poopypants
02-19-2002, 06:33 PM
i thought this summed it up pretty well for all you idiots who bash Philly
* I am appalled by the Kobe Bryant issue.
********** I am appalled that other people, including Kobe, don’t get it.
********** Here’s what happened last Sunday night at the First Union Center at the NBA All-Star Game: Kobe Bryant was booed by a segment of 20,000 people who attended the game when he was introduced, when he scored a basket, and finally, when he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
********** In the words of Derrick Coleman, “Well, whoop-de-damn-do!”
********** The after the game drama was priceless. There was Kobe, showing us all how “hurt” he was by the treatment. His teammates chimed in. And of course, so did the media, which all this week will dump fuel on the fire that Philadelphia is a horrible sporting venue, dredging out the old stories of booing Santa Claus and Donovan McNabb on draft day.
********** Yawn.
********** Just once, I’d like to see sportswriters do their job, rather than take the easy way out. It doesn’t take great creativity to write the nasty ol’ Philly story. It takes creativity to discover what’s behind the booing, to acknowledge that boos, especially the ones that fell on Kobe Bryant, are merely reflecting the great passion of Philadelphia fans. If these writers had any foresight at all, they would understand that this place GETS sports better than any city in America.
********** Here’s why Kobe Bryant was booed: he’s the freakin’ enemy, you dopes!
********** He wears the jersey of the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom the Sixers have had a great rivalry for some 25 years! Can any of you morons understand that it was the Lakers, with much help from Kobe, who slew the 76ers in the NBA Finals last year? Do you think that if Kobe Bryant were a member of, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers, that he would have been booed at the First Union Center on Sunday?
********** Consider this: if Pete Rose, who was booed all over baseball when he played because, mainly, he was really good at beating the home team, played for another National League team than his native Cincinnati, would he not have been booed coming back to Cincinnati? How come nobody Sunday brought up the example of Michael Jordan, the God of Chicago sports, getting a smattering of boos the first time he came back to the Windy City as a member of the Washington Wizards?
********** I’ve heard people make the case that Kobe was booed because he has disassociated himself with Philadelphia. That he found his Pacific Palisades paradise and put this blue-collar town in his rear view mirror. That he never gives anything back to Philly in the form of charity work or basketball camps, or the like. That in effect he is not Philly, but prissy Philly suburban, a child of privilege who has nothing in common with the hard-working residents of this city. And THAT’S why he was booed.
********** Maybe that has something to do with it. But the bottom line is that Kobe Bryant came to the NBA all-star game Sunday not as a Philadelphian, but a Los Angeles Laker. His West team beat an East team that contained two Sixers.
********** And here’s what outsiders don’t understand: in Philly, we hate the enemy because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. By hating the enemy, we are subconsciously urging OUR team to give it their best effort to BEAT the enemy. We are telling these pampered, overpaid professional athletes to give us the best bang for their buck. We are not in this for the fraternity of it. We deplore when members of opposite teams help each other off the deck, or patronize each other with during the game chatter. Sports is about competition. And it seems like we’re the only city that gets it. We keep it real.
********** Kobe Bryant, of all people, should understand that concept. Instead of weeping on that podium Sunday, he should have been laughing. He could have HELPED the Philadelphia image by saying something like, “You know, it was no big deal. It’s actually pretty flattering. This city loves their teams and players so much, they don’t care where you grew up, they want to beat your butt! I thought it was great!“ He could have been a little more mature. Instead, all he did was pour more acid on his city’s image.
********** Poor Kobe Bryant. He was booed. Must be tough. I don’t know how he’s going to be able to carry on when he gets back to his mansion in Malibu, carting his MVP Trophy, his zillion dollar paycheck and his voluptuous 20-year-old wife through the mahogany door with the solid gold lion head knocker.
* * *
* I am appalled by the Kobe Bryant issue.
********** I am appalled that other people, including Kobe, don’t get it.
********** Here’s what happened last Sunday night at the First Union Center at the NBA All-Star Game: Kobe Bryant was booed by a segment of 20,000 people who attended the game when he was introduced, when he scored a basket, and finally, when he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
********** In the words of Derrick Coleman, “Well, whoop-de-damn-do!”
********** The after the game drama was priceless. There was Kobe, showing us all how “hurt” he was by the treatment. His teammates chimed in. And of course, so did the media, which all this week will dump fuel on the fire that Philadelphia is a horrible sporting venue, dredging out the old stories of booing Santa Claus and Donovan McNabb on draft day.
********** Yawn.
********** Just once, I’d like to see sportswriters do their job, rather than take the easy way out. It doesn’t take great creativity to write the nasty ol’ Philly story. It takes creativity to discover what’s behind the booing, to acknowledge that boos, especially the ones that fell on Kobe Bryant, are merely reflecting the great passion of Philadelphia fans. If these writers had any foresight at all, they would understand that this place GETS sports better than any city in America.
********** Here’s why Kobe Bryant was booed: he’s the freakin’ enemy, you dopes!
********** He wears the jersey of the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom the Sixers have had a great rivalry for some 25 years! Can any of you morons understand that it was the Lakers, with much help from Kobe, who slew the 76ers in the NBA Finals last year? Do you think that if Kobe Bryant were a member of, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers, that he would have been booed at the First Union Center on Sunday?
********** Consider this: if Pete Rose, who was booed all over baseball when he played because, mainly, he was really good at beating the home team, played for another National League team than his native Cincinnati, would he not have been booed coming back to Cincinnati? How come nobody Sunday brought up the example of Michael Jordan, the God of Chicago sports, getting a smattering of boos the first time he came back to the Windy City as a member of the Washington Wizards?
********** I’ve heard people make the case that Kobe was booed because he has disassociated himself with Philadelphia. That he found his Pacific Palisades paradise and put this blue-collar town in his rear view mirror. That he never gives anything back to Philly in the form of charity work or basketball camps, or the like. That in effect he is not Philly, but prissy Philly suburban, a child of privilege who has nothing in common with the hard-working residents of this city. And THAT’S why he was booed.
********** Maybe that has something to do with it. But the bottom line is that Kobe Bryant came to the NBA all-star game Sunday not as a Philadelphian, but a Los Angeles Laker. His West team beat an East team that contained two Sixers.
********** And here’s what outsiders don’t understand: in Philly, we hate the enemy because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. By hating the enemy, we are subconsciously urging OUR team to give it their best effort to BEAT the enemy. We are telling these pampered, overpaid professional athletes to give us the best bang for their buck. We are not in this for the fraternity of it. We deplore when members of opposite teams help each other off the deck, or patronize each other with during the game chatter. Sports is about competition. And it seems like we’re the only city that gets it. We keep it real.
********** Kobe Bryant, of all people, should understand that concept. Instead of weeping on that podium Sunday, he should have been laughing. He could have HELPED the Philadelphia image by saying something like, “You know, it was no big deal. It’s actually pretty flattering. This city loves their teams and players so much, they don’t care where you grew up, they want to beat your butt! I thought it was great!“ He could have been a little more mature. Instead, all he did was pour more acid on his city’s image.
********** Poor Kobe Bryant. He was booed. Must be tough. I don’t know how he’s going to be able to carry on when he gets back to his mansion in Malibu, carting his MVP Trophy, his zillion dollar paycheck and his voluptuous 20-year-old wife through the mahogany door with the solid gold lion head knocker.
* * *