Fan Behavior 101

The Heat are struggling and I'm not talking about the team.  Their fans are struggling to behave like fans.   I've watched some of their games when the Celtics weren't playing and when they scan the crowd, it's pretty obvious that there are a lot of empty seats.   Their crowd is like Lakers East.  Lakers crowds are always fashionably late.   When they scan a Lakers crowd, you see a LOT of their "fans" are celebrities who are there just to be seen.   It's more like they are posing for the camera than cheering for their team.  It's the in thing to be at a Lakers game and they could care less whether the team wins or loses as long as they are seen on camera at some point in the game.  I see a lot of the same traits in the Heat crowd. 

After the huge party announcing the 3 AmEGOS, complete with fireworks and smoke and the posing and the glitz and glitter,  it seems as though reality has interrupted their championship celebration.  The team that was supposed to go 82-0 this season and not lose 2 in a row all season suddenly are 6-4 and in 5th place in the East and have already lost 2 in a row and twice to the Celtics.   Some of the shine is off and it's no wonder their fans are losing interest.   LeBron is quickly finding out that as quick as Cleveland fans were to forgive his behavior when he was a Cavalier, the Heat fans aren't quite as forgiving.

The Heat organization has stooped to begging their fans to act like they actually care about the team.  They have issued a guide on how to be a fan.  I've included a photo of it above but you can click on the link read it, just in case you were wondering how to be a fan of an NBA franchise.  And what's funnier than issuing  a written guide on how to be a fan, they also have a video  explaining that they need to be on time and actually cheer for the team, just in case they didn't quite understand the written part.

When I was doing a comments post one fan mentioned that watching the Celtics crowd just showed them how pitiful their home crowd was.  Celtics fans know how to be a fan with no promting, no written guide and no video.  Celtics fans love their team and as I have said many, many times, Celtics fans are the best fans in the world.  I love the movie Celtic Pride.  I went to watch that in the theater the day it came out.  I also own the video and DVD.  Now, those are fans!!  And the best thing about that movie is that there really are Celtics fans out there that fanatical.    I have a feeling that it's going to be a long time before they make a "Heat Pride" movie.  First they have to get their fans to show up and actually cheer, a feat which seems to be easier said than done for a team with 3 Egos and not much else.