Great piece from Kelly Dwyer on why you should truly appreciate the chance to cheer/love a great team. Made me realize that as much as I enjoyed it, I was just a little too young to truly enjoy/appreciate the 1990s Bulls dynasty. ...
Your champs, in your eyes
Sometime, over the weekend, a TBJ viewer sent this email to Skeets and Tas.
"This Celtics' loss, coming at the end of this three game stretch, is hands down the lowest point for C's fans since KG and Ray were acquired. It makes me long for '05-‘06, when there was no pressure and I could just be happy to watch Pierce quietly churn out great games, or '06-‘07 when I could just be content if we kept it close with the Spurs for a quarter.' This pressure and caring so much about the outcome makes having your team be a contender way less awesome than you'd think."
Are you kidding me?
Honestly, can anyone get behind this? Lakers fans, Celtics fans, Nets fans, Warriors fans?
Goodness, gracious, sakes alive; have we not been there before? Nostalgia is a mild form of depression, Donald Fagen keeps telling us, and this is an obvious example of such. To not relate to Nick L. is to not be a fan of ... geez, life. We are all Nick L. If you're not Nick L., then you are not a fan.
This isn't to rip on Nick L., I have got to make that clear. This is only to wake you lot up. Or, if you're already awake, talk you off the ledge.
If you are a fan of a good team, a very good team, you need to appreciate that noise to no end. Not just because of what other bits of fandom are going through, and not just because you might not get a chance to root for a winner for long stretches of your fandom, but because your team needs a bit of appreciation.
Because your team wins games, more often than not. Because your team could win a championship — a championship! This doesn't mean you turn a blind eye to the foibles amongst these fables — these 60-win fables — but this has to mean you appreciate more than you fret.
And there is nobody that you should believe, in this regard, more than your humble narrator.
Not because I'm nostalgic, or spoiled, or that I lost myself in a half-empty miasma; but because I was around and paying attention and pumping fists (Ron Harper-style) for the greatest dynasty of the last 40 years.
I'm a Chicago Bulls fan. And though I've never sported a single bit of Bulls apparel, nor painted a bit of my face, or referred to the team in question as "we," nor created an overwrought argument regarding the outfit based solely on personal bias, I was and am a bit of a freak. The remote had to face the right way, certain doors had to be closed, certain albums had to at least be referenced before game time, and all sorts of silly superstitions had to be followed. I was a fan. I am a fan. But I was also a fan.
I was also, cruelly, quite aware. To the point of, seriously, giving our actual homecoming queen the "'kay, thanks, gotta go, bye"-treatment on the phone because halftime of Jordan's trouncing of the Nets was nearly over, and I had a seat to fill. And this was someone who was calling during halftime, because it was the only time to call. She knew. And I knew that this wasn't meant to last. This is why I taped the games. This is why I made a point to pay attention. Not because the gravity of the game depended on it — Jordan tended to be Jordan whether or not I had that TV remote aligned properly — but because I knew the difference between permanence and impermanence.
Weekly Post-Ups
With a little more than two weeks to go before the Feb. 18 trade deadline, the chatter is starting to pick up. Here’s the latest trade buzz culled from conversations with team executives, agents, and others in the know:
...
Rumblings about Ray Allen being on his way out of Boston are accurate, but only if the Celtics can get back a player who’d crack the top eight in their rotation. One scenario that has been discussed would have Allen going to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich and another piece – John Salmons? – to satisfy the salary requirements. If it came to fruition, what an intriguing swap it would be for teams that waged such a thrilling postseason battle only eight months ago. Since Allen’s $19.7 million contract expires after the season, acquiring him would leave Chicago flush with cap space for a 2010 free-agent binge centered around Chicago native Dwyane Wade and an additional superstar.
NBA Superstars: Top Franchise Players In The Game Today
11. Derrick Rose
Rose is the youngest on this list, and has made significant progress since being drafted only a couple of years ago. He's currently scoring about 20 points a game and 6 assists. He's the main chip in the Chicago Bulls puzzle, who should make the playoffs this season for sure.
Post a Comment