The Phoenix Suns are no good once again, and they seem to be getting worse. Is it time to protest them en mass? If so, how should we do it?
Remember when the Los Angeles Clippers were the laughing stock of the NBA? When they were the easy win; the easy out; the easy punchline? When another team was bad, fans could always say “at least we aren’t the Clippers!”
Well now the Clippers are relevant. They’re consistently decent; they’ve had good playoff teams, playoffs appearances, stars on both the court and the bench, and now an owner who has the desire to win and is more likely to throw money at a problem than sit back and count his savings every time he drafted high and passed on a star free agent.
It is the Phoenix Suns who are the laughing stock. They are the easy win; the easy out; the easy punchline; and throughout this stretch of a near decade of below mediocrity there has been but one consistent: owner Robert Sarver.
The man who, during his introductory press conference as the franchise’s new owner, said “I don’t know a lot about basketball…”
How much did he know then, and does he know any more now?
The Phoenix Suns are terrible. They are on track to have another awful season, their ninth consecutive season without a playoff berth, and new beads of sweat seep through the pours of fans of this once proud franchise after each loss each time Devin Booker states his unhappiness in the way things are going, for fear that at the end of his next sentence will be a demand for a trade.
Fans are questioning this season if the Suns will even win 20 games! Burns and Gambo ran a poll on November 6 asking how many wins the Suns will eventually end up with and 18% said 11 wins or fewer and 70% said 11-25.
Dave Burns said that if you split that number to 11-18 or 18-25, Burnsy would pick lower number.
After watching last night's 22-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets, how many wins will the #Suns have this season?
— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) November 7, 2018
But is it time to protest? Would you, a diehard Phoenix Suns fan, do anything to openly call out the franchise – most specifically Robert Sarver?
Last season a fan actually purchased billboards after a gofundme campaign that demanded Sarver to sell the team.
That wasn’t enough.
What can Suns fans do now?
What about booing every time the Suns touch the ball – but never stop?
Wearing t-shirts that demand Sarver to sell?
What about staying silent for an entire quarter – or even a full game?
How about the entire arena wearing paper bags over their heads?
What if Suns fans stopping showing up entirely?
Here’s the thing: I’m not advocating for Suns fans to stop being Suns fans. While Robert Sarver owns the franchise on paper, we, our children, and our children’s children, will all be around much longer than he will.
The franchise belongs to us.
It belongs to the city of Phoenix.
The state of Arizona.
It belongs to all of us who root for our favorite team in the NBA and will always do so until our own end of days.
But right now, the Phoenix Suns are awful, and as bad as last season was, they have never been this bad.
Beginning in 2004 this was the team of M-V-Steve.
It is now the team of Emp-tee-Seats.
It’s time for a change. A dramatic one.
Should Phoenix Suns protest this franchise? Yes or no.
If so, how?