I'm gonna get this out there get it out of my head and be done. There are a lot of sports franchises who suck for one very important reason:they hire a bunch of players who don't make any noise and are just happy to show up and have a job.
First case in point I give you the Memphis grizzlies when they first got here they drafted a bunch of scrappy I wanna leave it all on the court guys. Now they may not have been loud mouths or show boats but they went out there and they played hard. Fast forward 8 years, other then a few guys trying to either increase their trade value(Rudy gay, OJ Mayo, Marc gasol and probably Zack Randolph) they mostly have a team full of guys just happy to show up and be getting paid. Now some might say I am being unfair to the four I pointed out, but I'm not because even if they didn't want to be traded if you look at how the grizzlies management has handled the team over the last 5 years if you are good, and are productive they trade you to save cap space(for what I have no clue whatsoever). I mean the grizzlies used to have Jason williams, Shane battier, Pau gasol, kyle lowry(not a household name but dude is the type to go out there and give you energy and hustle for however long you have him on the court), Bonzi Wells, Stromile Swift, Mike Miller, and earl somebody's who's name I forget right now. With those guys they had back to back playoff appearances(except for lowry) they didn't win a game but hell neither did the timberwolves for a while it just takes time and experience.
I already ranted about the grizzlies loss on friday by 10 points when they did not score for the entire end of the game. Which is a pride thing, because after that game if you had pride and couldn't muster up enough strength to make the next team you face pay you don't deserve to pick up a basketball. As much as it pained me to read about it when the raiders got called a "practice squad" by the giants what did they do they beat my eagles, because it was pride. A few weeks later they beat the bengals, again pride we deserve to play in this league too maybe we don't have all the right personnel but you will respect that we CAN beat you. I will include my sixers in this as well yeah you sign a big name or two to sell tickets but your not signing pieces that can actually help your team. SO your not going anywhere.
Because of his last two wide reciever picks(MONSTAHS can I say that, Desean Jackson if he doesn't make the probowl next year something is wrong, he's hurt so I don't know if he will get to 10 TD's this year and 1000 yards but before the injury he was on pace hell he was about to probably set the 50 yard or more TD reception record for a season and jeremy maclin ain no slouch either just needs another year of seasoning is all) I am letting Andy reid off the hook. Before last year Andy would always pick "character guys" read this as guys who won't talk too much or get into on the field or off the field issues. Problem is this quiet guys were always quiet especially in big moments. If you wanna show boat or trash talk on the field fine, I don't mind a guy who wants the spotlight because that means he will be fearless when it's crunch time. When you need a guy to give that extra effort so folks will remember his contribution to the victory, the comeback, the stand quiet guys will always let you down. They shy away from the spotlight, they just wanna collect a paycheck.
This is not to say NO quiet guys can't be good, Marvin Harrison comes to mind and yes he was good and didn't bring a lot of drama but he's a rare talent. Which when you think about the numbers your looking for a needle in a haystack made of a bunch of other needles found in haystacks because thats what sports are. There are soo many players, schools, overseas teams, development or "minor" leagues. That for you to find a good player who can contribute for years in any sport is a long shot, you get better odds at a craps table in vegas. Usually a good sign though is somebody who wants the spotlight. A guy who wants to be the one to hit that walk off home run at the bottom of the 9th inning game 7 of the world series. The man who wants to go up and catch the jump ball in traffic on that hail mary at the end of the game. The player who wants to shoot that buzzer beater and win the game. In basketball I would say ray allen, I mean have you ever heard ray allen's name in anything he has a good career shooting average and points per game average. His game is steady, Reggie miller without that killer instinct(because Reggie was a trash talker ask a knicks fan about Reggie miller).
Don't get me wrong there are some guys out there who are all mouth and no action as well, so getting the loudest guy isn't a cure all either. But you want that guy who when your down 20 points in the third quarter is looking at you pleading with you to put him in the game, that James T Kirk type if there is still time on the clock we can do something. Who sees the 11 guys on the other team coming at him free but doesn't think I'm about to get killed but this is how I am gonna make these guys miss. Who has the ice water in his veins closer staring daggers at him and is thinking I'm taking this sucker downtown give me your best pitch.
I have had this gripe about sports as business for years. Mainly because in this drive to make themselves seem more palatable to the corporate dollars they forget why the corporate folks were so interested:the people in the stands. You give the people in the stands that everyday Joe who works his 9-5 or 5-1, 6-2 shift and just wants to go home relax and watch a game. Maybe have a beer, the folks that even if you go 0 for the season show up if you played hard and say damn we sucked but we never gave up, a break here or there and maybe we go 500, hell maybe we even have a winning season. Any competition is a test of wills, preparation and luck. Because you can be the best in the world and still need to catch a few breaks, have a shot bounce off awkwardly, have a ball that flutters hit your finger tips and bounce into your body not away, have that high fly ball not lose as much momentum as you thought and sail into the stands fair. That wrister go under the goalies pad and not catch just enough to stop short.
Give me a guy who wants the ball whether your winning or losing, who sees the paint as his own personal domain and nobody better even think that they gonna get a rebound, the guy who sees a ball over the middle not as a death sentence but as an opportunity to bounce off and run 30 yards for the score. That inside fastball as the game tieing or winning home run, that break away as a chance to stone the other teams best scorer.
That is what made me fall in love with sports as a kid, watching guys go out there and say you think you can beat me prove it.
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