Essence of a Kings fan

[DocHolliday]

I think the Essence of what has made Kings fans special is that we rooted for their team even though we knew most nights they wouldn't win. We didn't care. We were just happy to watch live basketball in their home town. The team wasn't the best, but it's all we had so we cheered for it. As the team grew better we bubbled over in excitement, because not only were we watching live basketball, we were watching GOOD live basketball. And, it wasn't some other star ridden team that was coming to town, it was actually our own.

Somewhere along the way with a percentage of the fans that type of support has been lost. They got spoiled, and now nothing below is good enough. I heard a woman on the radio this weekend on Jim Crandell's show, that was a 6 year season ticket holder in the upper deck, that there's no way at this point and time you could get her to support a new arena deal. Her opinion was basically to the point that, because they are playing bad right now screw them. I won't support a new arena. Because they are having a bad year you are willing to give up having an NBA team in Sacramento?? I think some fans echo this sentiment and that's scary.

I've always cheered, and I have not stopped, and I will not stop. I make a pledge now to be the type of fan that Sacramento has come to be known for. I will cheer on the good nights and the bad, in person and at home. I WILL NOT BOO!!! I don't care how bad they are playing, or how bad I think the coaching is. I'll only boo opposing players and bad officiating.

I think we should all make this pledge to ourselves, and spread the word. We need to bring back the other percentage of fans that have forgotten what being a Sacrament fan means, and maybe teach some people who jumped on the wagon in the good years what being a Sacramento Kings fan means.

 

[Crackerman]

I completely agree with you Doc. I think instead of Booing one of our players, (for example Brad Miller the other night), Arco should all start chanting out the players name to give them encouragement. This would let the player know that the crowd understands that they are struggling and then pump that player up to want perform better.

 

[BMiller52]

I completely agree with you Doc. I think instead of Booing one of our players, (for example Brad Miller the other night), Arco should all start chanting out the players name to give them encouragement. This would let the player know that the crowd understands that they are struggling and then pump that player up to want perform better.

good idea.

 

[QueensFan]

It's sad but true: MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING. I am a Kings fan when I sit on my couch at home and watch a game on TV. I am a paying customer when I spend $300 to go to a game. Back when going to games was virtually free fans didn't expect anything- it was just a night out and we could cheer and be satisfied just getting to see all the OTHER talented teams in the NBA come to town.

Now that games are literally a financial investment, the onus has shifted to the players. As we pay more and more to go to games, we owe the team less and less and they owe us more and more - they owe us more effort, and ultimately, more wins (this is a direct result of more effort). It becomes more their responsibility to pump us up and less our responsibility to motivate them.

I know this sounds like "lousy fandom" but unfortunately it's the cold reality of the situation. When you are laying out this kind of dough, you are more discriminating about the product that you expect in return. The product that the Kings are putting out right now just isn't worth it.

 

[SIR HENRY 8]

It's sad but true: MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING. I am a Kings fan when I sit on my couch at home and watch a game on TV. I am a paying customer when I spend $300 to go to a game. Back when going to games was virtually free fans didn't expect anything- it was just a night out and we could cheer and be satisfied just getting to see all the OTHER talented teams in the NBA come to town.

Now that games are literally a financial investment, the onus has shifted to the players. As we pay more and more to go to games, we owe the team less and less and they owe us more and more - they owe us more effort, and ultimately, more wins (this is a direct result of more effort). It becomes more their responsibility to pump us up and less our responsibility to motivate them.

I know this sounds like "lousy fandom" but unfortunately it's the cold reality of the situation. When you are laying out this kind of dough, you are more discriminating about the product that you expect in return. The product that the Kings are putting out right now just isn't worth it.

Your right,its sad you can only be a real fan while sitting at home watching the game .I would rather you be a fan at home,than the other way around.

 

[wow22]

I like good basketball..

When I see basketball professionals who make millions and millions of dollars disrespect fans by not giving 100% I will boo...

It is not a religion - an organization serves a purpose, and that is provide entertainment to its customers. I will not pray to the Kings logo, and I will not blindly accept mediocricy. This is the reason I never understood Clippers fans - an organization that purposedly undermines its chances of providing a good product to squeeze out an extra dollar.

You're all grown men and women and making a religion out of something like a basketball team is completely ludicrous. This is not to say I have certain Kings pride and I want them to succeed - but the only reasons for that is my proximity to the Kings, the amount of friends I can talk to about the Kings, and the entertainment value of watching their brand of basketball.

In fact I will go as far as saying that if I do not enjoy Kings basketball anymore, I will stop watching Kings basketball. Oakland Arena is only an hour away, it's cheaper, and they also play very enjoyable basketball. I guess I am just sensible.

 

[Vlad]

I like good basketball..

When I see basketball professionals who make millions and millions of dollars disrespect fans by not giving 100% I will boo...

It is not a religion - an organization serves a purpose, and that is provide entertainment to its customers. I will not pray to the Kings logo, and I will not blindly accept mediocricy. This is the reason I never understood Clippers fans - an organization that purposedly undermines its chances of providing a good product to squeeze out an extra dollar.

You're all grown men and women and making a religion out of something like a basketball team is completely ludicrous. This is not to say I have certain Kings pride and I want them to succeed - but the only reasons for that is my proximity to the Kings, the amount of friends I can talk to about the Kings, and the entertainment value of watching their brand of basketball.

In fact I will go as far as saying that if I do not enjoy Kings basketball anymore, I will stop watching Kings basketball. Oakland Arena is only an hour away, it's cheaper, and they also play very enjoyable basketball. I guess I am just sensible.

Stop oppressing me and my religion. I, for one, believe that praying to anything besides the Kings logo is ludicrous.

 

[OptimusRhyme]

I've known the Kings weren't going to Win the championship for the last 3 years, and I know they're not going to win it this year, but none of that has changed the way I view there play, I think we forget sometimes that basketball is a sport, for our enjoyment, If I watched basketball to see a team win a championship I would have been a Spurs fan a long time ago. Theres no doubt that I would want to see my team be successful to the fullest, but it's not all about that, its about the Kings.

 

[emded0341]

That is exactly the point OptimusR. !!

Its about kings and if they are last in the league , a true fan will still cheer for them as if they were champions... Kings stands for pretty basketball, not the most impressive dunks and alley oops, but for good collective , great passing team and outstanding outside shooting...An atmosphere in arco you simply cant find in any other basketball arena....

I like the Kings cause of their style of play, NOT cause they have been a top team in recent years.... I like Kings cause of the way they play, the arena , the fans , uniforms , everything!!!

For those who doesnt like this 7-10 start, please change team , become a spurs or pistons fans !!!!!

 

[kennadog]

I too am a fan, whether we are "contenders" or not. I can't afford many games either. But I've gone for $10-$30 a ticket +parking. There's a whole lot of other entertainment choices for me in Sacramento that cost more than that.

I think its ludicrous to compare the Kings to the Clippers. Sterling hasn't wanted to invest in the team, the Maloofs certainly have. And the Maloofs have invested quite a bit in maintaining Arco Arena at a decent level. (That only gets more expensive every day.)

As I posted in another thread, The Bee showed in the paper not long ago, that since the Maloofs took over, highest-priced ticket prices had gone up something like 275%. Team salary has gone up something approaching 1575%. (I believe that was without an inflation adjustment.) So its not like the Maloofs aren't trying to put a good team out there.

As to formerly cheap tickets....the City did subsidize those for the fans. When the team was going under in a sea of red ink, that is when the City did the two loans to the team.

 

[Bricklayer]

That is exactly the point OptimusR. !!

Its about kings and if they are last in the league , a true fan will still cheer for them as if they were champions... Kings stands for pretty basketball, not the most impressive dunks and alley oops, but for good collective , great passing team and outstanding outside shooting...An atmosphere in arco you simply cant find in any other basketball arena....

I like the Kings cause of their style of play, NOT cause they have been a top team in recent years.... I like Kings cause of the way they play, the arena , the fans , uniforms , everything!!!

For those who doesnt like this 7-10 start, please change team , become a spurs or pistons fans !!!!!

You may not realize it, but the style of play is only slightly less transitory than the great success we had. In a few years that too may be gone, and it will just be the fact that it is the Kings, whether they run n gun or slow down and slug it out, that will have to suffice as a reason for fandom.

 

[kennadog]

While I loved the style of play, I will still be fan if they turn into a low it down, slug it out kinda team. I'm a Monarchs fan, too, after all.

 

[D-Mass]

I've been a fan from day one...I love this team and I always will (as long as they stay in Sacramento).

But I will boo if I see apathetic, crappy play on a nightly basis...and I refuse to be looked down upon as a fan because of it. Is it different from us screaming at our televisions when they play poorly? Do we expect fans at the game to just sit on their hands, shut their mouths and keep those natural reactions in? Sometimes the same fire in people that makes them the best of fans also can make them passionately angry and disgusted...and sometimes boos result.

Bottom line: I don't like hearing the boos, but I'm much less angry about the booing than I am about the consistently bad play.

Will I stand up and cheer loudly if and when the team turns it around? You bet I will...I'm a Kings fan!

GO KINGS!!!!

 

[KP]

I've been a fan from day one...I love this team and I always will (as long as they stay in Sacramento).

But I will boo if I see apathetic, crappy play on a nightly basis...and I refuse to be looked down upon as a fan because of it. Is it different from us screaming at our televisions when they play poorly? Do we expect fans at the game to just sit on their hands, shut their mouths and keep those natural reactions in? Sometimes the same fire in people that makes them the best of fans also can make them passionately angry and disgusted...and sometimes boos result.

Bottom line: I don't like hearing the boos, but I'm much less angry about the booing than I am about the consistently bad play.

Will I stand up and cheer loudly if and when the team turns it around? You bet I will...I'm a Kings fan!

GO KINGS!!!!

Good post.

 

[goggles99]

I like good basketball..

When I see basketball professionals who make millions and millions of dollars disrespect fans by not giving 100% I will boo...

LOL,
Name 5 players in the entire NBA that give 100% each night. Do you think that NBA players are superhuman?
Did Michael Jordan give 100% every night on the court (winning or losing)? How many times was he booed by his own fans? (NEVER) I guess if you had been a Chicago fan there, you would have booing (Michael Jordan) alone. (right before you got the crap kicked out of you by the Chicago fans)

 

[VF21]

I think the Essence of what has made Kings fans special is that we rooted for their team even though we knew most nights they wouldn't win. We didn't care. We were just happy to watch live basketball in their home town. The team wasn't the best, but it's all we had so we cheered for it. As the team grew better we bubbled over in excitement, because not only were we watching live basketball, we were watching GOOD live basketball. And, it wasn't some other star ridden team that was coming to town, it was actually our own.

Somewhere along the way with a percentage of the fans that type of support has been lost. They got spoiled, and now nothing below is good enough. I heard a woman on the radio this weekend on Jim Crandell's show, that was a 6 year season ticket holder in the upper deck, that there's no way at this point and time you could get her to support a new arena deal. Her opinion was basically to the point that, because they are playing bad right now screw them. I won't support a new arena. Because they are having a bad year you are willing to give up having an NBA team in Sacramento?? I think some fans echo this sentiment and that's scary.

I've always cheered, and I have not stopped, and I will not stop. I make a pledge now to be the type of fan that Sacramento has come to be known for. I will cheer on the good nights and the bad, in person and at home. I WILL NOT BOO!!! I don't care how bad they are playing, or how bad I think the coaching is. I'll only boo opposing players and bad officiating.

I think we should all make this pledge to ourselves, and spread the word. We need to bring back the other percentage of fans that have forgotten what being a Sacrament fan means, and maybe teach some people who jumped on the wagon in the good years what being a Sacramento Kings fan means.

Amen.

And don't worry about some of those fans who jumped on the wagon in the good years. The ones who were only here because of the hype are already jumping off in droves...

And you know what? Maybe that's not a bad thing at all.

I like good basketball..

When I see basketball professionals who make millions and millions of dollars disrespect fans by not giving 100% I will boo...

It is not a religion - an organization serves a purpose, and that is provide entertainment to its customers. I will not pray to the Kings logo, and I will not blindly accept mediocricy. This is the reason I never understood Clippers fans - an organization that purposedly undermines its chances of providing a good product to squeeze out an extra dollar.

You're all grown men and women and making a religion out of something like a basketball team is completely ludicrous. This is not to say I have certain Kings pride and I want them to succeed - but the only reasons for that is my proximity to the Kings, the amount of friends I can talk to about the Kings, and the entertainment value of watching their brand of basketball.

In fact I will go as far as saying that if I do not enjoy Kings basketball anymore, I will stop watching Kings basketball. Oakland Arena is only an hour away, it's cheaper, and they also play very enjoyable basketball. I guess I am just sensible.

Sensible? Being a sports fan means supporting your team when everything logical tells you not to. It's incredibly easy for people to support a winning team. Just like it's very easy for parents to be proud of a kid who gets straight A's. It's a lot more work, however, to support a struggling team. And to use the parental analogy again, it's like having to give more to your child if he's struggling in a class. That's when BOTH kids and teams need the support the most.

Enjoy the drive to Oakland.

 

[hoopsfan]

And don't worry about some of those fans who jumped on the wagon in the good years. The ones who were only here because of the hype are already jumping off in droves...

And you know what? Maybe that's not a bad thing at all.

Now you know what I was going through last year.

 

[KingKong]

Can the booing be stopped??? Is there anything that we at KingsFans can do?