Wizards fanbase

[blazinskillz]

Why are we so horrible? Is this a DC thing where teams like the cowboys can get so much love here? I've been lurking this site for maybe 7 yrs and I notice that Wizards fans are always hard on their players. New york, Miami, Chicago will never dog out their main players as much as we do. Saw few people dogging Bradley Beal for his play last night. Why don't we appreciate what we have? Blaming management is something else but to have regrets one game into the season is another thing. I feel like we should support our team regardless...or just maybe find another team to root for. IMO Wall is one of the better PG's in this league, and he's a difference maker even with all his flaws, but people are acting like his situation wasn't worse than ever other top PG that we've seen in awhile. Sorry if this sounds like venting but we really gotta do better. I feel like last night, Wall would of willed us to a win. can't wait till next month.

[montestewart]

Why are we so horrible? Is this a DC thing where teams like the cowboys can get so much love here? I've been lurking this site for maybe 7 yrs and I notice that Wizards fans are always hard on their players. New york, Miami, Chicago will never dog out their main players as much as we do. Saw few people dogging Bradley Beal for his play last night. Why don't we appreciate what we have? Blaming management is something else but to have regrets one game into the season is another thing. I feel like we should support our team regardless...or just maybe find another team to root for. IMO Wall is one of the better PG's in this league, and he's a difference maker even with all his flaws, but people are acting like his situation wasn't worse than ever other top PG that we've seen in awhile. Sorry if this sounds like venting but we really gotta do better. I feel like last night, Wall would of willed us to a win. can't wait till next month.

There's no good reason that I can see to be hard on Beal so early in his career. That's just frustration. Everything else you wrote: wrong! As a former Knicks fan, I can assure you that knowledgeable NYC sports fans are not tolerant of failure. But there are many bandwagon fans of NYC teams, who just love the aura and are a little short on critical analysis. Of course Bulls and Heat fans don't dog their players, because...do I really need to explain this?

What does "support our team regardless" mean? Should we love every book we've read, every movie we've seen, every politician in charge, without regard to quality? Should we uncritically support all of our ex-wives? (I want to give a shout out to CCJ.) Team gets worse, ticket prices go up, we smile and put cash in the Cuisinart? Well now, that sounds like an excellent recipe for permanent suck.

I say NO!

[cdouglas]

I long for the days where the Wizs are competitive again. It was a good taste while Arenas was here and I REALLY missed the excitement. I was reading on the forum where the Charlotte is going to change their name. I sure wish DC would change the Warlocks oh I mean Wizards.

[Halcyon]

It's because we suck. And we've sucked for so long.

[Zonkerbl]

It's because we're cursed until the local football team's name is changed to the Pigskins.

[MJG]

Obviously a matter of opinion, but I think "I feel like we should support our team regardless" is wrong. I know some people out there treat sports as a religion, but I just view it at another form of entertainment, in competition with so many other things for my free time. When the team is constantly bad and rarely appears to have an especially good plan for righting the ship, I'm going to express frustration, watch fewer games, post on/read the board less, etc.

I'd say if anything, you got it backwards: it's the team that should be thanking me for not dropping support entirely and finding another organization to root for, despite decades of incompetence from top to bottom.

[Nivek]

I root for the team regardless. I won't shut off my mind, though. If I think they're making bad decisions; if the team sucks -- I'll say so.

I support the team with my interest. I support the team by watching them despite the fact that they've been one of the worst run teams in pro sports for decades. I support them by continuing to analyze and write about what they're doing despite the disingenuous/clueless comments from the current owner.

I've actually been thinking in recent weeks about why I'm still a fan of this crappy franchise after 35 years of ineptitude, disappointment and incompetence. Two things came to mind: 1) The Wizards interest me. 2) Habit.

[fugop]

A bit of speculation:

1. The Wizards forum on RealGM has a bunch of smart posters. I'd venture that we probably have the highest ratio of insightful contributors to dullards of any team forum on RealGM. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1. DC has both smart people living there, and a basketball tradition; 2. when your team is bad, the dullards lose interest.

2. Intelligent posters tend to succumb less to homerism, and often err on the side of cynicism.

3. DC has a transient upper middle class population, and a lot of people passing through bring their old loyalties along. Random douchebag K street lawyers buy a suite or season tickets, with no interest in the actual team.

That said, if you look back at the pre-season predictions threads, you'll find that most posters are still secretly optimistic, or at minimum expect more wins than materialize.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Why are we so horrible? Is this a DC thing where teams like the cowboys can get so much love here? I've been lurking this site for maybe 7 yrs and I notice that Wizards fans are always hard on their players. New york, Miami, Chicago will never dog out their main players as much as we do. Saw few people dogging Bradley Beal for his play last night. Why don't we appreciate what we have? Blaming management is something else but to have regrets one game into the season is another thing. I feel like we should support our team regardless...or just maybe find another team to root for. IMO Wall is one of the better PG's in this league, and he's a difference maker even with all his flaws, but people are acting like his situation wasn't worse than ever other top PG that we've seen in awhile. Sorry if this sounds like venting but we really gotta do better. I feel like last night, Wall would of willed us to a win. can't wait till next month.

I don't think I am a horrible fan. Athletes, coaches, and management in professional sports make a lot of money. I root for everyone to do well and to prosper. At the same time, if I feel someone else is much more deserving or better at a certain level than what the Wizard have, I will say so.

If I criticize Wall a lot it is because of where he was drafted, 1st overall. I might perceive his ability to lead or affect outcomes positively to be much less than the consensus of opinions. I might be a hater. Wall may be better than I think. I could be wrong. It is just my opinion, for instance, that I can get wins from J'Rue Holiday or Brandon Jennings even if they don't have Wall's physical tools. Same aged guys and the overall ability isn't that greatly different. One might defend a lot better and another can hit from outside.

As for beating up on the GM, Ernie Grunfeld, look at the Wizards record since Eddie Jordan was fired. Why not make it a double and fire the guy who IMO should have been fired way back when EJ was let go?

Before Jordan's string of 43-39 or so teams that went out in the first round of the playoffs every year but one, the Bullets/Wizards almost NEVER went to the playoffs in the last 30 years. Is the franchise cursed? I don't believe in that. It has been the worst IMO, Clippers included, in terms of playoff wins and losses.

I am very vocal because for years, and years, and years I have suggested things that this GM never does. I get tired of hearing about players that everyone here saw coming, like Jae Crowder, not being drafted but Tomas Satoransky going instead at 32. I think EG is beyond bad and so is Ted Leonsis for keeping him.

Washington Wizards are a team I follow almost like a bad addiction. You figure they've got to win again some day. That said, I would be way better off not caring about this team, I think. I really enjoy this board because this is like a life line to me. I love expressing myself here among friends.

The kindred spirits here and the HOPE for the Wizards to be good keep me coming back. And the addiction.

[hands11]

I look at it like this. I will always pull for lemons to get turned in to lemon-aid but..

Front office matters a ton.

I mostly look at things structurally. I never trusted we would get there with Abe as owner. He just consistently made moves from the front office that created dysfunction. i.e Hiring a HC before your GM is setting up failure. Hiring a VP that become your coach is more of the same. So is falling in love with a player and resigning him at all cost. Picking a coach that sucked at installing solid defense. While I pulled for even that to work, I never believed it would.

Why I have hope. While everything hasn't gone the way I would personally do it, in general, I can follow the plan and it makes sense. I like Ted, way more then Abe as the owner. He has the front office organized in a traditional manner of chain of command. He has a long term plan. He did a hard reboot. They invested in younger players via the draft. They tanked when they needed to given his strategy. They got ride of the players they thought didn't focus on the right things. He cleaned house. I get why.

Sure there were other approaches. He would have spent a ton to bring in FAs. And even given his strategy he could have executed some moves differently. No many loved the Okafor Areza acquisition. But at a macro level, I understand the approach and it is a viable approach. Given that. I will give it time to bare fruit.

They did a reboot in just two years and we are now in year three. I'm not over reacting after just one game where we didn't have Nene, Wall or Kevin and where Booker laid and egg and Beal was in his first game. That to me would seem to be over reacting.

Kevin will return soon. Nene will follow and Wall will be back sometime in Dec.

There will be opportunities to judge their progress at ever stage as those players return. I predict they will look much better this year then last and they will look even better next year then this year. That seems to be a positive trend. And from what I can see, I don't see where they have backed themselves into a corner. They will be able to adjust moving forward. Maybe not as quickly or as much as they could have without Okafor and Trevor A, but they will have options to get better.

I'm holding judgement for now pulling for getting some lemonade before long.

[tontoz]

I think the level of fan support is actually pretty high given that the team has been bad for so long.

[DCZards]

I'm sorta addicted to being a homer and rooting for the individuals on the home "team." So, for better or for worse, even when the front office is making lousy decisions and putting mediocre teams out there, I'm always going to root for the Zards because they're my home team--just as I root for the Nats, Hoyas, Caps, Skins, etc. Maybe even more importantly, I root for and wish the best for the players on my home team, whether it's Unseld, Chenier, Grevey, Wes Matthews, Bol, Jeff Malone, Dan Roundtree, Ruland, Strickland, Terry Davis, Hot Plate Williams, Webber, Eackles, and on and on.

I'm all for valid criticisms and critiques of the FO, owner, the performance of players and coaches, etc., but I have a problem with fans whose allegiance to the Zards depends upon whether the team is winning or losing. On this board, it seems like just about everyone is "true fan" of the Zards, regardless of the performance of the team or the W-L record. I like that.

[montestewart]

Yes, DCZards, as much as I complain, I have never rooted against the Wizards/Bullets, or any of their players, though I may root for one over another to get the start or make the roster. I occasionally visit other team's boards, and while it's interesting to see what others say about their teams, it feels like going to a total stranger's house for Thanksgiving.

[Higga]

I'll always be a Wizards fan, as I'm always loyal to the hometown teams. But my interest in them has dropped big time in recent years At one point they were my clear cut #2 team(the Redskins will always be #1), but now they're not even in the top 3. The Skins, Nats, hell I'd even my George Mason Patriots above Les Bullez.

The Wizards are just a train wreck compared to the other D.C. teams right now. The Skins are exciting with RG3, the Nats are contenders with two young phenoms in Strasburg and Harper, and the Caps are a solid playoff team with a very fun and marketable player in Ovie(if the NHL ever comes back). Hell even D.C. United has a very strong and passionate fan base and is back in the playoffs.

[Soup's Uncle]

Always rootin' for DC for me. The fairweather fans come and go. When the Skins get good under RG3 (bound to happen sooner or later), the bandwagoners will come. Just like the Caps and Nats.

That's how you know you're a real fan. When you watch the games even though your team blows.

[Soup's Uncle]

I'll always be a Wizards fan, as I'm always loyal to the hometown teams. But my interest in them has dropped big time in recent years At one point they were my clear cut #2 team(the Redskins will always be #1), but now they're not even in the top 3. The Skins, Nats, hell I'd even my George Mason Patriots above Les Bullez.

The Wizards are just a train wreck compared to the other D.C. teams right now. The Skins are exciting with RG3, the Nats are contenders with two young phenoms in Strasburg and Harper, and the Caps are a solid playoff team with a very fun and marketable player in Ovie(if the NHL ever comes back). Hell even D.C. United has a very strong and passionate fan base and is back in the playoffs.

Skins will always be my number one. But my 1.5 will always be the Wiz. Caps and Nats just don't do it for me. grew up a Football/Baseball kid.

[Higga]

I'll always be a Wizards fan, as I'm always loyal to the hometown teams. But my interest in them has dropped big time in recent years At one point they were my clear cut #2 team(the Redskins will always be #1), but now they're not even in the top 3. The Skins, Nats, hell I'd even my George Mason Patriots above Les Bullez.

The Wizards are just a train wreck compared to the other D.C. teams right now. The Skins are exciting with RG3, the Nats are contenders with two young phenoms in Strasburg and Harper, and the Caps are a solid playoff team with a very fun and marketable player in Ovie(if the NHL ever comes back). Hell even D.C. United has a very strong and passionate fan base and is back in the playoffs.

Skins will always be my number one. But my 1.5 will always be the Wiz. Caps and Nats just don't do it for me. grew up a Football/Baseball kid.

I don't care as much about the Caps, but I followed the Nats a lot more this past season(had a feeling going in we'd have a good season)and really enjoyed it. Not only are they really good now, they're gonna be great for the forseeable future with young talent.

Wish Grunfeld was 1/10th the GM Mike Rizzo is. The Nats lost 100+ games in 2009. Three years later they have the best record in baseball. THATS how you rebuild. Compare that to the last three years of the Wiz attempts at rebuilding...

[miller31time]

Being a fan doesn't mean you have to blindly support all of a team's failed initiatives.

I'll never stop being a Wizards fan but until they give me reason not to articulate their shortcomings and failures, I'll keep being critical.

Also, it really, really helps with the stress factor.

[payitforward]

I root for the team regardless. I won't shut off my mind, though. If I think they're making bad decisions; if the team sucks -- I'll say so.

I support the team with my interest. I support the team by watching them despite the fact that they've been one of the worst run teams in pro sports for decades. I support them by continuing to analyze and write about what they're doing despite the disingenuous/clueless comments from the current owner.

I've actually been thinking in recent weeks about why I'm still a fan of this crappy franchise after 35 years of ineptitude, disappointment and incompetence. Two things came to mind: 1) The Wizards interest me. 2) Habit.

+1

[payitforward]

... I'm not over reacting after just one game where we didn't have Nene, Wall or Kevin and where Booker laid and egg and Beal was in his first game. That to me would seem to be over reacting.

...There will be opportunities to judge ... progress at ever stage as ... players return.

+1