Off-Day Open Thread: New Years Edition

by erivera7 on Jan 1, 2009 1:16 PM EST in Off-Day Open Thread

Happy New Years everyone!

With the year oh nine officially here, I felt today would be a perfect time to gather everyone's New Year's resolution relating to the Orlando Magic (ex: maybe you'll try to become a season-ticket holder next season). Let's hear 'em! Don't be shy ..

Also, in the spirit of christening the new year, what better way than to introduce something fresh to 3QC. Starting today, I'm going to begin showcasing a fanpost on the front page once a week (on an off-day) .. where someone from the community can voice his/her thoughts on anything Magic-related, whether it's linking to an article and adding some input, providing personal analysis/opinions, etc.

I feel this is a great way to allow everyone here to become more active/involved with 3QC. If you're new or just been lurking, here's the chance to make your presence known. When anyone drops some good material, don't be afraid to recommend it .. I only ask that the fanposts are neatly organized, other than that .. "do you!"

So with all that said, here's the first showcased fanpost from Marie (the fanposts after this one will be moved to the front page) ..

"Surprise, surprise...a roundtable of writers from Sports Illustrated.com don't believe that the Magic are at the same level as Boston or Cleveland. Understandably, they point out that the Magic need to prove themselves in the playoffs first and Ian Thomsen feels that a trade has to be made for the Magic to be considered true contenders. They do a good job pointing out the difference Jameer Nelson has made, as well as making note of the Magic's excellent road record and success against Western Conference teams.

I personally don't buy into the Cavs hype. LeBron James is not overrated, but his team is. This piece (it's below all the Larry Hughes stuff) by HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram echoes my feelings exactly.

What do you think?"

Poll

Do you agree with Sports Illustrated's roundtable discussion about the Orlando Magic?

Yes

5 votes

No

15 votes

Yes and No

19 votes

39 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

My New Years Resolution related the Orlando Magic

.. first, I plan on investing money to buy myself a new Magic jersey. Next, I plan on seeing the Magic when they make the playoffs.

I’ll go ahead and repeat briefly what I thought of the article .. I still believe the Cavs/Celtics are better than the Magic but I DO think that Orlando is still a Title contender in its own right. Again, that just speaks to how good Cleveland/Boston has been so far this year. That’s not really a knock on Orlando.

Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website

by erivera7 on Jan 1, 2009 1:26 PM EST reply actions

it strikes me how it seems the roundtable has forgotten that the Magic have made the playoffs the last two years and have already taken some bumps and bruises. They talk as if the Magic are inexperienced and haven’t felt the playoff pressure yet. I would argue that this year is showing that we have made the leap after being in the playoffs and feeling the heat.

That being said, my Magic resolution is (this is for the team, not me) :

figure a way to get over the mental blockade that Detroit has over us.

by coque429 on Jan 1, 2009 2:42 PM EST reply actions

Good resolution .. Detroit is certainly a thorn on the Magic's side.

Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website

by erivera7 on Jan 1, 2009 5:14 PM EST up reply actions

My Magic resolution is to...

go to a game whenever i’m down here with family. I go to school in Illinois so I don’t get many opportunities. I just want to watch Dwight play for the first time.

As for the post. I thought they were actually relatively even handed toward the Magic. They gave us our respect, but said that they can’t honestly give us the world when we don’t have as many wins they have, and don’t have the playoff record they do. And I will be the first to tell you that when the Cav’s made the finals a few years back that it was a fluke, but nonetheless they still made it. We haven’t made it to the Conference FInals.

We just need to prove we can do it. And I know we can. Until them let them talk. Rashard likes the underdog feeling, the team does, and frankly so do I.

by fwedo on Jan 1, 2009 3:12 PM EST reply actions

Tough to say it was a fluke .. the Cavs still had to win the games to make it there. Helps when you have the best player in the world to make that happen. Had the Wizards had a healthy Caron Butler & Gilbert Arenas for the first round, maybe there would be no Cavs in the Finals (we’ll never know). Washington was a hell of a team that year when they were full healthy (31-21 at one point) but the injuries caused them to stumble to the finish line. Like I said, who knows what might have happened ..

Nevertheless, I agree with you. I felt SI was fairly impartial, for the most part. They pointed out the reasons why there’s doubt about Orlando but also pointed out reasons why there’s belief IN Orlando. Can’t fault them for bringing both sides to the table, last I checked that used to be a requirement in an argument ..

All in all, as you said, the best way to shut the critics up is to win.

Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website

by erivera7 on Jan 1, 2009 5:23 PM EST up reply actions