Losers

I was listening to the B.S. Report recently, and Simmons mentioned something that got me thinking.  He was talking about how for each professional franchise there's like one or two memories their fans can't shake.  E.g., if you're a Blazers fan, it's probably blowing that 15pt lead against the Lakers in game 7 of the '00-'01 playoffs.  (Or is it drafting Greg Oden over Durant?  Bowie over Jordan?  Or realizing that Roy will most likely never be the player he was pre-injury?  Or firing the best thing that happened to your franchise for no apparent reason?)

At any rate, like I said, this got me thinking, "What are the moments most AZ fans have?  What god-awful memories will haunt us forever?"  Surprisingly, it's a little harder to answer this than i would've guessed.  I say "surprisingly" because AZ franchises have had their share of disappointing moments.  Aside from the Mercury and Rattlers, our professional teams combine for one championship (but a real fuckin' glorious one at that).  So, there's a lot of frustration and heartbreak and shitty memories to go around.  I figure what better way to kick off a blog about all things related to AZ sports than by highlighting some of the worst moments for what's become a state full of perennial losers.  I'll mention a few that immediately come to ming, and then say what are the two worst for me, personally.  (N.B. nothing on my list predates 1993.  As far as I know, all professional sports started in the late 80s or early 90s.)

1.  Most recently, there's the Holmes' catch, which resulted in the Cards losing the '09 Super Bowl.  This cut is fresh, and it still stings--a lot.  Fitzy had just scored a 64 yard touchdown to give the Cards a three point lead with just under 3 mins left.  Unreal.  Plus, after the kickoff and a penalty, the Stealers found themselves in a 1st and 20 situation near their endzone.  But, of course, the fatass, who might not be that good, managed to avoid a couple tackles and get the first down.  He then moved the ball up field, and before I could even ask how the hell the Stealers got to the red zone, Holmes caught a game winner.  Fastfoward two years, and the Cards are making a strong case for being the worst team in the NFC (and so the entire NFL).  Goddammit.

Still, I'm reluctant to consider this one of the worst moment in AZ fans' (recent) memories.  Not only were the Cards fortunate to be in the Super Bowl, they couldn't have been expecte to win.  They were playing with house money.  Sure, it sucks they lost, but it's not a far off world in which they don't even beat the Falcons (and an even closer one in which they lost to the Panthers or the Eagles).  You had a brief chance to date someone way out of your league, and you missed it.  It would've been sweet, but it's not like trying to settle and still getting turned down.  You're stoked you even had the chance.  We can live with this one.

2.  Game 6, '93 NBA Finals.  "Here's Paxson for three...YES!"  Ughhh...No!  And fuck you, Marv!  That year, the Suns roaster was unreal (Barkley, KJ, Thunder Dan, Chambers, Ceballos, Ainge), and unlike the '09 Cards, their being in the finals wasn't a total anomaly.  They had the NBA's best record, Barkley was league MPV, and they had to go through a real tough Sonics lineup in the WCF.  Problem is they ran into the same obstacle every other team in the 90s ran into--namely, the Bulls.  Either way, the Suns were one Pippen-to-Grant-to-Paxson play (and a blocked floater from KJ) away from taking it to game seven.  Had Pacson missed that shot, or had Westphal drawn up a different play, there's a good chance we're now seeing a championship banner hanging in America West Arena (err United Airways Center).

I suppose this one makes most lists.  It's not on my personal list only because i was 8 at the time.  I remember being a big fan of the Suns, but an 8 yr old's capacity to care about a team doesn't compare to a young adult's.  I went swimming right after the Suns lost.  I'd probably get drunk and cry if the same thing happened nowadays.  (Small but revealing aside: Seriously, I think I would cry.  I teared up a bit after the Suns got eliminated from the WCF last year, just because I thought it'd be the last time the Nash-era Suns had a shot at the finals.  It's pathetic, I know.)

Now, I'm positive there's one or two moments I'm forgetting.  I'd be curious to hear what those are.  I probably could be talked into including Hatcher's bone-crushing hit on JR in '99.  JR led the Yotes in scoring that year, and the hit put him on a long DL stint late in the season.  I think he even missed a few playoff games too, though he did manage to return despite his jaw, making him the other AZ athlete to have played with a broken face.  Let's call it a tentative (3), but only tentative 'cause not enough Arizonians care about the NHL.  Anyway, here are the two that get me the most.

4.  Horry's hip check on Nash, round 2 of '06-'07 WCP.  Obviously, the Spurs have burned the Suns a handful of times.  Other than this, there are like five or six moments I can cite that still get me riled today--e.g., Duncan's overtime three, the bloody nose that sidelined nash, Bowen's knee to Nash's crotch or kick to Amare's Achilles.  That's just part of being a Suns fan, I guess.  Still, Horry's hip check dips into a level of shittiness that none of these memories approximate.  I don't need to review what happened.  Just not that, when i found out that Stern supported the decision to suspend Diaw and Amare for walking on the court, something which, if you watch enough NBA, happens all the fucking time (e.g., last night, during the Cavs v Heat game, Lebron jumped on the court while celebrating one of Wade's dunks), i got drunk and wrote a very heartfelt message to my roommates on our kitchen whiteboard detailing the extent to which (a) the Suns are really the only thing that matters to me and (b) they had suffered an injustice.  Even sober, I think that's about right.  As a while, middle-class male, I'm pretty sure this series of events is the closest thing I've come to experiencing what it's like to be the subject of real, holy-shit-how-can-this-fucking-be-it's-so-obviously-unfair-why-God-why injustice.  Maybe it's displaced, but to this day I resent Stern and think Horry can go to hell.

5.  ASU's loss to OSU, '97 Rose Bowl.  I know I've been sticking to profession sports, but I've got to include this one.  My reasons for doing so are somewhat idiosyncratic, though.  My dad and I were at the game.  It looked like the Devils were going to pull out the victory.  The Snake had just scored a TD, which put us up by three with about a minute left.  Then came the PI calls.  I wasn't at the game at that point, sadly enough.  When ASU scored the go-ahead touchdown, my dad and i left to catch our flight back to PHX.  We figured we had it, and my dad wanted to beat the crowd.  It wasn't until we got to the airport that an OSU fan broke the news to us.  Some freshman entered the game and promptly got two PI calls against him.  OSU got a huge chunk of yards off those penalties and the opportunity to win the game, which they took.  I think what sucks the most is that, for about 20 mins after the game, my dad and I thought ASU had won.  It was devastating to hear the truth.  Plus, I remember we were sort of celebrating the whole time, too.  I bet it was real satisfying for that OSU fan to break the news to us.

MB