Orlando doesn’t want Shaq
Shaquille O'Neal (photo. Chenoa Maxwell)
During Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals the other day, you might have seen Shaquille O’Neal in the Orlando crowd. In one of the defining wins of the franchise’s short history, the player who really put them on the map was back. And if Shaq’s original departure from the Magic wasn’t such an ugly situation — him basically taking the money and running to L.A. as soon as he was a free agent in ’96 — it would have been touching in a Dominique Wilkins-in-Atlanta sort of way.
So naturally, some people in Orlando don’t want Shaq anywhere near their gym. Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi is one of them, as he makes clear in today’s paper:
It was like being at your own wedding — a day of rejoicing and exultation and entering an exciting new phase of your life — and then seeing the ex-girlfriend who ripped your heart out sitting in the front row of the church.
Why was Shaquille O’Neal sitting courtside at the Magic’s huge Game 4 overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night?
Who sent him an invitation to the party? He was more out of place than Rush Limbaugh dancing the night away to the Dixie Chicks at Barack Obama‘s inauguration ball.
Can you believe it? The guy who destroyed the franchise 13 years ago when he bolted for L.A., actually showed up at the amped-up Am on a night when the Magic and their fans were raucously relishing their resurrection.
To his credit, Bianchi goes on to admit that Shaq is free to go wherever he wants, and seeing as he still keeps an offseason home in Orlando, it makes sense for him to attend an NBA playoff game when he’s got nothing else to do. Still, he doesn’t get the big man’s motivation, especially considering the way Shaq went at Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy in the press earlier this year. More from the column:
Why would a player who has torn down Orlando’s franchise both symbolically and semantically show up at the Magic’s biggest home playoff game in years?
This was a Magic housewarming attended by none other than the ol’ home-wrecker himself. This was like a deadbeat husband resurfacing when Mom is finally happily remarried and the kids are calling somebody else “Daddy.”
The Magic have an admirable policy where they take care of their former players and provide them with access to tickets, but in Shaq’s case shouldn’t the policy be reviewed? Instead of giving him seats near the floor, may I suggest a different locale — like, say, Section Z, Row Z, Seat Z; right up there somewhere above the polar ice cap?
Put yourself in an Orlando fan’s shoes: Is there a certain player or person you’d hate to see in the building for one of your team’s biggest moments?
Source: Orlando Sentinel
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
parinaz suns says:
yes. robert horry.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
JCARR says:
John Amaechi
May 28th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
dmitry of jersey says:
haha dont the magic have nick anderson on the payroll???
he’s the dude that ruined the franchise 13 years ago. if the magic win that finals, maybe shaq never leaves….
May 28th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
doc says:
No.That man got money to buy tickets to any game he want.And if the dude who wrote that story owned the team and had the chance to charge Shaq up for some tickets he damn sure woulda.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
schoop hoop says:
Im a knicks fan, so I don’t see any “big moments” for a few years, but I sure as shit would kick reggie miller in his teeth if he was sitting courtside.
And the person I LOVE seeing at knicks games I had to watch at an LA game giving love to Kobe…. Spike, what happened? That “documentary” was a joke… and you were all over Kobe once the final whistle blew. Just sad.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Khalvin says:
VINCE “Half-Man, Half-effort” CARTER!!! …
Do you really need to ask which city I am in??
May 28th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
funkymunky says:
dmitry, that’s cold man hahaha
May 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
SparkyJ23 says:
Wassup in Toronto Khalvin?
Yeah but in truth you don’t wanna ever see Nick the Quick anytime soon…
May 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Austin Burton says:
The worst would be when/if the Sonics come back to Seattle and Clay Bennett is there for the home opener. (I wonder if Stern actually would schedule OKC to come in for that first game.) Jim McIlvaine wouldn’t get a great reception at a Sonics game, nor would ex-GM Wally Walker.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
LAballer says:
umm i think shaq isnt trying to come back as a player there..i recall a few months back there were several stories about him and grant hill putting together a team of investors to buy the Magic.
Dude aint trying to be an employee..he is on Boss status..
May 28th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Luigi says:
idk in DC. i think the older fans know about DC history more than i do. but in true Wizard Fashion…id be heckling LeBron just because of the crab dribbles. and also believe it or not..Jordan [Wiz Years]. just because he didnt want Rip…and drafted Kwame [when we could of had Pau/Tyson/etc]. but if he never returned to the wiz.. then id be in awe
May 28th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
David_Brandon says:
i’m w/ parinaz. robert horry’s punk ass. and samaki walker. that three before the halftime buzzer wasn’t good. LA won that game by a point. wtf man…
May 28th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
David_Brandon says:
honestly…shaq too. i just was never a fan of dude. nah man…he can’t come back to sac. lol
May 28th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Khalvin says:
Hell While I am at it… anyone want to guess the PG who dropped these stats while in Toronto..
31.7 Mins 34.9% FG% 31.6% 3P% 3.3APG 11.3PPG
That is right Mr. Big Shot himself Chauncey Billups!!
Yeah I got a long freaking grudge list!!! LOL
May 28th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Baby Huey says:
As a Blazers fan I would have to go with JR Rider or Darius Miles…..maybe Z-bo
May 28th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
hater says:
i think boozer is going to be courtside at cleveland tonight..
May 28th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Kryptonite Hops says:
As a Knick fan, goes without saying: Stephon Marbury and Charles Smith. (Still give Starks props, even though he shot the Knicks out of title contention)
May 28th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Biggeddy says:
As a Lakers fan, I don’t think anyone screwed us like that. I mean there might be players from other teams that I hate (ex: Mike Bibby, Kevin McHale, etc) but they aren’t exactly players that ripped our teams heart out like Shaq did Orlando or Vince did Toronto. In fact I would love if Bibby came to watch us clinch this year’s title… it would bring back memories of the Horry shot. LMAO!
If Kobe left in free agency, after we traded away Shaq, he might’ve been on that level for us… but he didn’t. And why would anyone want to leave L.A. (the Lakers that is) anyway? Maybe Shaq, but I think we would love if Shaq was sitting next to Jack and Kobe was holding up his finals MVP trophy in one hand and his championship trophy in the other.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Celts Fan says:
@biggedy – aint no one wanna leave LA either if you got money.not one for all the materialistic fake bullshit, but beaches, bitches, weather – not much to complain about.
Oh, ours? Let’s just say I hope Louisville gets 50-pieced every game they play…
May 28th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
G says:
Matt Geiger. Actually on second thought Billy King
May 28th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Ian says:
rodman god i hate that douche (spurs fan here) and del negro why? simple shaq had penny ewing had starks hakeem had drexler and my fav player ever robinson had del negro WTF?
May 29th, 2009 at 12:24 am
dat dood says:
as a warriors fan i have to go with cwebb. ruined the team in the 90′s, and with the exception of the we believe year we have yet to recover. top it off with that horse shit came back out of retirement.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:29 am
money says:
i’m from the great city by the bay and i have this terrible love hate thing with baron davis, where i’d welcome him back to the team with open arms but so long as he’s not on our team, i can’t help but hope his team loses. although, if he was back at oracle, maybe he’d bring jessica alba back with him…
May 29th, 2009 at 1:36 am
jdstorm says:
I bet the magic fans are glad its not TMac. At least Shaq carried them to the finals. Tracy wanted to trade away the dwight howard pick for some veteran help, so he could try and get out of the first round again.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:32 am
Big Aaron says:
DeVos wouldn’t sell to any consortium with even a whiff of Shaq or Hill on it. They’re a financial dynasty and have a lot of kids to continue the name and ownership. They’re great owners and not going anywhere any time soon.
Shaq can go tell everyone how lottery ass taste.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:17 am
solomon (el latino machismo) says:
well, it’d be fun to see darko courtside on a pistons game vs. denver / miami / toronto… HAHAHAHA!
and damn… chauncey played a quarter of a season in t-dot… totally effin’ forgot about that…
May 29th, 2009 at 8:39 am
bsteezy3 says:
Yeah, a bitter departure…
May 29th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Vinny Chase says:
@ khalvin: hahaha. this dude snapped. i’m from the GTA (sauga stand up!)and i dont think any nba city holds as long of a grudge list as we do. from “he who shall not be named” to tracy “i STILL didnt make it to the 2nd round” macgrady (dont get it twisted, the rockets made it that far because t-mac WASNT there)and damon stoudamire. next thing you know, we put zan tabak or mamdou n’daiye on that list
May 29th, 2009 at 9:18 am
karizmatic says:
lol…I’m an LA fan so it would be uhhh…SHAQ. lol. How many franchises has that guy jilted? lol.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:24 am
weng santos says:
I have no real grudge with him, but I hope McDyess made his way back to Denver instead of asking for a buyout.
He could really help us right now.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:52 am
QQ says:
LOL at the writer’s similes about Shaq.
It would be fun to add more:
1. It’s like seeing the major label executive that didn’t sign your band at an autograph booth at your world tour when you’re already famous.
2. It’s like the teacher who told you that you wouldn’t accomplish anything in life calling you if you still remember him and how he is proud of you when you’re already a CEO.
3. It’s like the doctor that said you wouldn’t be cured of a certain disease, who came back when you are already cured (by a different medical practitioner) to tell you he always knew you will had it in you to fight off the illness.
4. It’s like Shaq showing up for a very important home game of the team he destro… Oops. Wait, what?
May 29th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Kyle says:
I’m an L.A. fan and I’d hate to see Shaq sitting courtside at a Laker game.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:07 am
rell says:
As a Celtics fan I hate to see Brian Scalabrine getting playing time.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Red Glare says:
I still can’t stand Scottie Pippen and i’d like to punch him if I ever saw him back in houston.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:18 am
bsteezy3 says:
An Orlando player I get nervous seeing at big games is Nick Anderson. Let me first say that OVERALL, Nick Anderson IS the Magic. He was their first draft pick, I think he’s still the all-time scorer, and he had a good career with the Magic. However, he is also involved in one of the greatest choke jobs in NBA history. His career was never the same afterwards. When they showed Nick Anderson at the playoff game, I got nervous. I thought he’d jinx us… But I don’t BOOOO Anderson; I damn sure BOOOO Shaq though.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Sanpitch says:
Being a Jazz fan, we don’t get any of the big ticket guys in our gym via free agency. So most the guys we are pissed about are no-namers. But Rony Seiklay pissed alot of fans off with his “I will not go to Utah” rant in ’08 I believe. So instead we had to settle with Greg Ostertag!
But give us a few months and we will be adding Boozer to that list.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Sanpitch says:
whoa! meant that Seikaly rant was in ’98 not ’08.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:46 am
bsteezy3 says:
@ #22–I was a Warriors fan back then… I blamed it all on Nellie! I still dislike him to this day…he and C-Webb didn’t get along, so they trade Webber–then Nellie resigns!! That really destroyed that team.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Simon says:
You had me confused for a second there Sanpitch! I thought he made a comeback attempt haha.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Sccob says:
Reggie &*(%$^ Miller
May 29th, 2009 at 11:55 am
son#1 says:
tell this bitter loser (author of the article) to get over it…i understand Shaq bailed on the franchise and left with nothing but that was 13 years ago. do your job and write about some facet of the on-court game.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Kermit the Washington says:
Shaq wasn’t there for Orlando. He was there for CLEVELAND, whom he hopes to join next year.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Diego says:
Yeah, Shaq was indeed there for Cavs and LeBron.
Regarding the Hawks, no big beefs really. Going way back, Jon Koncak signing was a waste of $ (but he actually can be seen at games occasionally these days) and a bit later on, trade of Dominique for Danny Manning was a joke–and Manning bailed after less than 1 season.
Guy who really bugs me these days is Lorenzan Wright–arrogant as hell on the sidlines for the Cavs (but he does dress well); totally washed up as a player; and never amounted to much as a player in his career anyway.