The Magic of Old

With the Magic not stinking it up this year, there are a lot of fans with renewed interest in them. I was just talking to a friend about that. I went to some games last year and I'll always say I'm a Magic fan, but it hasn't been as exciting as it has been this year. It feels a little bandwagonish but it's not. Then I got to talking with my husband about how the NBA has changed. Yeah there were superstars back in the day but it was still about the team.

I've been going to Magic games since our coach was Matt Guokas, and our line up was guys like Terry Catledge, Dennis Scott, Jeff Turner, Scott Skiles, and Nick Anderson. Winning a game by any margin was an accomplishment. But it was still fun. I would eat Skittles and cheer my little heart out for those guys. Stuff would come out and get the crowd pumped, the Fat Guy would run around the O-rena with his signs, drenched in sweat and team spirit. Those were the days.

Then we got Shaq. Championship hopes were real... but he didn't get a ring and he left. Then we got Anfernee Hardaway. Same deal. Tracey McGrady. Same deal.

Back then, when I was munching Skittles and watching my beloved Magic lose pretty much every game, the atmosphere was different in the NBA. The superstars were heroes, not tatted up thugs. Larry Bird and the Celtics, Michael Jordan and the Bulls, Karl Malone and the Jazz, David Robinson and the Spurs, Charles Barkley and the Suns. The key there is "and the." That seems to be lacking these days. Take the Bulls. You took away Michael Jordan, you still had Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Steve Kerr (who used to be with us and stunk, then went to Chicago and was amazing.) You had a TEAM worth watching.

Today, we have, for instance, LeBron James. Kobe Bryant. Not "and the Cavs" or "and the Lakers." Just the one guy, trying to get his championship ring and being a brat if they don't get it. Take away LeBron, what do you have? Floppy haired whiney guys and thugs. (Ok, Mo isn't terrible, but still...) But look at the Magic. Take away Dwight Howard, and what do you have? Pietrus. Turkoglu. Lewis. A TEAM worth watching and supporting. So whether they win big or blow it, next season should find me in the stands, eating Skittles and cheering for my guys. See you there.