Where's Our Stuff?

So the NBA season is resuming July 30 in Orlando. With the Wizards by the way. And maybe no Kyrie Irving. Maybe. And it goes until when? October? Then the next season starts in December? When's that one going to end? Does it go until August of next year? Or is it a shorter schedule? Or compressed so we get tons of back to backs and three games in four nights type things? Will the players union stand for that? Will fans even be allowed in the buildings? Do we have to say see you in October 2021 to our favorite teams? 

So many questions, right? But I have to say the biggest one I have out there is "Where's our stuff?" Not trying to be greedy. Just stay with me here a minute or so. This one's not that long.

So the 2019-2020 season from a fans attending game scenario is done. But what about the free stuff the team had planned to hand out at the games that were cancelled? What happens to all that stuff? And most specifically, what happens to all the bobbleheads??????

So I get there's a ton of irony for me personally here. I've been begging and pleading with the Wizards to go above and beyond the one bobblehead they give away each year and they finally relent and give in and follow other great bobblehead-distributing franchises and then all the games with the bobbleheads have been cancelled? What are they going to do with all those things? What happens to the stash? And why can't loyal season ticket holders get a hold of them?

Before we go further, maybe we need to recap exactly what we fans are missing here. 

• Sunday, March 15 (vs. OKC): Beer Stein
• Saturday, March 21 (vs. Milwaukee): Glow-In-The-Dark Latvian Laser Bertans Socks
• Wednesday, March 25 (vs. Phoenix): Rui Hachimura Bobblehead
• Saturday, March 28 (vs. LAL): John Wall Phone Wallet
• Friday, April 3 (vs. Philadelphia): Black Panther Inspired Bradley Beal Bobblehead
• Wednesday, April 15 (vs. Indiana): Thomas Bryant Bobblehead

Now admittedly, I'm not super enthusiastic about all these giveaways. My phone probably doesn't fit in the John Wall phone wallet and as much as I love the idea of some glow-in-the-dark Davis Bertans socks, I'm not sure they are an essential fashion accessory for me. I still have my Sato socks from last year and I've never ever worn those things.

But a beer stein? And three bobbleheads? Come on...fans have got to be wondering what happens to those goodies, right? Right? RIGHT??

What corner of Capital One Arena is filled with 10,000 Beal and Rui bobbleheads? I'm guessing the same corner of the building that has those 20,000+ Thomas Bryant bobbleheads. I'm an architect and I've never met a client that didn't have enough storage space; they are always asking for more when we are designing their buildings. How about liquidating that inventory by allowing loyal fans to assume possession of all that merch and getting back a ton of closet space. I mean we'd be doing the team a favor.

The cancellation of the NBA season (and all sports for that matter) has been a total bummer. I mean if there's one thing we could have used in a time when those of us fortunate enough to be able to stay at home and work have essentially quarantined ourselves, it would be a team to root for, no matter how hopeful or hopeless the cause might have been. This truncated season was my 20th as a Wizards season ticket holder. I missed the end of the season and my 20th anniversary milestone reward. But most of all, I  miss having a brand new Rui Hachimura, Bradley Beal Black Panther and Thomas Bryant bobblehead securely nestled within my bobblehead collection. After 20 years and many many seasons begging and pleading for more bobbleheads, why can't we just get a package from the Wizards next week with all three of these things?

So here's my proposal to Ted Leonsis: get on a Zoom call this week and get someone or someones (with mask(s) or other sort of face protection of course) down to Cap One and start sending these giveaways out to season ticket holders to reward them for their years and years of loyalty. It's just the right thing to do. Please. Do it. For the fans. Three bobbleheads and one stein per season ticket holder. Throw the socks and the phone wallet in there too if you feel like it. But the stein and the bobbles please.

So for those of you really paying attention, I know I have not addressed the issue of the Isaiah Thomas bobbleheads, which we know exist since IT posted one on his Twitter feed and it's the cover photo of this blog post. If Ted actually reads this thing...come on, man...let us have that one too. Please?

Caveat Emptor

Every year in this blog, I beg, implore, coax, plead and whatever else you want to call it to try to get the Washington Wizards to add more bobbleheads (read: more than one) to their promotional schedule. It never works. I know, I know, nobody reads this thing let alone the Wizards staff that comes up with the less than impressive giveaway schedule every year. 

But this year it happened. For real. Crazy, right? More bobbleheads. Finally!

And then they Wizard-ed it up in the most Wizards way possible.

A little more than two months ago, the Wizards announced three additional bobbleheads would be available for fans of the team. They had already revealed Thomas Bryant would be immortalized in resin (or whatever it is these things are made out of) in April of this year. Now they'd be producing Isaiah Thomas, Rui Hachimura and Bradley Beal (as Marvel's Black Panther) for fans to pick up. Only there was a catch. These bobbles would ONLY be available with purchase of a three game ticket plan...the Bobblehead Bundle.

My dilemma in late November of last year was this: buy tickets to three games that I already had two tickets for so I could get the three special bobbleheads or stay with my season tickets and settle for a solitary bobble while those more adventurous souls got IT, Rui and Brad in addition to Thomas Bryant. 

You know what I had to do. I spent $92.50 on upper deck tickets to three games I already had tickets to. There's no way I was going to use the tickets and I can't sell them and I knew it. At least I'd have a set of three bobbleheads that few other Wizards fans would have.

No I wouldn't.

On January 23rd, the Wizards decided to supplement their meager promotional schedule with a whole host of extra items. I'm guessing tickets aren't selling quite the way Ted Leonsis was hoping. Ish Smith pop socket. John Wall phone wallet. Davis Bertans glow-in-the-dark socks. Beer stein (!!!). Rui Hachimura bobblehead. Bradley Beal (as Black Panther) bobblehead. Wait! What? Two of the three bobbleheads that are supposed to be exclusive to the Bobblehead Bundle are no longer exclusive? So in effect I'm paying $92.50 for an Isaiah Thomas bobblehead that's probably worth all of $2.50. OK, maybe not that much. I'm pretty upset.

I calmed down a little, emailed my ticket rep, registered my displeasure, requested that my complaint be passed up the chain and asked what happened to the IT bobble which is not on the new and expanded promo calendar. Before we could actually talk on the phone, though, I got an email which I feel is laden with guilt from the Wizards about my bobble purchase. The text of that email is below.

So let me get this straight. The team knew I would be upset because I basically spent money for something now available to others without buying what I bought, but to let me know that I made the right decision, I could get two Rui and Brad bobbles (if I played things right) and the IT bobble was still on the table. Why do I need two Rui and Brad bobbleheads? What good is that going to do me? 

By the time my rep and I finally connected, I knew all this and decided to just let things be. I'd be out $92.50 but at least I'd get an exclusive Isaiah Thomas bobblehead. To their credit (I guess) the team did offer to refund my money which would remove access to the IT bobble. I told my rep not to do that. I'd just be wary of these situations in the future but would be happy to pick up my exclusive-not-available-to-many-others Isaiah Thomas Nipsey Hussle bobblehead on March 25. Why the Wizards are jerking around a 20 year season ticket holder over a piece of worthless plastic I have no idea. But that's what it's come to with this team I guess.

Today the Wizards traded Isaiah Thomas.

I assume that kills the IT bobblehead, right? So what started out as a package of three tickets with three exclusive bobbleheads is now just three tickets with two non-exclusive bobbleheads although you do get to pick up two if you are also one of the first 10,000 fans in the building on the giveaway nights. What a fiasco! If they had intentionally tried to screw up this promotion any more they couldn't have. Do the Wizards now have to refund everyone's money? I'm thinking yes. Either that or stick to their guns and give away a bobblehead of a dude who's no longer on the team.

You'd think I'd be furious at this point, right?

Surprisingly, I'm not upset at all. I will not be calling my ticket rep to register my displeasure with this new development today. The reason I'm not? Because when I told them not to refund my money they did it anyway. They did exactly what I told them not to do. I got a call asking for my credit card number so they could charge me again and I told 'em no. Is this how a championship team treats their fans? I can't imagine. 

At least I got my money back.

Wizards Bobbleheads (Finally!)

I have been asking and pleading and begging the Washington Wizards to make more team-issued bobbleheads practically since I started writing this blog. I even one summer gave the Wiz permission to use my mocked up example bobbleheads for inspiration or blueprints or whatever they wanted to make it happen. Today, it appeared the Wizards have answered my asks and begs and prayers.

Behold...more Wizards bobbleheads than the annual freebie they have been giving away for the last I don't know how many years (probably nine or ten with maybe a year off would be my quick guess). This is glorious stuff!!!

I kind of called this. In my annual Bobblehead Nation post I expressed a little shock as to how the Wizards in all good conscience could have NOT made their one bobblehead giveaway this season a Rui Hachimura bobble. Now I know why. They were saving Rui for the bonus bobblehead package that they just rolled out this week. I'm chalking this whole thing up to Tommy Sheppard by the way. I might be way wrong on this one but that's what I'm sticking with.

So here's the deal: 

Friday, February 7 vs. Dallas is Isaiah Thomas bobblehead night. IT is displayed on a checkered base with lyrics from his friend and rap artist Nipsey Hussle's song "Dedication" on three of the four sides. Thomas has at least three tattoos inspired by Nipsey, who was gunned down in front of his Marathon clothing store in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Wednesday, March 25 vs. Phoenix is Rui Hachimura bobblehead night. It's also the Wizards' celebration of the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. Rui, like the Cherry Blossoms, started out in Japan so there's a logical tie there, although I can't remember the Wizards ever celebrating the Cherry Blossom Festival before. Timing is everything I guess.

Friday, April 3 vs. Philadelphia is Bradley Beal as Black Panther bobblehead night. This is not the first time an NBA team has rolled out a Black Panther bobblehead. The Brooklyn Nets have given one of these away each of the last two seasons.

There's a catch. I mean of course there is. There has to be a little irony in the Wizards finally giving away more bobbleheads. 

These things are not on the promo schedule. You have to buy a separate ticket package as shown in the advertisement graphic above. I guess I'm going to have to fork over an extra $89 for these things. I'm surprised the games are actually as good as they are as part of this package. Dallas and Philly? And both on a Friday night? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Meet The Team 2019

The 2019-2020 Wizards season starts tomorrow. If I were in a different spot in my Wizards fandom, I'd be excited for the next six months or so. We have an exciting young team with a ton of future upside, with heavy heavy heavy emphasis on the word future. It could be a ton of fun to see what this group can do. I'm hoping this team makes some noise and keep me interested for the duration. To be clear, I'm expecting a lot of losing. I just think there's a chance it could be different. Ever optimistic, I know. I'm a fool. I'm a New York Jets fan too, remember.

For as long as I can remember (or about since 2003) the Wizards have hosted a Meet The Team party to introduce season ticket holders to the current players. This event has been mostly a chance to get some swag signed and to get a little free food, although some years the food was absent and the opportunity to get swag signed was pretty limited. And I say since 2003 because I believe this event was on hiatus during the Michael Jordan years as fans were experiencing "the Jordan effect", although I'm sure the Wiz meant something a bit different than the way it turned out.

This event used to be held over at MCI Center / Verizon Center (although once it was at the now-closed Newseum) but for the last ten or 12 years or so we've had to traipse out to Six Flags America in Bowie. Yes, I know my NoVA view of the world is showing in that statement but it's a long way to go, especially when it used to be held at night.

This year, the Wizards changed it up, so for the first time since 2013, I'm writing a few words about this opportunity to say hi to my favorite Wizards players (although not all of them).

The Venue

Whether it's a new change in management or just Ted Leonsis somehow being locked in a dispute with Dan Snyder (who owns Six Flags America), the party was not held out in Bowie and that was very, very welcome. The new venue? The National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

This is a win-win-win. First, the party is held in the same city that the team actually plays in. I get for non-Metro users this might have been more difficult to get to especially on a weeknight but this event belongs in the District. After all, it's the Washington Wizards, not the Maryland Wizards, we are buying into here.

Second, this is an important building. It's right on the National Mall but more importantly, there are pieces of our nation's history which need to be preserved and displayed so we don't ever go through something like this again. Yes, most of what's in the Museum is difficult to see and read and hear (go to the Emmett Till exhibit if you want to experience how cruel people can be to each other) but it's important we not forget. An opportunity for a somewhat private experience in this place is rare. I only regret we didn't have longer.

Finally, it's October and it's cold out at night. Being indoors is good.

The Event

By The Event here I mean the catering. The food (and beverage) choices here were way, way better than the hotdogs, chicken sandwiches, potato salad and lemonade you get out at Six Flags. Passed hors d'oeuvres? Yes, please!!! And especially the chicken croquettes! Mac and cheese station? Shawarma? Chicken and waffles? Yes, yes and yes!!!

The trays of chicken croquettes, mini-Cuban sandwiches and Caesar salad skewers were great. The self-serve food? Not so much. Doors opened at this thing at 6:30. Signings were supposed to start at 7:30. So an hour for some nosh, right? Not so much. The self-serve food stations were supposed to open at 7:15 so for the first 45 minutes of this shindig the catering staff did everything from shooing people away to putting themselves between hungry people and plates to keep them off of the food that wasn't toted about on trays. What a disaster!!! If they do this again, they have to change this up. Don't keep people from the food, folks!!!

Finally on this point (and most important)...free beer. You had me at free beer.

The Signings

I don't know if the food up on the ground level of the Museum distracted people but by the time we wandered downstairs for some signatures the lines were pretty short. And much to our surprise, signings were clearly going on before 7:30. I am pretty positive those two things are related.

I've stood in plenty of long lines to get Wizards jerseys, photos, cards and other items signed over the past two decades so not having to wait long to get John Wall to sign my jersey or Rui Hachimura or Troy Brown, Jr. to sign my Wizards first first round draft picks ball was very very welcome.

Just like they have done the past few years, the Wiz wristbanded some lines. Typically they have issued wristbands for John Wall and Bradley Beal and you can only get one or the other, meaning you need to bring one friend of some sort to get signatures from both. Last year, they did three for Wall, Beal and Dwight Howard. This year, they subbed Rui Hachimura for Howard, meaning you had to bring two friends (I don't have that many tickets any more) to get all the players. This practice sucks! This year, we went Wall and Hachimura. I know Wall's out all year (probably) but he's still my favorite player.

What Was Said

Maybe it was the less crowded lines or maybe it was the couple of beers (OK, three), but this year's event made it way easier to stop and talk to the players. Here's what I got out of my dialog with four of this year's team.

John Wall: I told John I was going to miss him out on the court this year. Simple response: "I know. I'm pissed." Just reaffirms John Wall being my favorite player.

Moe Wagner: Moe went to Michigan. So did I (Class of 1990). For this, I got a fist bump that I screwed up before getting a handshake. I let him know Michigan won a title when I was in school there and that the loss to Villanova killed me. Ish Smith (sitting next to Moe) burst out laughing. I'm sure I handled that wrong. 

C. J. Miles: Miles was sitting next to Isaiah Thomas signing swag. I asked C.J. if this was the Wizards killer section of the Museum. He claimed he wasn't a Wizards killer. He is. November 24, 2015. Verizon Center. 32 points as a member of the Indiana Pacers. Of course the Wiz D that night was awful. 

Isaiah Thomas: Three words here: "It wasn't me." If there was a chance at the greatest glory for the Wizards franchise since 1979, it was game seven in Boston two seasons ago (how quickly things fall apart for my teams...). Thomas killed the Wizards that season. When asked about it, he claimed no involvement. I remember differently. I also think the Celtics took advantage of Thomas' sacrifice and cut him loose. I let him know that and told him I hope he makes a ton of money in the future.

I'm glad the Wizards do this. We need more of these on weeknights downtown. I hope this season brings unexpected surprises. It all starts tomorrow in Dallas. By this time Sunday, the Wizards will already be three games in. Let's just hope we don't lose them all.

Playoff Villains

I first bought Washington Wizards season tickets in the year 2000. I've been there for this team every year since. In 2005, the franchise rewarded me as a season ticket holder by making the playoffs for the first time this century. That would be the start of a four year run in the postseason that featured just one series win, the very first one played vs. Chicago in 2005.

Once Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison got by the Bulls that first year, we ended up in a series with the number one seeded Miami Heat. Despite the sometimes close scores, it was not much of a series and it lasted just four games. The Wizards despite all their good play that year were no match for Shaquille O'Neal, Dwayne Wade (42 points in the series clincher) and company. It was a domination. After a 4-0 nothing sweep during the regular season, the Heat made it 8 losses in a row in a single season for the Wiz. It was humiliating. And just like that Shaq became my first Wizards playoff villain.

For the next three years, I forgot all about Shaq even while he and the Miami Heat won a Championship the very next year. For the next three years, the playoffs and hating people on the other team were all about LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 4-5 matchup in 2006? Cleveland-Washington. 2-7 the next year? Cleveland-Washington. 4-5 the year after that? Cleveland-Washington again. 4-2. 4-0. 4-2. Three first round playoff losses to the Cavs back to back to back.

So let's be honest. LeBron was generally speaking really good at basketball those three years and that can totally make a playoff villain. But that wasn't it with LeBron. It was the whining, crying, babyish, smug way he won. It was whispering in Gilbert Arenas' ear before a free throw. It was protesting every call. It was telling referee Danny Crawford that Brendan Haywood was trying to hurt him (Haywood was ejected). It was taking Darius Songaila's hand and hitting his own face and then flopping mercilessly (Songaila was suspended). It was all the nonsense that James used to get his way over and over and over again. As if playing the games on an even playing field wasn't enough. 

It was those three years that will make me never root for this guy. I'd rather have JaVale McGee win a title before I see LeBron win another. It was those three years that put LeBron in a category by himself as the ultimate playoff villain. And then it was over. No more Wizards playoffs for six years.

Nice flop, LeBron! Got Songaila suspended for game six though.

2014. New team. No more Arenas-Butler-Jamison big three. Enter John Wall, Nenê, Trevor Ariza, Marcin Gortat and Bradley Beal. Two rounds and out. Beat Chicago; lost to Indiana. The next year? Ariza out, Paul Pierce in. Two rounds and out again. Swept Toronto and bowed out to Atlanta. Those two playoff runs were great and when they were over Wizards fans were buoyed by the fact that if it wasn't for John Wall's broken wrist, there may have been an Eastern Conference Finals berth in there.

But one thing they didn't produce for me were any playoff villains. Jimmy Butler maybe due to his tete-a-tete with Nenê that got our big man suspended or Al Horford for his game winner in game five of the Atlanta series. But it's difficult to despise teams you beat handily like Toronto in 2015 and the Bulls the year before and honestly the players on both the Pacers in '14 and the Hawks the year after were just difficult to dislike those years. No villains there for me.

So now it's 2017 and the Wizards are back again in the second round of the playoffs and locked in a battle with the Boston Celtics after taking care of the Atlanta Hawks in six. And holy crap there are so many guys on these opponents to thoroughly loathe it's amazing. There are villains all over these teams. I knew I'd feel this way about the Celtics but honestly I had no idea that I cared enough about anyone on the Atlanta Hawks to dislike them even slightly. I guess it's the competition that bring this stuff out.

On the Hawks side of things, let's start with Dennis Schröder and Kent Bazemore. Both are decent players but they both clearly both think they are way better than they actually are. The whooping and celebrating by Bazemore when things are going well drives me crazy and Schröder even suggesting he's in the same league (metaphorically speaking that is) as John Wall makes me laugh. Bazemore also gets no love from me for the push in the back on Bradley Beal in game six after Beal made a layup. I'm really not sure Beal fell due to the push but the very act of pushing a defenseless player to gain no competitive advantage when he's in a dangerous and vulnerable position is dirty. That could have turned out really badly.

But the guy on the Hawks who I loved to see sent home for the summer was their so-called All-Star power forward Paul Millsap. Since he got his game handed to him in game one (19 points but just 2 rebounds) by Markieff Morris on Easter Sunday, Millsap had a good series, averaging 24 points and 11 boards over games two through five and dropping 31 and 10 in the Wizards game six clincher. He for sure some damage to the Wizards but that's not why I was glad to see his season over. It's the whining, crying and flopping he did on and off the court that's got me upset. This dude's supposed to be an All-Star and one sub-par game against Kieff and he's complaining like the second coming of 2009 LeBron James. Good riddance.

If the Hawks got my blood boiling a little, there's no comparison to how I'm feeling about the Boston Celtics right now. I expected this. I mean there have been regular season in-game and post-game run-ins with Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart the last two years, two role players who use their physicality to gain an upper hand every now and again against opponents. This year featured Crowder poking John Wall in the nose after a game in Boston and Boston police standing between the locker rooms minutes later. The Wizards followed that up with the funeral game, one of the simultaneously silliest, immature and awesome stunts any Wizards team has pulled ever. It helped that the game was a Wizards blowout.

In this series Crowder and Smart have been doing their usual things but honestly other than Smart undercutting Bojan Bogdanovich on a three point attempt in game one and two consecutive flops for fouls from the same guy against John Wall in game two, those two have been pretty quiet. By the way, why don't superstar calls apply to John Wall? How is he getting whistled for two questionable calls back to back? And does the NBA still fine for flopping? It seems like that was either an official short term initiative or they've just gotten tired of fining. 

But there is no shortage of playoff villains on the Celtics side of things. Al Horford made sure his foot was well-placed under Markieff Morris to knock Kieff out of game one before Smart tried it with Bogey later in the same game. But the two guys who are going to have me yelling the loudest tomorrow afternoon are Isaiah Thomas and Kelly Olynyk.

So let's face it, Thomas is good. On offense. I don't understand how this dude hits half the stuff he hits around the basket. The only thing I can think is that his release comes from a spot vertically that is so much different than any other player in the NBA that no defender can get the right angle to defend him properly. But he's also taking his shots when he can under the protection of the refs and the rules I guess. The jumping backwards into Kelly Oubre bloodying Kelly's mouth in game two minutes after hitting Otto Porter in the nose with his head got zero fouls. And the constant yapping from a guy who can't D up makes me nuts too.

But let's also face it, Kelly Olynyk is just plain dirty. And I guess he's smart enough to get away with it most times. Olynyk is going to draw a lot of booing and I'm sure some things way less civil than booing tomorrow evening after his shoulder to the neck screen on Kelly Oubre made our Kelly lose it and get suspended for bumrushing and knocking down Olynyk in game three. But that's not the first time Olynyk has done something like that. He had a raised forearm to the neck screen on Oubre about two minutes earlier in Thursday's game and you can ask Kevin Love about his broken arm courtesy of Olynyk a couple of years ago. I have to believe Verizon Center's crowd will be doing everything they can to make this guy feel insecure tomorrow.

In the NBA, rivalries are made in the playoffs. Forget divisions and the regular season; there is nothing like a playoff series to solidify some hate between two teams. The only thing that makes these rivalries more heated is throwing a couple of guys out on the other team that you just plain love to hate, some villains that you want to see get what's coming to them on every play if possible. We got that in spades this year in Schröder, Bazemore, Millsap, Crowder, Smart, Horford, Thomas and Olynyk, although the kind of nastiness Olynyk is known for has no place in this game.

Game four is tomorrow. Let's tie this thing up, Wizards, then go to Boston and take game five.