I posted this article in my Monday Headlines, but felt a post on it was warranted.Andrew Gross at the Bergen Record reports Ryan Callahan admitted the rough treatment Rozsival routinely receives from the home fans "gets under my skin"...
"Look how many minutes he logs per night and what he does for us," Callahan said. "It’s disappointing to hear the boos coming from the stands. I don’t think it’s right."
...the fact that any Ranger player was booed last night is a joke. The Rangers are playing their best hockey of the young season and no one deserves to be booed right now.
...regarding Rozsival, I am surprised that he is still getting razzed the way he is. Sure, he will sometimes look completely lost out there, but he has for the most part played solid defense since the middle of last season and now he is shooting with more frequency.
...to me this has to do with the lack of real Ranger fans attending games these days. The suits that are getting corporate tickets have no clue what is going on and are just booing because they remember booing Rozsival when they got their free ticket last season.
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23 comments:
the problem is the die hards in the blue seats are just as guilty of this. Once a defenseman becomes a whipping boy its pretty much impossible to ever turn around, b/c if they do something good its "ohhhhh well FINALLY he did something" in a mocking manner, then the second that person makes a mistake its "well of course! thats the roszival we know".
i agree, the suits that youre referring to tend not to know who is who or whats going on in general. the die hards who have been complaining for years hold grudges and will boo rozy, drury, etc... no matter what they do. fact is, rozy has been very good this season, you dont know hockey if you think otherwise
Nobody in my area of the blues was booing Rozi last night. As a matter of fact, he got a pretty good cheer whent they announced the scoring change that gave him credit for the first goal. I agree with Chris that many fans watch the game and look for a mistake to get on the whipping boy about, ignoring the other 10 good plays that he makes. Also, with Redden gone, they have to get on someone, don't they?
Good point on die hards. It is tough to get out of the dog house.
i agree with callahan, rozsival logs a ton of minutes and has been very solid for the better part of the last 50 games or so. Does anyone remmber how good his shot was a few years back? Bottom line is he has been a very serviceable player for this team for 5 years now and doesnt warrant the crap he gets
there is a group of "fans" based partly on prior play and even more on his contract that look for a reason to boo Rozi and will always see bad even when he plays well. It has become so ingrained for them it has become an instinctual reaction to see 33 and think bad.
Rusty is also right that he is new the scapegoat with Rozi gone, at least until Drury returns and his contract's expectations ignore all good he does too.
Kevin, you said it correctly with, Sure, he will sometimes look completely lost out there, but he has for the most part played solid defense since the middle of last season and now he is shooting with more frequency.
I agree. Unfortunately he is not a defenseman that should be logging these minutes. He still makes such stupid mistakes.
Again I say that he played a good game last night except for his last two or three shifts.
With the insane ticket prices and years of mediocre play, I think the fans have earned the right to boo whomever they want. Rozi is not good. He is certainly not $4m/per good. He makes enough boneheaded plays to warrant the boos.
But even worse is when players bitch about fans booing. Rozi is a millionaire playing a child's game. I would gladly trade places with him in a heartbeat, boos and all.
I was waiting for the other side of this argument. Thanks Kevin H.
Kevin H
This is the United states and you have the right to boo anyone even if you got in for free. Personally, I have been going to Ranger games since 1954 and I have never booed a Ranger player and I never will. The main reason is that I believe that it is counterproductive to boo the team. I don't think they will play any better if booed and conversely the extra pressure might make them squeeze the stick a little tighter, making them play worse. But I would never say that anyone didn't have the right to boo if the so choose.
Rozsival has been playing well, but has past crimes to pay for. Granted he has played well since the second half of last year, but his contract has inhibited the rangers from making key moves along the way. A good year this year will either slightly validate the contract or make him a trade target,
I have been a Ranger fan for 40 years. I sat in the blues,the greens, the oranges, the reds, and the teal. I don't like Michael Rozsival game style. He doesn't hit, he doesn't fight, he doesn't shoot, and he cannot stick handle nor pass very well. Rozsival seems to lack smarts as well. He tightens up when the game gets small. He frustrates the c &&&p out of me. I don't think he deserves the time he gets. I feel Torts sees him as a project. Play Sauer instead. Why waste time on a 30 plus year old experiment when you can give a kid experience? BOOOOO!!!
The guy gets booed probably 75% for his contract, the other 25% because he is not an exciting player to watch per se (doesn't hit alot, doesn't score enough, doesn't QB the power play like a true Offensive defenseman). If he had Girardi's contract he'd probably be left alone.
Truth is he's pretty good but alot of it goes unnoticed. What does go noticed is when a guy with his contract makes a bad mistake.
I do not understand how fans regularly boo a guy on their own team. I'm pretty sure that if I came into work every day and got booed i would NOT perform better.
rozy is here this year and next year. he isnt going anywhere. i dont think hes as bad as everyone says but for sure i can see where they are coming from. there will always be a whipping boy on the rangers. at least the current one seems to be shooting more and has had a couple of decent games. hes never used his size to his advantage which i find maddening.
we're stuck with him @ 5mil @ of the next two years. do i feel sorry for him for the boos? hell no. that dudes got cheddar stacked high and plays a game for a living. callahan sticking up for him may not have been the best idea. we'll see how that plays out.
ps im loving this winning streak and the devils sucking. good times!
hes been playing alot better. i dont think its right to boo your team. the only time i ever do is when the yankee bullpen (certain players that arnt fan favorites kinda thing) blows a game. I find it disturbing that there are so many rangers fans but not that many go to games. come on people! get out there and go!
Chris p, you giving tickets away for free?
If so I'll take two!
He is playing much better this year.
The booing argument is an old one that certainly does not have a resolution. Different people feel differently and everyone is entitled to their opinion - and it doesn't make them any lesser of a fan either way.
I boo guys on the Rangers, just as I cheer guys on the Rangers. Do something good and I honour it, do something bad and I voice my displeasure. Insofar as it is counterproductive, in same cases that is correct - Marek Malik was clearly affected by the crowd - but in general it is the only way we have to show our unhappiness. Negative signs aren't allowed in the Garden, so how else can you communicate? For us diehards, this team is an extension of ourselves, a representation of us - that is why the Faithful worship the hard workers and rue the overpaid puff players.
That being said, I haven't booed Rozy lately, more than anything I turn and laugh at one of the guys in the section next to me who notoriously loathes him. But you had better believe if Rozy lets up this new-found rededication of effort - for even a shift - I will be right back to booing him.
rosis been pretty solid this year, ive only noticed a couple slip ups at our blueline this year...
hes got a good shot and needs to use it more though...
sadly i think he will be the whipping boy this year...unlike forwards, if you screw up it usuully means bad news for your goalie..
(not saying that its ok for a foward to give up the puck) but its much more noticeable when a dman does
It's not so much that I'm against booing it's the booing when it's not warrented. I'm sure numerous fans booed Rozsival when they announced his goal last night. How stupid is that?
i agree with cally big time. and with the ones who posted supporting rozy and what cally said.
yes people have the right to boo. i have an equal right to BOO the ones booing. so BOO YA
and its not the suits booing they arrive late and leave early - its some of the diehards in the 300's and 400's, the ones booing are a very vocal minority prob about 20% of the fans. and tend to be yuonger in 20's or teens but certainly not always. count me among the 80% for any player on the team.
i can't stand dubinsky and avery and never once booed either at a game i went to - and i go to 15 or so/yr. now watching tv i might yell at them.
to me the issue is that people forget he is human. Yes he makes alot of money, but that is Sathers fault. He is lucky to play this game, and make the money he makes. But he is human and it is very stupid and counterproductive to boo players. Screw the salary, not their fault, booing is just going to make him feel like crap, and not going to help our team. We need to boo Sather and cheer the players. Same thing with Drury. Not our money, so who cares how he is supposed to be scoring and just cheer and look at the positives. Stupid penalties, boo away. Just ease up when it is not called for.
and like cally said the teammates don't like it either. talk about less of a home ice advantage
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