Bill Simmons: It's OK to switch from Knicks to Nets

wigglestrue · Post #81 » by **wigglestrue** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 6:52 pm

3. If Celtics were in same situation (with a Dolan owner), I'd stop rooting for them and be an NBA widow unless there was a 2nd Boston team.

I guess the "unfathomably cold, clumsy and impersonal Paul Gaston era" from 1993 to 2002 doesn't count? Or was he a stealth widow for a decade?

francium34 · Post #82 » by **francium34** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:00 pm

1. I agree jumping now would be better than "bandwagoning" once (if) they are proven to be good. Be cautious though, this is a one-time free transfer-- you can't jump off board again if they continue to suck.

2. Knicks have enough spending power to get back in it when/if they fall behind the Nets, especially since they are currently only overpaying 1 player

3. I personally think Simmons (and others) are overreacting, if all this is prompted by letting Lin go. Knicks front office still did a good job overall, bringing in Camby and Kidd, not matching overpaid contracts in Lin and Fields. However, if Lin indeed turns into that superstar some people believe, and Nets some how land Dwight Howard, this summer will be seen as the turning point in New York sports history.

seren · Post #83 » by **seren** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:03 pm

HeatFanSince87 wrote:BS! Simmons is a loser! No real fan would ever switch teams. Pathetic to even think that and him saying that shows he isn't a true fan. I have dealt with piss poor management from the Phins for a decade. As a fan, you deal with it.. And hope it changes. I'm supposed to become a fan of a rival team? Pathetic logic on Simmons part.

How can you even fabricate being a fan? Like u just wake up one day and the feelings are suppossed to be gone, or changed?

Which team were you supporting before 1987?

Unless the Heat is your very first basketball team, by your standards, you should be considered a bandwagoner.

hamek · Post #84 » by **hamek** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:03 pm

So according to realgm there are no real Thunder fans. People from OKC couldn't become fans when they moved there because it would be bandwagoning.

wigglestrue · Post #85 » by **wigglestrue** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:11 pm

hamek wrote:So according to realgm there are no real Thunder fans. People from OKC couldn't become fans when they moved there because it would be bandwagoning.

People from OKC never had a team. They didn't switch.

VCRJKidd15 · Post #86 » by **VCRJKidd15** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:12 pm

hamek wrote:So according to realgm there are no real Thunder fans. People from OKC couldn't become fans when they moved there because it would be bandwagoning.

Did OKC have a basketball team already?

seren · Post #87 » by **seren** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:13 pm

wigglestrue wrote:
hamek wrote:So according to realgm there are no real Thunder fans. People from OKC couldn't become fans when they moved there because it would be bandwagoning.

People from OKC never had a team. They didn't switch.

I am pretty sure at least some of them were into professional basketball and support a team.

VCRJKidd15 · Post #88 » by **VCRJKidd15** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:17 pm

seren wrote:
wigglestrue wrote:
hamek wrote:So according to realgm there are no real Thunder fans. People from OKC couldn't become fans when they moved there because it would be bandwagoning.

People from OKC never had a team. They didn't switch.

I am pretty sure at least some of them were into professional basketball and support a team.

So did the people who live in Brooklyn

seren · Post #89 » by **seren** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:18 pm

VCRJKidd15 wrote:
seren wrote:
wigglestrue wrote:
People from OKC never had a team. They didn't switch.

I am pretty sure at least some of them were into professional basketball and support a team.
So did the people who live in Brooklyn

Exactly my point. It is perfectly fine to support your local team.

wigglestrue · Post #90 » by **wigglestrue** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:21 pm

seren wrote:
wigglestrue wrote:
hamek wrote:So according to realgm there are no real Thunder fans. People from OKC couldn't become fans when they moved there because it would be bandwagoning.

People from OKC never had a team. They didn't switch.

I am pretty sure at least some of them were into professional basketball and support a team.

Meh. Maybe. I'm not an expert in the ethics of fan loyalty, but I think if you're living in OKC and you've been rooting for, say, the Celtics or Lakers or Bulls from afar without any hope of your own city having a team, and then your own city suprisingly gets a team, then it's different? Any opinion I have on this stuff only relates to hometown teams. The business of rooting for teams that aren't in your region is something I don't really understand.

seren · Post #91 » by **seren** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:24 pm

wigglestrue wrote:
Meh. Maybe. I'm not an expert in the ethics of fan loyalty, but I think if you're living in OKC and you've been rooting for, say, the Celtics or Lakers or Bulls from afar without any hope of your own city having a team, and then your own city suprisingly gets a team, then it's different? Any opinion I have on this stuff only relates to hometown teams. The business of rooting for teams that aren't in your region is something I don't really understand.

OK, now. What is the appropriate mileage to consider jumping the ship? 10 miles? 100 miles? 500?

Rockice_24 · Post #92 » by **Rockice_24** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:24 pm

I could see some Brooklynites changing since they finally have a team in their borough. If Nets fans moved along with the Nets to Brooklyn and the NBA moves a new team to NJ then people who live in NJ might want to switch to that team from the Nets cause they support their states team. I mean that's why I root for who I do cause they are my local team.

I mean I was born in the 80's I could have liked the Lakers cause they were good and had my favorite player on their team (Magic) but I didn't cause the Nets were in Jersey and I supported my local team.

wigglestrue · Post #93 » by **wigglestrue** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:26 pm

So did the people who live in Brooklyn

Brooklyn is fifteen miles from Newark, and one bridge away from Manhattan. Both the Knicks and the Nets were local enough options for people in Brooklyn.

therealbig3 · Post #94 » by **therealbig3** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:27 pm

Well, keep in mind that Brooklyn fans haven't had a sports team of their own since the Dodgers. So I think it's totally fine if Knicks fans in Brooklyn switched to the Nets, but I do understand why some fans would look down on die-hard Knicks fans not from Brooklyn all of a sudden start switching.

But, every franchise that hopes to be successful has a large contingent of bandwagon fans. In fact, I'd say that most of the people that you see in arenas are bandwagon fans.

The "real" Nets fans are fans from NJ that will keep supporting the team, and new fans they'll pick up from Brooklyn, mainly. Then you'll pick up fans from around the country that have recently started watching basketball. Then on top of that, you'll get the inevitable bandwagon fans, if the Nets make some noise.

624 · Post #95 » by **624** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:28 pm

The only people I approve of switching to Nets fans are the ones who live in and represent Brooklyn. Those circumstances are reasonable.

Anyone else needs to stay a Knicks fan.

The4thHorseman · Post #96 » by **The4thHorseman** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:31 pm

Simmons is a dork. It's NEVER ok to switch teams. If your team is out of the playoffs, then it's ok of course.

wigglestrue · Post #97 » by **wigglestrue** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:32 pm

seren wrote:
wigglestrue wrote:
Meh. Maybe. I'm not an expert in the ethics of fan loyalty, but I think if you're living in OKC and you've been rooting for, say, the Celtics or Lakers or Bulls from afar without any hope of your own city having a team, and then your own city suprisingly gets a team, then it's different? Any opinion I have on this stuff only relates to hometown teams. The business of rooting for teams that aren't in your region is something I don't really understand.

OK, now. What is the appropriate mileage to consider jumping the ship? 10 miles? 100 miles? 500?

Again, I have no firm opinion about long-distance fan ethics. It's a foreign concept to me. But it's probably something like a distance that few would consider reasonable as a daily commute to work. So, way more than 10, definitely less than 500, probably less than 100.

rj2496 · Post #98 » by **rj2496** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:32 pm

624 wrote:The only people I approve of switching to Nets fans are the ones who live in and represent Brooklyn. Those circumstances are reasonable.

Anyone else needs to stay a Knicks fan.

agreed.

seren · Post #99 » by **seren** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:38 pm

wigglestrue wrote:
Again, I have no firm opinion about long-distance fan ethics. It's a foreign concept to me. But it's probably something like a distance that few would consider reasonable as a daily commute to work. So, way more than 10, definitely less than 500, probably less than 100.

In this case, Knicks fans in Suffolk County should definitely switch. Commute to Manhattan is really not reasonable.

NZB2323 · Post #100 » by **NZB2323** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:38 pm

I grew up a Bears fan in Wisconsin in the 90s. No one can say that I'm not a true fan.

However, I can understand people in Brooklyn being Nets fans. People from Brooklyn are very proud of thier neighborhood. New York is such a big city that the different neighborhoods are almost like different cities. Someone in Brooklyn switching from the Knicks to the Nets is similar to someone from Houston switching from the Cowboys to the Texans.