Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Answer To A Boring Off-Season


I will keep this relatively short and sweet.

I want the Atlanta Hawks to sign Allen Iverson.

He needs a team. He has a home in Atlanta. An Iverson Hawks jersey would be bananas!! He'd help with ticket sales. And last but not least.... He's still better than every other guard on the Hawks roster. He just is.

People would have you believe that last year was a sign of him slowing down and not having "it" anymore. I couldn't disagree more. That Pistons team never even gave it a chance to work out with AI. Rip, Tae and Rasheed were so devastated when Chauncey got traded they didn't even bother to try afterwards. There was a whole lot of standing around and pouting and it was never going to work because the remaining Pistons were just as vigilant as Chauncey in their efforts to show Dumars he shouldn't have traded him. They never embraced AI so it was doomed from the beginning.
AI is not completely blameless. He didn't respond well to coming off the bench. Yes he could have handled it better, but I certainly understand why he felt the way he felt. Well I understand it as best as someone who hasn't talked to him can understand it.
Anyway, if the Hawks can sign AI for around the MLE then they should do it. Why not? We all know there's no way in hell Woody is going to play Teague so they can bring AI in and since he has this thing about coming off the bench, they can let him start and bring Bibby off the bench.
They need to do this. Allen Iverson has overcome throughout his entire career and now he's in a situation where much like when he was a rookie everyone is doubting him. He can be very dangerous and at the very least it would be interesting to watch. Pretty much everything involving the Atlanta Hawks this off-season has been less than exciting. I'm actually bored with the fact that we are bringing back the same team. The same team to be coached by a man who doesn't have a guaranteed contract after this season.
It's just disheartening that other teams are genuinely making moves that they think will make them better, meanwhile the Hawks are making lateral moves. I have nothing against Mike or Za Za or Marvin, but we needed to do more and we didn't. They've now proven to me beyond a shadow of doubt that they are not trying to win a championship or even compete for one. They want to be just good enough. That should not be good enough for fans. It's not good enough for me.
Do I think Allen Iverson is The Answer? No I don't. As a fan I'd have every hope that he would be, but as a realist I know he probably isn't. I want Iverson here because of all the reasons I listed way back in the beginning of this relatively short post. If those reasons aren't good enough, the last thing I can offer you is, he's Allen f*cking Iverson. That's reason enough for me.
Tell me why you're for or against it.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

What am I supposed to wipe my feet on now?


Every single time I walk up to my condo door I become reinfuriated. (don't know or care if that's a real word)
About a week and a half ago someone had the audacity to steal my Atlanta Hawks welcome mat. When I came home that night I immediately noticed it was missing because it's always the first thing I notice when I walk through the breeze way.
Any other person would probably have gotten over this egregious act of wrong doing, but as you all know I am not normal.
The very next day I posted a sign near the mailboxes that read:

TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN:

SOMEONE STOLE MY ATLANTA HAWKS WELCOME MAT AND I WANT IT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I DON’T KNOW WHAT KIND OF RIFF RAFF SOMEONE HAS BEEN LETTING INTO THIS COMPLEX, BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW WOULD RETURN MY MAT EXACTLY WHERE YOU FOUND IT!
SINCERELY,
APT. 214

Needless to say I have not gotten any responses, although I did hear a young lady telling one of her friends about it as she walked through the breezeway. Whatever.

Back to why I just can't let it go. I bought that mat over 2 years ago at the Team Gear store in Philips Arena. It didn't cost an obscene amount of money, probably around $20. I'm not even sure if they still have it and it shouldn't matter if they do because I already bought one. I can't stress that enough. I already bought one!!!! I say that because a couple of people told me "just buy another one". My response was and will continue to be that I shouldn't have to buy another one because I bought that one. It was mine. No matter what you think about the Hawks or some silly little insignificant object such as a welcome mat, the fact remains that it was mine, I bought it and some asshole stole it.
That welcome mat (yes that one specifically) pretty much represented a lot of my personality. When people would come visit all I would say is "it's the first breeze way and you'll know which one is mine". That may not seem like a big deal to you, but this isn't about you so whatever. No one ever knocked on the wrong door or was even slightly confused about which condo was mine. Those who know me (which is pretty much a prerequisite if you're coming to my house) knew exactly how to find me. Now, I have to start giving specific directions and or a door number. So not the kind of life I'm trying to lead.
Is that welcome mat the only piece of Hawks paraphernalia I own? Of course not. I have game worn jersey's and a Hawks throw and several autographed items, but that's beside the point. That welcome mat was just so me. I'm not the type of girl to have some boring ass straw welcome mat with a plant on it or something as equally blah as that. It's just not who I am. I'm the girl whose friends know when the Hawks are playing on a Friday night she's not leaving the house until the game is over. I'm the girl who is actually genuinely concerned about the fact that Mike Woodson will be coaching next season without a contract. I'm the girl who flew to Miami and watched the Hawks get a good old fashioned ass whipping in Game 3 of the playoffs last year on my own dime at the spur of the moment. I'm the girl who has an autographed basketball from the 13 win team and I treat it like it's autographed by the 92 Chicago Bulls. I'm the girl who had an Atlanta Hawks welcome mat. The fact that I have to say had as opposed to have still doesn't sit well with me. Oh well, I guess........