I have watched sports almost religiously since 1988. I have followed my teams so fervently that I've been accused of being crazy on many different occasions. If someone tells me "it's just a game," oh man. Think The Incredible Hulk.
Through all this, there have been two major championships won by my favorite teams. Here they are:
- Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball, March 31, 1997 -- Arizona 84, Kentucky 79 (OT) -- When this game reached overtime, my mom had to get me a paper bag to breathe into. Yes, I was hyperventilating. When the game ended and Bennett Davison messed up Coach O's hair, I was running laps around the inside of my house yelling, "We won! We won! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Then I e-mailed everyone in my address book to tell them what they probably already knew -- The Cats were the champs. I now have two large posters of the moment they won, and they are framed.
- Arizona Diamondbacks, November 4, 2001 -- D-Backs 3, That evil New York team 2 -- What a game. What a night. And to make it even more special for my family, they won it on my grandparents' 59th wedding anniversary. I remember that evening vividly. I'll detail that in a later post. When this game ended, I was sitting on the floor watching the game with my mom and dad. My dad was fighting cancer, and he got to see his favorite team win before he died. That was GREAT. My reaction was something like this: "Yes! YES! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" While I hollered "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" I was lying on my back kicking the air.
Now this year, I really REALLY want to see a third. And I want it to come from my beloved Phoenix Suns. They have played 40 seasons now. They have the fourth-best NBA regular season winning percentage of all time. And they have exactly ZERO titles.
I cried myself to sleep in 1993 after John Paxson broke all our hearts with that dagger of a three-pointer. (How was he open? How?) I was disgusted after NBA Commissioner Vince McMahon -- er, I mean, David Stern -- made sure that his favorite team (The San Antonio Spurs) survived the Western Conference semifinals last year with those grossly unfair suspensions. I felt like I was kicked in the stomach after I heard that NBA referee Tim Donaghy -- who did a lot to help foul up Game 3 last year -- had been betting on games. If any team deserves it this year, it's the Suns.
The playoff journey begins. Here's hoping that they break the Curse of the Coin Flip and win it all. Go Suns!
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First of all, I just want to say that this is my first time visiting this website (at the advice of my friend) and I just have to say that I am going to suffocate him with his own Hello Kitty pillow for even suggesting that I look at this website. So you love Arizona sports, do you? Then why do you call Neal Walk a consolation prize when we know that he was the single most dominant player that has ever worn a Suns uniform? I know what you're thinking: that distinction belongs to Pat Burke, but I will tell you something: Neal Walk was Pat Burke before Pat Burke was Pat Burke - and you can take that to the bank. I have a couple of suggestions for your website: next time you write, TRY BEING SOBER AND MAKING SENSE!!! Can't wait to see what other crap you fling up on this website like a baboon at the zoo. Thank you for wasting my time.
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