***** Warning...DKLaker is going into another long "Old Guy" rant...lol ****
This is one of the things I really hate about sports today, there is such a personal disconnect between players and fans....most pro athletes have no respect for even their most diehard fans......In the old days players would say the they truly loved their fans and "The fans pay our salaries".
(The Lakers are far more fan friendly than any other franchise today)
In the old days at the Forum, the Lakers were extremely accessible....my friends and I would go to the back ramp on the south side and wait for autographs, not only would everyone sign for all fans but they would look you in the eye and have a conversation with you....even remember your name next time they saw you....with the exception of KAJ who is a MAJOR "@#&%". Magic was and still is nicer than you could imagine.....they were all like good friends.
The visiting teams were cool too, they would sign and it's funny that most of them stayed at the hotel that used to be next to the racetrack accross the street out the south exit......things were so relaxed then that players would walk fron the ramp, through the parking lot to the hotel without any security at all. Hell, at baseball games they would just walk out with the crowd to the bus just like nothing....even the biggest superstars.
I think that kind of direct contact with humble players makes you root for them even more and builds a loyal fan base more than anything.
At a recent Dodgers game I was in the VIP waiting area under the stadium waiting for a couple friends and there were a group of about 25 kids and parents behind a rope. Dodgers players walked out and refused to even look at the fans despite their cheering and begging....not even a wave.
From the entire team only Matt Kemp stopped, signed every autograph, took photos with anyone who wanted one and talked and laughed with them.
He turned a very dispirited group of kids into a gleeful happy crowd....all by giving up less than 10 minutes of his time.....I guarantee you those kids will be his fans for life.
Despite what some say, Kobe is a great guy.....Lebron is a complete jerk.....i'll leave it at that before someone tells me I went over my word limit