Markieff & Marcus Morris: "Suns have worst fans in the NBA"

[sunsfan88]

https://twitter.com/DunlapSports/status/571891837914492929

https://twitter.com/DunlapSports/status/571894275006332929

https://twitter.com/DunlapSports/status/571901815538622464

https://twitter.com/JeSanders11/status/571898385562648577

Here is the actual audio of Kieff's comments:

https://t.co/HqeYzADguC

I definitely don't think we have the strongest home court in the NBA or anything but I certainly don't think players should be calling out fans after they set franchise record lows in a blowout, embarrassing loss.

I'll give the Morris twins the credit for at least owning to their comments. I wonder who the third person was.

 

[Folster]

I'm betting the Morris brothers will be gone this offseason.

 

[Iceman]

Don't get it. When I went to the Suns/Blazers game a month or so ago, the place was rocking with fans. It was extremely loud and everyone was in it. Granted the Suns were on fire, but still.... They looking for others to blame or what??

 

[AzStevenCal]

You want good fans M & M? Play better. The fans aren't getting paid.

Steve

 

[sunsfan88]

Here's what I don't get: Aren't these professional athletes being paid MILLIONS of dollars to go and play a child's game? Meanwhile me and many others are out there working hard to get expensive college education (which we pay for, not living off some sports scholarship) and then working 9-5 jobs after barely making six figures.

Aren't they getting paid to play, why does it matters if fans are there or not?

I hate when athletes complain about fan attendance, their job is to play. Sometimes they sound off as if their playing basketball for charity or as volunteer experience or something. If they want us fans to go and pay our HARD EARNED money to go support them, they have to show it.

 

[TJ]

Welcome to Phoenix, Morris twins. There's a strong correlation between winning and fan support in this town. Ask the Cardinals.

Play better. Simple.

 

[sunsfan88]

Lol Suns PR staff got to Kieff, he's now trying to recant on his Twitter.

 

[GatorAZ]

Whether they're right or wrong this is possibly the worst timing to rant about the fans. It's like they're trying to change the subject after a pathetic performance.

 

[GatorAZ]

Lol Suns PR staff got to Kieff, he's now trying to recant on his Twitter.

Julie Fie has had a rough year with this group.

 

[sunsfan88]

So apparently a fan called out Kieff about their performance and his response

https://twitter.com/Keefmorris/status/571905871724199936

What exactly is the "good" again?

https://twitter.com/ScottHoward42/status/571905408970838017

 

[Phrazbit]

Welcome to Phoenix, Morris twins. There's a strong correlation between winning and fan support in this town. Ask the Cardinals.

Play better. Simple.

The Cards biggest problem was the garbage dump of a stadium they played in, the crowds started showing up as soon as they got a legit building and they certainly were not any good yet.

The Dbacks, somehow, have middle of the road attendance the last few years despite being a dumpster fire.

The Suns problem is they were a good team for so long, unlike the Cards and Dbacks, that the fan base got spoiled. Mediocrity hasn't sat well and being downright bad sat worse. The franchise has also done a piss poor job of marketing the team, they put a lot of stock in some baaaad guys to try and sell the fans on and it has burned them.

They need to settle on an image too. Aesthetically they've got some ugly stuff going on, and I think that is an underrated issue. A mess of logos and colors (halloween?) and a hideous floor scheme. They need to embrace the past, back when it was not a bandwagon fan base.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Cards biggest problem was the garbage dump of a stadium they played in, the crowds started showing up as soon as they got a legit building and they certainly were not any good yet.

The Dbacks, somehow, have middle of the road attendance the last few years despite being a dumpster fire.

The Suns problem is they were a good team for so long, unlike the Cards and Dbacks, that the fan base got spoiled. Mediocrity hasn't sat well and being downright bad sat worse. The franchise has also done a piss poor job of marketing the team, they put a lot of stock in some baaaad guys to try and sell the fans on and it has burned them.

They need to settle on an image too. Aesthetically they've got some ugly stuff going on, and I think that is an underrated issue. A mess of logos and colors (halloween?) and a hideous floor scheme. They need to embrace the past, back when it was not a bandwagon fan base.

And, while they're at it, they need to get rid of the mickey mouse stuff such as the "everybody clap your hands" jingle.

Steve

 

[Phrazbit]

And, while they're at it, they need to get rid of the mickey mouse stuff such as the "everybody clap your hands" jingle.

Steve

couldn't agree more. The over aggressive PA system really kills any initiative the fans might take on their own to get excited.

 

[asudevil83]

I listened to the game for a little bit against the Spurs. I honestly thought the Spurs were playing at home. THE SPURS. Can't say i blame the Morri on this one.

 

[Phrazbit]

One more note.

You got a problem with the lack of crowd noise? Fine. Say something about it after a win, if one of the Morrii had said something after the OKC game about how they wish the crowd had been as excited as they were, it would probably be well received and might get people wanting to be more pumped up. But you rip on the fans for not being boisterous after a game where you were getting crushed from the word go? You just sound like an ******* trying to pass blame for you and the rest of the team laying a big fat egg.

 

[sunsfan88]

If Kieff wants more fans to go to games even when the team isn't that good, they need to make the ticket prices more reasonable. This list is mind boggling, Suns are NUMBER 5 in the NBA in terms of most expensive ticket prices in the league

You must be registered for see images

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbad...es-led-cavs-have-nbas-most-expensive-tickets/

All the top 10 teams except for the Suns are either contenders or big market teams. Miami is an exception but considering the success they've had in the past 5 years, I'm sure their fans are still very high on them.

Fans are being charged as if we live in a big market or as if we're about watch a contender play.

 

[slinslin]

I listened to the game for a little bit against the Spurs. I honestly thought the Spurs were playing at home. THE SPURS. Can't say i blame the Morri on this one.

yes it was sad..

from the very beginning too

btw the headline is misleading

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...ns-for-lack-of-home-court-advantage/24214265/

"I don't think we have a home-court advantage," Markieff said. "It does not feel like a home-court advantage at all. Some games are going to be bad. You can't win every game. That comes along with sports. Nobody wins games. We need the support. We need, as a team, to know that our fans are going to be behind us and I don't feel like this year they're behind us enough.

"I feel like we do have those genuine Suns fans but, for the most part, I feel like we had more San Antonio than Phoenix fans tonight."

"They don't boo, but they don't cheer that much, either," Markieff said. "We feed off, for the most part, off the energy. I know we're a lot better than that. I know Phoenix fans are a lot better than that. Like I said, we have a lot of genuine fans that cheers for us – the ones that are in the first row, in the second row, in the third row. Once you go up, you feel like people were just at the game, just watching."

"Even when I hit the jumper in the middle (Thursday night), I had to do this 15 times just to get the fans up. Even when they got the and-one, everybody's just sitting down, like we're not trying to make a playoff push here. We need every single game. When guys are diving on the floor, guys are playing their hearts out for this city, we need that support. That's just how it goes."

 

[82CardsGrad]

Welcome to Phoenix, Morris twins. There's a strong correlation between winning and fan support in this town. Ask the Cardinals.

Play better. Simple.

With very rare exceptions, that dynamic exists all throughout pro sports. The SF Giants, the Cubs, the Blackhawks, the Yankees (though they too have attendance drop over the past few years)... That's about it. Otherwise, teams need to win to put butts in seats, period.

 

[82CardsGrad]

One more note.

You got a problem with the lack of crowd noise? Fine. Say something about it after a win, if one of the Morrii had said something after the OKC game about how they wish the crowd had been as excited as they were, it would probably be well received and might get people wanting to be more pumped up. But you rip on the fans for not being boisterous after a game where you were getting crushed from the word go? You just sound like an ******* trying to pass blame for you and the rest of the team laying a big fat egg.

Forget about everything else that was said in this thread as this quote is all that need be said.
Markieff is a jack-ass. I honestly can't see him lasting much longer on this team.

 

[devilalum]

3 things

1. The "Good" fans can't afford to go to the games anymore unless they want to sit next to the ceiling and that still doesn't account for all the other expenses involved. When they played at the Coliseum they were always talked about nationally as having one of the best home court advantages in the league.
2. I've had it with the Morrii. This is the last straw for me. The techs, the blame game, the bizarre twin thing, the immaturity, geez.
3. When does baseball start?

 

[haverford]

couldn't agree more. The over aggressive PA system really kills any initiative the fans might take on their own to get excited.

Totally agree. Being at games is an aural assault. The crowd is constantly hectored into clapping and "mak[ing] some noise," while the players have to play through idiotic sound effects and snippets of bad canned music. It ruins the game. If they were smart, they'd go old school. Mic up the court so we can hear the game in all its glory. Slogan: "back to the gym." Old uni's too...

 

[Absolute Zero]

Some of the Suns were frustrated that the crowd had not been more into the game during Thursday night's home victory against Oklahoma City. At one point, the Suns had a 10-0 run that was capped by an Alex Len dunk and an Oklahoma City timeout. P.J. Tucker and Eric Bledsoe raced onto the court to greet the players in the game and waved for the fans to join the celebration and stand. The fans did not follow.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...ns-for-lack-of-home-court-advantage/24214265/


The Morri are not the best messengers obviously. But it doesn't mean their comments are not on the money. Of course, just win, shut up and play, etc. But I watch these games and it is just sad looking at all those empty seats and hearing how quiet it is.

So how much are the ticket prices? I couldn't open that Forbes link. The Expense may explain a lot of it. We are coming to the Valley to watch some sports next Fall and I bet we end up in the nosebleed section for the Suns game, maybe even outnumbered by people routing for the opponent from the sound of it.

 

[elindholm]

They're not a likable team. Their best players have zero charisma, they don't share the ball, and they make incredibly stupid mistakes. Even diehard fans on this board find them difficult to watch. I'm not in the least bit surprised that the crowd is apathetic.

 

[AzStevenCal]

They're not a likable team. Their best players have zero charisma, they don't share the ball, and they make incredibly stupid mistakes. Even diehard fans on this board find them difficult to watch. I'm not in the least bit surprised that crowd is apathetic.

I wish I could say this wasn't the case.

Steve

 

[devilalum]

I got halfway through a post about what I feel is wrong with the Suns organization and realized that I just don't care any more. This was not always the case.