Do the Suns have worst fans in the NBA?

[Revived]

Morris twins comments after the game:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DunlapSports/status/571891837914492929[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DunlapSports/status/571894275006332929[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DunlapSports/status/571901815538622464[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JeSanders11/status/571898385562648577[/tweet]

Of course Suns PR got to Kieff after all this and he did apologize or something on his Twitter.

Here is the actual audio of Kieff's comments:

https://t.co/HqeYzADguC

But question remains, do the Suns indeed have the worst fans in the NBA? I certainly don't think we're up there with OKC, GSW, SAC or anything but worst in the league? Idk, I feel like at least few teams have worse home court than us.

But I feel like you can't call out fans after a loss like this when nobody put any effort into playing. These athletes are paid to play, regardless of whether there's fans in the building or not.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ScottHoward42/status/571899206958383105[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ScottHoward42/status/571912839482515456[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ScottHoward42/status/571912839482515456[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ScottHoward42/status/571901891623329792[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ScottHoward42/status/571900192477196289[/tweet]

[RaisingArizona]

I'm not sure. I've been to a GSW game in Oakland and their fans were crazy. Like they were yelling obscenities at me for even clapping for the Suns( I wasn't being obnoxious or anything). College games also( ASU, UA) tend to have a more electric crowd than most Suns games. Hard to gauge but Sarver needs to fix the issue by either lowering ticket prices, giving more seats away, or doing better promos to get more college aged people there rather than the corporate suits.

[DirtyDez]

Watching games on tv is so much better than going in person. Especially with these beautiful HD TV's.

Last year I went to a game and they were blasting random music during every possession. It was so annoying. The players/coaches must hate it.

[Revived]

I'm not sure. I've been to a GSW game in Oakland and their fans were crazy. Like they were yelling obscenities at me for even clapping for the Suns( I wasn't being obnoxious or anything). College games also( ASU, UA) tend to have a more electric crowd than most Suns games. Hard to gauge but Sarver needs to fix the issue by either lowering ticket prices, giving more seats away, or doing better promos to get more college aged people there rather than the corporate suits.

I've been to a lot of Warriors game and I agree with you there. Best experience ever, great college type environment. I remember I went to a game with my parents back when they were playing the Mavs in the playoffs and we came back home and my mom's ear drums were blown. She had to go see a doctor, it was that loud.

[RaisingArizona]

Watching games on tv is so much better than going in person. Especially with these beautiful HD TV's.

Last year I went to a game and they were blasting random music during every possession. It was so annoying. The players/coaches must hate it.

Good point. Sometimes it's better to watch the game on the big screen and not fight the hassles of going to the game such as parking, traffic, bathroom wait time,$12 beers, etc.

[kennydorglas]

We may have the worst fans.
With that said, it's an absolutely disgusting attitude from MoBros, especially after this game.

This is really bad.

[Revived]

[Orens]

Oh god.

[Tahleron]

Atlanta have led that award for decades

[Sunsdeuce]

The Morris twins are a joke along with other players on this roster.

I have personally witness how crazy the Suns fans can get and how much support Suns fans give to winning Suns teams. From the 1980s with the mad house, to the 1990s with the barkley era (the arena was crazy/ridiculously loud), to the 2000s (somewhat loud). This city and fans will come out in FULL support when it's worth it!

This team hasn't seen the freaking playoffs for 5 YEARS!! Also the longest playoff drought in Suns HISTORY and the it's the fans fault! Lmao, whatever. Funny how the cardinals have sell outs EVERY single game. Fans want f$&@ing winners not f$&@ing whiners.

This city supports winners, just like every city in America. But these players have the balls to call out fans. Just f$&@ing sell the team sarver.

I have now witnessed the Suns go from the "prestigeous Suns organization" that most players want to play for to the armpit of the NBA. All under sarver's watch.

Do Suns fans have a right to be pissed and not support this garbage? Hell yES! I have a problem with any fan that is not pissed off at this current Suns organization.

[King4Day]

Good for kieff. Our in stadium fans have been sub par for years.
I saw a game in Portland when the Blazers were awful years ago and the fans were still into it. Our fans are an embarrassment.

[Miklo]

Sadly I have never been to a Suns game in person, but the crowd doesn't seem too electric from TV. There are probably worse fan bases out there based on teams that I have seen live. Atlanta and Charlotte are pretty bad. Charlotte just doesn't get into the game, in fact I went to Bobcats-Lakers once and there were more Laker fans in the arena. And I guess we can't forget what Charlotte did to the original Hornets.

BUT, how dare the Morris twins. You can't turn on the fans after a lousy performance like that. That's a crappy attitude.

[In Len We Trust]

The 5th most expensive tickets in the NBA. Only Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, Cavs are more expensive. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenha ... e-tickets/

We are in a sprawl city with tons of out of staters, the Suns have no marketable superstar, are on a 5 year playoff drought, and our arena is crap. Yet we have the 5th most expensive tickets and most expensive concessions.

$arver should be **** smacked across the face for this. Complete and total idiot. Every single team around us in those Forbes rankings sell out every game. Us? We have thousands of empty seats every night. If the ticket prices were reasonable then we could fill up the arena and the atmosphere would be much, much better.

[rsavaj]

I don't know if we're the worst, but I agree with Kieff: our fans suck. You can't blame 24 points in a half on the fans, but I don't think that's what he was trying to do. If you read/listen to his comments, it sounds a lot more understandable. He said that even during that great OKC game(which many called the best win of the season), the fans were dead.

We gotta take the good with the bad. We need a home court advantage and it doesn't seem like a home court advantage at all.

Some games are gonna be bad. You can't win every game. That comes along with sports. Nobody wins every game. We need the support, us as a team, to know the fans are gonna be behind us. I don't feel like this year they're behind us like before.

We do have genuine Suns fans, but for the most part it felt like we had more San Antonio than Phoenix fans tonight.

(on whether Saturday night was an anomaly with lack of support)

It depends on who is playing here. When we get LeBron and D-Wade and those guys, we need the fans to help win the games. We need the energy from them to win a lot of games. We need that every night. Not just certain nights. Every night is not gonna be a great night. It's gonna happen. Stuff like that is gonna happen.

We need to expect more from them because I know they expect more from us.

(on the fact that the fans don't boo)

No, they don't boo. They don't care that much neither. We feed off, for the most part, off the energy of each other. I know Phoenix fans are a lot better than that. I know we have a lot of genuine fans in the first row, the second row, the third row, but once you go up it seems like fans are at the game just watching. We stand up and fight and I got to do this (mimicking riling up the fans) 15 times to get the fans up. I don't think that's fair to us, putting our heart and our soul out there trying to get in the playoffs for this organization and this city, to try and bring this city back to where it was, to get that type of treatment.

I'm not just talking about this game. I'm talking about the whole year. Still with that being said, like I said you gotta take the good with the bad.

(on whether fans are less vocal than last year)

You could say that. I just feel like we expect more from those guys, from the fans. That's basically what I'm getting to. We expect this to be a home court advantage every time we step on the court, no matter if we are playing Orlando or if we are playing Cleveland. It's as simple as that.

When I hit the jumper (against OKC at the end to give the Suns a 3-point lead). Even when they got the and-one (from Westbrook to tie it again), every body just sitting down. It's like, we're trying to make a playoff push here. We need every single game. Guys are diving on the floor, playing their hearts out.

Like I said, from this city we need that support, man. And that's not how it goes.

(on whether it's different for other teams in their cities)

You're damn right I feel a difference. It just don't feel like we got a home court advantage, like I said. It just feels like we got fans from all over they just cheer for everybody.

And he's not wrong.

Sitting in USAC feels like you're sitting in a freaking movie theater. Nobody cheers. Nobody boos. It's just...emotionless. Only time people get on their feet is for that damn t-shirt cannon.

It was better during the SSOL days, but honestly, not by much. I was there for Amare's 48 point game and you could hear a pin drop in the arena. I've been to multiple OT games where the crowd goes from "WOOO!!" to "yawn" in an instant. It's frustrating because when the crowd is really going, we freaking rock that building. 2010 WCF Game 4 was the loudest I've ever heard the Purple Palace, and it was an absolutely amazing feeling. Heck...we almost got as loud when freaking Michael Beasley led us to a comeback victory over the Lakers in Nash's first game back.

Still...most of the time, it's a dead crowd:

Phoenix is quite different. They sit quietly for almost the entire game, build little to no anticipatory cheering and largely ignore the attempts by the MC, Gorilla and cheer leaders to "get loud". When the team plays badly, everyone gets quiet. Booing is uncouth. We're almost as bad as Canada, we're so nice.

Anyone who's been to a game the last several years know this to be true. You're either a rabid fan who was frustrated by the lack of activity from the fans around you in your section, or you're one of those quiet fans yourself. Quiet breeds quiet. If no one around you is standing or cheering loudly, you don't do it either. But that's when you can easily hear the cheers of a few hundred, or even thousand, fans for the other team. If you've been to a game against a good team, or one with a future Hall of Famer in their lineup, you know the shame you felt when you heard an unexpected sustained cheer for an opponent score.

From 2004 to 2013, I shared season tickets with a friend in the 12th row of the lower bowl. I was one of those raucous fans who would cheer and yell and berate players from both teams so loudly the fans around me would shoot sideways glances my way on occasion and generally ignore me the rest of the time. My immediate circle would often cheer during the good parts of the game, even moreso than the rest of the section, but stand-up cheering and loud whoops were reserved for the very, very best and unexpected plays.

Note the time frame I reference. 2004 to 2013. The entire SSOL period in there. Sure, there were some GREAT games for the players and crowd. I lost my voice on many occasions from great regular season battles against the league's elite. I remember even getting dizzy a few times from cheering so loud, feeding off the crowd's energy during a 4th quarter run that kept us on our feet for most of the time.

But those, even during the SSOL days, were few and far between. I can count those games on one hand. It got so bad, I remember thinking in 2012 that one benefit from the team's epic downturn is that we could turn over the fan base a bit as old-timers dropped their season tickets to allow new folks to move in.

Fans who went to last night's game must have been sick to their stomachs (I know I was) to hear just how loud the visiting Spurs fans were from tipoff to the final three-pointer from Matt Bonner to put the game "out of reach" at 101-74 with a minute left.

It was sad.

But that's nothing new here in Phoenix. I now go to the games as a media member, sitting at the top of the lower bowl. I can hear the crowd, and often what I hear the loudest is the other team's fans cheering one of their made baskets. Sometimes, Suns fans get up and drown them out with boos, but often they let it happen way too much.

Last night was just a culmination of a lot of similar games, coupled with the team knowing they'd let everyone down.

When you read Markieff's comments, you know he's right. He's not making excuses for his own play. He knows the team played awfully. It was a no-good, very bad night of basketball for the Suns.

It's also true that the team themselves are not a loud, rile-you-up bunch. Gone are the days of "and one" yells to the rafters from Amare Stoudemire. Gone are the wide smiles and high fives from Leandro Barbosa and Steve Nash. Gone are the antics of Charles Barkley.

"We try to tell the guys," coach Hornacek said on Thursday night. "'Hey, say anything. Say something. Say there's a good-looking chick in the first row. Just say something, please,' because they all just stand there and watch the game and don't say anything."

They don't like to demonstrate. But like any human beings, they like being turned up by others. They want to be propped up when things aren't going well.

But picture this. At the end of the first quarter, after the Suns had gotten down 24-13 on epically bad shooting, what might have happened had the crowd spontaneously begun supporting and encouraging the team to play better? Or, if they had collectively begun booing the Suns for awful play? The game could have been completely different if the guys had suddenly gotten their ire up between quarters.

Heck, just the other night OKC scored only 15 points in their first quarter against the Suns, yet put up 98 points in the final three quarters with an offense less efficient than the Suns' on the year.

But the Suns never could find that extra gear, and the crowd admittedly didn't do anything to ignite it.

Even vociferous booing might have spurred the guys into action.

But apathy only breeds apathy.

http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2015/ ... -advantage

True story: I've actually had supposed fellow Suns "fans" tell me to SIT DOWN at the arena.

The high ticket prices only exacerbate the problem, but some of the fans that can afford the tickets and show up to the games do an absolutely terrible job.

[snowthedirtbub]

LMAO! Criticize the fans after literally having one of the worst games in NBA history, brilliant move. I'm thinking about buying tickets tomorrow just so I can personally boo them. 2 of the more unlikable players to ever suit up for the Suns.

[thamadkant]

1. the Suns started off so slow, the crowd had no chance to really get into it.
2. The entire game, good plays were scarce. Suns were throwing up bricks or forced shots. Basically there were no reasons to get excited. In the 4th, Marcus was basically trying to do his Klay Thompson impersonations. I was actually hoping he would pass it to any of the other 4 young players who were the only bright spots for me for this game. But nope...



3. In my eyes, The Morris twins are not likeable characters on the court with their smugness and big mouths/thuggish attitude, off the court they are also questionable characters.
Now, they come out and call out fans instead of apologising for a pathetic game.

I've been hoping they would shipped out this season... Well that hope will extend to the off-season.

Sarver, McD, Babby needs to bring likeable players who atleast would be classy if they aren't exciting.

[handsome salary]

Most unlikable Suns team Ive watched since the mid 80's . Bledsoe, Morris twins and Green always always always look pissed off about something. Hornacek looks bored. Dragic seemed to be on the verge of tears during the games he was here.

Add that to dropping at least 70 bucks for a pair of seats almost against the back wall. **** total downer of a franchise right now from Sarver on down.

[In Len We Trust]

When I am at a game I want to get up, cheer, energize my section but I don't because everybody around me would do nothing but just stare at me and tell me to sit down. Its unacceptable behavior at a Suns game to be loud unless you are a fan of the other team. I'm sure there are a ton of people that feel the same as me. Nobody cheers because nobody wants to cheer by themselves.

There are multiple ways to fix this problem. Lowering the ticket prices is one. More hardcore fans from the middle class in the lower level would make a difference. Also stop selling so many damn tickets to corporate sponsors and businesses. The lower level is littered with business people. Also, fire the person responsible for the in game music and sounds played in the arena. It is absolutely awful and cringeworthy. That person can go work in a Chuck E Cheeses or something, not at Suns games. Dim the crowd lights too. I swear it would make a difference. The lighting in there kinda sucks and the crowd is lit up too much. The vibe could change a little bit if the lighting is a lot better.

[tdjm]

When I am at a game I want to get up, cheer, energize my section but I don't because everybody around me would do nothing but just stare at me and tell me to sit down. Its unacceptable behavior at a Suns game to be loud unless you are a fan of the other team. I'm sure there are a ton of people that feel the same as me. Nobody cheers because nobody wants to cheer by themselves.

Nail on the **** head. I sat EIGHTH ROW a few games back and got bitched at by two different groups for trying to get hype. One was a pack of middle aged dorks who just wanted to cross their legs and watch in silence and got mad that I was getting up and getting loud. Only reason to watch in silence at a game is if you have pen and paper, and you're a professional scout. The other was a dad who got pissed that I was disturbing his little 2 year old (YEAH HIS TWO YEAR OLD IN THE LOWER BOWL WHO KEPT SMACKING PEOPLE WITH THE NOISE STICKS AND COUGHED INTO MY BEER, LIKE I GIVE A **** ABOUT HIM) when I tried to get everyone up on a fastbreak that was going to end in a dunk.

I don't live in Arizona anymore, I only get to visit a few weeks out of the year since I work on the east coast now. It's not even worth me dropping 100 to see the Suns anymore because the crowd atmosphere is terrible. It's not fun at all when it's geezers and kids who just want to dick around all game instead of get crunk and cheer the Suns.

[Revived]

The high ticket prices only exacerbate the problem, but the fans that can afford the tickets and show up to the games do an absolutely terrible job.

But that's the problem. If you notice, most rich people don't stand up and cheer loudly and pump up the team or anything. Very little rich people like Mark Cuban and Steve Ballmer are actually passionate and cheer loud. Other rich people come to the game to basically show their face and watch the game, not to cheer for the Suns.

Its the Suns fault for making their tickets only affordable to rich people. If they want only rich people at the games, then they better not complain about the way rich people watch the game.