Julius Hodge would be a great addition to the grape stomping circuit. There's plenty of room for him.
I cannot let the Julius Hodge stomp saga die completely without me having a say on the matter.
The city of Adelaide was still a buzz a week after Hodge and his teammates left town with the win and a new found dance step dubbed the Mahercarena.
In my sixteen years being involved as a player in the NBL, I have never seen one single incident hold court like this one has in the media.
Here is my take on the situation.
At a quick glance it seems that Hodge has over reacted during an emotional time, which was sealed with a victory. Walk off the court with your head held high and fans may have to rethink their opinion of Hodge as a person.
Instead Hodge seeked out the signature of Adelaide 36er legend Brett Maher and proceeded to stomp until his teammates dragged him from the arena.
This is where I become somewhat confused with the whole situation.
If Hodge had some built up emotion towards the club, why not seek out the 36ers logo that is in the same vicinity of the court and give me your best grape stomping technique?
In my opinion on both occasions when stomping he seeks out Maher's "John Hancock" on the hardwood.
I have no personal opinion of Hodge as a person or teammate but it seems there is some "beef" between Maher and Hodge. (Hodge would not appear on his former captain's weekly Internet show if he was present. Phil Smyth was brought in to help Kevin Brooks interview the New York native while Maher made a coffee.)
To me there is more to this story than meets the eye. My life experiences tell me the truth is somewhere in the middle.
I'm sure like any incidents such as this the whole truth will never be known, but my hats off to Hodge for playing the villain to the best of his abilities.
Monday, December 14, 2009
More Too It Than Meets The Eye
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4 comments:
Sounds like fence-sitting to me JR
Not at all Dodge. I like how Hodge has taken the issue hed on. I just feel we are not gettting the full story and Hodge is get the rough end.
That is always the problem when something goes media, we will never know the full extend of this story.
It'd be great to see Maher come out with a tell-all on their show...
Brett, what say you?
As an Adelaidean, it doesn't surprise me how long this saga has dragged on. I don't have any issues with Hodge over him leaving the team, fair enough if he wasn't being paid as per his agreement. I don't have an issue with him and whatever his problems with Brett Maher are. We aren't privy to what goes on in the locker room, and maybe he has every right to be pissed off with Brett Maher.
The reason why this is such a big issue is that Brett Maher is loved in Adelaide more than almost any other sportsman. I have only met Brett once, but when I did he came across as an absolute gentleman and that is the image that we have here of Brett.
He is to 36er fans what Andrew Gaze is to Tigers fans. No matter what we knew that Brett Maher would play hard every night for the sixers, and his loyalty meant so much when players move teams at the drop of a hat.
This is why we find it so hard to believe that Brett could have done anything bad enough to warrant the disrespect shown to him by Hodge. The fact that Brett hasn't come out with a tell-all just makes me think even more that the guy is all class.
PS still disappointed you left the 36er's JR! you are still one of my all time favourite 36er's :) I still rank that 1998 side as one of the best ever in the NBL!
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