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April 30, 2012
In Hapless Nets, Hope for Jilted Borough
The New York Times
by Joseph Berger
Though the Nets, who are moving to the borough after playing basketball the last 35 years in New Jersey, have a well-earned reputation for haplessness, those celebrating their arrival made no complaints.
“The curse of O’Malley is officially over today,” declared Bruce C. Ratner, the builder and majority owner of the arena, who orchestrated the Nets’ move before selling most of the team to a Russian billionaire in 2009.
And the curse of Ratner officially begins today.
The question hovering over the event was whether the Nets would be able to fill the 18,000-seat arena. Would the team continue its uninspired play after a season in which it lost twice as many games as it won and remind residents of “Da Bums” of the 1930s Dodgers? Or would it sparkle like the Brooklyn teams of the ’40s and ’50s that won seven pennants and put a lilt of I-told-you-so pride in the steps of its lunch-pail-lugging fans?
The Times takes us out with a bromide:
Jeff Noel, 22, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, who was carrying a half-dozen knit Nets shirts, was excited about the impact on the community.
“A lot of kids will be inspired to play in their hometown of Brooklyn,” he said.
NoLandGrab: While The Times gave ink to inspiration expert Jeff Noel, they didn't bother to quote a jobs expert, like Bettina Damiani, about last week's Barclays Center jobs sideshow. In fact, they didn't bother to cover it at all.
Posted by eric at April 30, 2012 10:50 PM