Van Gundy rips Pistons fans
By Greg Stoda

Palm Beach Post Columnist

Saturday, May 28, 2005

MIAMI — This might fall into the category of inciting a riot.

It depends on what happens Sunday night in The Palace of Auburn Hills when Detroit Pistons fans get a chance to react — up close and insultingly personal — to what Heat coach Stan Van Gundy had to say about them Friday afternoon.

What's altogether predictable, of course, is that Detroiters everywhere will be plenty pistoned-off. They'll be fuming. They'll be more than eager to live up (or down?) to their reputation for displaying a particular style of, umm, zealotry.

But maybe Van Gundy decided the setting — Game 3 of a long-anticipated and growingly antagonistic Eastern Conference championship series — can't get much more hostile than it figures to be, anyway.

So, he growled first.

Except he's probably wrong about the can't-get-much-worse part, which means vitriolic might take on a whole new meaning when Van Gundy walks onto The Palace court.

And he'll have started it.

What happened was this: Van Gundy was on the AmericanAirlines Arena practice floor talking about how the road frequently is less of a disadvantage to a team deep in the playoffs.

One of his points was that a team involved in, say, an Eastern Conference championship series usually is a pretty good one and therefore reasonably capable of handling adverse situations. Another of his points was that those games usually are worked by some of the NBA's best officials, who aren't likely to be intimidated or influenced by surroundings.

All good so far.

But not for long.

Van Gundy did say it was the Pistons themselves, obviously, who make Detroit a difficult place to play.

But here's what else he said:

"Detroit, even in the regular season, has a particularly nasty crowd. They're not just loud. Those people will say anything and do anything. ... I have never understood the idea (that) because I bought a ticket to the game, I can sit there and yell anything I want. ...

"It's always sort of funny to look around in the stands and see somebody sitting with their 10-year-old kid yelling profanities at you. I always thought, 'That was a great role model.' "

He was just getting started.

"I think (in) Detroit and New York, you get some of the absolute nastiest people. Hey, that's the way it is. That doesn't make it any tougher to play. It's no louder than anywhere else."

And then came the real stunner in pointed reference to the regular-season brawl in the stands during an Indiana-Detroit game.

"Hey, what other arena did somebody throw beer on somebody?" Van Gundy said. "I mean, let's face it. It's a different place. We heard it in the first two games up there (this season). The second was after the (fight) happened.

"I don't think their security people cared. The thing worked out great for them, to be quite honest. ... There aren't very many arenas where you specifically hear people yelling profanities and vulgar things at you. You just hear people yelling, but Detroit's a different place. Detroit's a different place. It just is."

All righty, then.

Any questions?

The strangest aspect of the Van Gundy diatribe was that it came from a guy who's funny and glib and cerebral and typically not inclined to give any fodder to an opponent or, in this case, an opponent's fans.

It's also worth noting that Detroit defeated Indiana without incident in the Eastern Conference semifinals after the regular-season ugliness involving those rivals.

The Heat players, by the way, seemed unconcerned about the logistics of their upcoming assignment.

Eddie Jones mostly is concerned with "matching the Pistons' intensity" with the home crowd behind them. Dwyane Wade dismissed whatever "unprintable" comments he'll hear as part of the equation.

Wade probably figures if he goes for another 40 points, as he did in a Game 2 victory by the Heat, it'll be the best possible response to whatever Detroit's crowd has to say.

Which is what Van Gundy, too, finally got around to in talking about using an unfriendly environment as motivation.

"It fires you up a little bit more," he said.

Figure on Pistons fans happily and angrily taking that risk.

'Cause they must think this stuff is a real riot.

The Pistons responded to this too. I'll post the article of what the Pistons had to say as soon as I find it.

Ok, here's the article with some of the Pistons comments:
http://www.detnews.com/2005/pistons/0505/29/D06-197190.htm

Pistons defend their fans

Players, Brown dismayed by comments from Heat coach about the Palace faithful.

By Chris McCosky / The Detroit News


AUBURN HILLS -- If the Heat weren't walking into a hostile environment at The Palace before, they certainly are now.

Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, speaking to two reporters on Friday (one from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and another from the Palm Beach Post), blasted the fans at The Palace, calling them nasty and vulgar.

"They're not just loud," Van Gundy said. "Those people will say anything and do anything...You go to every arena, it's loud. But there aren't very many arenas where you specifically hear people yelling profanities and vulgar things at you. You just hear people yelling. But Detroit's a different place.

"Hey, what other arena did somebody throw beer on somebody?"

Van Gundy was, of course, referring to the brawl on Nov. 19, which was incited when a fan tossed a plastic cup of liquid at Ron Artest.

"I don't think their security people cared," he said. "The thing worked out great for them, to be quite honest."

The Pistons, naturally, were dismayed by Van Gundy's comments and vigorously defended their fans.

"We have the best fans in the league; the most loyal fans in the league," forward Darvin Ham said. "They just get behind their team and root for them with all their hearts and souls.

"I mean, this is a hard core city. We're not all glamorous and Hollywood. It's hard-working, honest blue collar people around here. They cheer the way they live their lives.."

Rasheed Wallace shook his head, believing Van Gundy made a huge tactical error.

"That's the wrong thing to say," he said. "That's just going to add fuel to the fire. But he's right. Our fans are behind us 100 percent and they are going to make it hectic for them."

Coach Larry Brown said he didn't know whether or not Van Gundy was trying to play some kind of mind game, but he didn't agree with the comments.

"We have the best fans," Brown said. "We had a few on one night that got out of hand, which seems like 10 years ago...But I've been doing this a long time and I've never figured out any psychological advantages."

Brown said he had a lot of respect for Van Gundy, but he has been amused by a couple of his statements. Van Gundy said after Game 2 that he knew what adjustments Brown would probably make on Dwyane Wade.

"If he knows that then he's even better than I thought he was," Brown said. "I don't even know."

Then, after Van Gundy ripped the fans at The Palace, Brown shot back, "Wow, he knows what I'm going to do and he knows about our fans."

I'm so glad that the Detroit fans are so popular and in the heads of every team that ventures into Motown.
What other fans are so popular?
Like they say good or bad as long as they are saying your name... thks.

Haha Stan.

What would have happened if Carisle or Stephen Jackson would have said that during their last series? Brawl II?

Stan's a little bitch

Haha.lol. I'm with that. I always thought that because of the constant bitching he does but I think this puts him over the top.

Could you imagine The Van Gundy boys when they were young and fighting with each other? those poor parents.

:lol:

Van Gundy can say whatever he wants, it's not going to change anything. Some Detroit fans have done some stupid things. I don't know why it's the whole Detroit crowd.

Remember what you said about the Mavs in that T'Wolves game? Lol...