Serious Question

[reggie35]

Imagine for a second that Ben Roethlisberger played for the Celtics and he did what he did. How would you react as a fan? I think it would be very hard to root for the team if he stayed.

By analogy, I've found it extremely difficult to get excited about the Red Sox seeing Ortiz still on the team. I've stopped buying tickets and haven't watched a game all season.

If you look at the Pacers for example, the fans stopped showing up starting around the Artest melee. I think it's commendable but I really wonder if that would still be the case if the Pacers were winning.

The reason I bring this up now is that I find it difficult to see Kobe Bryant receive any accolades. What's particularly sickening though is to see the adoration that is heaped on him from corporate America, the media, and fans. I mean who in their right mind would buy their kid a Bryant jersey or sneaker? Is winning so important that it trumps everything else? I'd love to hear from a sincere Laker fan on this because it's messed up. I won't even bring Artest into the discussion.

[kenmaine]

There have been a few Boston athletes that I really detested, and a few more that I just had a dislike for.
Detested Roger Clemens and always did- just a despicable person IMO. Detested Matt Young because he had his money and didn't care about winning.
Disliked Antoine because he played such a stupid game. Dislike J.D. Drew for lots of reasons.
Disillusioned with Nomar, Manny and Ortiz, but I believe that Canseco was right- 80% of players were probably doing steroids.
Oh, and my least favorite Red Sox of all time- Jack Clark.
Those are just a few off the top of my head.

I've totally lost interest in the Red Sox. Theo is unbelievably overrated- how well do you think he'd do with the Twins budget?, the team is BORING, so many overpaid stiffs either here or still on the payroll,  and I honestly can't root for J.D. Drew. 

Whew, at least I got my mind off the C's for a couple of minutes!

[Bynum4MVP]

To be honest, what has Kobe really done wrong?

1) Feuded with Shaq...sure that went both ways.  Plus Kobe was young back then.  We've all made mistakes in our 20's

2) Colorado.  Sounds like gold-digging was the root of the issue.  The girl was sleeping around with 4 other guys at the time and bragged about Kobe's size to her friend.  She even said she only came up to his room to get "his autograph" then later changed the story to "I just wanted to have sex".

3) Adultery.  I have no problem with that.  If I was rich multi-millionaire and could get away with it, I'd get as much bootie as I could.

4) Not cuddly like a Magic Johnson or charismatic like a Larry Bird?  Sure, but he's working to change his image.

Kobe's not the most likeable player; he's not even my favorite Laker but he's not the anti-christ that most non-fans make him out to be.

[LarBrd33]

Kobe should thank his lucky stars he has such a deep team.  Pau Gasol should have been Finals MVP without question.   4 points changed how history looks at Kobe.  Had the Lakers choked away that game, Kobe's 6-24 performance becomes the stuff of legends when it comes to epic failure... well beyond his failure in 2004 and 2008.

Gasol is a gamer.  He carried his team.

[ram29jackson]

Kobe should thank his lucky stars he has such a deep team.  Pau Gasol should have been Finals MVP without question.   4 points changed how history looks at Kobe.  Had the Lakers choked away that game, Kobe's 6-24 performance becomes the stuff of legends when it comes to epic failure... well beyond his failure in 2004 and 2008.

Gasol is a gamer.  He carried his team.

deep team?
this is the worst team to win a championship in lakers history.But that may say a little more about Jackson and his ability to piece something together

[reggie35]

To be honest, what has Kobe really done wrong?

1) Feuded with Shaq...sure that went both ways.  Plus Kobe was young back then.  We've all made mistakes in our 20's

2) Colorado.  Sounds like gold-digging was the root of the issue.  The girl was sleeping around with 4 other guys at the time and bragged about Kobe's size to her friend.

3) Adultery.  I have no problem with that.  If I was rich multi-millionaire and could get away with it, I'd get as much bootie as I could.

4) Not cuddly like a Magic Johnson or charismatic like a Larry Bird?  Sure, but he's working to change his image.

Kobe's not the most likeable player; he's not even my favorite Laker but he's not the anti-christ that most non-fans make him out to be.

Fair enough. The problem with the Colorado situation was that the girl's name got leaked to the press which is not supposed to happen in sexual assault cases. Soon after that, she (all of 19 years old at the time)  refuses to testify and there is no trial. Now, because he is a winning basketball player, he gets to go on as if nothing happened and gets shoe contracts. Meanwhile, this girl gets labeled a Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.. I wonder if the outcome would have been the same had she won American Idol or if she was wealthy.

Regardless, I'd hate to be put in that position as a fan.

[ACF]

To be honest, what has Kobe really done wrong?

1) Feuded with Shaq...sure that went both ways.  Plus Kobe was young back then.  We've all made mistakes in our 20's

2) Colorado.  Sounds like gold-digging was the root of the issue.  The girl was sleeping around with 4 other guys at the time and bragged about Kobe's size to her friend.  She even said she only came up to his room to get "his autograph" then later changed the story to "I just wanted to have sex".

3) Adultery.  I have no problem with that.  If I was rich multi-millionaire and could get away with it, I'd get as much bootie as I could.

4) Not cuddly like a Magic Johnson or charismatic like a Larry Bird?  Sure, but he's working to change his image.

Kobe's not the most likeable player; he's not even my favorite Laker but he's not the anti-christ that most non-fans make him out to be.

Before I start my rant, I want to congratulate you as a Laker fan on the championship. I can't say you were the better team, because we practically handed it to you. But there you go. It's as close as I will get to being classy less than a day removed from one of the biggest disappointments in my life as a sports fan.


Now, to address the points you made:

1) At least Shaq is funny and is a likable person. Kobe is not.

2) So, if you sleep around, is it not possible to get raped?

3) I hope your girlfriend doesn't read that. Chances are, if you'd do it as millionaire, you would probably be doing it as an Ordinary Joe. Not cool, dude.

4) No matter how hard Kobe works to change his image, we will always see right through him. You Laker fans call him the Black Mamba. I call him the Snake.



One day in the not so distant future, a young and very humble man named Kevin Durant will replace Kobe (and to an extent James) as the  poster boy for the NBA. I'll be rooting for him, in fact I already am. I shall look forward to that day. I only hope Stern, too, is gone by then.

[Shoot the J]

Before I answer this question, how many boards is Roethlisberger bringing down per night?

[reggie35]

Before I answer this question, how many boards is Roethlisberger bringing down per night?

20 at least. A hall of fame rebounder ;-)

[Bynum4MVP]

Before I start my rant, I want to congratulate you as a Laker fan on the championship. I can't say you were the better team, because we practically handed it to you. But there you go. It's as close as I will get to being classy less than a day removed from one of the biggest disappointments in my life as a sports fan.

Thanks for the grudging congrats, I totally understand.

TP's to both you and Reggie for not jumping in all heated and condescending  like I'd normally expect to see.

And to be fair, the Celtics were a MUCH better team than I thought they were before the series.  4 points was a little too close for comfort.  Kobe said it best "These were the hardest Finals I've ever been in." ... and the man has been there 7 times so it speaks volumes about the 2010 Celtics.

Yes, Shaq is more loveable.  Your other points are valid depending on how you look at things and life in general.

I know different people have different views and I can respect that.  But if I was a multi-millionaire baller, I have no regrets saying I'd try and get as much bootie as humanly possible.  Of course, I understand love and monogamy is perfectly great for alot of men... just not me.