Sports heroes rise because of their transcendental skills and athletic gifts and they become immortal when the passionate fans backed them in their journey to stardom. Sports fans have a strong impact on players' and teams' success or downfall.
Wonder why players could not perform in crucial moments? Why great players choke during big games? The sixth man of sports has the answer - the home crowd matters most when it counts.
People laughed how Lebron James choked in the fourth quarters against the Mavs in the 2011 Finals, or wondered why Derrick Rose blew a possible NCCA title against Mario Chalmers in 2008. The crowd, especially the home crowd makes a difference.
More than the great executives of Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, these storied franchises are more or less popular, I suppose, without the amazing fans supporting the ups and downs of the team.
Remember, when the eight-seeded Memphis Grizzles eliminated the top seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2011 Western Conference Playoffs, the fan based increased and the home crowd attendance made a major turn-around. Inspired by the tremendous support of their rejuvenated fans, they forced a Game 7 showdown in the semifinals series against the Thunders. It is evident this year that the fan support intensified and their performance is raised to a higher notch.
The Oklahoma City Thunder is a young and rising titan in the Western Conference Finals, but the home crowd support is a major inspiration for them to excel more in their home court. They are scary deadly when they are in their home turf. Kobe Bryant even admitted that the OKC crowd is the most raucous crowd in the 2011 Playoffs.
Even with his first NBA title, Lebron James is perhaps the most scrutinized player of the NBA today. The fans loved him in Cleveland prior to his departure to Miami. After making the infamous "Decision" the Cleveland fans hated, vilified and even cursed James for leaving the city which considered him a son and hero.
There are a handful of NBA players being hated by the fans when they leave the franchise/team which levied the support of the fans in their career. Although, sports is considered a business, the fans could not put away their hearts and emotions because they feel being betrayed when a franchise player transfers zip code. Lebron and Carmelo Anthony are fine examples.
In most cases, a team/franchise is not the only one investing on their players, the fans join them in by investing their passion and unrelented support, and when a player opts out for another team, the fans always will definitely have a shot on it.
Fans reactions can cloud franchise decisions - from player trades, rookie draft picks to personnel hiring and firing. The front office carries the heavy challenge in putting the right pieces of a successful team, a slight blunder means a hundredfold squander for the passionate devotees.
The fans have something to say on matters of getting the best available talent in the draft, the expendables for trading and on determining if the coach is no longer a legitimate steward. Many coaches and GM's have been cursed or fired because of busted results of front office decisions. Pistons fans could not forget the squander made by Detroit GM Joe Dumars on Darko Milicic in 2003 or the chance wasted by Wizards when they drafted Kwame Brown as the number 1 overall pick in 2001.
When the lockout struck the NBA, it was not only the players and the NBA personnel who were affected. The battle of wits, pride and ego of the players versus the owners left the fans relegated to the sideline, waiting for a labor agreement that materialized before 2011 ended. Good thing, Christmas celebrations became more fantastic with the opening games. The season was shortened, millions of bucks were lost, special activities were cancelled and the fans were left powerlessly waiting for their hoops heroes to rise again.
As former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich once said, "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion", and I contend, never underestimate the passion of the fans, because they are the lifeblood of sports, the sixth man who could shape success or defeat in many ways.
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