Tha Cynic wrote:
Or OG knows Dame didn't want to come to Toronto and pranked him with it ...
That is kind of the point. I honestly don't care what sorts of jokes these guys have between themselves, I just don't like seeing stories written about people being terrorized by being told they are going to Toronto, or having a laugh at our expense. Now if this was someone from another team, I wouldn't give a rats foot about it but this is one of our vets, the guy who rookies are supposed to look up to and follow. I would like to see more pride in the organization, and not have being on our roster become some sort of inside joke amongst the elite players. I know how I felt when I read that, and as someone that forks out for courtsides I would prefer the joke/terror be at someone else's expense. If you want to scare your buddy, please make sure that at the very least it does not become a stand alone news item as it is not a good look for the organization. He is supposed to be one of the leaders, and I would like to see more pride in how he conducts himself in front of the media.
Teams go to a great lengths to create a culture that is respected and admired. Fan's are being asked to fork out a king's ransom for attending these games, and the 15 roster spots are coveted more than any precious metal, job or distinction. The culture we create and enforce is the culture we live with.
These are little things, but imo they say a lot about your character. It is true, the players are not as loyal as they were in the 80's, when the 15th player on Boston hated the guts of the 15th player on the Lakers. These days, they are all friends, and chatting it up during shoot around. Still, the fans are being asked to pay more money and to make bigger sacrifices financially to support their teams, so on that account, regardless of how chummy you are, I would hope that in front of a hot mic you will do your utmost to protect the pride of your team, and not use the brand for these sorts of shenanigans. Like I said, I would not expect this from much more senior guys and to me this reeks of immaturity.
I don't know, maybe I am getting too old and taking this way too seriously. Perhaps I am the one that is out of touch and reading more into this than I should. The fact is that I did not like hearing that our club was the butt of this joke, it rubbed me the wrong way and I started to question OG's loyalty to our organization for the 1st time. This actually hurt me, and I felt awful for calling OG out on this and ended up getting a migraine after posting my rant, but my emotions were real. As a fan, I know I am not going to get a new fanship with another team, nor can I change the positive memories I have from the Scotiabank center, I am locked in as you may say into living and dying by our organization and our logo. So I take stupid stories like these a little more personally than perhaps I should. That said I don't get paid gazillions of dollars, and I would hope that those that do, would take employment and the sacristy of our logo more seriously, after all this is their livelihood, this is one of those dream spots, even if it is on the Raptors.
