I intended to write a commentary about booing when former Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh returned as a visiting player for the first time last week, but I was pre-occupied with some other stories and distractions. So I decided today is the day, not because of anything Bosh is doing, but just because the entire topic of booing by fans for any reason, is even more fascinating to me.
For the professional athlete, there are a number of reasons why fans might boo. Some are justified and some seem quite stupid.
When Bobby Orr, perhaps the greatest defenseman of all time, or in the same conversation with former Canadiens Hall Of Famer Doug Harvey and six time Norris Trophy winner Niclklas Lidstrom, would visit Maple Leaf Gardens as a member of the Boston Bruins, some of the fans acted like idiots and would boo him constantly, for no particular reason, other than the fact that he was a great player who would mesmerize the Leafs with his exceptional skill. There were times when he would skate with the puck and no one could take him it away from him, because he was both a superb puck handler, and a brilliant skater. To say that Orr was a magician with the puck, would be the most accurate description that I can think of. Having watched hockey games since the early 1960’s, I can’t remember another hockey player who could handle the puck as well as he could, and for unusually long periods of time, especially on the power play. Even with all of that, Leafs fans would continuously boo him. In a very twisted way, this was probably their acknowledgement of his greatness. I was told by those who know him well, that the booing bothered the former Bruins Hall Of Fame member. He obviously didn’t perceive it as a mark of respect.
With all of the above in mind, I found it rather amusing to read and hear all the debate and discussion, about whether fans at the ACC should have been jeering him or not. I thought it was way overhyped. He was a good player while he was in Toronto. He was never going to be a superstar, although he was an All Star caliber player. “CB-4”, as he was known with the Raptors, was never much of a leader, not because he wasn’t a good person, but he didn’t seem to want to be the type of player to carry a team on his back, and realistically, he didn’t have the skills or personality for that. He couldn’t seem to demand better efforts from his teammates, or if he did, his fellow Raptors tuned him out. There was the game in Boston, November 27, 2009, where Paul Pierce kneed Bosh in the groin, while driving for a layup, and left him writhing in pain on the hardwood. None of his teammates came to his aid, or seemed to carry out any punitive action against the Celtics forward. The lack of any kind of significant response by the players that the Raptors had on their roster at the time, or the same ones who are still with the team now, speaks volumes about the kind of players and teammates they are. That is who the fans should have been booing for many games, after they returned home from this debacle.
The only thing that the Georgia Tech alumnus could have done differently or better, was to not tell the whole world through the various social networks, how much he was enjoying being courted by other teams, not just the Raptors. At one point, he allegedly was asking fans for suggestions, through Twitter, as to which team he should sign with next. To a Raptors fan, that would come across as a slap in the face. If he was determined to leave, then he should have kept that information to himself, until he had made a final decision. To do otherwise, was a move that would torment those who were, and still are devoted Toronto fans. That was a poorly thought out tactic by Bosh, if the allegation was true. When the Texas native was certain that he would be leaving, he should have taken out an add in the Toronto newspapers immediately, and thanked the fans for the way they treated him, which was with great adoration and respect, most of the time.
The throwing of kisses towards the ACC fans, at the end of the game with the Heat and Raptors by Bosh while still on the court, which he didn’t deny could have a double meaning, was also something that wasn’t necessary, and put him on the same level of those who did boo him. He should have taken the high road. The way to silence critics who boo, is through one’s skills, scoring, and ultimately winning games. That’s how Bobby Orr did it, and that’s the most effective response now, as it was more than thirty years ago. Classy behavior, great skills, and good sportsmanship, never goes out of style.