RealGM

Everyone knows that athletes today are spoiled primadonna's that often value their money, image, and personal goals over winning.

Many die hard sports guys think that advertising, endorsements, and TV have killed the game. Players just don't compete like they did even just a decade or two ago.

That's why it's hard for me to get excited about a team like Miami. Sure Lebron and Wade are incredible athletes, but why root for a team (no matter how entertaining) when their start players think that they are GOD and stories about their narcissistic antics flood the web?

As a DIE HARD Suns fan, it was even hard sometimes to root for my own team when the star player (Amare) didn't box out, didn't play defense, and (along with his entire entourage) was a complete ass to me (and my other co-workers) when he would visit the hotel I worked at. Yes, his dunks were entertaining, but his behavior on and off the court suggested he loved himself/money/attention/image more then the game of basketball.

You can't blame the players entirely. It's also society's fault for pushing the athlete into a egotistical mental state by our actions and treatment towards them. If I had people asking me for autographs every day, media calling me for interviews, fans cheering for me, and girls throwing themselves at me (hell yeah!!!!!) I'd probably develop an ego too.

But despite the cloud of money and ego that dominates modern sports, I think we as fans CAN find things/teams/players to root for.

This is why I'm so bummed about the Bledsoe injury. This team was FUN to root for! Everyone seemed to play with so much energy. No one expected us to be good, but hustle and teamwork had us competing for a playoff spot. The players were having fun and working hard and it showed.

I loved the Pistons win over the Lakers in 2004 because a team of rejects beat an incredibly talented Laker team because the Pistons played as a team while Shaq and Kobe bickered.

I loved the Suns team of 2005-2006 because we advanced to the conference finals even though we were missing what many people considered to be our "top" player.

I love how this Suns team hustles and plays defense. I hope we can continue to keep our head up without Bledsoe. I also hope that if we continue to succeed, we can keep our egos in check.

+1000
Couldn't have said it better.
The part about the society is especially true and can be easily translated to other aspects of life. The notion that some people are "elite" and better than others and they are actually supposed to receive everything they want without doing anything in return and that they are "above the law" ,so to say, is very strong in western society from my observations and can be seen in many ways. In sports it's the "superstars". In the music industry you have not simply talentless, but people with infinitely negative musical abilities like Kanye, Rhianna and JayZ becoming billionaires. Just for the fun of it I asked all my friends listening to R&B to name 5 JayZ songs and not a single one of them could name even 3. Then you have the investment bankers who made billions from thin air, risking ordinary savers' money, but when things went south they were saved with taxpayers' money and many of them made even more money out of the crisis while ordinary people lost jobs and homes. And then you have politicians who drain trillions of dollars into the accounts of a few "businessmen" who put them in office, while the entire country was put on hold over a few hundred million dollar healthcare program.
I don't care much about music business (i've personally seen glimpses of it and ran away) and i can't really do anything to help fixing the latter 2 aspects, but basketball is a huge part of my life and it pains me so much to see what it came to with all the "superstars" BS.

- Underdogs in sports always are great to cheer for and Suns are/were underdogs from the start of the year.

- Douche bag players tend to be players that have
never got their egos checked. Suns have players that came from the D league, passed around the league etc. And these guys tend to be likeable because they appreciate their fortunes today... I'm talking about Tucker, Frye, Green and to an extent Plumlee.
These guys play hard, even if they aren't the most talented, they play hard, they appreciate the chance, they appreciate the fans, they are relatively down to earth...


- the suns are a humble team and other fans are noticing it too and are following the suns.

Hence why I would be so disappointed if they make a move for Carmelo Anthony... Did anyone read his response to a fan on twitter? He could of easily not replied or thanked the fan for cheering for him and told him he tries his best to help Knicks... But instead told him he didn't ask for him to cheer for him... I'm like wtf...

- Money changes people no doubt, but I think you can tell which players appreciate the chance and opportunities to be able to play well and do what they love the most... Players who regress after getting a long contract are another problem...


- I sometimes wonder, in 50 years when technology allows enhancements to an athlete... Someone will probably start a league that have enhance players and I often wonder what will happen to the non-enhanced players league... Because fans want entertainment as well as sports and players who don't get injured or can jump like a superhuman can have an appeal... We all watch sports for entertainment as well after all.

I totally agree with this post. I really like the teams that grow together. A big part of me liked the late 80s Suns before they made the Barkley trade because they were the true underdogs and made it to the WCF to lose to the Lakers, only to come back and take out Magic and the Lakers in 5 on their way to the WCF again, only to lose to Portland in a crushing fashion.

When you kind of grow with the players, especially ones you drafted or got on their rookie contracts, it's great.

It's nice watching the football team I pull for (the Chargers) move on with players they mostly drafted, going against a team that is only the best after signing arguably the best qb in nfl history in free agency.

This is why I can't understand bandwagon fans for the life of me. It baffles me when I run into people who say things like "My favorite teams are the Heat, the Yankees and Patriots"

great thread. props to the OP.

i always root for the underdog an like bwgood said before me, rooting fot the favorite is just so boring and unrewarding and i cant understand it.