Josh Smith came to Philips Arena last night with the Rockets and tried to hush heckling fans before the Hawks rallied for a victory. Afterward Smith lashed out at Atlanta fans, calling the fans "fickle" and bandwagoners" according to ESPN.com.
This isn’t surprising because Smith spent part of his final two seasons with the Hawks complaining about what he considered the city’s lack of support for the team. The bandwagon insult is an old one for Atlanta pro sports fans and Smith, no doubt feeling stung by the jeers in his hometown, used it to throw some shade.
There’s some truth to what Smith is saying about Atlanta fans, of course, but that’s neither here nor there and the reasons for this have been rehashed forever. I could also talk about whether Hawks fans have any real reason to boo Smith (they don’t) but, really, it doesn't matter that they did.
Instead, I’m forever perplexed by this “good fans, bad fans” debate we have in sports.
Sports is the only industry in which customers are blamed for not buying a product. When a neighborhood restaurant closes because of a lack of business, no one criticizes the residents for not supporting it. The market speaks, and proprietors either listen or perish.
The idea that sports fans have some kind of civic duty to support a private business is strange. It's the kind of twisted thinking that leads to spineless politicians caving and giving money-losing public subsidies to franchises so they don't move to another city willing to give the team a deal that's even worse for taxpayers.
Sports teams are not special. They are just another entertainment option in a world bursting with them so they had better offer something good if they want more customers. Team execs who wonder why fans don’t come to their games should look inward, not outward.
The outgoing owners of the Hawks always had a problem understanding this concept and so tended to blame their customers for not getting more business rather than focus on their own missteps. That is why Bruce Levenson bizarrely blamed black people and white people who are afraid of them in his infamous email.
Now the Hawks are offering something the people want and, as a result, attendance and television ratings are up. Smith is right that the Hawks now have more bandwagon fans but it’s more accurate to say they have more consumers of their improved product.
Maybe Smith, like Levenson and Co., should do some self-examination about why fans prefer the Hawks without him rather than fault those fans.
About the Author
