This one's on the staff

[Townie72]

When he retires, will you stop being a fan of SU basketball?

Of course not. I am an alum (2x) and have been a fan since the early 1970's. I didn't stop being a SU BB fan when Boeheim replaced Danforth.

I didn't stop being an SU lax fan when Desko replaced Simmons. I didn't stop being a SU football fan when Maloney replaced Ben or Mac replaced Maloney.

After 40+ years, JB is inseparable, IMO, from the SU basketball program. There is not one without the other.

And since you bought it up indirectly, I feel criticizing him continually as some on here like to do, is corrosive and damaging to the program. It always seems like self-aggandizement to me on the part of these critics.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

As I said earlier,

If you aren't a JB fan and a fan of the style of play, than what makes you fan?

Did you get a good deal on an SU t-shirt at Sports Authority?

Aw, man. Really?
You're speaking to someone else, but... Seriously?

I'm an alum. That, automatically, makes SU a part of me. It's part of my history — part of the best times of my life. 4 years of low, mid-court season seats in the Dome. The Big East Tournament games at The Garden. After graduating, struggling to pull in every non-televised game on the RADIO. Having a doorman come into my apartment to set my vcr to record games when I was in Brazil for more than two weeks, because my vcr couldn't be set more than two weeks in advance... All the forum discussions, celebrations, arguments, and laughs. Not missing more than 4 broadcast (radio, tv, or net) SU games since 1985. Feeling both that SU represents me, and vice versa.

And here's the other thing: I'll bet you're high on 'loyalty.' Yet you expect us to abandon our 'fandom' when we no longer embrace our style of play or if there is a coaching change? Silly. Thing is, SU has changed over the years. We weren't an exclusive zone team. We used to be a 'high flying' showtïme team. So, which "style of play" should we be loyal to? The answer is that it's the name on the front of the jersey that matters. The answer (ideally) is that we are loyal to the name on the back that commits to the name on the front. The name on the front is the only one that is the constant. That's where the loyalty goes [even when they try to trick us by changing it from Orangemen to Orange].

A lot of people—including the vast majority that i speak to but who don't bother posting on this rah-rah forum—have respect for what JB has done for our program. But they also don't like him as a coach. I don't know why that's so hard for some people to reconcile. It's just not a simple enough idea, I guess. But I seriously don't know ANYONE who is a JB 'fan.' And maybe that's a function of when we came to the program and factors in what we expect to see? When I start, we had Pearl. We then signed DC. Had Sherm and Rony. Went to a championship the second year. Signed co-No 1 recruit Owens the next year... Had pre-season No 1 teams... Maybe that spoiled us? To see us struggling to sign 20-40 ranked players now might seem like a de-evolution. Seeing us struggle against back to back, unathletic, non-elite teams and then seeing a Duke freshman guard do the kinds of things we need... that breeds discontent. And still doesn't change the love.

Saying you love SU hoops and not JB isn't any different than saying you love Syracuse University but hate the weather. They are inextricably linked. And yet they are also separate matters.

It's ironic, how 'people like you' are always so quick to condemn others for having occasional negative feelings about our program. Which to me, is an indication that those people are experiencing a LOT of emotion in connection with whatever is being discussed. Since when is it a bad thing to care 'the most?' And those who are so easily able to slough off a loss are praised? One could make an equally specious argument that those people just don't care enough to react to setbacks.

Whatever, man. Bottom line, we are all SU. Whether we are a m2m team, a zone team, an alley-oopin, outlet pass between the legs team, a walk it up and pound it with Rick and AO team... or a struggling team... A team commanded by JB or by Hopkins — we are all still going to be here. Celebrating wins. Commiserating losses. Speculating on the future. Offering explanations for failures. Wishing for changes. Saying 'I told ya so' when we're right. Not apologizing or admitting when we are wrong. That's the nature of humanity, of fandom, of sports. Insisting it can or will be any other way is just folly. Get used to it. You've been around long enough to know This Is How It Is.

 

[dasher]

Of course not. I am an alum (2x) and have been a fan since the early 1970's. I didn't stop being a SU BB fan when Boeheim replaced Danforth.

I didn't stop being an SU lax fan when Desko replaced Simmons. I didn't stop being a SU football fan when Maloney replaced Ben or Mac replaced Maloney.

After 40+ years, JB is inseparable, IMO, from the SU basketball program. There is not one without the other.

And since you bought it up indirectly, I feel criticizing him continually as some on here like to do, is corrosive and damaging to the program. It always seems like self-aggandizement to me on the part of these critics.

You miss their point. I have learned a lot on this board. For example, JB knows nothing about offensive basketball. At practice, we just practice the zone and whatever happens on offense happens. Never mind that he was a starter on a terrific Syracuse basketball team. That he played pro basketball in the Eastern League. That he has won just under 1000 games as a D-1 coach. That he has won a national title and gone to 4 other final fours. That he sat next to coach K on the national team the last 12 years. The guy must be dumb, he didn't learn anything from that. Never mind that he has sat down one on one with John Wooden and talked hoop. Never mind that he has watched more games and watched more tape than all of us combined (not quite but you get the point). The guy knows nothing about offensive basketball. Never mind that in the first 20 years of his coaching, he was considered one of the best offensive coach's and it wasn't until the early 90's and the zone as a full time defense that it changed to jb as some sort of zen master of the zone. We need a offensive mind to come in and show us how? Does Baber's know anything about basketball. It doesn't have to be much to be better than jb.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Aw, man. Really?
You're speaking to someone else, but... Seriously?

I'm an alum. That, automatically, makes SU a part of me. It's part of my history — part of the best times of my life. 4 years of low, mid-court season seats in the Dome. The Big East Tournament games at The Garden. After graduating, struggling to pull in every non-televised game on the RADIO. Having a doorman come into my apartment to set my vcr to record games when I was in Brazil for more than two weeks, because my vcr couldn't be set more than two weeks in advance... All the forum discussions, celebrations, arguments, and laughs. Not missing more than 4 broadcast (radio, tv, or net) SU games since 1985. Feeling both that SU represents me, and vice versa.

And here's the other thing: I'll bet you're high on 'loyalty.' Yet you expect us to abandon our 'fandom' when we no longer embrace our style of play or if there is a coaching change? Silly. Thing is, SU has changed over the years. We weren't an exclusive zone team. We used to be a 'high flying' showtïme team. So, which "style of play" should we be loyal to? The answer is that it's the name on the front of the jersey that matters. The answer (ideally) is that we are loyal to the name on the back that commits to the name on the front. The name on the front is the only one that is the constant. That's where the loyalty goes [even when they try to trick us by changing it from Orangemen to Orange].

A lot of people—including the vast majority that i speak to but who don't bother posting on this rah-rah forum—have respect for what JB has done for our program. But they also don't like him as a coach. I don't know why that's so hard for some people to reconcile. It's just not a simple enough idea, I guess. But I seriously don't know ANYONE who is a JB 'fan.' And maybe that's a function of when we came to the program and factors in what we expect to see? When I start, we had Pearl. We then signed DC. Had Sherm and Rony. Went to a championship the second year. Signed co-No 1 recruit Owens the next year... Had pre-season No 1 teams... Maybe that spoiled us? To see us struggling to sign 20-40 ranked players now might seem like a de-evolution. Seeing us struggle against back to back, unathletic, non-elite teams and then seeing a Duke freshman guard do the kinds of things we need... that breeds discontent. And still doesn't change the love.

Saying you love SU hoops and not JB isn't any different than saying you love Syracuse University but hate the weather. They are inextricably linked. And yet they are also separate matters.

It's ironic, how 'people like you' are always so quick to condemn others for having occasional negative feelings about our program. Which to me, is an indication that those people are experiencing a LOT of emotion in connection with whatever is being discussed. Since when is it a bad thing to care 'the most?' And those who are so easily able to slough off a loss are praised? One could make an equally specious argument that those people just don't care enough to react to setbacks.

Whatever, man. Bottom line, we are all SU. Whether we are a m2m team, a zone team, an alley-oopin, outlet pass between the legs team, a walk it up and pound it with Rick and AO team... or a struggling team... A team commanded by JB or by Hopkins — we are all still going to be here. Celebrating wins. Commiserating losses. Speculating on the future. Offering explanations for failures. Wishing for changes. Saying 'I told ya so' when we're right. Not apologizing or admitting when we are wrong. That's the nature of humanity, of fandom, of sports. Insisting it can or will be any other way is just folly. Get used to it. You've been around long enough to know This Is How It Is.

But I seriously don't know ANYONE who is a JB 'fan.

Hello, My Name is KaiserUEO...and I am not only a Syracsue alumnus who loves all its sports programs, but a DAMN FLUKIN PROUD JB FAN.

as you were.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

lol we played a team with 5 starters back on their home floor, a floor they almost never lose on, and it's on the coach not making adjustments. lol okay fine.

There were two parts to that first sentence. We didn't lose both games because of adjustments not being made. There was 'coaching' before we arrived at both arenas. And it wasn't that we lost to Wisconsin. It's the WAY. They dissected us with the simplest, most commonly discussed strategy. The one even Gottleib knows. GOTTLIEB!

 

[Zelda Zonk]

But I seriously don't know ANYONE who is a JB 'fan.

Hello, My Name is KaiserUEO...and I am not only a Syracsue alumnus who loves all its sports programs, but a DAMN FLUKIN PROUD JB FAN.

as you were.

Good to meet you, sir.
But I was kinda speaking about people I KNOW know. I have a feeling they don't participate here because it's just too uncomfortable to present dissenting opinions...

 

[dasher]

Aw, man. Really?
You're speaking to someone else, but... Seriously?

I'm an alum. That, automatically, makes SU a part of me. It's part of my history — part of the best times of my life. 4 years of low, mid-court season seats in the Dome. The Big East Tournament games at The Garden. After graduating, struggling to pull in every non-televised game on the RADIO. Having a doorman come into my apartment to set my vcr to record games when I was in Brazil for more than two weeks, because my vcr couldn't be set more than two weeks in advance... All the forum discussions, celebrations, arguments, and laughs. Not missing more than 4 broadcast (radio, tv, or net) SU games since 1985. Feeling both that SU represents me, and vice versa.

And here's the other thing: I'll bet you're high on 'loyalty.' Yet you expect us to abandon our 'fandom' when we no longer embrace our style of play or if there is a coaching change? Silly. Thing is, SU has changed over the years. We weren't an exclusive zone team. We used to be a 'high flying' showtïme team. So, which "style of play" should we be loyal to? The answer is that it's the name on the front of the jersey that matters. The answer (ideally) is that we are loyal to the name on the back that commits to the name on the front. The name on the front is the only one that is the constant. That's where the loyalty goes [even when they try to trick us by changing it from Orangemen to Orange].

A lot of people—including the vast majority that i speak to but who don't bother posting on this rah-rah forum—have respect for what JB has done for our program. But they also don't like him as a coach. I don't know why that's so hard for some people to reconcile. It's just not a simple enough idea, I guess. But I seriously don't know ANYONE who is a JB 'fan.' And maybe that's a function of when we came to the program and factors in what we expect to see? When I start, we had Pearl. We then signed DC. Had Sherm and Rony. Went to a championship the second year. Signed co-No 1 recruit Owens the next year... Had pre-season No 1 teams... Maybe that spoiled us? To see us struggling to sign 20-40 ranked players now might seem like a de-evolution. Seeing us struggle against back to back, unathletic, non-elite teams and then seeing a Duke freshman guard do the kinds of things we need... that breeds discontent. And still doesn't change the love.

Saying you love SU hoops and not JB isn't any different than saying you love Syracuse University but hate the weather. They are inextricably linked. And yet they are also separate matters.

It's ironic, how 'people like you' are always so quick to condemn others for having occasional negative feelings about our program. Which to me, is an indication that those people are experiencing a LOT of emotion in connection with whatever is being discussed. Since when is it a bad thing to care 'the most?' And those who are so easily able to slough off a loss are praised? One could make an equally specious argument that those people just don't care enough to react to setbacks.

Whatever, man. Bottom line, we are all SU. Whether we are a m2m team, a zone team, an alley-oopin, outlet pass between the legs team, a walk it up and pound it with Rick and AO team... or a struggling team... A team commanded by JB or by Hopkins — we are all still going to be here. Celebrating wins. Commiserating losses. Speculating on the future. Offering explanations for failures. Wishing for changes. Saying 'I told ya so' when we're right. Not apologizing or admitting when we are wrong. That's the nature of humanity, of fandom, of sports. Insisting it can or will be any other way is just folly. Get used to it. You've been around long enough to know This Is How It Is.

First, it is total crap to suggest that if you get angrier than another guy, you care more than another person does. That is about maturity. Not passion for the team. When I was younger, I got madder than I do now. That didn't make me a bigger fan than. It meant I was a immature kid. Second, you don't know anyone that likes jb as a coach? You must know a lot of dip craps. I guess you didn't like winning 72% of our games over the last 41 years. 41 years. We had the best record by a lot in the history of the Big East. Do your nitwit friends even know that? And for some of us fans, we were there before Jb. And let me tell you, those times weren't better. I will remind you that last year, we had a passionate fan tell us at the half of the Virginia game that, that was it for him. Se ya next year. He had a lot of passion when he said that. He must be a great fan.

 

[dasher]

Good to meet you, sir.
But I was kinda speaking about people I KNOW know. I have a feeling they don't participate here because it's just too uncomfortable to present dissenting opinions...

Good. The newspaper has a board for them.

 

[dasher]

There were two parts to that first sentence. We didn't lose both games because of adjustments not being made. There was 'coaching' before we arrived at both arenas. And it wasn't that we lost to Wisconsin. It's the WAY. They dissected us with the simplest, most commonly discussed strategy. The one even Gottleib knows. GOTTLIEB!

Yep. every man to man team that goes in to that place wins. It had nothing to do with a team that hasn't played together. In the last 7 years, we have been a 1 seed twice, a final four team two other times, a team that started 25-0 another time, but I guess this has been a bad 7 years.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Good to meet you, sir.
But I was kinda speaking about people I KNOW know. I have a feeling they don't participate here because it's just too uncomfortable to present dissenting opinions...

Knowing CNY and the greater northeast I suspect you surround yourself with a lot of people who are just never happy with anything.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Good. The newspaper has a board for them.

He and his friends would probably be happier with Izzo as coach so we could have lost to MTSU last year.

 

[cuseinseattle]

Good to meet you, sir.
But I was kinda speaking about people I KNOW know. I have a feeling they don't participate here because it's just too uncomfortable to present dissenting opinions...

So you are saying there is a silent majority of Syracuse Basketball fans that don't like Jim Boeheim and are just afraid to vocalize it? I'm not arguing with you or trying to be condescending. I just want to understand.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

and 5 of the 9 have not only never played zone before, but they have never played with the other 4 either.

its tough to watch because battle is not as good as he was talked up to be, Thompson is clearly in over his head, chukwu is clueless and we are not used to having short guys at the top of the zone.

this team will lose less games than last year.

mainly because hop is not going to give us 5 losses, including 1 to that HS team called st johns.

Did JB really say this is his best team?
Didn't he say Chukwu is "going to block a lot of shots this season?" He has already been marginalized. We were back to Lydon playing the 5. After only two real games. Can we not speak of this as a bad assessment by JB? Or is everything JB says like a biblical prognostication? We have to interpret it in such a way that will Make it true?

We have some facts that are at odds with each other.
• It takes time for kids to learn the zone. Yet, we know that they're only going to be with us for between 1 and 4 years, with varying amounts of actual playing time, and those kids are constantly changing, so is it any wonder we often have spans in between when our zone is actually effective? Right now It's a liability against good teams.
• If we practice zone, how is the offense getting a god sense of how to attack m2m in practice? And if we sometimes (only sometimes?) practice man, to give the offense a practical sense of what they will face in games, how good is that practice defense? Since our game m2m is so bad, the offense isn't getting a good test. So, when they face a REAL m2m team, there is the kind of shell shock we saw against SCarolina.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

So you are saying there is a silent majority of Syracuse Basketball fans that don't like Jim Boeheim and are just afraid to vocalize it? I'm not arguing with you or trying to be condescending. I just want to understand.

I don't enjoy the way he demeans some players and many reporters, especially the ones at the DO and the radio station.

 

[cuseinseattle]

You miss their point. I have learned a lot on this board. For example, JB knows nothing about offensive basketball. At practice, we just practice the zone and whatever happens on offense happens. Never mind that he was a starter on a terrific Syracuse basketball team. That he played pro basketball in the Eastern League. That he has won just under 1000 games as a D-1 coach. That he has won a national title and gone to 4 other final fours. That he sat next to coach K on the national team the last 12 years. The guy must be dumb, he didn't learn anything from that. Never mind that he has sat down one on one with John Wooden and talked hoop. Never mind that he has watched more games and watched more tape than all of us combined (not quite but you get the point). The guy knows nothing about offensive basketball. Never mind that in the first 20 years of his coaching, he was considered one of the best offensive coach's and it wasn't until the early 90's and the zone as a full time defense that it changed to jb as some sort of zen master of the zone. We need a offensive mind to come in and show us how? Does Baber's know anything about basketball. It doesn't have to be much to be better than jb.

Dasher I believe the Carrier Dome won all those games if I'm not mistaking. Also he would have no titles without Melo and no program without Pearl. I mean to get to 1,000 wins with no ability is pretty impressive. Talk about right place at the right time. What a lucky guy.

 

[br801]

You are easily in the running for the strangest poster on this board.

Townie wouldn't crack my top 20.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

First, it is total crap to suggest that if you get angrier than another guy, you care more than another person does. That is about maturity. Not passion for the team. When I was younger, I got madder than I do now. That didn't make me a bigger fan than. It meant I was a immature kid. Second, you don't know anyone that likes jb as a coach? You must know a lot of dip craps. I guess you didn't like winning 72% of our games over the last 41 years. 41 years. We had the best record by a lot in the history of the Big East. Do your nitwit friends even know that? And for some of us fans, we were there before Jb. And let me tell you, those times weren't better. I will remind you that last year, we had a passionate fan tell us at the half of the Virginia game that, that was it for him. Se ya next year. He had a lot of passion when he said that. He must be a great fan.

You can't read good.
• Didn't say you are a better fan if you get angrier. I said it doesn't make you a better fan if you are less angry. Can you see the difference? Secondly, in case that hadn't been clear enough, I said it was a SPECIOUS argument. Look it up.
• Doesn't really illustrate your maturity, calling people "dip craps."
• I said people I speak to, including myself, respect what JB has done. But we can also be critical. Personally, I think that represents a more intelligent and informed perspective than people who worship at his feet and can't see or acknowledge that he isn't without faults. But, hey, to each his own. Which is also MY POINT.
• That passionate fan at Virginia wasn't me or anyone I know. So, what's your point? As I said above, I've watched or listened to every available game (minus 4, due to technical failures beyond my control) since I stepped foot on campus in 85. Only turned one game off before the final horn. I don't much care what your metric is for 'fandom' but if I haven't met the standard, even while wanting some things to be different, so be it. My love is not dependent upon your approval. It's for life, and on my own terms.

 

[br801]

Good to meet you, sir.
But I was kinda speaking about people I KNOW know. I have a feeling they don't participate here because it's just too uncomfortable to present dissenting opinions...

Please. There are all sorts of opinions expressed on this board, basketball-related and otherwise. It's far from the "rah-rah forum" you labeled it above.

 

[pearl31]

I feel criticizing him continually as some on here like to do, is corrosive and damaging to the program. It always seems like self-aggandizement to me on the part of these critics.

to each their own and we're all entitled to opinions especially on an internet forum, but I actually 100% agree with this quoted section.
It has long been clear that a fairly sizeable portion of the SU fanbase are fans despite JB, and jump at every possible opportunity to criticize and deride. And, ultimately, I really do think it's detrimental to the program.
and of course alot of that is just the general "I'm smarter than the coach" sentiment you get with any team in any sport at any level :noidea:

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Yep. every man to man team that goes in to that place wins. It had nothing to do with a team that hasn't played together. In the last 7 years, we have been a 1 seed twice, a final four team two other times, a team that started 25-0 another time, but I guess this has been a bad 7 years.

Jeez. I guess I need to make things even simpler for you. Didn't say we had to play man2man to beat them. Where did you see that implication? Maybe you're just assuming that because every commentator says that the way to beat our zone is to feed a passer at the FT line means there's nothing we can or should do to prevent that from being less effective. But nowhere in my posts has there been the whiff of a suggestion that we should have played man. No where. And in fact, although I dislike zone, I've said several times this year that we should not be playing any man. Probably said it in this thread. Please react to what I've actually said. I will try to express myself in simpler, more trump-like phrasings.

 

[pearl31]

You can't read good.
• Didn't say you are a better fan if you get angrier. I said it doesn't make you a better fan if you are less angry. Can you see the difference? Secondly, in case that hadn't been clear enough, I said it was a SPECIOUS argument. Look it up.
• Doesn't really illustrate your maturity, calling people "dip craps."
• I said people I speak to, including myself, respect what JB has done. But we can also be critical. Personally, I think that represents a more intelligent and informed perspective than people who worship at his feet and can't see or acknowledge that he isn't without faults. But, hey, to each his own. Which is also MY POINT.
• That passionate fan at Virginia wasn't me or anyone I know. So, what's your point? As I said above, I've watched or listened to every available game (minus 4, due to technical failures beyond my control) since I stepped foot on campus in 85. Only turned one game off before the final horn. I don't much care what your metric is for 'fandom' but if I haven't met the standard, even while wanting some things to be different, so be it. My love is not dependent upon your approval. It's for life, and on my own terms.

your smug, self-righteous shtick NEVER gets old!

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Please. There are all sorts of opinions expressed on this board, basketball-related and otherwise. It's far from the "rah-rah forum" you labeled it above.

And they are condemned at a far greater rate than those of the sycophants. Either way, I've been here for a long time. I said my Friends may be uncomfortable. They're the ones who expressed that it's a board MORE suited for the cheerleader types. Personally, I enjoy a healthy, intelligent debate and seeing varying perspectives.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Did JB really say this is his best team?
Didn't he say Chukwu is "going to block a lot of shots this season?" He has already been marginalized. We were back to Lydon playing the 5. After only two real games. Can we not speak of this as a bad assessment by JB? Or is everything JB says like a biblical prognostication? We have to interpret it in such a way that will Make it true?

We have some facts that are at odds with each other.
• It takes time for kids to learn the zone. Yet, we know that they're only going to be with us for between 1 and 4 years, with varying amounts of actual playing time, and those kids are constantly changing, so is it any wonder we often have spans in between when our zone is actually effective? Right now It's a liability against good teams.
• If we practice zone, how is the offense getting a god sense of how to attack m2m in practice? And if we sometimes (only sometimes?) practice man, to give the offense a practical sense of what they will face in games, how good is that practice defense? Since our game m2m is so bad, the offense isn't getting a good test. So, when they face a REAL m2m team, there is the kind of shell shock we saw against SCarolina.

I could care less what JB says in the preseason.

one thing he does do, is use the press conference as a way to poke and prod his players. some need fluff, some need to be told they suck. guess he thought chukwu needed fluff.

which is a real bad sign, because now we have a soft basketball player with a soft head.

I only care with how many wins he gives me in-season. and he gives me a shitload.

the 'zone v man', 'how do we practice' argument??

seriously??

what did dash say??...a NC, 4 other Final Fours, including last year AND a 40+ year track record of unfreakinbelievable success??

hate to break it to you Zelda, but your little army of JB haters, yeah...youre going to the Front...STAT.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

your smug, self-righteous shtick NEVER gets old!

That just smacks of insecurity. Button your pants and try to muster a relevant post. You're awful fond of insults and never putting forth anything resembling critical thinking. Even as far as a sports forum goes.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I could care less what JB says in the preseason.

one thing he does do, is use the press conference as a way to poke and prod his players. some need fluff, some need to be told they suck. guess he thought chukwu needed fluff.

which is a real bad sign, because now we have a soft basketball player with a soft head.

I only care with how many wins he gives me in-season. and he gives me a shitload.

the 'zone v man', 'how do we practice' argument??

seriously??

what did dash say??...a NC, 4 other Final Fours, including last year AND a 40+ year track record of unfreakinbelievable success??

hate to break it to you Zelda, but your little army of JB haters, yeah...youre going to the Front...STAT.

"• I said people I speak to, including myself, respect what JB has done. But we can also be critical. Personally, I think that represents a more intelligent and informed perspective than people who worship at his feet and can't see or acknowledge that he isn't without faults. But, hey, to each his own. Which is also MY POINT."

That sounds like a JB "hater?" Seriously? Do you have to be 100% along the linear scale to 'favor' something? Or is it really, literally a binary matter for you?

Sounds like mouthbreather politics: "don't talk bad bout are [sic] president. He's are president. USA!" — pre "Odumbo," of course...

And yes, I'd like to know your thoughts about Practice. "You talking bout PRACTICE?" Yes. I'd like to know. Those were questions, not accusations.