As last week was Thanksgiving, to honor the holiday and our great country’s history, I made a pilgrimage of my own, back to the Valley, back to see the Suns.
Okay, maybe it’s not the traditional kind of pilgrimage, and maybe honoring our great country’s history wasn’t my first priority, but hey, we all do what we can.
As I cruised down the desert highway towards the Valley, Commodore Condello and the Salt River Navy Band blaring through my speakers (and one plus the bonus for you if you know who Commodore Condello is), I reflected on previous holiday check-ins with the Suns.
It’s been, more or less, a tradition for me for as long as I can remember, you see. My birthday is around this time of year, so soon after we moved to Phoenix, when I was but a wee Suns.com Special Correspondent, a trip to Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum to celebrate my becoming another year older became a regular gift for me (Ah, the Madhouse on McDowell…Remember seeing games there while the State Fair was going on outside? You’d watch the Suns clobber the Buffalo Braves or some other hapless foe, then go celebrate with a big piece of Indian Fry Bread smothered in honey. Good times.). If, for some reason, I wasn’t going to be around during the Christmas season, we made a point to see a game around Thanksgiving, just to feel some of that holiday spirit.
The tradition continued through my college years, when I’d come home from Chicago and see a game over winter break. I spent my twenty-first birthday in the stands, in fact, nursing my first (legal) beer (for the record, the Suns lost to the Spurs, with Tom Chambers scoring 32, but the Suns went on to win fifteen of their next seventeen, so I like to think I inspired them). No matter where I lived after moving away from Phoenix, whether it was Texas, or now in Los Angeles, I still tried to make it home at least once over the winter to see the team in person (I am, of course, a fixture in Staples Center when the Suns visit LA).
So, armed with a ticket to see the Suns welcome in old pal Jason Kidd (not to mention former U of A heroes Richard Jefferson and Hassan Adams) and the New Jersey Nets, I marched up to the Arena on the night after Thanksgiving.
As always, my first act upon reaching my seat was to “check in,” as it were, with the Ring of Honor. As fun as the current Suns are, I like to take a second to remember the team’s past heroes and tradition (I like to say that the Suns and I started play in the same year). In all honesty, this is something I do in every NBA arena I visit, even Staples Center – I look for the retired numbers and imagine the greats that played in that team’s uniform in different eras.
The game experience itself was as fun and exciting as it’s always been, going back to my childhood. There are some new wrinkles that weren’t around then, of course: the video presentation before the introduction of the starting lineup is spectacular, and the Suns Dancers, in their own way, are pretty spectacular, too. A far cry from the Desert City Six, and again, one plus the bonus if you remember them (“Spectacular” might not be right word to describe the DS6, but they were pretty fun).
As for the game? The Suns burst out of the gate with as good a quarter as I’ve seen any Suns team play, shooting 83% and nearly running the Nets right out of the gym before graciously allowing the visitors back in the game in the last quarter in order to provide the local fans with some suspense (That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it). The Suns hung on for the victory, and everyone went home to their leftovers giving thanks (except Kidd, Jefferson, Adams and company).
As I drove back to Los Angeles yesterday, I wondered what my “all-time record” was for seeing the Suns under “holiday conditions.” And I was a little sad that my annual winter pilgrimage was over – I won’t be back this year for the Christmas holiday.
But I decided that was all right, and I turned up Commodore Condello once more and kept my car pointed west. I already had my gift… I’d seen the Suns tuck another victory under their belts.
Comments
David - Tucson AZ
I too made a Pilgrimage of my own that very same day. Making the trek up I-10 from Tucson to see my beloved Suns play. I try to attened at least one game each year. And my streak of going on 7 years won't stop if I can help it. Sadly I don't have any mad house on Mc Dowell memories but my first witness to the Suns was in 1993 when Sir Charles and the suns came to the McKale Center in Tucson to play a pre-season game. I promised myself to see them many more times after that. And that I have from Danny Manning to Jason Kidd, Penny Hardway, Sethpon Marbury, and now Steve Nash I've seen em all. So it's nice to hear that Im not the only long distance fan. Thanks again.
Tom M - Limerick, Ireland
Good blog. I haven't seen the Suns play live in 5 years myself. I had been to at least 10 games a year since 1988 as well including a load of playoff games (some special games in there... a finals matchup, Nash's first NBA game, the Chapman 3.. i think i even still have my Elliot Perry tube socks). I'll be back in Phoenix for Christmas this year and im hoping to catch a big win against the Raptors... even some televised games for that matter!
Adam Beechen -
Thanks for checking in long distance, guys...Enjoy your holidays!
Aaron - Anchorage, AK
Man, I wish I could do that more often. Unfortunately, me and my 11 year-old son (Amare' Stoudemire's biggest fan) are 3,000 miles away in Alaska. He got to go earlier this year while visiting his grandpa, but I haven't been to a game since 2003 (they beat the Kings).
I love Alaska, but I miss my Suns. I practically grew up in the Madhouse on McDowell (we had season tickets throughout the Eighties), and this team, win or lose, will always be a part of my life. It just breaks my heart that this year, the year that the Suns will finally win their first NBA Championship, I probably won't be able to be there in person.
That's OK, though. We'll be hollerin' up here loud enough for you all to hear us!
MizTam - Berkeley, CA
Gotta love those childhood memories and the fondness we have for those places, players, teams, etc. that have influenced our lives. If it weren't for you and A.E., I would never have even watched basketball...Now, if only we started talking baseball!!
Happy B-Day in a couple weeks...how did this age thing happen to us?
Thanks for the insightful blog!
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