Another Gilbert Fan Story
This one comes from noted Wizard hater and possible Satan worshiper Bill Simmons, who, in a Miyagi-over-Kreese upset, received an e-mail from a buddy not named J-Bug, Sal or Hench. The e-mail concerned Gilbert Arenas. This tale would merit perhaps a B- in the pantheon of Gilbert Arenas Fan Interaction stories, but it's still worth repeating, despite Simmons's prediction that the Wiz finish 13th in the East:
"We were sitting near the Wizards bench and heckling Arenas that he 'wasn't a good enough player to be a bad teammate' and that his teammates hated him and that he was a jerk for complaining about his teammates to his assistant coach (by the way he doesn't talk to the head coach, just some guy on the bench). So Arenas decides in the next timeout to come over, lean down and discuss my feelings with him. He tells me that his guys love him and that he's buying them all dinner that night. I told him that he should 'cause he's the star and he makes more money than them, and they have to deal with him and act like they like him or they'll be out of a job. He replied, 'I guess you're not getting my jersey tonight then.' I replied that I didn't want his jersey, but he could FedEx me one from the team he's playing for after the All-Star Break. He walked out and missed two free throws, then looked right at me as he ran down the floor and was shaking his head."
Gilbert did, in fact, miss two consecutive free throws late in the fourth quarter. While mentioning neither these fans nor J-Bug, Gilbert did also blog about his reception in Boston:
I know most of you were watching it on TV, but if you were there you could hear them just chanting my name which was beautiful because I don't think even Michael Jordan got his name chanted in another arena like that. Even though mine was chanted for hatred, it felt good. Now there's a bond between me and the Boston fans.
And now, apropos of nothing, here's a notice about an auction this afternoon to benefit the Children's Inn at NIH. It's from 5-6 on WTOP; the number is 202-895-5060, and the winner--who certainly will have way too much money to be spending his or her time reading sports blogs--gets meet-and-greets with Caron Butler, Olie Kolzig, Mark Brunell and Comcast SportsyNet on-air personalities. Plus a lot of other stuff. Web site here.
By Dan Steinberg |
November 14, 2007; 10:44 AM ET
| Category:
Wizards
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Posted by: prophet | November 14, 2007 11:09 AM
I agree with prophet. With you and Mike Wise on the case, there's no way we wouldn't know if
a) Gilbert had beef with Eddie, or
b) he was easily rattled by random fans without the influence of paint ball guns.
Posted by: ScottVanPeltStyle.com | November 14, 2007 11:16 AM
What really alarms me about stories like this is how people don't get outraged about what a sheer douchebag the heckler and his pals are. I appreciate that he feels like he is somehow impacting the game, but the notion that he is somehow awesome for his role in the affair.
Yes, you are very cool for insulting a man who, if you were to face him on equal footing, could quite easily pummel you within an inch of your life. Despite being somewhat small by NBA standards, I'm pretty sure Gilbert is enormous by Boston Celtics pissant fan standards. So go on thinking that your overpriced ticket and the protection of 20,000 fans and television cameras makes you a tough guy. We all know that if you were on the playground, and Gilbert wasn't famous, you'd either be singing a different tune or picking up your teeth.
Posted by: bryc3 | November 14, 2007 11:51 AM
SHUT UP and play Gilbert!
Posted by: caphcky | November 14, 2007 12:49 PM
I agree with bryc3. Yeah, Arenas is annoying, but you know if that dude got the chance to hang out with him he'd do it in a heartbeat. Kudos to Arenas for not punching this guy in the throat.
thehotroute.blogspot.com
Posted by: The Hot Route | November 14, 2007 01:12 PM
game changer, that heckler. i dont go to enough games, and when i do, its the 10 dollar tickets in 425. anyone who sits closer, can't we get russert drunk and do this? does he need to even drink?
Posted by: CreditZard | November 14, 2007 04:20 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Seems like someone other than a random Celtic fan might have noticed if Gil and Eddie Jordan weren't on speaking terms, wouldn't they?
Didn't Arenas encourage the front office to re-sign Jordan?