I’m going to try something new today on the blog. It’s the quote of the day segment. Each day I will try to find a quote that encapsulates that day’s events somehow.

Today’s quote comes from Magic Johnson. When asked, on Inside the NBA, if he would ever talk to his opponents during the critical moments of a playoff game, like Rasheed Wallace did at the end of tonight’s playoff game against the Sixers, Magic started talking about his mood during the playoffs, and in the midst, gave us this gem.

“I hated you in terms of disliked you.”——Magic Johnson

Say What?

If you come across a great quote during the day, let me know.

Nick@LifeAfterNewhouse.com

The Magic’s slogan for the playoffs this year is “Blue and White Ignite.” I’ll be the first to admit that when I originally heard that that was the slogan, I thought it was incredibly dumb. Considering that the people in the Magic’s marketing department were the same people who brought us last year’s unbelieveably stupid slogan of “Code Blue,” I wasn’t expecting much.

(For the record the “Code Blue” slogan during last year’s playoffs should go down as one of the single dumbest ideas in the history of sports marketing. The term “Code Blue” is used when a person is on the verge of death and their heart has stopped. I mean, I guess you could say the Magic were “Code Blue” last year, they got crushed by the Pistons. The same Pistons, by the way, who wear blue jerseys on the road. So, when they played in Orlando last year, and everybody in the stands was wearing blue, it looked, to the casual viewer, like everybody was supporting the Pistons….)

Having said all that, I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw when I walked in. There was a blue shirt or a white shirt in every person’s seat. Half the crowd was blue, half the crowd was white. It looked good. The problem though, is that unless the Magic plan on giving every fan either a blue or white shirt every game, this Blue and White Ignite idea will never work. Most fans don’t care enough to wear one specific color during the game, let alone one color in regards to where your seat is.

Today, I was a the Blue/White border. I was in blue, the girl next to me was in white. What happens if I sit in a different seat on Tuesday? You get the point. Giving away a free t-shirt that you are supposed to wear, also leads to the always awkward double shirt look. I had on a collared shirt when I walked in, so for the first few minutes, I tried the t-shirt over the collared shirt look, it didn’t work.

Luckily, I had the foresight to take off the collared shirt, and just put the t-shirt on. The same could not be said for the older people sitting in our section. They shoved the shirt on over whatever they had on. It made for some really strange combinations, include the always stellar, t-shirt, long sleeve polo, and tie combination.

There is only one thing that drives me crazier than a person who wears the free t-shirt over the rest of their clothes, and that is the person who doesn’t wear the free t-shirt at all. Usually those people fall into two categories. The first is the, “I’m too cool for the free t-shirt guy.” If Budweiser’s real men of genius haven’t written a song about this guy yet, they should.

Dude, you aren’t that cool. Nobody cares that you are wearing a neon green shirt, when everyone else is wearing a blue or white one. Yes, you stand out, but it’s only because you look like an idiot.

The second person who refuses to wear the free t-shirt is the “I’m too hot for the free t-shirt girl.”

Sweetheart, I’ve got news for you… you aren’t that hot. If you were, you wouldn’t be sitting at the game by yourself in a black mini-dress, trying to flirt with the beer man. Yes, you too stand out, but for all the wrong reasons. Everybody is secretly laughing at you, because aren’t looking good.

This whole idea of all fans wearing the same colored shirts during playoff games is played out. It was cool like ten years ago, when I think the Avalanche had a “White Out,” during one of their playoff games. It’s just not cool anymore, because there will always be neon green shirt guy in the crowd, who wants to be different.

Sadly, the Magic aren’t alone in the playoff marketing stupidity. The Cavs, under the slogan of “Rise Up,” tried something similar the other day, when it looked like fans were given a yellowish/gold t-shirt upon entry. That’s great, but as far as I could tell, the Cavs weren’t wearing much yellow/gold at all, and the closest thing to yellow/gold on the court were the jerseys the Wizards had on.

Since when did the playoffs even need a slogan? The playoffs are when fans should want to be at the games the most. It’s the most exciting time of the year. Teams should just save the money on marketing and put it towards something else.

My buddy and I went to the Magic game earlier today and I was impressed with what I saw. Sure, the game was great. At some points, especially early, the Magic dominated. Dwight Howard is so ridiculously good that it’s scary. The team needs to work on its perimeter defesne, but they have time to figure it out.

What impressed me even more than the team though was that the fans were back into the game. The O-Rena (I refuse to call it the Amway Arena) was rocking at different times throughout the day. There were some times when the crowd was out of it, and the lack energy affecte the team, but when the crowd was into the game, that place was loud, like how it used to be in the old days.

The coolest part of the entire day came as we walked out of the arena. Before the game each fan was handed a noise maker as they walked in. I don’t really like noise makers, but it made the place even louder. Anyway, as we walked outside, a spontaneous let’s go Magic cheer was started by the fans.

“Let’s go Magic!!!” And then you heard the thunder from everybody making noise with the giveaway toys. “Let’s go Magic…” It echoed all the way up the street until we walked out of the parking lot.

It’s the first time since the Shaq/Penny era where I can remember fans being genuinely excited about the team. I’m not saying it’s anywhere close to that level of excitement, it’s not. I’m just saying that people around town are getting excited about the team again, where it goes from here is all up to the team.

That’s why this playoff run is the most important one the Magic have had in the last decade. The team is actually good again. They have a chance to get this whole city to fall in love with the Magic again. You could see the seeds being planted today, people want to support the team, but the only way that will happen is if they win.

If the Magic continue to win, mark my words, this city will go nuts for them once again.