1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

The Willis Reed thing

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by poindexter, May 8, 2011.

  1. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Willis showed grit, determination. Factor in that it was New York and overblown and you have the perfect mythical storm.
     
  2. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    For me as a die hard Knick fan of that era, seeing that clip never gets old.

    The problem now is that the full context is lost to many.

    I guess the saying "you had to be there" applies.

    The game Frazier played might have been one of greatest individual efforts ever in post season.

    The other Knick who came up big was 6'7" Dave Stallworth who had to cover Chamberlin.
     
  3. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    You see a reference at least once a year. A guy plays hurt and then ESPN or someone else makes a Willis Reed comparison.

    It's turned into a bad cliche.
     
  4. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    The Kirk Gibson HR is another one that gets wheeled out that has become a cliche.
     
  5. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    by that standard, no more a cliche' than bobby thomson's homer or any other classic sports moment tv gets to go to the video vault to dust off. what's the medium to do? but you, boom, are 100 percent correct in saying folks (oy, kids today...) i zero idea of the significance the willis reed moment. if only going by the boxscore, sure, it's WTF?!' wtf was how far an inspirational, even brief, not particularly productive appearance by a transplendent figure can help carry a team.

    games 5 and 7 of that series, if played 10 times, would've had the lakers winning both. and both turned out to become two of the most inspired, magical moments in nba history. an example of what keeps drawing back to watch these games, never knowing when one of those moments will grace us again.

    frazier's game 7 and magic's rookie year game 7 at CENTER for the lakers are EASILY at least the equal of any of jordan's infinite magic moments. how frazier, without reed (for all intents/purposes), and magic, without kareem, EXPLODED in those games still gives me chills.
     
  6. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Magic's was Game 6. They had the luxury of letting Kareem stay back and heal in L.A. for a possible Game 7.

    Jamaal Wilkes had the quietest 37 points and 10 rebounds you will ever see.
     
  7. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    You have to remember that it was a game 7 of a pretty amazing series.

    The magic of Reed was not what he did on court but what he did by hitting his first 2 shots to get The Garden crowd into it.

    Sometimes the crowd thing is overblown, but in this case it had a huge negative effect on The Lakers.
     
  8. Stoney

    Stoney Well-Known Member

    He only had 4 pts on 2-5 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 4 fouls. So, from an objective statistical perspective: yes, a shitty game. But I think the source of the myth is that he played at all (and SO inspired his teammates with his heart, courage bla bla bla), not that he played well.

    I'm sure it was quite a stirring moment, but I also strongly suspect the New York media machine helps explain why they myth has become SO overblown and why it's become the seminal reference point nearly any time a player in any sport comes back and plays with an injury. If it happens a year later in Milwaukee's title run then nobody outside Wisconsin would remember it today.
     
  9. Captain_Kirk

    Captain_Kirk Well-Known Member

    The fact that the Knicks haven't won a championship in over 35 years only helps the mystique around this grow.
     
  10. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Again no context to what happened. Reed hit his first 2 shots and the crowd went wild and never stopped.

    Before Reed came running out of tunnel The Garden was pretty flat.

    When the clip is shown now it has little context. No doubt many watching never even heard of Willis Reed.
     
  11. CarltonBanks

    CarltonBanks New Member

    Read the book Shoot the Lights Out to get a full appreciation of how badly Reed was hurt. Amazing that he was able to do what he did even WALKING out of the tunnel. Then, when he hit those first two shots the Lakers should have just packed up and gone home. If you don't think Reed being on the floor didn't help Clyde go bonkers you just don't know basketball.
     
  12. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    my bad. yes, magic's was in game 6. still a remarkable performance by a ROOKIE POINT GUARD moved to center to step in for an ALL-TIME GREAT. but yes, it was 'only' a game 6. but obviously just a prelude to the career that followed....
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page