20 December 2007

Jazz lose yet again... fans jumping ship

In what has become a running feature here at the blog, the Jazz drop another road game. Last night they lost to Charlotte 98-92.

As a Deseret Morning News article noted this morning, Utah's favored method of defeat is falling apart in the fourth quarter. The Jazz are not getting blown out during this seven-of-eight game losing streak... the average margin of choke is only eight points.

Close losses notwithstanding, Jazz fans are displeased. Here are some excerpts from e-mails and IM's I've received recently:

"I don't even like the Jazz any more."

"So a struggling team has a stretch of Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, that ought to get them out of the slump right? No, they go 1-3 through that stretch. What the heck is going on? I'm going to start rooting for the Knicks or something."

"What a farking joke." (though this one may be in relation to the free-throw disparity between the Bobcats and Jazz last night)

To all fans who consider abandoning their Jazz-fandom, I say, "Hold, good sirs!"

One of the sweetest moments in sports comes when your team wins after you've endured years of losing.

I believe Red Sox fans who hadn't seen a World Series victory in 90+ years really really really enjoyed the 2004 title, mostly due to the decades of futility they experienced previously.

BYU's 10+ wins in 2006 and 2007 were that much more enjoyable considering their horrible seasons from 2002-2004.

After losing to my brother Matt in one-on-one basketball 37 times in a row, when I finally beat him, it'll be a great feeling. I'm sure of it.

But if you've abandoned your team in their time of less-effective-ness, coming back to them when they start winning is lame. No one likes a bandwagon fan.

So stick with the Jazz. Sure, it's painful to watch them now, but keep the faith. Once they make a trade for a decent interior defender, they'll be back on top.

Or maybe if Fesenko develops quickly enough the Jazz can use him. We'll see.

4 comments:

Stu said...

Yes. You don't need to worry about me jumping ship yet. It's irritating when your team can't seem to finish a game strong.

And when I made my comment about it being "a farking joke" I was indeed referring to the difference in free throws, not the overall performance of the Jazz.

Anonymous said...

Can I jump ship if I've never ever liked the Jazz?

My dad, a life-long BoSox fan, cried when they won in 2004. He'd given up hope of ever seeing The Win in his lifetime.

Anonymous said...

I have always been a Jazz fan. But they haven't earned the right to coast during the regular season. They need to get their heads in these games and win them. There is no excuse. The fans don't owe the team anything. If it makes you a fairweather fan to get TO'd when your team gets lazy, then I am a fairweather fan and I have a right to be.

Matt said...

I'm sure it will feel good to beat me someday... haha. Jazz beat the Mavs tonight!!