Tomorrow, I will be attending my first live Nuggets game as they take on the Chicago Bulls. It's a game that I've been looking forward to for months, yet in these past couple of weeks, I'm now almost dreading going with my neighbor friend who's a Bull's fan. I've been hyping up the Nuggets to him for a long time now, even told him to watch "The Association" to get a better glimpse of the team before they take down the 1st in the East.

And here we are after a lackluster 9-game home stand, and a pathetic 0-2 start to the 7-game road stretch. Over the past month, I've gone from optimistic, to tentative, to indifferent, and now I'm simply resigned to the fact that the Nuggets may or may not even make it to the playoffs this year. I used to read every post of the game threads and recaps on denverstiffs just to participate in the collective fandom of the team, but these days, I skim many and skip a lot since the repetitive theme of "fire GK" has gotten very old.

I've been a long time, loyal fan of the team, even through its dark ages. I just finished watching episode 4 of "The Association" and it reminded of why I like this particular iteration of the Nuggets. I love that AAA was able to return to form and be the productive starter we knew he could be. I love that Ty, despite his inconsistent play and reluctance to shoot, is still a speed demon and play maker (he's money, but he just doesn't know it). I love that Manimal is ... well, the Manimal. I love that Big Al, despite how much we wanted to get rid of him last year, plays his heart out every game and looks to lead this young team. And while I am very sad that Nene was traded, I'm excited at the athletic play of Javale. On top of all that, I love that Masai doesn't sleep, apparently has an awesome Assistant GM, and is driven to make the Nuggets a championship team. As for George Karl, I respect the man, I believe he's a good coach, although I think there are many game time decisions that are suspect. GK, along with people like Chauncey believe in the idea of "winners" and the intangibles that that brings to a team. While GK has yet to prove himself as a "winner" of an NBA championship, I will respect the drive of a man of has beat cancer twice, and returned to his passion of basketball. That is a winner in life and must translate in some way into his work.

Yes, I know that this fanpost is sickeningly optimistic, and if you read all of it, you probably need as much optimism for the Nuggets as I do at this point. I am still willing to accept the reality that this team may not reach the playoffs this season, and even if they do, they will be very unlikely to beat any Western team in a 7 game series. I had to write this post however, because this afternoon, I ran out of heart for this team, but tonight, I'm reminded that I love the Denver Nuggets.

Tomorrow I'll cheer them on in the Windy City, and believe that the they can win because Manimal is superior to the overrated Boozer, AAA is a harder worker than Deng, Javale is taller and more capable than Noah, Chandler is better than anyone at the 3 for Chicago, and even if Rose plays, Ty Lawson can blur past him at will if he chooses.

Gooooooooooooooooooo Nuggets!