Is it Time to Believe?
So I can’t help but dwell on the question I’ve been asking myself for a couple weeks now: Is it time for us to believe in the Jazz?
I mean, truly fully throw ourselves behind this team again… Because I’ve felt it this season – a lot of you have been just like me, cheering on our boys, but holding back ever so slightly.
It wasn’t all that long ago that I, like many of you, was demanding that the Jazz make a change, or suffer my unbridled wrath…
Then came the game in Dallas, the glory of Sundiata, the San Antonio sweep, the Phoenix comeback, Johnny H’s statistical love, the emergence of AK, the relative dominance in the city of roses, dispatching the Kings without Carlos or Deron, and the pulling away in the 4th quarter against the Mavs last night.
Oddly enough, despite all of these fantastic steps forward, I still find myself hesitating.
I’m an optimist by nature. Yes I’m sarcastic, and yes my friends like to tell me that I’m a dyed in the wool cynic, and while they might have some very compelling points to back up their thoughts, I maintain the fact that I’m simply a pragmatic optimist. So, with that being said, I keep coming back to the same thought when I wonder why I haven’t been able to fully embrace the Jazz and believe like I did as a young lad.
The best explanation I could come up with is a simple analogy. I’m going to go ahead and make a not-so-bold guess and say that 94% of the fellas who read this post will be able to relate quite nicely to the allegory I’m about to present, to the other 6% of you I would like to say – I hate you, and you’re ruining it for the rest of us.
You see, when it comes to the great pursuit of female attention, I have, like I’m sure so many of you, have had at least a girl or two pull this dance on me and I’ve been too stupid to stop her.
-You meet a nice young lady who completely knocks you off your feet.
-She appears rather interested, and you feed right into it.
-She keeps you just close enough to not throw in the towel, but not close enough for anything to ever come of it.
-After enough time of getting dragged along, you wise up, say “forget this!” and stop speaking with her.
-Some time passes by, she comes back with a smile and some flirts, your brain tells you not to be an idiot, but because you are an idiot – you don’t listen.
-The process repeats itself until you finally wise up enough to toss her to the curb and find someone less crazy.
This little ditty that I’ve danced enough times to be completely ashamed of myself is all I can think of whenever I start to get really excited about the Jazz this season. Somewhere in the back of my head, this is the conversation that is going on.
“Justin, they’ve done this to you before. They act like they’re way into you now, but just you wait. You’ll be watching them lose double digit leads to the Warriors, or watching a guy like Brian Cardinal drop 30 on us before you know it.”
“No man, this time it’s different, I can tell. Boozer is playing like a maniac and looks like a leader, AK is getting minutes and producing, DWill is growing as a leader..”
“You’re just going to end up where you end up every year, lying on your floor in the fetal position, asking yourself why you ever let yourself believe they’d changed.”
“Haven’t you been watching them?! They have changed!”
“Don’t you remember saying the same thing last year? Right around the 12 game winning streak?”
“Yeah, but-”
“Exactly, you thought things were different, that they’d changed, but what’d they do next? Play like garbage and go out in the first round.”
“To the eventual champs.”
“Who they should’ve never been playing in the first round in the first place.”
“I know, but-”
“‘This time is different,’ yeah I know, you’ve been saying that for awhile now. Well, I’m here to tell you my good sir, that as soon as you start to believe that there is something there, they’ll take that moment to crush your hopes and dreams.”
“But, I’m telling you. It’s different this time. Trust me.”
So who is right? The eternal optimist that keeps falling for it each time that girl calls him up? Or the calloused dude who is just trying to save his pride and dignity by ignoring her next phone call?
Yes, I realize that my analogy isn’t perfect. The Jazz are our team, and with girls, I can just drop those teases for another of the many fish in the sea. I mean, we can’t just drop the Jazz for that slutty Lakers team. Right?
However, I still feel that the emotional similarities are apt.
So what’s my answer? If you’re sitting there saying “yes, Justin, yes! That is exactly how I feel! I’m just afraid to fully embrace these guys! They’re just going to hurt me again!” then I’m not going to pretend like I have your answer, but I think that the conclusion I came to for me, could work for just about everyone across the board.
I was at the ESA last night for the win over the Mavs, and I’ll tell you what. I had a fantastic time. These guys are an absolute blast to watch right now. So Jazz Fans, I think it’s time to just nut up and enjoy these boys while we can. Yes, they very well could implode again, and yes I will be right there in the fetal position with the rest of you wondering why I let myself get sucked in again, but that is the absolute glory of being a sports fan. The highs… The lows…
Trust me it’s a lot more fun to simply enjoy the ride than sit and wait for the other shoe to drop.
As my mom likes to constantly remind me “You’ll never find a wife that way.”
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Justin
I've been a Jazz fan for well over two decades now, and I can safely say that my fandom only grows with each passing year. Yes, the Jazz have the power to ruin my mood for longer than I should probably allow, but they have also been responsible for some of the fondest memories I've had throughout the course of my life. To those of you who have found the ability to read through any of my long-winded Jazz rants in their entirety, I say a fond and sincere thank you.
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February 5, 2010
People doubt the jazz to much your right, they are doing great this year!