Loser!

A few weeks ago I went to my first Milwaukee Bucks game, who on that particular Sunday happened to be hosting my beloved Boston Celtics. Sporting a KG jersey to try and fill the void left by Garnett's absence from the team due to injury, I still entered the stadium confident that we (yes, I'm one of those guys who uses "we" when talking about the sports teams I love and adore) would own the day. Unfortunately, for most of the day, we looked like crap, and despite an exciting push at the end giving me just enough hope that the Cs were screwing around for 3 and a half quarters and were still going to pull it out, a Bucks' desperation three as the shot clock expired with about 30 seconds left in the game put the game just out of reach for good.

It was just as well. We didn't deserve to win.

Now, I'm not about to go off on a rant about how we didn't try, or how they wanted it more, because I'm not actually convinced that either was the case. We were off, but off in the way that Ray Allen's shots just wouldn't fall (he was 2/11 from the field). It's not that he looked lackadaisical on the court; his shots just didn't consistently find the bottom of the net as they have a knack for doing when leaving his hands much of the time. Think Ray Ray's performance in the early half of the 2008 playoffs if you're having trouble picturing his shooting for this particular game. Even my boy my Pauly was off, going 4/15 from the field, leaving the Celtics to rely on Kendrick Perkins and his eventual 26 points to keep them in it from a scoring perspective.

And no, I'm also not about to chalk up the loss to just plain bad luck. We did deserve to lose that day, but it wasn't the fault of the players, it was the fans' fault on this one. I'm actually embarrassed just thinking about the incident.

It was the first half during a timeout and the Buck's faithful mascot, Bango, entered the crowd to pull an unsuspecting Celtics fan out onto the court, sporting Cs jersey and all. The crowd booed, and rightfully so, as it seemed (at least to a Milwaukee outsider) that this Celtics fan would get to participate in a beloved on-court tradition that should be reserved for home court fans. The tradition appeared to be a spectacle in which the crowd participant would stand blindfolded, getting to hold a stand that the ball would be placed on, while the mascot, or some other trickster would leap off of a trampoline, grab the ball mid-air, and slam it home. So, there we sat and watched as the trampoline was brought out, and the Cs fan was placed on the foul line and blindfolded. Predictable enough. However, at that moment Bango, instead of handing him the stand to hold, placed a sign (which to the blindfolded eye would have felt the same per the shape of the rod being held) in his hand reading: "Loser!" The crowd was then instructed per signals from the center scoreboard and flashing lights to start cheering wildly, which they obliged to gleefully, as the trampoline was wheeled back off and the Celtics fan was left alone and blindfolded on the foul line holding the Loser sign.

For those who know how seriously I take my sports teams this may be hard to believe, but I was laughing pretty hard as the entire spectacle unfolded. I mean, you gotta admit, that's pretty damn funny. Go Milwaukee on that one.

Anyways, after a seemingly wicked long time, Bango returned to the Cs fan's side and lifted the blindfold. I honestly expected him to have a similar reaction to mine, a kind of: "Really? Okay, okay, you got me. That's actually wicked fuckin' hilarious. I mean, we're still going to beat you in the game, or at the very least we won't be seeing you in the playoffs as we make a run for the championship, but I'm glad you guys are still trying having a good time."

Oh, how wrong I was. I haven't seen a look of anger in somebody's eyes like that (per a nice Jumbotron zoom) since I saw my own after Boone launched that ball into the seats in 2003, as the Cs fan stormed back into his seat. Really, dude? You can't find any humor in Bango's move? You have a dominant sports team in all 5 major sports (yes, I'm including the MLS, where the New England Revolution tend to land in the finals about every year...you should pay more attention to that) and you can't even crack a smile. I realize that's easy for me to say, guy who sat and watched somebody else be embarrassed from the comfort of his own nosebleed seat. Really though, this is just one scenario that is indicative of a much larger problem, which is that, like New York fans, we take ourselves way too damn seriously sometimes when it comes to sports.

Before any of you fellow New Englanders start throwing things at the screen, realize that I fully admit that I'm as guilty of this as anybody else, and doubt I'll really be able to change. I mean, you should have seen me throwing things at the TV screen like a three year-old as I watched Tom Izzo coach his team into beating the Huskies at their own game well after I had come to the conclusions above in regards to the Bango joke. Like I've said since watching the Spartans destroy the finals of destiny that should have pitted two of the greatest NCAA Men's basketball teams that I've ever watched in UConn and UNC; Tom deserves Lupe Izzo like Michigan St. deserved to win that game: they both worked their asses off to make it happen (realize I actually have no idea how Tom actually landed Lupe...one can only assume that his genius, as much as I hate to admit it, can't hurt the situation...either way, Go Tom). And don't try using Michigan St.'s home court-esque advantage as an excuse. UNC sure didn't.

I digress. There was just something to be said about being able to enjoy a game for a reasonable price, being able to easily walk down and sit in seats close to the court without being questioned during the final quarter, and even getting to walk on the court after the game (yes, I was kicked off fairly rapidly, but the "kick-off" was still with a smile). These are some of those little things that are a little harder to experience when you're the fan of a big-market team. Just ask Yankees fans, who are expected to pay $2,500 for front row seats in their new stadium (that's per game for those keeping track at home). Since they have commitments for all of their front row seats this season, I suppose it's our own fault as fans though, isn't it? I just hope those poor suckers who actually bought the tickets get some free Cracker Jack and a hot dog for their expenditures. Actually, I take that back. Clearly, they can afford to buy their own.

Back to the spectacle at hand. On March 15, the joke was on us. I'm hoping that come June, the joke is on the rest of the NBA instead (although another fan base may well deserve to be on top this time around. All I know is, if that does happen when it's all said and done, I just pray that we're not looking at Kobe holding up another trophy. That would be a crime).

Hypocritically criticizing in Madison.