A Proud Suns Fan

I haven't written in awhile, because as I scan the nets I realize that everything's been said. I just don't have anything unique or provocative to pen. I'm sure this has been said before, but I've finally found my angle. I was talking to a former Suns fan recently. He's a native of Cottonwood and now a coworker in Tucson. He completely turned his back on the Suns once they made the Shaq trade. He admitted that one thing that none of us want to admit. It's been debated much, but I think in your heart of hearts you know it's true. We prefer an exciting, high-flying, hoop-defying, three-point swishing ringless team. Yes, we do! The alternative seems to be a slow, dirty, earthbound group, with deep pockets, the right politics and a chumpionship ring. I've been upset all year long, but since Alvin Gentry took over and went old school, I haven't missed a game. I've been on the edge of my seat. I bought tickets. Everyone in the office is talking Suns and my girlfriend doesn't miss a game. She's a native of Detroit then Denver, but when the Suns went old school she found room on the 'wagon. I would compare a Suns season to any long trip. When you take a road trip, watch a movie, watch a TV Series, read a novel, take a course, etc, etc, is the ending the most important part or is it the journey? Do you always hold your applause to the end? If a stand up comic delivers a killer routine, but the last joke dies, how do you judge them? I understand the rule of recentness, but I also know reality. I went to a Gregory Hines show about 16 years ago. I remember that I loved it. I remember that the first number was "Rhythm is Gonna Get You". I remember that he invited two kids from the audience to dance with him on stage. I remember sitting next to my father. I remember what happened after the show. I don't remember his last song. I don't remember the top artist, dancer or show from that year, but I'll never forget the feeling of that night. If there were a way to measure happiness in fans I would bet my soul that the happiest fans follow teams that are consistently good. Championships can be bought, but even in the best of situations you get maybe a two or three year run. Have you noticed the number of pro franchises that win the big one and then disappear into obscurity? It’s a statistical fact that it is more difficult to be a consistent winner, to make the playoffs annually, to consistently sellout arenas than it is to win the “big one”. I’ll leave you with one last analogy. My very competitive girlfriend and I recently participated in a blind dodge ball competition. We were teammates. One person is blindfolded while the other person gives directions while not touching anything and dodging everything. Before the game began she whispered to me “you know we have to kill them.” At the end of three rounds she was so disappointed that we never won. I quickly corrected her. We DID win. We came in second place three times and we lost to three different teams. If we did keep score, no one came close to our score at the end of three rounds. It was obvious that we were the superior duo. Everyone adopted our strategies and watched to see how we played. Each round was tougher and the refs would purposely throw more obstacles in our paths. We were like rock stars. The crowd cheered and we had a blast. Does this sound familiar? I’m darn proud to be a Suns fan. Go Suns indeed.