Fear not intrepid Nuggets fans, for I am writing this so that I may elucidate our rocky opening to the season and hopefully layout a game plan of how we should approach this 2014 campaign, as fans. As the title suggests this will be a three-parter. So wipe those tears, unclench those fists, and crack something from Boulder Beer Co. as this ex-Denverite sheds some light on the most dismal start to a campaign since before #15 waltzed through our doors some 11 years ago.

Firstly, the Hyperbole, take a sip of aforementioned brew and proceed directly to 'knock it off' with the exaggerations. I view Denver Stiffs as a bastion of Nuggets fandom. An oasis of passion and shared interest and all of this talk about firing Brian Shaw, trading key cogs, or going Enola Gay on this team and blowing it up are premature.

THAT being said, there is something rotten in Denmark! And no, its not just the trash lined alleys of Amsterdam (filthy Danes). This Nuggets team looks listless, disinterested, and flat-out confused through few games. These are the factors that are causing the most kerfuffle (that's a great word).

1. It's Systemic: Brian Shaw's 'system', if we can call it a fully fleshed out one, is proving ineffective to say the absolute least thus far. Whether this is a temporary anomaly or a square peg round hole scenario remains to be seen. This roster has won a certain way in the past (play fast and aggressive) and it will take time to figure out a worthwhile offense that lives up to the prowess that this team has displayed in the past. Point being we have to give it 10-20 more games before any long-term conclusions are drawn.

2. It's Our Players: This argument makes me chuckle. How quickly we forget the talent on this roster. A very good argument can be made as to rotation, too little playing time to go around, and simply having an embarrassment of near riches, but this roster is simply deep, talented, and young. You cannot argue any of those three without being unreasonable. Advocating trading 'x' because he isn't a star or shipping 'x' and 'y' because they currently are ineffective is a shortsighted approach to team building and will get us nowhere this early. Consolidation however, is a worthwhile avenue to explore and don't be surprised to see two of your favorite Nugz swapped this year for a gamble.

3. The 'I GIVE UP' syndrome: This is simply protecting yourself and emotions as a fan. Look, everyone feels a need to be 'right' about sports. We prognosticate, rosterbate, and impose our most verdant emotions onto whatever we care about (the Nuggets). This leads to a lot of 'this team is terrible' and 'so and so sucks we should trade him for Player A'. This gets us nowhere as a fanbase unless you are basing this on decent logic. What we essentially do when something we care about becomes unpredictable is to distance ourselves from it emotionally in order to protect ourselves. So next time we think about saying something toxic about one of our own, check yourself. Do you really believe it or do you just want to lead the bandwagon?

Secondly, and thank you for reading, comes the Heinous Play. This one is for you Darrel Arthur. Hey bub! Classless plays like [the shove on Dion Waiters] will not ingratiate yourself to anyone much less a city, so cut it out. I get it, frustration boils over, but I was ashamed for the first time since Dahntay Jones blatantly went after Kobe Bryant's 'klutzy' ankles in the 2009 playoffs. PLAY NUGGETS BASKETBALL! I know none of you know what that is right now, but we (Stiffs) expect more from you than that. Tim Connelly has assembled an above average I.Q. squad full of classy men. Let's live up to that billing. Show heart and pride in other ways than pot shots. I was embarrassed to be a Nuggets fan [against the Cavs].

Talking more generally about the heinous play, let's show some fire! Players like Nate Robinson, JaVale McGee and many of our starters at times have shown visible frustration with their current ineptitude, good. You should be ashamed. You are all better than this and yes you all probably deserve more minutes, but man up. Say it with me 'togetherness'. Nothing (no hyperbole) so far has shown that this unit is playing together. I see a lot of dejection and passivity. Someone step up! Ty? Faried? Heck I'd settle for a Gallo halftime rant that consists mostly of Italian pejoratives at this point. Light a freaking fire someone!

Lastly, and for the three of you still reading: kudos, the Helter Skelter start comes up. Simply put, I don't have an answer. If someone did, we would have fixed the problem before the season even started. But this is OUR team. I love this team in a sickening, slightly stalky, always inappropriate way. We SHOULD expect greatness and success. We SHOULD expect more of our players on and off the court. We here at DS SHOULD be the most hard on this team as opposed to the throngs of Broncos and Rockies fans (yes they still exist) who bandwagon whenever we get decent and feign disappointment when we struggle.

We should because we have been through the lean years. We have lifers on this site who have seen Alex English, the bittersweet poetry of a David Thompson layup, the stoic Dan Issel jumper, the butter-soft rhythm of a Melo dagger. You all are the true Nuggets fans and we have seen a lot worse. I was baptized a Nugz fan to the tune of Vincent Yarbrough and Junior Harrington, the promise of Antonio McDyess always looming like an albatross. This mad, beautiful loser that we have all fallen in love with should not be forgotten, so let's give it 15 games and if were 5-15, by all means let's talk again. The conversation will need to be had. But as of this writing not you, me, Brian Shaw, Tim Connelly, or even George Karl has an answer. We need to stick together and be thoughtful about our critiques, responsible with our emotions, and I PROMISE you come playoff time we will all be on the same page regarding this team, for better or for worse.

Thanks for reading Stiffs and thank you all for making my long distance fandom a treat every day.