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| image from celticsstore.seenon.com |
With all the trading and players moving from team to team in professional sports these days, knowing whose name you can wear on a green jersey for more than a season or two can be difficult. And with jerseys being as overpriced as they are, I wanted to be sure that I won't have to toss mine anytime soon.
But it is almost impossible to know which athletes will stay with a team. Do I have to buy the jersey of the player whose contract expires last? And even if I took that approach, how could I anticipate trades? How many jerseys were thrown away (or burned) by Cleveland fans last summer when the heart of the Cavaliers decided he would have more fun somewhere else?
In this time of free agentry, have professional athletes lost all their team loyalty? Sure, there are still a few loyal players in the professional leagues like Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, but they are surrounded by so many athletes that put their own wants so far above their team that it is easy to forget that true team loyalty by athletes like Jackie Robinson, who is believed to have chosen retirement over being traded to the New York Giants, ever existed.
So, would I be better off getting a blank green and white jersey? After all, isn't that all that makes a player a Celtic? I thought about getting a Larry Bird jersey, or even one that just said "Lucky." But in the end, I decided to represent my team (of the moment) with a Ray Allen jersey. Lets just hope he continues to represent us, Boston.
In this blog, each week I will pick a different athlete from any professional sport and examine his loyalties, or lack there of, to the franchise for which he plays or has played for in the past. If anyone has a player suggestion or request, please post it in the comments.
I know what you mean! After the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, it was awful to see the team all changed the year after that. They seemed to have so much team spirit during the season, but then it all disappeared (either by the will of the players or the will of the management) the very next season. I wasn't sure what it meant to be a "team" fan - what is a team if it's not a known set of players? One exception on the Red Sox is Tim Wakefield. He's an excellent example of a player with team loyalty. He has spent his entire career with the Red Sox, even taking less money and accepting bull pen back up roles so that he can serve out his career with one team. Bronson Arroyo is a good example of a player wanting to stay with the Red Sox who took a much reduced salary without guarantees so that he could continue with the team he loved, but the Red Sox turned around and traded him. So it works both ways. And you may want to check out the bizarre, even horrendous spectacles on the Yankees this past winter when they told their beloved captain, Derek Jeter to take a hike and test the waters. Fortunately for sports fans everywhere, the Yankees (the dreaded Yankees) came to their senses and rewarded their very special player with a good salary, keeping him a Yankee, hopefully for life.
ReplyDeleteI totally know what you mean with team trading ): I have four Rockets jerseys that I can no longer wear!
ReplyDeleteI think the celtics are one of the few teams where it would be relatively easy to purchase a jersey with committed players such as Ray allen, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett. But as most of these players are past their prime, your blog seems valid. I mean there are 3 way trades going on where nearly half of an entire team's roster could be replaced. It's slowly but surely taking the meaning out of the word "fan" and putting more emphasis on individual players. "Fans" will no longer be fans of teams but rather fans of super-star players. In my opinion, this isn't good for the industry.
ReplyDeleteSeriously! I couldn't agree with you more, Matt. In the great day and age of the superstar, most players are only in it for themselves. Some want money, some want to win championships, and others just want to be glorified on national television. Regardless of their vice, it's become more and more about me and less and less about the team. I'd like to think that loyalty still exists in the NBA...but not everyone can be Tim Duncan, or Chris Paul (though the jury's still out on whether or not he'll leave New Orleans next summer).
ReplyDeleteMatt - That is true, and one of the many reasons I'm proud to be a Boston fan. I love that I remember watching Pierce in the first Celtics game I ever went to. But if he left the Cs, I don't think any Bostonians would follow him. I would argue that it could be the complete opposite - that with all the shuffling of players fans will stop caring about the stars and just root for their team for their city's pride.
ReplyDeleteBlake - True that not everyone can be Duncan or Paul, but wouldn't it be nice if they weren't such outstanding exceptions? Loyalty does still exist, which brings us to...
Andrea - that is a good point to bring up about it working both ways, that it is not always the players choice. And thinking another Jackie Robinson retirement would ever happen these days is completely unrealistic. I will try to examine this point further in future posts.