Greed Kills

Hi folks Noce here, I've had a pretty nice day today relaxing at home all day. I decided to take a day off because I have been busting my ass lately at work and I figured this would give me a nice break and make my week feel shorter, thus leaving me more refreshed and happy when I'm at work.

There is one thing that has been bothering me lately and I haven't been able to shake it. Usually I adhere to a strict regimen of alcohol abuse and avid TV-watching in order to keep me relatively happy, but even that hasn't been able to make my pain go away. Maybe if I tell you what my pain is, I will stumble on the answer I've been looking for this whole time in the bottom of a bottle of Budweiser. You see, I really like the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls are my favorite NBA team and they're right up there amongst my favorite sports teams but the thing I really hate is when so-called "fans" act like TOTAL AND COMPLETE FUCKING IDIOTS. I haven't made it to a Bulls game yet this year. I was going to go on Saturday but it didn't work out because I was already drunk at 5pm after the Illini upset THE Ohio State Fuckeyes. I'm actually glad I didn't make it to the game because the Bulls got their asses kicked.

The other reason I'm glad I didn't make it to the game because if I had, I would most likely be getting out of jail right now after being involved in an altercation with one of the cock-sucking, bandwagon-hopping, know-nothing sons of bitches who were actually chanting KOBE during the Bulls game.

When the story first came out about a few echos of a Kobe chant from the rafters I brushed it off as nothing. Years of going to Bulls games and seeing the type of carny-folk that can stumble out of such villages as Cicero, Berwyn and Carol Stream, has made me immune to the alcohol-induced idiots that know nothing about what is actually going on in the game. Granted, this is only like 5% of the typical fan base of the Bulls, which is about standard for most pro teams unless you're talking about the Cubs, in which case it jumps to around 60-70%.

But when I heard that Saturday's game featured a chorus of KOBE chants that went on for long parts of the game, I started getting really pissed. If you were a real fan of the team and actually knew anything, you would know that the Bulls always start off badly. This is not to excuse them for their poor start this year but for fuck's sake it's only been SIX GAMES. The Bulls' record has a lot less to do with GM John Paxson's attempts to deal for Kobe and a lot more to do with the fact that both Luol Deng and Ben Gordon turned down eight-figure deals right at the start of the season. I thought the Bulls were centered around the fact that what is good for the team takes precidence over what is good for the individual?



I guess that all changes once rookie contracts start to expire. For as much as Deng has been celebrated for his off-court achievements and his crystal-clear character, he pretty much fucked the Bulls over by turning down that deal. NBA talking heads have said that Deng needs to start learning the "me-first" attitude on the court and take over on offense, well I think he's already got that attitude down pat in the contract talks.

All Deng had to do was sign the deal, take the $50 million plus and after three years he would have gotten an even bigger deal as long as he continued to develop the way people are projecting him to. But now there's going to be a season-long annoyance as his name, along with Gordon's - who also fucked the Bulls by turning down another monster deal (but I don't really care about him because I kind of want him to go) - will be involved in more trade talks which will only make the two players more of a distraction.

So before stupid asshole fans begin to rip Paxson and Scott Skiles they should take a look at the actual players wearing the red and black jerseys. Paxson put this all together and he is responsible for the outcome, I'll give you that much. But he and Skiles can only do so much, the guys on the court have to produce like they're being PAID MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to do.



And What the fuck is Ben Wallace doing? The so-called "leader" didn't even nominate himself to be voted as a captain. Clearly he is just showing up to go through the motions and collect his huge paychecks for this season. When he's on the offensive side of the court they don't even bother to guard him. Put in Aaron Gray or deal Wallace's ass for whoever will take him - he's fucking dead to me.

It's ironic that the fans from the top of the stadium are the ones who are making the noise because if they actually stopped to think about the fact that Kobe Bryant is the antithesis of all that is good about the Bulls, they would maybe realize that we don't need Kobe. Somebody at the Local #402 should inform these morons that defense, hard work and desire will prevail in the NBA. The Bulls have that now, whether they know it or not.

They also have huge problems with Deng and Gordon's situation and until that is taken care of, they will not be any better than a .500 team this year, which isn't fine by me but you will never, ever catch me at a Bulls game cheering for anyone other than the men who wear the red and black.