Redefining A Denver Sports Villain

 

There was a lot of speculation going into last night’s return of Blue Jays SS Troy Tulowitzki to Denver and how he would be received. Some thought Tulo should be booed. Others believed his reception should include his customary “Clap-clap, clap-clap-clap, clap-clap-clap-clap Tulo!” Obviously, we are talking about two ends of a spectrum but still, the question remained if Troy would be treated like a villain (i.e. Carmelo Anthony) or a former Colorado hero. The result, a standing ovation, was definitely curious, but at least the Coors Field faithful didn’t embarrass themselves by booing.

In general, booing players is an overrated and unnecessary form of audience participation. If you’re unhappy with the product, don’t go to the game. If you’re already at the game, just stop cheering and grumble quietly in your seat. Fans feel entitled to boo because they paid a lot of money to attend the sporting event so if their team (or an individual player) isn’t performing to a satisfactory level of competition, they feel it’s their right voice displeasure. It’s counterproductive, at best. Booing your team only serves to lose the home field/court/ice advantage and further the spiral toward the impending loss fans feel like they are somehow avoiding if they let it be known how unhappy they are. Is there a solitary moment that fans can look to when booing actually helped a team overcome the odds and emerge victorious? Probably not.

That rant aside, Tulo definitely shouldn’t have been booed last night, but a standing ovation was a bit surprising considering five years ago, a similar franchise defining player Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Knicks and instantly became one of the biggest villains in Denver sports. The situations were mildly different and it may not be completely fair to say MLB and NBA are legit comparisons. However, let’s examine each situation to determine if Melo deserves the vitriol he still gets to this day, or if Tulo deserved the standing ovation during his first at-bat last night.

When Carmelo Anthony forced the hand of the Nuggets to trade him in February 2011 it was the culmination of months of turmoil. The “Melo-Drama” had been a constant distraction for the team, coaches and fans that season and it was clear Anthony had no intention of signing an extension with Denver. Two identifiable suitors emerged in the Knicks and Nets and it was up to GM Masai Ujiri to orchestrate a deal that would net Denver pieces to rebuild the loss of their best player. Another key piece, according to Carmelo, was the imminent NBA lockout that would last from July till December of 2011. Anthony didn’t want to be a free agent adrift during a time when there wasn’t basketball to be played. A trade needed to happen during the season, otherwise the Nuggets wouldn’t have received recourse and Anthony could’ve missed out on massive amounts of money. Carmelo is still booed every time he returns to Denver even though the Knicks have seen arguably less success than the Nuggets during the past 5 years.

Troy Tulowitzki’s situation with the Rockies, in some ways, mirrored Anthony’s. Tulo’s agent, Paul Cohen, was leaking hints early in the 2015 season that Troy was unhappy playing for a franchise destined for mediocrity with no plan of escape. At least publicly, Tulowitzki would speak out against any insinuation that he wanted to leave the Rockies. However, the fact that Cohen continued to drop these hints about meetings in Los Angeles to discuss a trade further fueled the fire and paranoia of the fanbase. Just as it was with Carmelo, the drama became a significant distraction. Time will tell if GM Jeff Bridich’s decision to trade Troy Tulowitzki in late July last year will be the right decision or not. The acquisition of Jose Reyes in the trade clearly didn’t pan out, but that was more about making the money balance rather than adding an asset. The key to the trade’s success remains in the expected future impact of SP Jeff Hoffman and to a lesser extent RP Miguel Castro and RP Jesus Tinoco.

Beneath the surface of the trade, Colorado traded Troy Tulowitzki because they needed to send a message. It was a message that no player was safe on a failing team. It was a message that no player was bigger than the team regardless of his ability. It was ultimately a message that the Rockies were sick of losing. It almost seems counter-intuitive to trade a team’s best player in an effort to win more games, but considering the Rockies haven’t made the playoffs since 2009, all of Troy’s incredible stats meant little to the overall success of the team.

Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony’s tenure as a Nugget was nothing short of marvelous for this franchise. He too had incredible regular season statistics that lead to postseason appearances every season he was in Denver including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2008-09.

Perhaps the reason Carmelo is booed has more to do with the feeling that he rejected the city of Denver to move to a bigger market for his “brand”. This is an understandable gripe; however, in Anthony’s defense, the frustration should be directed instead at the league as a whole. The design of the NBA is to encourage their best players to migrate to larger markets to improve the league’s brand. Say what you want about how the NBA conducts its business, they market their biggest names extremely well. This process, of course, is to the detriment of smaller market teams and in many people’s opinion, weakens the overall product. The NBA is predictable. Maybe things will change with commissioner Adam Silver but under David Stern, there was never an intention for the league to have competitive balance. That continues today with the 76ers recently selecting Ben Simmons with the 1st pick in the 2016 draft, securing their 7th lottery selection since 2010.

Troy Tulowitzki played for the Rockies from 2006-2015 and helped his team to the playoffs twice, including a trip to the World Series in 2007. Outside of those playoff appearances, the Rockies were a sub-.500 team every year except 2010. Carmelo Anthony played for the Nuggets from 2003-2011 during which Denver reached the playoffs each season. The Nuggets’ lowest win mark during Anthony’s time in Denver was 43 wins in his rookie year. It might be time to rethink why we are booing one of these players while giving a standing ovation to the other.

Follow Ryan Edwards: @ryanedwards1043

TOP PHOTO CREDIT: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports