From as early as i can remember i have been a dedicated fan of the Utah Jazz. As a kid i played on a Jr. Jazz team. I remember going to games at the old Salt Palace. I meticulously maintained the quality of my John Crotty, Mark Eaton, Delany Rudd, and Blue Edwards basketball cards. I was there when the Jazz eliminated Mutumbo and the upstart Nuggets from the playoffs. I watched as the Jazz beat MJ and the Bulls in triple overtime. I think i have heard Marv Albert say "Yes, Yes, John Stockton sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA finals" at least 1,000 times. Durning the late 90's i looked forward to the annual sweep of Kobe, Shaq, and the Lakers. I have giggled with joy as i have watched Deron Williams cross-over a multiplicity of defenders. I have yet to receive an acceptable answer to the question "Why has Jerry Sloan never won the Coach of the Year Award?" I watched as John and Karl were named Co-MVP's of the All-Star game in SLC.I have enjoyed listening to Hot-Rod call numerous games. There is something soothing about the the sound of: "...hippety-hops left goes right, pulls up for the 15-foot jumper, and with a gently push and a mild arc the cow-hide-globe hits home." I tried to become a 90% free-throw shooter just by wiping the side of my face twice before each shot (just for clarity, it did not work). On the other side of the coin, i can still hear my brother Andy scream
"KARL WATCH OUT...KARL!!!" just before MJ steals the ball only to finish off the jazz with a cold-blooded jumper over Bryon Russell. I am still amazed that the Jazz we unable to win a championship during Jordan's Baseball "Career." Over the last 7 years i look forward to hearing my friend Jeff rattle off the 5-10 draft picks that the Jazz passed on only to pick up Deshawn Stevenson, Raul Lopez, Kris Humphries, Curtis Borchardt or Kirk Snyder. Just to name a few that we missed: J.R. Smith, Kevin Martin, Boris Diaw, Josh Howard, Leandro Barbosa, Rodger Mason, and Luis Scola. I have suffered as i have watched talented free-agents go to other teams because hardly anyone wants to come play in SLC. To put it simply i have seen/experienced/felt the highs and lows of Jazz Fandom.
However, recently it has become too much. Over the last month i have watched as the Jazz have looked like my 4th grade Jr. Jazz team. Coughing up 20+ point leads, losing to Minnesota at home, losing to any capable team on the road. But it is not just the losing, it is that they do it such painful ways. The net result is....I am done! I can't do it. I can't keep watching a team that i think should be in the western conference finals, play like a team that deserves a lottery pick. Now this is not a permanent change. I will try again next year, but for now it has become more than i can bear.
So i have picked a new team....The Clevland Cavaliers. Hey if i am going to cheer for team i may as well pick a winner. They have the best record in the NBA, they have Lebron, they play defense, the have Lebron, they have sweet throwback jerseys, they have Lebron. But thats not all they have al lot in common with the Jazz. During their best years in the 90's they were beat two years in a row by Jordan and the Bulls. They have a long history of players that painfully tan-free. So untill next year....Goodbye John Stockton, Karl Malone and Jeff Horneck - and Hello Mark Price, Brad Daughtry, and Craig Ehlo. Goodbye Boozer, Memo and Deron - and Hello Lebron, Mo, and Big Z. WE ARE ALL WITNESSES!
17 comments:
I can't believe what I just read... what are you going to do when the Jazz win the Championship this year? The one year that you gave up on them...
That is a sacrifice i am willing to make. Also it is not like i have rejected them completely, they are just no long my TEAM. I can still admire their accomplishments, similar to how i feel about the pacers.
Mutter...mutter...Bandwagon...grumble...
betrayal...sniffle...need company?
in the words of delmar from "O' Brother...": "Come on in boys, the water is fine."
last night was particularly painful. I understand the wound is deep. But it is also fresh. Such decisions should probably be reserved for the off season, when cooler heads prevail. maybe you should seperate for a while, but hold off on seeing other teams for now. you loved them once, Scott. You can find it again. You must.
John, this is just a trial separation. The jazz and i have an open relationship, some people say that this strategy never works. But i echo the words of the famous Tobias Funke "But it might work for us!"
i told john after we left the jazz game the other night that i should have never started caring. seriously. my life was so much calmer before becoming a true steelers fan, and now a sincere jazz fan.
though i admire your ability to separate from the jazz. i cant. that kyle korver...
Some notes:
- Your 4th Grade Jr. Jazz team played Minnesota?
- The Cavs?!? What about the Pacers? YOUR Pacers? (Or the OKC Thunder? Another team with a legitimate bid for your affection [AND not the obvious Bulls In The 90s pick that The {I just wanted to use more parentheses. These ones are fancy} Lebrons lean towards being.]) Are you sure you wanna sell out your top two in the same year. If I were Courtney, I would worry about Fickle Loyalty issues.
- Commit. This waffly "I'm out...for now" stuff is way too Oprah.
- Daughtry played for the Cavs? I had no idea they had a pasty bald Creed wannabe on their team in the 80s. How forward thinking.
- The Jazz won today. Big. On the road. Against the supposed deity of CP3.
- The Jazz had some lousy drafting for awhile there. Jose Ortiz? Who was the center that was insane? But we also stole Malone and Stockton in consecutive drafts, so...yeah. The balance of the universe.
- All this (understandable) "I'm Fed Up" talk and yet nary a description of the ridiculousness that is Boozer?
- I am with you on the pain. The house went deathly quiet after the loss to the Thuggets. You've got to be strong now.
Paul,
-no my team didn't play the t-wolves
-the pacers are in a rebuilding stage and i accept that. I still rock the shorts on a regular basis. But thier games aren't televised and they aren't in the playoff race so i would have no one to root for come playoff time. So i figured if i am going to sell out, i may as well sell out big.
- commit? This coming from a guy that dismissed the wallflowers just because they put out a few average (or even bad albums). I would add: if the ribs at playoff's sucked would you sill go?
-Oprah isn't all that bad right? She did make a a guest appearance on 30 Rock, she does get some street cred for that right!?
-The cavs also won today...big...against the spurs.
-"I am not here to talk about the past" - Big Mac
-the blog was getting to an unreadable length, any discussion on Boozer would have at least doubled the length, so i took the high road.
- There is being strong and then there is masochism.
- Somewhere, Reggie Miller and Rik Smits are having a good cry. And Danny Granger is planning a crazy 09-10 just to spite you.
- I still listen to old Wallflowers albums and love them, but I still stand by the idea that they made a severely mediocre record in Rebel, Sweetheart. The band hasn't recorded since. Coincidence? I think not. Also, this analogy stinks because I never claimed them as My Band. Music is different than sports that way. Sports are a competition- both on the field and in the minds/hearts of fans. Yes, I would argue about whether the Beatles are better than the Stones, but not like a fan would talk about the Sox over the Yankees.
- Food is also different than sports. I am loyal to Good Ribs not any one place that serves them. I love Playoffs, but nobody would call me disloyal to Playoffs because I go to Pat's. Sure, the argument can be made that you are loyal to Good Basketball but- aside from being a total cop out and a 180 from the lifelong fandom that you've already professed- even somebody who "just loves the game" has a fan somewhere inside.
- Furthermore, the Jazz don't suck, as your Ribs Analogy was hoping to illustrate. They're a playoff team in the very competitive west, nowhere near the lottery. They have a winning record. They have beaten good teams (mostly at home of course). Inconsistency is troubling, but they could surprise people in the postseason.
- Weak.
- Way weak.
i feel a tad jealous scott that everyone else that commented got a personal response from you.
maybe it is personal? is that how you roll? i see.
Ash -
it is not personal. You just had the most airtight argument. Kyle Korver is a good looking man, and has one of the prettiest shots in the NBA. I can't really argue.
Ashley.
This is just for you:
http://jibjazz.com/2008/09/12/you-have-seen-kyle-korverashton-kutcherteen-wolfnow-be-amazedit-is-carrot-top/
You are all way off base...Lakers will always be #1 from Kareem to Kobe. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will find inner peace.
thanks a lot paul. how painful.
that ranks up there with freshman year vp elections when i lost...
I hope this is not too late. Alas I hear your soulful cry of pain because when you route for the jazz, you do feel like a man of constant sorrow. The Jazz do not make this easy. I now live in Chicago. CHICAGO. Although not the same chicago that halted our dreams of victory, it has been hard. I suppose there is some solace that post Jordan they, too, suck. Don't lose faith brother and don't jump on the Titanic of basketball teams just yet. ARe you a CAVs fan or a Lebron fan. If and when he leaves next year will you still be pulling for the mighty Cavs? The iceberg of free agency may just sink their mighty ship. Your heart must go on if that happens. Will you then be a Knicks fan or a detroit fan, where ever The Lebron plane lands? Thats ok, just trying to clarify a point. Consider yourself," Unaffiliated at the moment." rather than," selling your soul 'cuz you wasn't using it" just to route for a winner. -Greg.
Sorry the Cavs lost Scott...
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