OT: Malice in the Palace 10th Anniversary
Today marks the anniversary of a watershed moment in Detroit sports history, and given that many that follow this blog also follow Detroit professional sports, I'm putting it up here for discussion.
10 years ago today, following an on-the-court altercation between Ben Wallace and Ron Artest, Artest thought it would be nice to take a nap on the scoring table. Indiana and Detroit were dominant forces in the East at the time, and the Pacers were just about done administering a beatdown on the scoreboard, so the mood was negative even before the Wallace-Artest incident. Artest's act of defiance really set off the crowd - he was just as unlikeable then as he is now, name changes notwithstanding.
A fan not only called Artest's level of douche, but raised it by tossing a half-empty beer toward Artest, and then the melee ensued. Artest went into the stands seeking retribution. Unfortunately, Artest went after a guy still holding his beer - the wrong guy! (If only Artest had with him a then-popular blue dog to help him decipher the clue that someone usually does not simultaneously [1] throw their beer and [2] still have it.)
10 years later, it seems like something very similar could still go down. Fans still have very close proximity to the players, and while there is more security, it looks insufficient to anyone who has sat courtside. The problem of fan involvement has been around for years (e.g., Monica Seles), and I'm not sure what can be done without gutting the fan experience. Certainly an increased investment in security would make sense.
In any event, happy unhappy anniversary.
November 19th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
Some time afterward I saw a TV interview with the guy that threw the beer. He seemed like a first-rate sociopath. IIRC he was a contractor of some type and I remember wondering how many people he'd ripped off.
November 19th, 2014 at 1:54 PM ^
Grantland did an incredible oral history of the game a few years back. Worth reading if you have some time:
http://grantland.com/features/an-oral-history-malice-palace/
EDIT: Already posted, but still a great read.
November 19th, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
We were so good too, sigh.
November 19th, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
As I'm from Indy and always have been a Pacer fan, this team had to be the biggest collective of punks I have ever seen. They also were probably Indy's best chance at winning an NBA championship. What an embarrassing event for us Pacer fans. Sure, Ben Wallace could have delt with the bad foul by Artest better, and not completely blew his lid, but it was a cheap unneccesary foul, by a total punk in Artest. 10 years later and this event is still an embarrassment.
November 19th, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^
1 - Malice at the Palace; 2 - Paul George's dick ending up online after getting catfished; 3 - Employing Roy Hibbert
November 19th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
I would say hiring Isiah Thomas to be our coach is more embarrassing than employing Roy Hibbert, who while not great, has still been a catalyst for our success the last few years. When he decides to play, the pacers have been pretty dangerous. Paul George's dick showing up online??? How is that embarrassing to Pacer fans, why does anyone care about that? The truth is that the Pacers have always been a pretty good club. Just shy of great, but they have been one of the most consistant playoff teams since the late 80's.
November 19th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
I would say hiring Isiah Thomas to be our coach is more embarrassing than employing Roy Hibbert, who while not great, has still been a catalyst for our success the last few years. When he decides to play, the pacers have been pretty dangerous. Paul George's dick showing up online??? How is that embarrassing to Pacer fans, why does anyone care about that? The truth is that the Pacers have always been a pretty good club. Just shy of great, but they have been one of the most consistant playoff teams since the late 80's.
November 19th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
I would say hiring Isiah Thomas to be our coach is more embarrassing than employing Roy Hibbert, who while not great, has still been a catalyst for our success the last few years. When he decides to play, the pacers have been pretty dangerous. Paul George's dick showing up online??? How is that embarrassing to Pacer fans, why does anyone care about that? The truth is that the Pacers have always been a pretty good club. Just shy of great, but they have been one of the most consistant playoff teams since the late 80's.
November 19th, 2014 at 3:46 PM ^
November 19th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
I would say hiring Isiah Thomas to be our coach is more embarrassing than employing Roy Hibbert, who while not great, has still been a catalyst for our success the last few years. When he decides to play, the pacers have been pretty dangerous. Paul George's dick showing up online??? How is that embarrassing to Pacer fans, why does anyone care about that? The truth is that the Pacers have always been a pretty good club. Just shy of great, but they have been one of the most consistant playoff teams since the late 80's.
November 19th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
I would say hiring Isiah Thomas to be our coach is more embarrassing than employing Roy Hibbert, who while not great, has still been a catalyst for our success the last few years. When he decides to play, the pacers have been pretty dangerous. Paul George's dick showing up online??? How is that embarrassing to Pacer fans, why does anyone care about that? The truth is that the Pacers have always been a pretty good club. Just shy of great, but they have been one of the most consistant playoff teams since the late 80's.
November 19th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
I would say hiring Isiah Thomas to be our coach is more embarrassing than employing Roy Hibbert, who while not great, has still been a catalyst for our success the last few years. When he decides to play, the pacers have been pretty dangerous. Paul George's dick showing up online??? How is that embarrassing to Pacer fans, why does anyone care about that? The truth is that the Pacers have always been a pretty good club. Just shy of great, but they have been one of the most consistant playoff teams since the late 80's.
November 19th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^
Sorry for the 4 re-posts.
November 19th, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^
Some truly bush-league announcing done here. Blaming the fans is beyond ridiculous.
November 19th, 2014 at 6:36 PM ^
November 19th, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 19th, 2014 at 2:16 PM ^
the Blue's Clues reference alone. Artest was a douche then and he's an even bigger egotistical douche now.
November 19th, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^
November 19th, 2014 at 3:50 PM ^
November 19th, 2014 at 4:13 PM ^
I was watching that game on TV and turned it off with about 2 minutes left when it looked like the game was lost and there was nothing to see. Whoops.
November 19th, 2014 at 7:13 PM ^
Jim Gray was on Rome today and still blamed the fans. What a hack.
November 20th, 2014 at 12:09 AM ^
Guys like Gray and Saunders depend on relationships with players for access. They are not going to see it from the fans, or the owners' perspective. As journalism, it is biased and totally flawed, but it's easy to see where they are coming from. The fact is, fans have acted like asses and thrown objects at players for decades. Jackson and Artest are the only ones to go up into the stands, swinging.
November 19th, 2014 at 8:05 PM ^
November 19th, 2014 at 9:02 PM ^
I love Artest, that guy is totally likeable, he also has serious mental illness issues and was in a pretty bad place those days. He does a ton of work for mental illness in kids and even auctioned off his one (think he only won one) nba championship ring for that cause.
November 20th, 2014 at 12:10 AM ^
I wonder if that experience soured Larry Brown on Detroit. Had he stayed, I think Detroit wins at least one other title.