The game all Pistons fans have been talking about, The Pistons vs. Ben Wallace and the Chicago Bulls. This was the game we immediately looked for on the schedule when it came out. We waited and now it’s here.
If you have been reading any kind of sports news the past couple of days you were sure to come across an abundance of articles regarding Ben’s reunion with his former teammates. There are the stories of Ben’s emotions, to the stories of Ben’s feelings regarding his former coach Flip Saunders and the stories of how the Pistons miss Ben in the middle.
I am not sure who this game is more important to, Ben or his former teammates. Both state they miss each other, and that their friendship bonds are still there. But when they all step on that court each one has something to prove. Ben needs to prove to the city that made him, that he made the right decision. The Pistons have their pride on the line. There have been Pistons doubters since July when Ben announced his defection. Most said the Pistons wouldn’t survive without Ben. Some gave Chicago instant Championship status and some said that Chicago maxed out their payroll on an aging one dimensional player.
I myself have no hard feelings toward Ben. I appreciate what he did for this team and the city. He helped bring back pride, hard work and a championship to a Pistons team nobody believed in. But it’s time to move on. Some things have come to light that I would have rather not known about the man I always considered humble. This man who came from nothing and made something of himself has been overshadowed by the one we see now. As much as we want to believe that we knew who Ben Wallace was we were wrong. His ego, feelings, and sensitivity got in the way of all the things we knew him to be.
He’s still complaining about being on the bench in game six of the Heat series, when what was best for the team was having a lineup that could erase the hole that the Pistons were in. He still talks about being slighted by the coach and for that matter Joe Dumars, for being more offensive minded. A style that the Pistons and the rest of the league have been forced into by Mr. Sterns eagerness to bring the game to the masses. He still talks about how unhappy he was not getting any touches on the offense.
That’s not the man I thought he was, but it’s as plain as day. So much for what is best for the team and what it takes to get it done. Ben has shown us who he really is. He’s got a superstar ego, even though he’s tried so hard not to let it show. Don’t let him fool you, if the Pistons style hadn’t changed and Ben was getting the touches he wanted, I don’t care how much money the Bulls offered him, we would be seeing him in a Pistons uniform today.
Now as Pistons fans we let it go. Thanks Ben for all you did, but tonight we won’t be cheering for you.
Seriously, I couldn’t have said it better myself. I am just happy his true colors came out. It makes it easier to see him in enemy colors.
Being a Bulls fan I’m hoping that when Ben returns to Detroit (Feb 25th I believe) the fans show him the respect that Red Sox fans showed Johnny Damon when he returned to Fenway last year. In a league where very few teams have won championships over the past decade or so, Detroit fans should applaud Ben for what he helped do while he was there… regardless of why he left. As for his offensive downfalls, he obviously has some but the Bulls have been running some plays through him with success. He has turned out to be a much better passer, ball handler and offensive rebounder than I envisioned him to be. Good luck tonight to all and once again, nice job Natalie on the rundown.
Hey it’s not that we don’t thank Ben for what he did, we just see him for what he is. Natalie hit it on the head, we as Pistons fan coddled this Idea of the humble selfless man he was, when he’s turned out to be quite the opposite.
im not that pumped for todays game, im waiting for FEB 25th (i think) when we play the bulls at full strength (with Chauncey)
that is when you can figure out who is a better team cuz we will both bprobbaly be at full strength,
i was looking forward to this all season.
i wanna see Ben and the pistons (Rip, Prince, Sheed, nd Chauncey) IN THE ALL STAR GAME…together on the eastern allstars.
so go vote nba.com
why do they hav to show the game on nba tv?!?!?!
y cant they show it on espn. c’mon
its ridiculous
well said Nat, very well said
u nailed it.. i dont think any of us could have said it any better
No, I’m not going to the game but I wish I was. I am pretty sure it’s NOT on ESPN though.
The game is NOT ON ESPN!!!! It is on NBA TV
Do you think we should cheer or boo ben when he comes here to play on Feb 25?
Natalie, do you pay for this website? I am also a blogger and I use blogspot but I wonder how you get this site so nice? Could you leave another comment or email me at
kcarter12@punahou.edu
Cheer for him please.. No Big Ben in 04 = No 04 Championship. 🙂
That’s right… let him know we still love him even though he left us!
well said!! go pistons :]
I agree with you if the style of play had not changed and ben was still getting what he wanteed he would have still been a piston. I wish it hadn’t cause I love to see him as a piston. I hope that all this change we have done sill help us in the end and not leaving us wishes that we had never of changed. The bulls are doing very well playing the style of play we used to. We will have to wait and see in june.
we should cheer him he played well for us and in the end we have changed our play to not fit him in so what else could be do but leave. I do not blame him for leaving and will be there to cheer him when they say his name. As NAt said it he would still be wearing the pistons uniform if things had not changed.
Natalie, just a reminder:
“If Jason Maxiell struts his stuff, opponents will stop Fearing the Fro and start being Menaced by Maxiell. If he can block just one of Ben Wallace’s shots when the Pistons meet the Bulls, I’m off to get inked.”
🙂
Trust me Matt I haven’t forgotten! Thanks for reminding me though.
you got called out on that shit
i don’t know why it’s not on tv but it’s only being broadcast on local chicago and detroit stations, along with nbatv. i’m off to the game guys! cheer for our boys!
I will cheer for Ben when he plays. You might call it selfish for him to be upset after sitting on the bench during the ECF, or for wanting to be involved in the offense, but I for one think he was right.
If you are right, and you call it like it is, your not being selfish.
That being said, I hope Maxie dunks on Ben’s head!
I think Ben felt slighted by the team and the management after he worked his butt off to help the team go to the playoffs and the championship.
And to be slighted for Flip Saunders, a man who has proven nothing, I would be mad as hell too.
But all those guys still have a good relationship, so I hope the Pistons and the Bulls do well this season.
I don’t know about any of you but I am embrassed after this game. What the hell happened to the pistons and there D? They looked as if they were scared of Ben. I am not sure what happened but no one had a good night tonight except the bulls. I am not sure what is up with Taysahun but he really needs to start looking at his game cause he sucks lately. I respect his game but when the points are not there than hes got to do something. He is great on D but even that is in question at times. Anyway I didn’t even want to finish watching the game but did and well I hope that on Feb 25 they play a lot better. I am sorry but the pistons need a trade or something because they are starting to go downward instead of upward its like the whole end of the bad boys they are fallin apart. I love the pistons but its to fare in the season to start playing like they have been. I will always be a pistons fan in the good times and bad but this team is so much better than the way they are playing. I am not trying to put blame on anyone but I never like flip sanders and now I really think this team needs a better coach. In order to make it out of the east you need to play d and be focus on D, this is why they did not beat the heat becuase they lost the D.
worst pistons game i have ever been to. the shots were horrible, the defense was horrible and flip murray was not loved. the pistons had a lot of support around me but the bulls fans were a bunch of immature idiots. it was disappointing to watch, i couldn’t even stay the whole game. but, like i said, detroit had a lot of fans there and i was happy to be sitting in a large group of them that supported them until there was no way that we could win.
I would also like to add a point to my comment above waht ever happened with the players union on the zero rule? The refs had stopped calling stupid techs for a while but in the last couple of weeks it has started to get out of hand again and not just for the pistons. What does david need somemore money?
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK We lost, now thats a disopointment seeing Ben take the W. If we had chauncey out there runnin our offense we would have kliled those grass eating, methane shitting, nose ring wearing bulls! I’m quite pissed off, especially as our team was alive and quite motivated, btw Nice block by Sheed, it seems hes gettin back on par
First off the Pistons should stay with the defensive stlye of play regardless of the NBA changing the rules because thats there game, they are not a tem that is made to outscore you night in and night out thats there game larry brown knew what he was doing in making them a defensive team, thats what set them aside from the rest of the league, now with NO BEN WHO THEY NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET GO BECAUSE HE WAS THERE BEFOR RIP,SHEED,CB,an TAY,he was what the PISTONS WERE an they TURN THEREBACS ON HIM,THATS NOT COMPLAINING FROM BEN THATS JUST LACK OFRESPECT FROM THE PISTONS,FLIP SAUNDERS IS NOT THE COACH FOR THAT TEAM THEY WILL NOT WIN ANYTHING UNLESS THEY PAY ATTENTION TOWARD BEING MORE DEFENSIVE TEAM,DALLAS IS DOING IT AN OH BY THE WAY THE BULLS ARE DOING IT (FORCING A LEAGUE BEST 18 TURNOVERS A GAME)ALL BEN WANTED WAS RESPECT ITS FOOLISH TO SAY HES COMPLAINING,HE JUST SAW THE TEAM TRING TO BE SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT,ALL HE WANTED IS FOR THEM TO GO BACk TO PLAYING HARD DOING WHAT GOT THEM TO THE DaNCE, ITS A BAD EXSCUSE TO SAY YOU CANT PLAY DEFENSE ANYMORE IN THE LEAGUE ITS JUST MORE THEN HALF THE LEAGUE DOSEN’T WANT TO DO IT, PISONS HAVE ALOT OF TALENT,FLIP IS NOT A GOOD FIT, AND SOME SOUL SEARCING TO DO AS FAR AS SEEING HOW BAD THEY WANT TO GET BACK ON TOP WITHOUT THERE HEART AND SOUL(BEN). IT WAS GOOD TO SEE BEN GET THE WIN TONIGHT, KARMA IS FOREAL THEY CHOOSE TO SIDE WITH FLIPS 100% PLAYBOOK INSTEAD OF A GUY WHO REPRESENTED WHO THEY ARE, TRYING TO RUN AN GUN AN PLAY SMALL BALL WONT WIN YOU A CHAMPIONSHIP, HOW MANY DOES PHONIEX HAVE? I’M HAPPY FOR BEN, IAM A BALL PLAYER AN I KNOW THAT IF YOU HAVE A GUY THAT GIVES HIS HEART AN SOUL DO THE DIRTY WORK NO MATTER WHAT ITS SPILLS TO TEH REST OF THE TEAM THE PISTONS GAVE THAT UP, THEY WILL STILL WIN ALOT OF GAMES BUT I THIK IN THE END THE BULLS WILL COME OUT BETTER BECUSE THEY PLAY THE WAY THE PISTONS USED TO PLAY.
ANYBODY THATS SAYS BEN WAS SELFISH FOR WANTING TO PLAY AN HELP THE PISTONS AGAINST THE HEAT DOINT KNOW BASKETBALL, FLIP WANTS THE PISTONS TO BE A WESTERN CONFERENCE TEAM NO DEFENSE ALOT OF OFFENSE, AND THEY ARE NOT THAT, I AM A PISTON FAN AND A BEN WALLACE FAN, BUT THE TRUTH IS THE PISTONS MADE A BIG MISTAKE LETTING HIM WALK IT WASNT ABOUT THE MONEY IT WAS ABOUT RESPECT, BEING ASURED THE TEAM WOULD FOCUS ON D,FLIP HAS WHAT HE WANTS ENERGY ONE NIGHT NO ENERGT A FEW NIGHTS IN A ROW,SO PLEASE STOP WITH THE INSANE COMMENTS ABOUT THE MANS CHARACTER, WHAT EVERYONE NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT IS HOW THE PIATONS HAVE A SOLID PLAYER IN MAXIELL BUT HE GETS GARBAGE MINUTES SHEED NEEDS TO SIT BECAUSE HE IS JUST FLOATIN, THREW THE MOTIONS AND AS A FAN I’M TIRED OF IT HE IS O TALENTED YET HE PLAYS AS IF HE DOESEN’T CARE SIT HIM PLAY JMAX HE BRINGS ENERY
bulls ticket 80 dollers
ben wallace 60 mil
Reading blogs about pissed off piston fans Bitching aboutbeing schooled by their ex best player because joe D was to cheap to spend a little more money to keep ben in detroit priceless.
Ben did not leave the pistons because the pistons would not spend the money he let because they would not play the game he wanted them to. He left because of the coach and they direction he was taking the team too. This new direction was everything that bens game is not and that is why he left. Pistons fan do not balme him for leaving we just wish that we had of stayed with the game the pistons were born on instead of playing like a west team. The bulls is a great fit for Ben and we are happy for him. The bulls play the game the pistons used to. Ben leaving had nothing to do with the money it had everythign to do with the direction the pistons are moving, which I do not like.
like i said, bulls fans are immature. seriously, lay off. this is a pistons fan blog. you’re almost as bad as the bulls fans that were around me talking shit at that game.
sorry you had a bad experience Ashley, don’t let the Bulls fans get you down.
Did you get any good pictures?
respectfully, from a bulls fan: first off, your blog is hella cool. that said…
look ashley, it sucks that you had some jerks sitting by at the UC, but c’mon, you can’t blanket all bulls fans as being jerks because of that. also, nobody ever said Ben Wallace was a saint, but who the hell wants to do 100% dirty work all the time with no reward? he’s not an offensive juggernaut and he’s good for 1 or 2 ridiculous fadeaways from 12-15 clanking hideously off the rim per game, but so far’s he’s proven to be an adept passer and the bulls have had success by including him in their offense even if he doesn’t take that many shots (not to mention that he actually has pulled out a couple of sweet drives, which I found to be more hilarious than anything else). of course I don’t have the perspective a pistons fan does, or the bitterness from last year’s ECF or whatever.
I that Ben misses the Pistons too, although not as much as they miss him. He needs a 2nd big man, a domineering 4 like Sheed for example, to cover for him defensively when he goes roving around to create havoc and scramble after loose balls. And of course, for the inside scoring he can’t produce. I really like good defensive basketball, and it’s too bad the pistons are shifting into more of an uptempo offensive team, but I think they’ll still a lot of success. We’ll probably wind up seeing you guys in the play offs one way or the other, and that oughtta be hella fun.