[theboys]

This is long.

Rainmaker's vent on another thread got me to thinking about, why as a coach or fan, I get frustrated, and say sometimes rational - and sometimes irrational - things. This thread makes me think about it more, and offer an opinion from "the dark side".

Please understand, that I know what I'm about to say is not necessarily the "right" way to act. Sometimes, it just happens.

As a coach, if I complain about a foul discrepancy, for example, first of all, I'm not complaining because I think you're biased against me, and am certainly not trying to attack you personally. My reasons could be one or more of the following:

1. As you know, many of basketball's calls are judgment calls (see the thread Bang Bang Play). I may think I see the same amount of contact on both ends but, in your judgment, the level of contact is different. I may be trying to convince you the level of contact is the same.

2. I may be in a close game played at a fevered pitch. While you rightfully don't care who wins, I, of course, do. If a close call goes against me, I may rant, because I know its an opportunity that got away. I will also let my star post know a missed dunk at a critical time was an extremely stupid idea.

3. I may be out of options. My team may be having a bad night, or the other team might be having a good night. I may be pulling out all stops to get the momentum on my side. Hey, its not right or defendable, but it happens.

Last, if I'm frustrated, witty remarks might quiet me, but they won't defuse my frustration. I can't speak for others, but for me, Zebraman's response would be the most helpful:

"coach, we're aware of that too.... It'd be easier on us if the fouls were 5 to 5 but it just doesn't work out that way sometimes."