THEY SICKEN ME

They are losers, chokers, soft and I can't stand them. They are the Phoenix Suns.

They make me remember so many beautiful autumn days wasted. Staying inside on Sunday afternoons watching my feckless St. Louis Football Cardinals lose. Season after season. Oh, they got close at times, just like the Suns. They entertained, fell short, and could always count on me to be there for them. In front of the tv when I couldn't go to the game itself.

I know what it must feel like to be a Cubs fan. You love to watch your team play. It's a magnet draw. An attraction. A habit. Certainly a vice. Probably an addiction. But you know,back in your mind of minds that it simply ain't gonna happen. The Suns will not win an NBA title anymore than the Cubs will win a World Series. And Cub fans know it, too.

In yesterday's game, a double overtime loss to the much despised Spurs, the Suns blew a 16 point lead, a five point lead in the first overtime, and repeatedly either made mental errors or physical errors to allow the Spurs to go up 1-0. And this is only the first round. And I haven't mentioned coaching blunders that kept Barbosa in the game to play (at) defense and put the game winning shot in his hands, too. And Diaw. What's a Diaw anyway? It's the sound I made when they in-bounded the ball to him. When have either hit big shots for the Suns? Maybe against the Bucks or Bulls, but never against the premier teams. Yet that's who we go to.

Yes, I used the word "we" in the last sentence. For you see, come Tuesday night, I'll be there in front of the tv, proudly sitting in a Suns tee shirt rooting for them. I'll feel good about myself for not yelling at the tv, either players, coaches, or referees. And then it'll happen: a bad call, a bad shot, blown coverage, and I'll rage. And I'll complain. But I'll be there as long as the Suns last. Which I know deep down, won't be too long.