How Danny Granger has inspired me to be a better Hawks fan
by hawksdawgs on Mar 30, 2009 11:26 AM EDT
7 comments
This post has nothing to do with Danny Granger. I like Granger, would love to have him on the Hawks, think he will be an all-star sooner rather than later. This is a Hawks post. It just happens to come out of a Danny Granger article.
Speaking about how the offensive system and the Pacer record cast a cloud of suspicion on Granger's stats, Chris Broussard begins to chip away at why, if he is not already, Granger will soon be an elite player. And he starts with this:
It's not like there are many other guys on Indy who can do damage. Granger has been double-teamed, denied the ball and keyed on in ways that other prominent wings, like Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson and Carmelo Anthony, never are. "He's scoring volumes of points with the best defenses in the league focused on him,'' coach Jim O'Brien says.
Don't get me wrong. I am ecstatic Joe is in this company. Later in the article Broussard compares his stats along side Kobe's. Our own Mr. Johnson is thrown into an elite group, deserved or not, all for the sake of a random Danny Granger argument.
The problem I have is not the name drop but simply that this main point is so obviously wrong. It bothers me to the point where I need to articulate it here. Even if my rebuttal will be seen by 1/10,000th fewer people. (and in said rebuttal, I realized there may be an even larger issue involved.)
Of course, Joe Johnson's style of play, his methodical, slow paced weaving to the basket and the fact that Mike Woodson runs an offense of isolation and one on one play pushes opposing teams to focus on Joe, but the point remains, defenses scheme most for Joe Johnson. Anyone that has watched a Hawks game knows the kind of attention Joe receives. It is an inordinate amount. The article is wrong.
ESPN does a good job. It's nice to have an article of this scope on a smaller star like Danny Granger, but something is lacking in the nature of a network that desires to cover every team in the detail of things like player profiles of Granger. They admirably try to reach a multitude of teams and stories, but unless you are Kobe or LeBron or CP3, you are going to be misconstrued or marginalized or misrepresented. They just cannot/do not watch every game, and at some point, thoughtful analysis will be generalized the further it strays from the stars that make ESPN money.
From the game yesterday, it is clear that many of those Laker fans were simply Kobe fans. Some probably have never stepped foot in California. Don't know that who Radmanovic is let alone that he was traded recently. Yet, ESPN has shown Kobe; his story have infiltrated our lives at the highest of levels. Of course this has to do with being a top three player in the league. It has to do with having a highlight game. And it has to do most of all with money. ESPN has bought into all of these factors and rightfully so.
But because the network has such influence, an eleven year old who has lived in Atlanta his or her whole life could more easily be a Kobe fan than a supporter of any Hawk player.
This brings in a very long way around to saying that the Atlanta is an NBA town right now. Good basketball always sells tickets. But for it to become a Hawks town, the transformation will be grass roots led. The Hawks do not have the star or the fan base to impose their will on ESPN. They are not a boring team, but they have not earned airtime by drafting a superstar or winning games. A seven game series with Boston earned us one national game against that same (highly profitable) team the next season.
Until the Hawks win, they are going to be generalized in ESPN articles. Picked to lose to the Miamis of the world in the playoffs. They are going to stereotyped and on occasionally mocked. ESPN is going to cover the Hawks, but the way they do it is not going to convert the people of this city. No, the Hawks full resuscitation will arise both out of winning and fans like the ones on this and other Hawks blogs spreading the word. It is going to be inviting friends to games and talking about the team at bars and being willing to be called crazy as you gush about your love for Zaza Pachulia.
ESPN is not going to make the Hawks cool. National media attention is going to be isolated to Josh Smith dunks and incorrect player comparisons. Which is fine by me. ESPN didn't make Sacramento cool to start the decade. Or Golden State in the middle. Or Portland now. Those fans fell in love with a team and ESPN found them. We are part of the Hawks march toward prominence. John Hollinger, Bill Simmons, and Tony Kornheiser are not.
We are the campaigners. We are the evangelizers. Let the conversion begin.
Go Hawks!
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I hate nothing
more than watching the talking heads on ESPN “analyze” the Hawks because their analysis is normally wrong. It’s painfully obvious how much they don’t watch the Hawks when they attempt to talk about the Hawks. The only one who could offer a somewhat realistic analysis is John Hollinger because he attends a lot of the games. Although by the articles he writes he’s clearly there to watch the other team. I still like to think he has a little insight even if it’s only by default.
The NBA is a superstar driven league and the Hawks don’t have one of those.
Joe has the capabilities, but not the personality. Well at least not the public personality. From what I hear he’s a pretty funny guy, but he doesn’t feel the need to let the rest of the world in on that and it’s fine.
Nice Drew
Very well said Drew. It’s so true also. I will add that while all of your points in regards to ESPN’s influence on fandom, it doesn’t stop there. We now live in a much more digital era, a much more nationalized media era. Michael wrote an article related to this over at Braves & Birds.
Growing up the internet did not exists as far as I knew, no one had personal computers, cable didn’t exists or wasn’t available, and satellite was too expensive and new for most. News was limited to your local paper, the AJC on Sundays, and what TV stations you could pick u with your antennae. You didn’t get highlights from teams around the country, but instead you were fed constant highlights of your local teams. I knew more about local high school sports than any major pro team not based in the A unless it involved a championship game.
With more and more ways to get national news, it should have been expected that our fan base would be infiltrated by outside sources. Combine that with the fact that we are raised to be winners and one can easily see why young kids grow up rooting for other teams other than the local flavor. Who wants to root for a perennial loser when you can root for a yearly champion?
I am also going to expand this to how one grows up with their parents. Traditions have changed and kids are growing up much faster than we did. I fell in love with the Atlanta teams mainly because I watched my dad, granddad, and uncles all reacting passionately to those teams. What little boy doesn’t want to be like their dad and do the things he does? I spent a lot of time watching games with my dad and going to games with my dad and I’ve found, just from my own personal experiences, that today’s younger crowd seem to become slightly disconnected from their parents at an earlier age. Maybe I got lucky I guess, but I don’t think the fandom is getting passed down like it used to.
The foundation is laid. I hope.
I think if the Hawks can go to the playoffs for a stretch of 5 consecutive seasons or more and challenge for the Eastern Conference Finals and/or The Finals here and there, someone will emerge as a superstar player. Either through free agency (better players will desire to come to the ATL) or through the draft (extreme stroke of luck perhaps). But the main thing is the Hawks have to become winners. To me, they mirror the Braves. Prior to the 90’s, you barely heard of the Braves outside of GA. And they were on TV nationwide then. Once a winner was produced on the field, everything took care of itself.
The Hawks are in the same position. And really the spotlight will be on their opponent each playoff series (except the 76ers if they should meet and I don’t want that match-up) but this is the opportunity for everyone to take notice (ESPN, TNT, ABC etc.) For the Hawks to capitalize, they have to have a 1st round series w/ D. Wade (7 game series would be great w/ the victory of course) and a good second round match-up w/ LeBron (hopefully at least 6 games). It’s a slow process but as the saying goes you have to crawl before you can walk.
good post
I have to agree with everything which was said here. Let me add that I think winning the first round series this year is vital, no matter who the Hawks play.
Just the chance to get more national exposure will help this team grow. And if Joe has another big playoff run as he did last year, maybe more people will figure out how good he is. And maybe then he might get to the line more than three times in a game where he takes 23 shots — a ratio which would never happen to ref darlings like Kobe, LeBron, etc.
Tomorrow’s a big game because we need to show the 76ers that if we play them in the first round that they shouldn’t expect to beat us. Plus the Hawks need to win a few road games to build confidence for the playoff roadies.
One more thing: Until Marvin returns, keep Mo Evans in the lineup and keep Zaza coming off the bench. It’s obvious now after the Sunday game it’s a better way for this team to play.
I agree
It feels good to be apart of HawksNation right now. It’s almost like being the guy who invested in stock that everyone is passing by knowing that it’s going to blow up soon. A LeBron/Cav fan or a Kobe/Laker fan are just 1 of millions… The teams are chocked full of talent but their fans have no identity… Everyone thinks BronBron will win… EVERYONE is counting on Kobe to score a billion…
Atlanta is a team that has plenty of talent, a fair amount of charisma (Admittedly, I do wish Joe would show-boat every now and then…) and even highly intense gameplay… However, your everyday NBA fan… and even your everyday Atlantan aren’t going to tell you that the Hawks are their favorite team.
Not a bad thing though… At least when we go to Round 2 and maybe even beyond I’d already “Called it…”
Hahahaha…
Go Hawks, Go!
Yup
ESPN labeled the MAGIC at the start of the year as “Not Elite” Then after the 29 point beatdown last night, They are slurping them and calling them the most balanced of the “Super Elites” With 2 wins against Lakers Spurs Cavs Celtics I am inclined to agree with them, But oh wait I hate ESPN as they employ Bill Walton someone who obviously still chugs his bong water because he stated earlier in the year THE Magic have not been out of the 1st round since Shaq.
Uh last year we beat Toronto 4-1.
ESPN sucks.
Oh and Guys I had ZERO do with you guys being down 50 when you last came to Orlando, I can not imagine the fight You guys are going to give us tonight after we had you down 50 in our building and we were still jacking up 3’s
Good luck Hawks!!!
The Real Magic Fan
F You Shaq
by The Real Magic Fan on Apr 4, 2009 3:09 PM EDT reply actions
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