The Magic Want Some R-E-S-P-E-C-T

[Swish14]

http://magic.realgm.com/articles/60/200 ... s-p-e-c-t/

I wrote this last night and it's on the front page. Enjoy!

[Big A All Day]

Good read swish..

[aleZ]

Nice read except the last line is a bit on the homer side: the Magic would greatly benefit from more publicity and positive PR by the media in the US and int'l markets.

This team has the potential to be nearly as good as the '90s team from a market standpoint, yet nobody knows its players, jerseys etc. Let's hope the situation changes come playoff time

[MagicalMan]

Good read. I enjoyed it.

[TNMagicFan]

good job ... nice read

[Swish14]

Nice read except the last line is a bit on the homer side: the Magic would greatly benefit from more publicity and positive PR by the media in the US and int'l markets.

I think the last line would come off as extremely homerish if they were my words but I'm saying that that is the opinion of the players. That is why I said,

"Based off of those quotes, the Magic players have one thing on their mind:

Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit can get all of this press and airtime they want right now, because come April, the Magic will have all eyes on them when it matters most."

I agree with what you said about the publicity and positive PR though. Thanks for all of the comments!

[Devin 1L]

Good read, Swish!

[GrahamTheft]

Not to offend you swish, but there's no need to beat a dead horse here... I mean, we all know that the Magic don't get any coverage on ESPN, and you're right in saying that not being on ESPN has nothing to do with whether or not other teams and players are worried about us (which they are). It has everything to do with markets. Boston, Detroit, and Cleveland are all big markets and when those teams are all in the top 4 in the East, they are obviously going to get the attention on TV.

ESPN is a business that sells its product to viewers, and the more viewers they get, the happier the advertisers are, and the more money ESPN makes.... I don't ever expect Orlando to be as equally respected or recognized by network TV as big markets are until it grows to be the size of those markets and have just as many devoted fans. Maybe one day... but until then let's not act all astounded and surprised when "OMG ESPN NEVER TALKS ABOUT US!"

[TheGlyde]

Why is it that the Celtics, Pistons, and Cavaliers get all of the attention in the Eastern Conference?

Because we aren't:

a) On pace for the best record in the league (Celtics) in one of the most famous teams and largest markets in NBA history.

b) A former NBA champ (Pistons), perennial East powerhouse, with the 2nd best record in the league, having 5 consecutive seasons of making at least the ECF.

or c) Last years EC Champs and NBA finalists (Cavs).

They all earned their time in the spotlight through sucess in the past. The Magic had a first round playoff exit last year, are led by a franchise player not in the typical mold of being a dominant scorer. Havent won a playoff game in 4 years, and haven't won a playoff series in 12 years.

If the Magic get out of the first round, and next year prove this year wasn't a fluke (which we all believe it wasn't) then the props will come...

The Pistons I doubt got much press at all 5 years ago until they started being a regular fixture in the ECF, Celts as I said, best record in the league, and Cavs are last years finalists... If we had any of a) b) or c) and still didn't rate a mention then I think you could complain.

[MagicMadness]

Exactly. Great post, Glyde.

It's easy to see once you step back, take off the glasses, and really think about it in a non-biased manner.

Fans of the Celtics and Pistons expect their teams to be in the ECF - as do the media and fans in general. The Cavs have a good shot at it, because they've taken the Pistons to 7 games twice in a row and have been to the Finals. The Magic? Well, they're the odd team out - in the eyes of most. And that's fine. If they make it to the ECF, then they'll prove the doubters wrong, and respect will come.

Until then, they are seen as a good team on the rise. Nothing wrong with that.

[jonskilly]

Without LeBron, is Cleveland really that big of a market?

[GrahamTheft]

Populations:
Detroit - 886,671
Boston - 559,034
Cleveland - 452,208
Orlando - 213,223

The only thing is those are just populations of the city proper, not of the metropolitan areas... also, you've gotta assume all of Ohio goes to Cleveland, whereas all of Florida doesn't go to Orlando.

[maginno]

Well written article but the whole subject is a little bleh for me. Like glyde alluded to respect is earned in the playoffs and in some cases by playoff expectation based on the team on paper. You got to give Boston good odds of getting to the ECF, Detroit the same and you can't count out Cleveland as the defending ECF champs.

I guess it s a good angle to look at though because it does seem to be motivating the players.

[craig01]

Gotta agree with the others.

Respect comes with playoff success.

Have some then get some.

[Idunkonyou2]

Well the Celtics haven't had any playoff success and the Cavs run last year was an obvious fluke considering they got napalmed in the finals, where as the Pistons would have made it a series.

Any way, the Cavs have obviously dropped off since last year and just aren't that good of a team. When your superstar has to put up 50/10, 42/10, etc games just to beat or even lose to the Knicks, Bulls, Nets, etc you know you are in trouble.

The Pistons are really the only team that deserves the respect. They have proved time in and time out that they are the cream of the crop in the east, getting the ECF every year for 5 years straight, plus 2 finals. The Celtics and Magic should be the next 2 mentioned teams in the east because 1 has the best record in the NBA and the other is the 3rd best team in the east.

The Cavs shouldn't even be in the conversation when we are talking about best teams of the east. They are average at best and that is only because of Lebron.

[lovehoops01]

I don't know, but it seems like the refs have gotten harder on the Magic since they started asking for a little respect. Now, no one except Dwight can get to the free-throw line and the refs don't let anyone on the Magic talk to them anymore. The refs just order them to get away from them as soon as they question any calls. This has happened for two or three games in a row now.

[UCFknight84]

Sportscenter was disrespecting Tiger Woods when the cavs magic highlight came on

Linda-"tiger woods was there to watch lebron star"


Scott-"actually i think hes more of a lakers fan"

But Why?

they are using subliminal messaging so they can make more and more fans adore lebron and kobe and use even more sportscenter air time on them

Tiger is a Magic fan, first they go for our team then they go for our fans

they also said keith bogans is "not usually a 3-point shooter until this year"

[MagicNolesFSU]

yeah that was kinda (Please Use More Appropriate Word).

[lovehoops01]

Actually, I think Tiger is a Lakers fan. He grew up in California. But nonetheless, he has been at quite a few Magic games this season. It was a (Please Use More Appropriate Word) sequence on SportsCenter, though. They should have just stuck to what they know is true and talk about the game. Oh, and if you missed Fastbreak, their only Top 10 play from the game was a LeBron score, of course.

[Howard Mass]

This was a wonderful article.

Some great points and it got me fired up a bit.

Well done Alex.