It's fair to say that Mookie Jones has become something of a fan favorite over the last couple weeks. Considering how his season began, that's probably a bit of an upset. What Mookie's got going for him is that he seems like a fun guy, a goofball if you will...and he's taken it upon himself to reach out to the fans personally and make the coveted connection that so many of us desperately want.
Sure there's Facebook and Twitter but those are old hat. It's the "next level" social interaction stuff that's turning the relationship between fans and players on its head. Specifically, with sites like Formspring, fans can literally interact one-on-one with someone like Mookie and get to know them. And that's exactly how Mookie has been winning fans back (along with his much-improved on-the-court play of course).
Mookie's running Q&A session has provided some funny, insightful, confusing and interesting nuggets of information. Some of it might be things a Division 1 basketball player shouldn't be sharing so openly, but that's part of Mookie's charm. Mookie has been forthcoming about pretty much every topic imaginable, be it what he needs to improve on ("everything"), whether or not he thinks he'll make the NBA someday ("somewhat") and whether or not he would hook up with Jersey Shore's Snooki ("yea I would").
After reading the answers to his questions, I like Mookie more. I might not agree with all of the answers and I might cringe at some of them but it's his honesty that's so refreshing. I feel like I kinda know him a little bit now. I know he's a normal dude. And that makes me want to root for him.
And Mookie's not alone. DaShonte Riley has started his own running Q&A as has Kris Joseph. You can watch Kris throw down a monster dunk tonight, personally ask him about it a couple hours later and get an answer directly from him before you go to sleep.
Best of all, even the coaches are getting in on it. SU Assistant Rob Murphy has his own running discussion where he's answering questions about incoming recruits, giving advice and talking about his current players.
The divide between players and fans keeps shrinking. And as long as both parties respect some semblance of boundaries, that's a good thing. How much more does a twelve-year-old Cuse fan want to root on Kris Joseph after he's personally answered a question from him? Or when Wes Johnson offers up his PS3 online screen name in an interview, what young fan (or, let's face it, 30-year-old fan) won't get a kick out of playing Wes in a game of NCAA Hoops (especially if they can be Syracuse and play as Wes against Wes)?
The sports fan experience is becoming more and more interactive every day. You don't have to wait until someone does a radio interview or holds a press conference to know what their thinking. Hopefully the powers-that-be can see that as a good thing. Cause it makes being a fan that much better.