that the beer had been thrown first. I thought that was a little much from a fan. Then my husband reminded me that Artest had started into the stands before the beer was thrown. Then I understood the fan better. I think we can yell our heads off without getting too personal to the players. Did any of you hear Jordon speak at the induction ceremony? He spoke about all the things that made him determined to play better and to be the best. With many players I truly believe that the more they are heckled, the more they are determined to make us pay for it. Be a great fan but be careful how far you go. Just a bit of my advice for those who want it.

tman11 on September 12, 2009 said:

We are already some of the worst fans in the NBA and, when i say worst i mean loud, annoying and, some times just right out mean. I have been to alot of games frrom LA th Hpeonix to Portland Denver, Utha is hands down the loudest place i have been to to watch a game, “hands down”. Its not even a comparism. I remember i was at I think it was game 5 of the SUn and Spurs series a few years back. I give them credit it was loud but, nothing even compared to a regualr season game in utah. If you have been to other places to watch games and, not energy sultions i encourage ya to go there and, watch a jazz game it’s crazy

tman11 on September 13, 2009 said:

Actually linda that fan get get banned from all the areas in the league he isn’t allow to go to a game again. If i was Ron though i would have done that same thing it was uncalled for for him to throw a beer at Ron like that. People are so stupid now days. I would like to say though i honest feel bad for the man he has one out burst his whole career and, he can’t say boo to the refs any more with out gettin T’ed up. The man isn;t like a Rashheed Wallace or Jerry Sloan that jumps on the refs every chance they get. He had one conflict with a fan and it messes up his whole career

Linda Kay on September 13, 2009 said:

Goes back to the playing favorites!!

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