My Positioning Statement

March 26th, 2008 Posted in Avery Johnson, Mavs Talk

Ok, I’m getting tired of hearing the phrase “fair-weather fan” and that I’m not a “real fan,” whatever that actually is. So I’m going to go through my Mavericks history and why I started this site.

I didn’t move to Dallas until 1996, so I missed out on the really bad teams of the early ninety’s. And when I did move here I was still in high school, so watching and paying attention to the Mavericks wasn’t my highest priority. I didn’t really start getting too into the Mavs until Cuban bought the team. So in that regard I guess I could be called a “bandwagoner”.

I was in Reunion Arena for game 3 of the first round game against the Jazz and vividly remember Nash hitting the 3 on a fall away shot with two players all over him right before half-time. I was at the AAC for the first regular season game and still have the ticket displayed in the holder they gave out that night in my living room. I had season tickets in ‘02-’03 and ‘03-’04. I still have the book of playoff tickets that have the unused Finals tickets from the ‘02-’03 season. I was at game 1 of the Finals in literally the last row of the building in the corner after paying $160 for a $16 ticket. So yes, I am a fan of this team.

Keep reading below for more.

But, according to a lot of people, because I critique this team and what is going on with it right now I’m not a real fan. Yes, Dallas is a fair-weather sports city. But to me a fair-weather fan, and I absolutely despise that term in general, is someone who is only around during the good times. To me, someone who can question what a team is doing, because they want the team to succeed, is a bigger fan than these homers who just accept everything going on with a team without asking questions.

I want this team to succeed. I want the to win a championship. I want to finally go to that ill-planned parade in downtown. But I don’t think the coach here right now is the person to lead this team to that goal. And that’s why I started this site, to voice my opinion of what is wrong with this thing and give other people the chance to chime in. I make no money from this, it’s just something I’m doing because I know this team can be better than it is right now. But a change is going to have to be made before that can happen.

So if you don’t agree with what we’re saying right now I hope you keep checking back and maybe we can change your mind as this season comes to a close.


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  1. 15 Responses to “My Positioning Statement”

  2. By KeepingItReal on Mar 26, 2008 at 7:12:55 pm

    You’re not a fair-weather fan. You’re just keeping it real. I’m tired of people trying to be way too optimistic about the team when they aren’t doing well at all. Somebody needs to get called out. If Avery would take that sort of approach then they wouldn’t be where they are right now.

  3. By Aubrey on Mar 26, 2008 at 7:22:27 pm

    i do not think you are a fair weather fan and i have often been called that too. I have been watching the mavs and going to the games since they had oliver miller and were the worst team int he nba. I saw when we had the 3 J’s when kidd was here the first time. I could even deal w/ them being that bad again….what i cant stand is seeing a talented team that should win lose and making trades for players like Kidd. The Mavs seem to want t break heart!!! There is also a difference between a fair weather fan and just being realistic. You can be a fan of a team it does not mean you agree w/ what they are doing!!!

  4. By mffl on Mar 26, 2008 at 11:15:14 pm

    SOOO…apparently Devin Harris scored 22 points and had 15 assists!!!!!! tonight as the Nets beat the Pacers. Is this for real? It seems like Avery brings out the worst of every PG. FIRE HIM NOW! He has turned J.Kidd into his own image, which is probably why he was never a great PG.

  5. By Mav in Cali on Mar 27, 2008 at 1:05:12 am

    You are definitely a true fan.

    True fans want the best for their team, even if it means identifying its weaknesses in order to maximize its strengths. Yes, it may not be a pain-free process, but it’s for the greater good… it’s called tough love people. People who are good leaders and good parents understand this concept. The people who really care about this team are willing to take off the rose colored glasses, figure out what the root of the issue is, and then take steps to fix the problem. Those who would rather see the entire ship sink because they are too afraid of change or too sensitive for growing pains, should be the last people criticizing others for trying to find a solution. At least this guy is doing something about the problem he sees, because as a true fan, he can’t just sit there and do nothing.

    When things aren’t going right, something’s ALWAYS gotta give… Avery or the team? Hmmmm, not a hard choice for me.

  6. By Aubrey on Mar 27, 2008 at 8:58:57 am

    Harris is going to be an outstanding pg he has so much talent and speed. I think Harris just does not respond well to Avery’s constant yelling. Also, i think it hurt his confidence when everytime he made a mistake he was benched. I think Avery should have just let him play like Popp did w/ Parker….every young pg is going to make mistakes but they learn from them. If he had just let him play i think he would have been able to lead the team to a championship!!! But now we have old Jason Kidd joy

  7. By Dwayne on Mar 27, 2008 at 9:12:13 am

    I think you are a true fan, but someone like me who seen the real bad years I guess appreciate at least they’re winning games. I am an Avery believer, but I do agree with things some people are saying, we will ride this ship.

  8. By sarcosuchus on Mar 27, 2008 at 11:51:36 am

    They say “no good deed goes unpunished”, hence all the hate that gets directed at you for making this bold statement. So kudos to you for standing up and making this bold statement - at least now we know its reached the Mavs BT and its a thought that guaranteed to be circling around in their heads. Hopefully the idea gains momuntum with them as well as the season winds down and we head for lottery.

    You’re doing this thing right and you’re not being personal against Avery (you’re a bigger man that me - I’d just post about what a knuckleheaded little tosspot he is). And you give valid basketball reasons why the guy’s not getting the job done. All added with the passion of a true fan.

    I can only salute you and encourage you to keep it up!

  9. By captainjack on Mar 27, 2008 at 12:53:13 pm

    “fair weather fan” is just the name calling resorted to by folks when they lack the verbal ability, writing skill, intelectual chops or facts to make a competitive or better argument than the blogger they wish to disagree with. just like political bloggers use words like “left wing” “right wing” “racist” “neocon” “socialist” etc. Once thus labled, the labeler can devalue and discount the argument because they have devalued the person making the argument. Of course this is “smoke and mirrors” because even if the person with the better argument is the devil himself, that does not really change his superior argument at all.

    I was shocked when Avery was hired to coach this team. I beleive it was an ill advised, premature compromise brought on by a unique political intrigue. Big Nellie was leaving. Little Nellie was the GM. You have half a dozen assistant coaches who qualified to be head coach. Little Nellie made the Dirk thing happen and probably deserved it most. But Big Nellie was leaving mostly because he and Cubes disagreed about signing Nash. I happen to agree with Cuban about that. Although I love watching Nash he had just been completly exposed by Henry Bibbys son and again, folks forget his “MVP” years in pheonix coinsided with Stoudlemiers emergance and produced not even a finals appearance. I think Cubes believed the Mavs could not win it with Nash at point because he would never match the Tony Parkers of the world in the playoffs. He was and is right. But since Big Nellie was leaving in a pissing contest with the owner, leaving his son as head coach was not going to happen. A minor aside was that some completly unfair and unfounded racism charges had been thrown at Nellie by a former disgruntled player and Cuban is rich enough to be able to be left of Castro (no pun intended) and the compromise product of all this intrigue was Avery Johnson, being in the right place at the right time, becoming the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. My feelings on this have nothing to do with Avery Johnsons race, height or preference for breakfast. I have the utmost respect for him. I do think that he was able to overachieve in life because he goes about life as if he was putting out a fire. While that works fine for Avery it does not work for NBA millionaires with much more talent than Avery ever had and of a more mild temprement. Again, you can’t go by Robinson and Duncan. Those kind of ultra mature, take one for the team attitudes are rare to the point of being non existent amoung superstars. It is quite obvious that Avery’s window of opportunity in Dallas has passed. And those of you still bitching about the trade. Riddle me this. If Chris Paul were offered to Dallas for a 2nd round pick would he come? Hell no. Why? He would not want to play for Avery. If you were Chris Paul’s dad would you advise him to play for Avery. You would not. Word gets around. What impact players, at this point would want to come and listen to Avery yell? About his si ess tim. Zero. It is not personal. It is BIDNESS. Fire Avery

  10. By PininFarina456 on Mar 27, 2008 at 3:51:38 pm

    You are not a fair weather fan or a band wagon fan. In life, there’s nothing ever wrong with disagreeing and critiquing something. That is the only way anything gets better in life.

    Avery sucks and needs to be fired if he doesn’t see whats wrong. He is really lacking common sense if he can’t figure out how to win with a team that has talent like this.

  11. By Mark on Mar 27, 2008 at 4:17:54 pm

    You owe nobody an apology for your position on Avery. he proved that he was not the coach to take this team to the championship when he blew a 2 1/2 game lead in the 2006 finals. He should have taken the blame for that colossal collapse immediately after game 6 and offered his resignation at that point. He is a true embarassment to the organization.

  12. By Mark on Mar 27, 2008 at 4:20:06 pm

    Avery is what we called in grade school math class the LCD.

  13. By mike on Mar 30, 2008 at 10:55:19 pm

    Ugh… just caught the end of that Warriors game. I’m tired of watching this brand of basketball. Jason Kidd is a first-ballot future Hall-of-Famer, but not even he can do anything with this team. And that’s why it goes back to Avery; he still has a rein on the PG position. Let Kidd run the damn show!! He took the lousy N.J. Nets to the Finals with FAR less talent than we have in Big D. There is no reason we should be subjected to the way this team is playing; it’s awful(Dirk Nowitzki or not!!).

  14. By Thomas on Mar 31, 2008 at 5:41:03 pm

    [quote]But, according to a lot of people, because I critique this team and what is going on with it right now I’m not a real fan.[/quote]

    I think coach remains coach and he therefore should not be questioned in general as I think if everybody with the Mavs couldn’t stand him, they would get rid of him.

    That’s me speaking as a basketball player.

    ——————————————

    I believe every member of the team should be supported no matter what. We are down by 20 with 90 seconds on the clock? If you are not cheering as loud as you can, you are not as much of a Mavericks fan as I am.

    We are down 0-3 in the finals? I’m still very much convinced we are going all the way.

    That’s me speaking as a Mavericks fan.

    ——————————————

    You are getting a lot of attention right now — attention you wouldn’t have gotten with a domain such as mavericksrule.com, so that’s good for you.

    You may actually believe that Avery is the reason for what has happened to the Mavericks the last couple of years and you may just be right about some of it, but then again Avery probably knows better as he actually knows all the players.

    That’s me speaking as a person in general and a little of both of the aforementioned…

    ——————————————

    I guess what I am trying to say is: Keep doing what you do, but always be fair and try to respect Avery’s knowledge he has as a coach.

    Thank you,

    Thomas

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