KG: "fair-weathered" beats bigoted any day
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KG: "fair-weathered" beats bigoted any day
John Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
So, Kevin Garnett has decided that he wanted to boost the collective psyche of those wannabe fans in Boston, endearing himself to them by calling the fans of the City of Brotherly Love “fair-weathered.”
“Take that how you want,” Garnett added.
You think we’re the fair weather type, do you? Ok, to that I say that it’s better to be fair weather than to be anything remotely akin the cretins that unleashed their racist vitriol via Twitter upon Washington Capitals defenseman Joel Ward, a Black hockey player, last month after he eliminated Boston’s Bruins from the NHL playoffs with an overtime goal.
Can’t really call this an isolated incident, my friend, not unless you believe that those clowns were gathered together in some sort of Bruins/Skinheads gathering and, after their team went down, they all took to Twitter once Ward drove the stake through Boston’s heart.
No, this wasn’t the whole Boston fan base, not at all. But it’s not a coincidence that Bill Russell, the biggest sports winner in the history of Boston sports, absolutely loathed the city and a fan base that he saw as racist.
His words, not mine.
So my advice to you, KG, is that you’re better off winning this series, the next one and then the next. Because if you let those stalwart fans down, who knows what they’ll unleash on you. We do know what they are capable of.
Take that how you want.
Comments (69)
Boston is the first NBA team to put 5 black players on the floor at the same time.— Truth34- Will Smith was at the game in Boston, so how I'd take it is that Mitchell's "not to far childhood neighbor" is OK with Boston's fan base.— Truth34
- i'm tired of all these stats about the first black player this and the the first black coach that. no doubt, the organizations in boston have been on the right side of the race debate for a long time but get it through your idiotic front running celtic heads that we're not talking about your organizations. we're talking about you the fans. in no way am i backing what this idiot wrote but lets not use what the organizations in boston did as a way of saying their fans aren't racist b/c the first black coach in boston has nothing to do with proving celtic fans aren't racist. most fans in boston aren't but some are and the same can be said in philly. leave it at that.— 76ers in 2076
- Agreed, but why was this article even written?...From the Sixers are "free falling" to classifying an entire city as "racist", this is truly drivel...I guess if his aim was to flare the ire of the opposing city's fans, I guess he achieved his goals, as I've NEVER read so many comments from the opposing team's fans...Play the game,leave your personal agenda out of it. Go Sixers, better luck next year,Celtics. — bearsfriend
- This is some of the laziest writing I've ever seen. Philly.com should be ashamed this post exists on their site.— tomf
- chuck3rd, sadly every city has racists among them. It's a sad fact in this great country. And yes, Bill Russell made a note of this when he was a player. Well he has done a 180, loves this city, and for all of his work is having a statue dedicated for him in the near future. Garnett made a simple statement which was a fact, and this guy Mitchell got so defensive that he brought up racism as a defense. Just flat out pathetic. Yes, Boston has racists as dos every other city and town in America. That being said, Philadelphia has racists and fair weather fans. Fact, not opinion.— bigforehead
- "Mayor Michael A. Nutter, telling marauding black youths “you have damaged your own race,” imposed a tougher curfew Monday in response to the latest “flash mob” — spontaneous groups of teens who attack people at random on the streets of the city’s tourist and fashionable shopping districts.".....and what do you call THIS John Mitchell? You're a hypocrite!! I hope your sons weren't involved in this.— bigforehead
- People bang on supposed "band wagon" fans but the real losers are the people who shell out all of the money to watch losing teams because they are "real" fans. That just makes you stupid.— UncleStosh
- Just accept it and move on. BTW Quit calling Philly fans dirtbags you need to seriously look in the mirror.— tfoz5150
- I happen to recall the Celtics playing to fairly empty buildings pre-KG as well. Fans are fair-weathered everywhere. Some fans are loyal regardless. I follow my team through the great times to the dark days when they can't win a game. I like to see my team grow from losers into winners. A young team like this defying the odds at every turn without taking the shortcut or having a former player (McHale) basically give his former team an elite player. Let's face it Al Jefferson is not in KG's league player-wise. Never was, never will be. Unfortunately there are no former 76ers as a GM somewhere willing to give us a top notch player for scraps. As a person KG is a jerk. Always has been always will be.....— joecooler2u
- UncleStosh- if you can afford the tix and decide to support your team win or lose that doesn't make you a loser. it means you're a fan. you cheer the people who represent your team regardless of the talent level. the thing i like about us fans in philly is that when our team sucks we boo them. we don't make excuses like curses, or beer in the clubhouse, or the other team got lucky when our teams fail. going to the games allows us to be heard. lucky for me there's a lot of front running fans like you so when i yell at the players they can actually hear me. thanks for that.— 76ers in 2076
- Garnett is a mental midget. The NBA is a business. If the product is of poor quality the customer is under no obligation to purchase it. If the quality of the product improves increased sales should be expected. Only a fool spends hard earned money on lousy sports teams. is— 2ndNlong
- A poor product to me is a team that is defeated before it gets in the stadium, doesn't play hard and doesn't care if they win or lose. That's a poor product. Outside of 09 and 04, you really can't say that about this team for the last 15 years. I'm not happy with the Ed Snyder era but if you want to say it's dumb to go watch a team killing it to win, then i'm saying the same thing kg is- that you're a front runner. only problem is that just about every teams fan base is full of them....including boston.— 76ers in 2076
- I'm a Philly fan and I think that this article was pretty stupid and short-sighted. If he wanted to shoot back at Boston fans, he could have brought up that the Patriots had horrible attendence and blackout after blackout for years when they weren't a good team...and then they became a dynasty and the stadium is sold out..just saying. There are fair weather fans in every city...but the Celtics have won tons of titles (including one a few years ago), and the 76ers have not had much success at all lately and haven't had a star in 5 years...so it is understandable why our attendence may have been lower than theirs...— Oak31
- Hey JoeUncool, you must be awfully old to remember when the Celtics played to fairly empty buildings in Boston. Or you need to revisit math class.
Boston Celtics Attendance
Year Total Avg
2009-10 744,961 18,169
2008-09 763,584 18,624
2007-08 763,584 18,624
2006-07 690,576 16,843
2005-06 692,513 16,890
2004-05 656,081 16,001
2003-04 664,248 16,201
2002-03 709,049 17,294
2001-02 659,751 16,091
2000-01 629,201 15,346
1999-00 683,608 16,673
1998-99 440,602 17,624
1997-98 743,422 18,132
1996-97 664,022 16,196
1995-96 732,841 17,874
1994-95 606,870 14,802
1993-94 604,867 14,753
1992-93 608,495 14,841
1991-92 610,976 14,902
1990-91 611,537 14,916
1989-90 611,537 14,916
1988-89 611,537 14,916
1987-88 611,222 14,908
1986-87 611,222 14,908
1985-86 610,581 14,892
1984-85 610,727 14,896
1983-84 606,857 14,801
1982-83 621,829 15,167
1980-81 595,444 14,523
1979-80 596,349 14,545— WayneKreklow
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About this blog
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
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