What Happened?

The Suns lost to the Mavs last night 122-117.  We are now 5 games out of a playoff spot with 18 to go. 

Fans are turning on players, pointing the finger of blame, and have all but given up. Stop and think about this for a minute…Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, and maybe even Leandro Barbosa being on other teams at the start of next year isn’t out of the realm of possibility. 

What the hell happened??

Fans are talking about sittingNash and starting Barbosa.   Amare’s freaking retina was torn.  This Suns team is in danger of missing the playoffs.  I mean….I’m literally almost at a loss for words…shocked would be a good term. 

What the hell happened?

If you take away your feelings of who to blame, what you thought the Suns should’ve done, and your personal feelings for players you’ll find a sinkingship…no matter how you look at it.  Almost like the Titanic, hitting that iceberg and crushing a vessel that no fan (if they’re honest) really, truly thought would sink this fast.  Sure, we might have pegged them for a higher seed, but I’d find it hard to believe that all hope was lost to fans.  I still don’t think all hope is lost.

What the hell happened?

People have quickly turned on our beloved two-time MVP; someone they once adored and admired not only for the plays he makes on the basketball court, but for the man he is. 

What happened?

Fans are now kicking the team while their down (since they are obviously experts) and pointing the finger of blame (literally) everywhere.  Lots of “should’ve’s” and “could’ve’s” are being thrown around and mostly all are negative reflections of the team in general.

What happened?

I’ll tell you what happened - SPORTS happened.  We just got the wrong end of the stick.  These things aren’t unusual, it’s just unfortunate that we’ve had to endure over 40 years of this…being so close!  Look at the Buffalo Bills in the early 90’s, the Blazers and Kings of the late 90’s and early 00’s, and the Cubs of the last several centuries- all have gone through (if not more) what we are experiencing…being so close you can taste it and not getting there.  It’s part of the athletic process.  It’s part of competing.  It’s part of being a fan. 

And yes, it sucks. 

However, there is nothing good about pointing a finger of blame in situations and times like these.  What would it change?  Would it really make you feel better to take out your anger on an individual and tear them down?  Maybe initially it would, but it changes nothing in the long run and only takes away from your sense of self while furthering the gap between you and your team.  I don’t mean to stand on the hill tops and preach, but there is absolutely no good that can come of kicking a team while they’re down (after they’ve given us so much) and turning to our darker sides as fans.  In fact, it will only prolong the hurt, increase the hostility and anger (both emotions have no purpose in this world), and prevent you from seeing what truly matters. 

It’s amazing how quickly people turn…how quickly they forget.  My plea to Suns fans is, while in a difficult situation and present time, to not forget about the last several years.  I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, and I believe that the team has given us FAR more good than bad even if we didn’t end up winning anything.

What separates the true fans from the fair-weather ones is the next 18 games.  We’ll see how people respond when all hope is lost.  We’ll see what type of support (or lack of support) the team gets and we’ll know what it means to be a fan of the Phoenix Suns to people in the Valley.  I, for one, would be at the top row of US Airways Center at the 82nd game of the season cheering on the Suns. 

Even if they had lost the previous 81.

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