We have had some issues with the game chat lately becoming overly critical and members either complaining or avoiding it all together. It’s the playoffs and we want everyone to have a good time. We have added the verbiage below to the Lakerball rules but I wanted everyone to have a chance to read it before the game tonight. The game chat is for the overall enjoyment of ALL members. This rule is not meant to stop calling out issues with our team or players. Saying things like Kuz needs to hit that open shot or I don’t like Vogel’s lineup are fine and encouraged. Saying things like Vogel is an idiot, Kuz sucks or clank, clank, clank are not. Please keep in mind the repetitive nature of your comments. Say what you need to say but but don’t repeat it every 5 minutes. The game chat should have the atmosphere of a night out with other Laker fans, looking for a good time. If you were at a nice sports bar/pizza place whatever showing the game, and one fan was saying every 2 minutes that Vogel sucks, KCP is pure trash, we can’t shoot, we deserve to lose this game, we’re gonna lose to the Nets anyway, LeBron is washed, AD isn’t a leader and is soft, well, the crowd would probably eventually tell that person to STFU and go and whine about it at home. Keep that feeling in mind before putting our team on blast and ruining the experience for others. If a member can’t watch the game, they should be able to tell the general score of the game just by reading the thread, so think of how the game is going and post your comments accordingly. Basically, don’t pull a Donald Sterling and “boo” your own team. It is not productive and ruins the game chat vibe. Again I want to stress, this DOES NOT mean you can’t complain about individual plays. It’s the repetitive nature, the “booing” and the timing of the comments. We know being negative or overly critical is a somewhat grey area and we have tried our best to define it. If you have a question, please reach out to a Mod for guidance. Any Mod can temporarily or permanently ban any poster from the chat if they feel they are in violation of these rules.
I rarely use the Game Chat because I'm usually too into the game to stop and type. But, if I did, this guideline would be appreciated. I have a good friend who is a big Lakers fan. We always talk about the games, but I don't enjoy it much, because he is always only hyper-critical of the coach, team, players. Just wears on me. I don't even like agreeing with him even when his criticism in on target, because I don't want to encourage his rants.
This looks great. Basically, we'd like everyone to behave as if you were invited to watch the game with your friends. Some negative comments about bad plays are, of course, welcome. But constant negativity and complaining would result in your friend(s) politely asking you to leave. Don't be a "party pooper," please.
Pretty much why I don't participate in chat too much. I would just get to the point where I would want to block the negative people on the regular board too. Rules are right on. None of these young fans ever had to put up with a losing franchise. Like I have said elsewhere, I was a hard core fan during all the years that Jerry West lost to the C Bags and they were totally soul sucking. To see Lakers fans b****ing about our team right now, is pretty absurd. It's like spoiled rich children yelling at their parents for not buying Strottarga Bianco Caviar for their 12 year old birthday party!!! Just remember everyone, winning is not easy, perfection is not possible. We have already won one ring with Lebron and Davis, might win 2 or 3, might not, but we are right there trying. Honestly, if these nagging injuries keep on occurring, can't see us getting by the Nets, unless of course, they are injured too.
Agreed mostly except for the none of these “young” fans (not really the case in GT) “ever had to put up with a losing franchise”. The 6 or 7 years prior to last season’s championship certainly sucked did they not? Horrible win-loss records and not even reaching the playoffs. And those years with West and Baylor the Lakers were not a losing franchise like the period prior to last year. Gut wrenching losses in the finals of course.
But the reason that is different is that the team was in a rebuilding mode. I grant you, Jimbo Buss handled that absolutely horrible. But the Lakers in the 60's were at the top of their game, they had put together an incredible squad that was the best in the NBA yet still managed to lose year after year. It was much like the Clippers are today but way worse. One last point I will make is without suffering, accomplishment is hollow and meaningless. Life is about the journey, winning is about the journey. I lot of people just do not understand this concept because their life has been relatively easy. Their parents provided for them and they have been lucky enough to have a decent job most of their life. They don't understand hardship and digging out. While the promised land is an awesome thing, it is not guaranteed for anyone. You have to fight to get there. That fight is what makes getting their sweet! Appreciate the ride folks, you only get to ride it once!
i've been on this a lot the past couple of years, i think. you can't win all games or all titles. as a fan, you just hope to watch a good product on the floor that it's easy to root for. the current lakers squad is that. the ones from the previous half decade plus were neither. maybe as i get older, i'm just less invested in the outcomes and more interested in the process, as wino indicated. ironically, it's why i hated "the process". i know everyone's pointing to philly's current outcome as evidence it was great, but i think that's missing the point in the same way that it always missed the point. if you only watch sports to witness your team winning, maybe you're really not that into sports?
This seems, to me, like such .... common sense? Versus “the ring is the ‘only’ thing” mentality and the season a failure if not achieved.
Personally, I am satisfied with the "product" my team has on the floor this year. It's quite entertaining, there's mostly no drama, and the injuries were nobody's fault. Most importantly, for me at least, is that guys work and play really hard. If they win the championship, great; if they don't, I won't get mad at them, as long as they are competing in the playoffs.
I would argue that the injuries are the league's fault. This schedule has been F'ing ridiculous. Pretty much every team that made it past the first round last year has experienced harsh injuries this year. Except the Clippers. Unless you count mental illness!?!? That being said, not sure what they could do about it as I am sure they would have run into scheduling problems and income problems had it not been rebooted so quickly. It is literally happening similarly in other industries as we speak. It just hurts the NBA more than others. This league is so competitive and the athletes are so physical, I think it is maxed out in terms of wear and tare on the human body. It makes it very hard to repeat, especially hard to have an actual run of rings with 3 or more. Doubt we ever see more than 3 ever again. 3 is going to become increasingly difficult.
Good question re here anyway. I think it outweighs the ring is the only thing type posts by some good margin from those who post frequently or semi frequently. Elsewhere “in general”? Maybe? You’d hope so or too many fans would be perpetually frustrated and disappointed.
I agree that name calling and personal attacks should be a no go, however with some members of our team really clanking it up in the series right now, I think clanking is OK. I know the team can't give perfect performances every game but let's even up the averages from outside the curve
There is nothing wrong with the word clank per se, it’s the repetitive nature in which it is used. If we miss 5 shots in a row, saying clank after each one is the issue. Everyone knows we are missing shots and it’s not really adding anything to the conversation.
