The 20,000 Person Rosters

The Atlanta Hawks have the honor of being one of two teams I was lucky enough to see in person this year (the other being the New York Knicks).  The team was long, athletic and explosive.  Josh "JSmooth" Smith unleased an alley oop dunk that I thought was going to bring the house down.  Then, I was introduced to the Atlanta fans.  The place cheered for all of 10 seconds, and the intensity didn't even carry over to the defensive end of the floor.  The MC played the "DEFENSE" chant, and about half of the arena obliged.

Looking through these playoffs, never before has it been so apparent that the fans are defining, potentially vice versa, the team attitude.

Boston fans are the same die hard self.  With the cold days of Boston just now coming to an end, and the Red Sox off to a slow start, the Boston fans seem hungry for another title.  Watching the Lakers success has been too much to handle.  At the same time, it isn't the same fan base we saw in 2008.  This is best illustrated by dislocated elbow of Rondo.  In 2008, Paul Pierce was rolled, in a wheelchair, off the court.  The way it was treated, everybody thought for sure the series was over, but maybe even Pierce's career.  Only minutes later, Pierce emerges from the tunnel.  The place went nuts, and you could tell before the TV cameras even caught on.  It gave me goosebumps.  Flashforward to 2011, Game 3 vs. the Heat.  Rondo is thrown to the ground by Dwayne Wade.  Rondo has a dislocated elbow, and comes out and drops dimes, makes steals, and takes it to the hoop on Lebron.  The fans appreciated the effort, no question, but it wasn't quite the same as 2008.

Oklahoma City  fans are young and talented, just like their team.  The place hits decibel levels that would be like putting your head 6 inches away from a lawn mower.  The whole process is new to them, so they come in with gusto to say, "We belong.  We may be small, but you will notice us."  Thank god that franchise has Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, because I think that fan base could have very easily looked like Charlotte.

My favorite from the 2011 playoffs are the Memphis Grizzlies.  Memphis is the most underrated "major city that is actually having huge problems, and could be a ghost town in 20 years."  The city is strife with racial tension and high crime rates.  Right now, the Grizzlies are all that matter for the city.  Zach Randolph said it best, "I love this city, man, they love me back, you know what I'm saying? So it's good -- it's a blue-collar town and I'm a blue-collar player, I'm a hard worker and this is a hard-workin' town, ain't nothin' been given easy to me, ain't nothin' easy been given to this town, so it's a fit!"

The Lakers fans seemed as bored with the playoffs this year as the players did.  Lakers fans are a funny breed.  Hollywood celebrities, LA money men, and millions of people who can't afford the tickets.  But when the going gets tough or the drama seeps from the building, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum go all Lindsey Lohan on the courts.  "Lakers! Mavericks! NBA Playoffs on TMZ!"

Lastly, the Heat.  The Heat have been an emotional mess for the entire season.  The have crying in the locker room, over celebrating big wins, over valuing big losses.  Most of this is driven by the media, but the fan base reacts the same way.  After last season's playoffs for LeBron and the summers Lebacle, everyone outside of Miami was telling Lebron to "Man Up!"  Two months later the Miami Heat have to tell the fans to "Fan up!"  Well, I guess we'll see.