Me to Nets Marketing Department: "WTF dudes?"

Nets fans were taken through a loop when Brett Yormark announced the Reversible Jersey idea. I have already explained this concept ad nausem. However, in all the promotions, all you saw were "artist's concepts" of the jerseys. Well, at the Nets Open Practice in Ramapo on Saturday, I got to see them first hand...brace yourselves:





As always, click on the images to see a bigger picture.

Ugh. These things look incredibly shitty. If you've ordered them thinking you would wear them and be instantly mistaken for LeBron James, you are shit out of luck. These look like cheap intramural jerseys! The jerseys are basically see-through mesh, and do not have any of the piping and details seen in authentic jerseys. So, way to go, Yormark - you not only pissed off fans who didn't like the idea, but these lackluster replicas will piss off those in support of the idea!

Other thoughts from the open practice: Chris Douglas-Roberts looked fantastic, Terrence-osaurus can handle the ball, don't believe the Yi hype, and Tony Sweet Battie looks incredibly gimpy. But, others have delved into this more deeply, so check Netsdaily for links to better analysis than mine. Meanwhile, I will leave you with some candid photos.

Lawrence Frank coaching:



Hassell, Brook, and Boone:



Terrence tucking in his jersey:



SWat, Courtney, and Frank have chat:



CDR addresses the crowd:



(Just a programming note as well: With the season getting underway, I will try to post more often, so keep checking back. I will probably deviate from the Monday schedule, but will have a minimum of one new update a week. Thank you for your continued support!)

Me to Nets Marketing Department: "You're Welcome!"

Patty: The easiest way to be popular is to leech off the popularity of others.
Selma: So we propose changing our name from "Springfield to "Seinfeld".

The Nets finished making their offseason moves on draft night, giving Nets fans nothing to discuss for over 70 days and counting. They have been coping in various ways; some have decided to go outside and get fresh air, bloggers have resorted to creating gimmick months, and still others have...shudder...watched the summer league. With interest in the team waning and season tickets moving like cold cakes, Brett Yormark unleashed this:



The Nets Reversible Jersey Ticket Plan

This became big news on August 13th. However, on August 12th, my friend Danny and I were invited to the Nets' training facility for an event that was designed to get ticket holders from last season to renew. The event began with three games:

- A trivia contest, which was a piece of cake. I'm like Rain Man when it comes to the Nets.

- Knock-out. I wanted to be knocked out immediately for two reasons: this game is overly exhausting, and there were five or six little girls in the knock-out line, meaning the potential for embarrassment was higher than normal. So I stood in front of Danny, took a half-assed free throw that ricocheted to the left and sailed past the 3-point line, and that was as far as I got in Knock-out.



- NETS, their version of HORSE. And I was money, hitting long-distance threes and shots with my eyes closed. It was down to me and the Nets employee running the show, both of us tied with two letters. Then, Danny made my opponent aware of my fatal flaw: I can't hit lay-ups. An up-and-under and a head-grabbing lay-up later, and I was eliminated. Danny summed it up best: I fulfilled every stereotype of white basketball players. I couldn't dribble or hit lay-ups, but I could hit 3s.

After shooting around, they led us inside for "Nets Make a Deal". My gambling side came out, and I turned down two good prizes to see what was behind curtain number 3. My prize? A Sly Fox key chain. Epic fail. After that, I enjoyed some refreshments and bitched about the team to my ticket representative. It was then when she first showed me this 10-game plan with the jerseys.

I have to be honest: I liked the plan, and did not foresee the controversy it would bring. I am not a jersey-wearing guy, but I did think it would be cool to get the Nets starting line-up. Plus, that's pretty much ten of the best games you could ask for as Nets fan: seeing Vince, Kidd, and RJ. I'm not that interested in seeing the Lakers, Heat, and Cavs because none of their players interest me outside of their one big star. It is always fun to play other division teams like the Celtics and Knicks, and I am interested in the young guns on the Clips. If only they added Atlanta and Golden State for Twin's and Mikki's respective returns.

But, I now see how and why people are upset about this. It is pretty ridiculous to be selling your opponents' merchandise to say the least. When I was talking to a friend about what blog articles I had lined up, I mentioned this marketing gimmick. He was not a Nets fan, but was shocked that this was a real promotion. Nets management was in complete spin control immediately after, posting on their facebook account, asking the fans about their opinion of the promotion and ideas for other incentives.

Brett Yormark is the mastermind behind this controversy. He did go to the NBA front offices for approval before launching the campaign, so clearly he knew that there was the possibility of backlash. His main argument in favor of the promotion is that the Nets cater to both Nets fans and NBA fans. To be honest, he is correct. The Nets have used other teams' stars to sell tickets as long as I can remember. One of the first Nets games I went to was against the Orlando Magic. My mom told me she would hope that Shaq or Penny was not injured so I would not be disappointed. And, it happens all across the league, as teams like the Cavs and Lakers sell out other teams' arenas.

So, I cannot reject Yormark's argument. However, I believe I have the solution:



Throw-Forward Jerseys!

(Image by GMJ of the NetsDaily forums)

So, the one side has the current Nets on the roster: Harris, Lee, The Butler, Yi, and Brook. On the other side is a potential 2010 free agent. I would go with Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, LeBron James, Carlos Boozer, and Amare Stoudemire. However, the other side has these players in Nets uniforms! Imagine LeBron showing up to an arena, and seeing nearly 20,000 fans (okay, more like 8,000) donning his potential Nets jersey. How could he not sign here?

Alternatively, the Nets could do this same promotion, but using the top prospects of the 2010 draft. The five I would use are Derrick Favors, Ed Davis, Johnny Wall, Willie Warren, and Cole Aldrich.

Is it jinxing the Nets? Maybe. Is it legal to do? Probably not. But, it would generate tons of publicity, and as Yormark knows, there's no such thing as bad publicity. So, Nets Marketing Department: You're welcome!

SWN hearts BDL

Another week, another link from Ball Don't Lie. Thank you for reading, everybody!

I was SUPPOSED to go to this tonight:



But, in typical Nets fashion, they scheduled this a week ago, not thinking it would fall on a night where there is only one basketball game that starts after 9. This team even loses in the offseason. Sigh.

Nets to NY Commuters: Drop Dead.

"But I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the man who walked 1000 miles to fall down at your door." - The Proclaimers

Yes, I'm starting with The Proclaimers. Because, if you are trying to get from New York City to the Meadowlands, it feels like a journey of 1000 miles. But, while those twins were probably walking for some sweet, pale, freckle-faced Scottish poonani, you are going to see a franchise with a historical winning percentage around .400 with bleak-to-mild future prospects.

You see, I live in New York City, and it's the only city I want to live in. From the odd smells, to the flagrant displays of homosexuality, to the joy of being completely broke - New York has it all. But, being a Nets fan in the Big Apple has its draw backs.

First, your team name rhymes with two other equally shitty franchises - the Jets and the Mets. So, you will find yourself making specific distinctions. "Fuck no, not the Mets. The NETS. They play basketball. In New Jersey. I am NOT a crackpot!"

Then, there's the whole "watching the game in the bar" scene. It is never on, and you will have to grab a bartenders attention. The ordeal rarely ends there, as apparently a bar with 45 flat screen televisions can only show two different channels at once. So if the Rangers and Knicks are on, you are shit out of luck.

But, now, on top of this, the Nets and NJ Transit have gone and fucked up the ways to get to the Izod Center from New York. Before, they would just pack up buses from Port Authority and send them to the Meadowlands one after another on game day. In fact, they STILL do this for Giants/Jets games. Take a look:


View Larger Map

Four point one miles. Estimated 11 minute trip. Granted, with rush hour traffic, it might take 20-25 minutes. But still, if you left at 7, you could comfortably arrive at a 7:30 game. After the game, you would fly back to New York without traffic in around 15 minutes.

But this season, all this changed. Now, instead of Port Authority, you have to go to Penn Station. OK, it is 8 blocks away, no big deal. But does Penn Station take you to the Izod Center? It's the Nets, so of course not! It takes you to my least favorite junction: SECAUCUS. JUNCTION.



This ride takes around "10 minutes" by itself. However, as I have frequently found, there are multiple delays. I would safely estimate that you should allow 20 minutes for this ride as well. So, for those of you doing the math - we are now at the same exact amount of time that it would have taken if they still provided the bus option. Here's the kicker - did you get any closer to the arena? Let's take a look at the map:


View Larger Map

SHIT NO! You are now SIX POINT FUCKING SEVEN miles from the stadium. You went BACKWARDS by 2.6 miles! So it is now ANOTHER 20 minutes to the stadium. Double the time, half the fun.

Now, to safely get to a 7:30 game on time, you probably have to depart New York around 6:30. And getting home is no fun either, as there are less trains from Secaucus Junction back into the city at night. You'll probably end up back to New York around 11:00. So, what used to be a roughly 3:15 endeavor (7:00 - 10:15) is now clocking in at 4:30 hours. And that's if you live in a convenient neighborhood - subways will be running less frequently at later hours. God forbid the game goes into overtime.

The reason I'm pissed about this is because of one underlying reason: IT. MAKES. NO. GEE-DARN. SENSE. I have used the Port Authority system for years before. It worked fine. The buses were never empty - there were always long lines to get to the arena on game-day, even through the second quarter. It was not broken, so they decided to smash it?

But even more importantly is that this team wants a New York City fanbase! They will be moving to Brooklyn in 2009 2010 2011, and needs as large of a fanbase as possible. They should not only be slurping the New York fanbase, but tickling their balls, too.

It is an utter pain in the ass that makes zero sense for all parties involved. The Nets fans are not happy with the extra commute. The Nets need to get as many fans to that half-empty stadium as fast as possible (which helps concessions sales as well, too). And the Secaucus Junction commuters can't be happy with the extra crowds clogging the stations as well. I've been to a few season ticket holder Q&A sessions, and I am not the only one who is bitching about this. It severely deters from the entertainment value of the game, and is making me reconsider the amount of games I will go to in the future.