A disturbing trend (among fans)

RookieOfTheDay

RookieOfTheDay

Starter
#1
#1
On forums like this one, and on 1140, I've been reading/hearing lots of fans who claim to be done with The Kings. Many even saying at this point they don’t care if The Kings leave Sacramento. I’ve seen some actually wish they would leave. I’ve never seen this level of disinterest and disgust with the Kings. This is Sacramento, where fans have always loved and embraced The Kings, be they good or bad. My how things have changed.

I’m as frustrated as anyone right now but I’d much rather have a bad NBA team than no NBA team. Things will get better.....eventually. In the meantime though, fans need to not give up on this team. A half empty arena and a dwindling fan-base won’t help the team’s chances of staying (obviously).

So while I’m not generally the positive guy, I’ll take that role today and say, come on Kings fans, get it together! Criticize the team, they deserve it. But don’t resort to just flat out hating on them and totally giving up on them. True fans never give up hope.
 
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Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#3
#3
I mentioned way back at the beginnin of camp that I hoped the arena struggles did not produce the death spiral it did in Seattle -- for all the oil baron villainy, Seattle's fans helped that team leave in the edn by bailing out. I've comared it to a relationship before. one party gets insecure -- the fans -- and so to avoid being hurt they quit putting out, thus further driving the other party away and making the subject of their fear a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think the same dynamic is at work here. Although ironically here the fans/city themselves fired the first shot by never resolving the arena issues. Then when its never resolved, this becomes a source of insecurity, so then everybody overboard. Its really sad for fans that only 10 years ago were the absolute best and came out rain and shine, 50win season or 20win season.
 
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Peter_Gibbons

Starter
#4
#4
The "fans" that claim to be done because of this bad stretch, they can leave and we won't miss them.

Let me say something here. I've been a Kings fan living in LA since 1999 when the Kings started to become an exciting contender. I liked basketball since I was a kid but it was during that time that I got really into the NBA and I took a liking to the Kings. I've been a fan since.

I'm not saying we non Sacramento resident Kings fans deserves more credit, but damn we have it hard. On top of all the heartbreaks that goes for every fan, we don't get to watch most of the games unless we pay for league pass. We don't have the local support and association. Instead we live in laker town fill with bandwagon fans (its true) that just so happen to become a laker fan again when they started winning championships. We get ridiculed by these bandwagoners and talk smack to us at sports bars but we do not back down or change our allegiance. I stayed loyal to the team even after the good times are long gone.

It would've been easy for me/us to just say forget it and jump on the lakers' wagon. But it will never happen, at least not for me. So for anyone that gave up because of a bad start, leave and don't let the door hit you on your way out. Thats not what Kings fans are about.
 
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Kingsguy881

Guest
#5
#5
Fans are fickle in any sport. Fan is short for fanatic. So those people weren't fans anyway, just hangers-on. Never thought I'd say this about Kings fans but f- them.
 
One and Done

One and Done

Bench
#6
#6
You have to understand that these things happen when your team has been:

1.) Out of the playoffs for nearly 5 years
2.) Both slow and misfiring while rebuilding
3.) Surrounded by a city that has been hit hard by a massive recession and resulting negative sentiment
and finally,
4.) We're heading for a potential under-20 win season

It's not like the 80s/90s anymore, when fans will support the team regardless of W's. There were a lot of tangible and intangible factors that attributed to sellouts back then that, quite frankly, no longer exist. Now, this city expects a team that wins - but even then, I'm not sure our citizens can really afford Kings games anymore (this is no fault to MS&E, as without a strong corporate base the franchise is abnormally reliant on ticket sales for revenue).

Should we start winning again - two, three seasons from now - there will still be a "perception gap" of winning back fans and the city, meaning many people will hesitate to jump back on the bandwagon. That's why it's on the organization to become more aggressive and creative in trades, acquisitions, extensions, and the like - NOW.

After five years, I'm not sure the current organization has what it takes. Geoff's got many talents as a GM, but the fact is that we haven't been in the playoffs since 2006 and might not be back for another couple of years. You can't run from that. He's tried to reconstruct the team in many different ways, with each idea failing - the phrase "throwing ideas against the wall but nothing sticks" comes to mind. However, I continue to have faith in the franchise just as any fan would, but in what appears to be another failed rebuild, these times are very, very trying.
 
D

dvirc218

G-League
#7
#7
When I reach hell one day, I will still be a Kings Fan.
We suck, I know, but thats no excuse.
Hard times, and changes need to be done.
Wetfail needs to go. Right now.
 
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pshn80

Starter
#9
#9
Hang on there friends. Fans will leave. They always have. Many of us will stay. Not logical but I wouldn't have any other way. When things improve the Kings will attract fans again, some old and some new. For the moment the real hurt is at the cash register. The Kings haven't lost their entertainment value. They bring in the best basketball players in the world and, once the Kings learn to beat them once in a while, it'll be a hot ticket. We're in the middle of a basketball recession in Sacto right now.
 
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Kingsguy881

Guest
#11
#11
Bricklayer said:
See this I think is one of those "perception gaps" well. You really can't have a failed rebuild with an extremely young team in a 15 game span.
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The problem is people want results immediately and that does not happen with a team this young and inexperienced. I still stand by what you said about this season being a sort of trial and the real season being next year.
 
A

Asaf

Starter
#12
#12
Kingsguy881 said:
The problem is people want results immediately and that does not happen with a team this young and inexperienced. I still stand by what you said about this season being a sort of trial and the real season being next year.
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Isn't that what everyone said last year?

And I agree that this is not a failed rebuild. I think Petrie did a great job putting together a talented and balanced roster, but I think that the youth and inexperience excuse has expired. For a team with this talent level, youth and inexperience can be an excuse for not making the playoffs. It is not a valid excuse for playing so poorly and being on the way to probably the worst record in franchise history.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#14
#14
RookieOfTheDay said:
On forums like this one, and on 1140, I've been reading/hearing lots of fans who claim to be done with The Kings. Many even saying at this point they don’t care if The Kings leave Sacramento. I’ve seen some actually wish they would leave. I’ve never seen this level of disinterest and disgust with the Kings. This is Sacramento, where fans have always loved and embraced The Kings, be they good or bad. My how things have changed.

I’m as frustrated as anyone right now but I’d much rather have a bad NBA team than no NBA team. Things will get better.....eventually. In the meantime though, fans need to not give up on this team. A half empty arena and a dwindling fan-base won’t help the team’s chances of staying (obviously).

So while I’m not generally the positive guy, I’ll take that role today and say, come on Kings fans, get it together! Criticize the team, they deserve it. But don’t resort to just flat out hating on them and totally giving up on them. True fans never give up hope.
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Damm! I'm starting to like you. Nice post, and I agree with you. I truely hope that sacramento realizes just what it has. If they lose this team, the odd's of getting another one are slim and none. And while it would be more convienient for me if they moved to SoCal, my heart is still in sacramento. So I want them to stay put. Unlike you, I'm usually very positiive. But I have to admit, its been tough of late to be positive. The positive things have come in small pieces, and they've been scattered about. Sometimes even well hidden. All I know, is that no one ever accomplished anything by thinking they couldn't. So to my mind, negativism is non productive. When I was in the Marine Corps, the last person I wanted in my foxhole was someone yelling, were all going to die. Its not a big morale booster.

By the way, some think that criticism is negative. I disagree with that. Its called constructive criticism for a reason. You can't change bad habits unless you know they're bad habits. Not that any of the players, or even management listen to us on this fourm. My point is I don't have a problem with fans being critical of players when they play badly. But I do have a problem with the whole team stinks. We have no talent, and we never will because management stinks, and owners are cheapskates. In the foxhole, thats the equvilient of, were all going to die.
 
est.1999

est.1999

Starter
#15
#15
Asaf said:
Isn't that what everyone said last year?

And I agree that this is not a failed rebuild. I think Petrie did a great job putting together a talented and balanced roster, but I think that the youth and inexperience excuse has expired. For a team with this talent level, youth and inexperience can be an excuse for not making the playoffs. It is not a valid excuse for playing so poorly and being on the way to probably the worst record in franchise history.
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You hit the nail on the head.
 
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fnordius

All-Star
#18
#18
Bricklayer said:
See this I think is one of those "perception gaps" well. You really can't have a failed rebuild with an extremely young team in a 15 game span.
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On the other hand, since 22 Dec. 2009 we've gone 16-58 (.216). Regardless of the impact (or not) of roster changes, fans are going to find that disturbing.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#19
#19
fnordius said:
On the other hand, since 22 Dec. 2009 we've gone 16-58 (.216). Regardless of the impact (or not) of roster changes, fans are going to find that disturbing.
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All well and good, but fans who understand what a rebuild entails aren't going to be shocked by them.

I will say again, aside from a few completely ignorant types, the dissatisfaction with the pace/success of this rebuild really dates back about 6 weeks now. That's when the normal pace of a rebuild and our own success rate became unhitched.
 
F

fnordius

All-Star
#20
#20
Bricklayer said:
All well and good, but fans who understand what a rebuild entails aren't going to be shocked by them.

I will say again, aside from a few completely ignorant types, the dissatisfaction with the pace/success of this rebuild really dates back about 6 weeks now. That's when the normal pace of a rebuild and our own success rate became unhitched.
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True, but we also just blew through the easiest part of our year playing at a .210 pace (equivalent to a 17 win season). It's about to get a lot harder. The worst midseason record in franchise history is within our grasps. You can't expect that to be popular.
 
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iowamcnabb

iowamcnabb

Hall of Famer
#21
#21
keep in mind people say things they don't mean when they are frustrated. Anyone who is enough of a fan to frequent a discussion board is probably not going anywhere. minus trolls of course.
 
est.1999

est.1999

Starter
#23
#23
I'll never abandon this team but the rebuild excuse is getting a little old. We're not losing like normal rebuilding teams. The line ups blow. The chemistry blows. We have enough talent and size alone to be somewhat competetive. Right now we only show up for maybe one quarter a game and have the worst record in the league to show for it.
 
S

swisshh

Starter
#24
#24
We're not losing like normal rebuilding teams.
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THis is the key difference. Fans aren't complaining because of the losses, but the whole attitude and style of losses that are occuring. The Mavs loss was the sort of losing you see in a team that is rebuilding up. The Clippers, as of late, are a team you can see as rebuilding and going somewhere. You see Gordon, Bledsoe and Griffin as pieces that fit. Those players make sense. The Thunder, once Brooks got the coaching gig, started to make sense.

The problem with the Kings is that there is no vision to be had out of what has been seen. The coach has no idea what to do or what he has. The management has needed to fill the giant PG hole that the team has had ever since trading away Bibby and it they have never addressed that issue. Either they don't know it exists, don't care to fix it or don't even understand why it needs to be fixed.

I don't think anybody is really calling it quits as a fan and moving on to another team. They just don't believe in the product and they really shouldn't at this point.
 
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pshn80

Starter
#25
#25
I think the thing that is somewhat new in the last season or two is that the Kings have not gone as often to picking middling veteran players to depend on as starters. Dalembert is the current exception. Cisco is home grown. Beno is somewhat so. In the past instead of the three or four we have now we had almost twice as many. The result then was that, though we weren't very good ,we weren't nearly as bad in our low points. One of the prices of going young with potential across most of the team meant our lows can be lower. And they are right now. And it may not be next season that we see the crescendo. It will take longer. Sort of fun, though, on good days.
 
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nbaFan

Guest
#26
#26
I know it looks bleak now, but really when you look at the teams salary cap room, a top 3 pick coming up things will change rapidly for the better. Hopefully here in Sac, and thats the problem. The uncertainty behind the Maloofs intentions is spiraling the teams outlook from bad to bleak.If they were in the midst of building an arena right now we would all be excited about the Kings future despite this 4-14 record. Once that get ironed out and we draft Kyrie Irving they will be especially exciting to watch ..for some city at least
 
Tetsujin

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#27
#27
RookieOfTheDay said:
So while I’m not generally the positive guy, I’ll take that role today and say, come on Kings fans, get it together! Criticize the team, they deserve it. But don’t resort to just flat out hating on them and totally giving up on them. True fans never give up hope.
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Who are you and what have you done with the real RookieOfTheDay? ;)
 
RookieOfTheDay

RookieOfTheDay

Starter
#28
#28
nbaFan said:
I know it looks bleak now, but really when you look at the teams salary cap room, a top 3 pick coming up things will change rapidly for the better. Hopefully here in Sac, and thats the problem. The uncertainty behind the Maloofs intentions is spiraling the teams outlook from bad to bleak.If they were in the midst of building an arena right now we would all be excited about the Kings future despite this 4-14 record. Once that get ironed out and we draft Kyrie Irving they will be especially exciting to watch ..for some city at least
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You're right, the arena issue is a big part of it. If a plan was in place for a new arena I'm sure fan (and probably team) morale in general would be better. Don't get your hopes up about a top 3 pick, though. remember, this is The Kings we're talking about. Even if they get the worst record they end up with the 4th pick.
 
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fansinceday1

fansinceday1

Starter
#30
#30
Ive been to 3 games this year and they were all boring as all hell. It was embarassing. The product as a whole, the arena, the food, the timeout/ halftime "entertainment", and the team itself seem very low dollar. Watching games from around the league im starting to think its not just the kings. The NBA as a whole is not looking too good, especially when you compare it to MLB and the NFL. IMHO, the entertainment value of the NBA just isnt there anymore.
 
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