No optimism post this week. No one needs a "rah rah" speech about supporting the team....everyone knows we need to rally around the team. Here's a small story about why I'm a Nuggets fan.
The first Nuggets game I remember watching was game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in 1985 between the Nuggets and the Lakers. I remember my Dad yelling "F**k!!* when Kareem broke Alex English's hand with his pointy elbow. The Nuggets went on to lose 4-1 in that series that may have been MUCH closer if that injury didn't happen.
Through the 80's I fell in love with the team. I loved Doug Moe's antics....and when he's periodically get tossed from the game. English was my favorite player of all time (maybe still is) but he didn't play much D. Fat Leaver was a great point guard who rebounded with the best big men in the league. Later on I used to imitate Michael Adam's unusual three point shot (like the one he hit to beat the Lakers during the 1988 season IN LA....sweet win)
More than that, I was just a fan of NBA basketball. As I progressed into my teenage years the Nuggets got progressively worse till they were basically unwatchable (starting with the purchase of the team by Peter Bynoe and Bertrum Lee) and other than that magical run in the 1994 playoffs....it was a bleak decade of the 90's for the Nuggets. As I entered High School my dreams of playing in the NBA one day were dashed. Among other things I was too short (5' 7"), and too gay to even think about entering into the sport (keep in mind I graduated in 1996 from High School....even then culture was different) so i entered into the music and art business and the rest is history.
I have often wondered what if. What if I was taller....what if the culture of sports was more accepting? Who knows....all that ever occurred to me was loving the Nuggets. When they drafted Carmelo Anthony in 2003 things changed dramatically for the Nuggets. Those who are not long time fans will have a hard time appreciating the suffering that the 90's were for Nuggets fans. Even 2002 we were atrocious....but as Andrew has pointed out it was only through the coaching of Jeff Bzdelik that we were able to even reach 17 wins.
7 years later the Nuggets are always in the playoffs. To think that Denver only made two playoff appearances from 1991 to 2002 (1994 and 1995) is stunning. I think maybe.....just maybe....we forget as the Nuggets struggle without their coach in the first round of the 2010 playoffs that things can be alot worse. We expect so much more from these Nuggets teams than we did in the 90's. It makes me laugh. It's the way it should be for a team that has these high expectations.
Lets keep in mind, however, that Carmelo Anthony saved this city from being the Clippers of the Rocky Mountains. We may hate his lack of D....his sometimes lazy play and his inclination to be a ball hog at times....but I will forever be indebted to him for pulling this franchise out of the grave (almost single handedly) and I shudder to think of where we would be without him, or where we could be if he leaves. The prospect of 11 and 12 win seasons is not a pretty one when you live through it....and I don't want the fans to ever see that again.
As always....GO NUGGETS!! I'll be pulling for you from courtside seats tomorrow night. Don't disappoint!
/end rant
