Warriors add coveted free-agent fan to roster.

09.3.2007 | 12:30 pm | The Warriors

This is why being a nationally syndicated sports columnist probably doesn’t suck. Bloomberg columnist Scott Soshnick decided that free agency should be as available to fans as it is to atheletes. Fair enough. So he decided to make his pitch to each of 122 teams in the four major sports to see which team came back with the best offer. I like how you roll Scott. You’re no Curt Flood, but this is good.

And frankly, for sports teams that claim to value fans, could they really be dumb enough not to court free national advertising to one of the most desirable demographics on earth?

Of the 122 teams that make up the four major U.S. leagues, guess how many even took the time to answer?

A hundred? Nope. Seventy-five, perhaps. Try again.

How about nine.

That’s a measly 7 percent. How sad.

Ninety-three percent of teams that claim to value the paying customer couldn’t be bothered to pen a note, bang out an e-mail or pick up the phone and make a sales pitch.

Remember, every team claims to value fans. Given the chance to prove it, though, a depressing number of them failed miserably.

Make the jump for the rest of the story and a picture of the one highly touted free agent that the Dubs managed to land this summer.

My personal favorite of the responses he received—culled from the responding teams, the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks—is the from the ever-whiny Mark Cuban himself, by (of course) e-mail.

“Being a fan means having an emotional commitment to a team. You can’t bribe or convince someone of that,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote in an e-mail. “They have to find it themselves.”

That said, the Mavericks were never front-runners for Soshnick’s services. The Hawks and Thrashers share an ownership group and could capitalize on the economies of scale of having two major sports on the table, but since one of the sports in question is hockey and the other is NBA basketball—as played by the Atlanta Hawks—the offer really isn’t as generous as it first sounds.

Which brings us to the winning bid.

Speaking of jerseys, the Warriors sent me one. It had No. 1 and my last name on the back. That was the least of their pitch.

The Warriors also 1) called to say they wanted me and asked for a photo, 2) had 28 employees from various departments send e-mails, 3) had fellow New Yorker and General Manager Chris Mullin call to make the team’s case, 4) sent me a “We Believe” slogan T-shirt with my face on it 5) put together a mock press release announcing a new fan acquisition, 6) included a highlight DVD with rookies wearing my jersey, 7) sent me a $1, lifetime contract, signed by Mullin, that begins on Sept. 1 (the dollar was taped to the contract). The deal includes financial incentives, too, such as $10 for appearing at all National Basketball Association Finals games in which the Warriors play.

Now. As free agents go, I know I’m not as attractive as Soshnick in terms of production per minute. But I’m active and have a tendency to make plays. And I’m probably quite a bit cheaper. I’ve also mastered the complexities of the system and the local environment is a natural fit. If Soshnick is the Kevin Garnett of free-agent fans then I am the Matt Barnes. A perfect fit for the system who already proved himself last year. So, what’s up Chris? Yo, Mully! Hook a bruh up! And as for my jersey, the name is Turman.

That’s T-U-R-M-A-N