Show your home state some love, Netsfans!

Diatribe #7 - November 21, 2003
Show Some Jersey Pride
From: Joe Netsfan
To: Netsfans everywhere
Re: Diatribe #6

Read Diatribe #6. Then forget everything I wrote and read this.

Thanks,
Joe

Maybe I should be called Joe "Whichever Way The Wind Is Blowing" Netsfan. Because that's how confusing being a fan of this team can be.

Here I am, in Diatribe #6, spouting off about all the problems inherent in drawing fans to the Continental Arena, and the cost of success to come. I practically make it sound like having a financially successful franchise in New Jersey is all but impossible.

And now, here I am stating why the team MUST stay in New Jersey.

It's not about money, or fans, or ownership, actually.

It's about good old Jersey Pride.

Look at the options. New Jersey, Brooklyn or Long Island? No question about it, New Jersey's the place to be.

Take Brooklyn for example. Bruce Ratner, mega-millionaire developer, wants to build an arena in downtown Brooklyn and move the team there once the construction is complete, probably in 2006 or 2007. In the meantime, the team gets to continue playing in New Jersey until the Brooklyn joint is ready. And I'm sure that Netsfans will really support a franchise that's on it's way out of town. Sure.

So what' he'll get for his $275 million is more red ink long before he gets to Brooklyn. Hope he's got deep pockets.

And Brooklyn isn't easy to get to, either. Ever been to downtown Brooklyn? Yeah, I didn't think so. Too much of a pain in the ass from New Jersey, crossing all those bridges and tunnels. Mass transit? Fuhgettaboudit.

Sure, Ratner can rebuild a fan base there, but I can tell you, there won't be many Netsfans from New Jersey "crossing over", that's for certain.

No hockey team in Brooklyn as well. Can't quite see the "Brooklyn Devils", by the way.

Brooklyn - I don't think so.

And if Brooklyn is tough to get to, forget about Long Island. Ever been on the L.I.E. at any time between the hours of 4AM and 2AM? What a friggin' nightmare - it makes Route 4 look like the Yellow Brick Road. Mass transit? Oh sure, I'll ride a bus to a train to a bus. No problem.

Charles Wang has an arena and a hockey team, but the arena ain't worth spit and the hockey team has seen better days (and they're not the Devils). To say that he wants to bring the franchise back to its roots is ludicrous - last time I checked, Dr. J's been out of the league for about 20 years.

Wang needs a new arena as well, and he's looking for financial support. Does this sound anything like the failed Newark scenario?

Long Island - don't go there.

New Jersey, and the Meadowlands, isn't any worse than the other two choices, right?

Really, what better way to examine this argument than in typical Jersey fashion (and I dont' mean, "what exit you from?"), which is not to say why it isn't better than something else, but why it isn't worse.

The only logical choice is to keep it where it is, in New Jersey. Hell, most of the team lives here. The practice facility is here. The fan base is here (ok, well, sort of). And we've got that Jersey thing happening, from the Sopranos to the signings Jason Kidd and Alonzo Mourning, right?

And face it - NEW JERSEY sports franchises are hard to come by.

The Giants and Jets play here, but still call themselves New York (and rumor has it the Jets are looking at Manhattan for the future).

The Metrostars, are, I believe: a) a soccer team and b) not called "New Jersey" Metrostars". (actually , who the hell knows anything about soccer?).

There are no major league baseball franchises in New Jersey.

And of course, there are the Nets and the Devils. New Jersey is firmly displayed on all manner of t-shirts, hats, jerseys and other souvenirs thanks to these two lone New Jersey professional sports franchises.

Us Jersey folks need something we can take pride in. For years, it certainly wasn't the Nets. Wouldn't seem right to take that away from us now. And besides, David Stern doesn't like boat-rockers, or change, does he?

Hey, some of the current Net owners are Jersey guys, and in true fashion, they seem to be part of some serious disagreements that may take a lawsuit to untangle.

Support keeping the Nets in New Jersey. Do what you can to help out Charles Kushner and Sen. Jon Corzine and their bid to buy the Nets and renovate the CAA.

Show some Jersey Pride.

I'm sure you can find some logic in all of this somewhere.

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