I AM a Suns fan!

 I AM a Suns Fan!

   You might be wondering why I am choosing to write this now. Well we find ourselves in a place we haven't been since my last big surgery (more on that in a minute) in 1993. 24 hours from now we will play in a game that if we win we will play in the NBA Finals! The Suns have always been on my heart but I just felt like writing my thoughts down, so here it is. Here is why I am a Suns fan........

     I remember the first time I heard Al McCoy's voice coming through the television at my grandparents house, yes I said television. You see it wouldn't be until I was abut 10 years old that I realized my grandfather muted the television to hear Al McCoy's play by play rather than the regular TV announcers. Later on in life I got to tell Mr. McCoy that story that brought him to a chuckle. I realize everyone has those fond memories about how they became a fan of the team they cheer for, but you see my story didn't necessarily start there. It wouldn't be until the early 90s that the Phoenix Suns would become much more than just a basketball team. 

    You see I was born with hydrocephalus and spina bifida, and this found me in and out of Phoenix Children's Hospital (inside Good Sam) throughout my childhood. One of those times I was able to meet some really tall men in basketball uniforms. The Phoenix Suns! Even the Gorilla, or Go as he is known now showed up and stole the banana right off my breakfast tray. My nursing assistant brought me to the play area where Tom Chambers let me beat him in Connect 4, and Jeff Hornacek read me The Poky Little Puppy. I am sure other things happened but those are the memories that have always stuck in my head. So you see this is not just a basketball team for me. Since those few hours in a playroom at a hospital, this team has meant so much more. 

    I am sure you all know our history, especially in the last handful of years. It has not been an easy road. Now I know there are other teams who have struggled but for me it seemed like the Phoenix Suns were always the butt of everyone's jokes, because lets face it that is exactly what we were...a joke! That is not easy. To be a fan of the team everyone makes fun of, but hey I got made fun of in school practically my whole life so we've had that in common too! Its frustrating. You want to walk away but for me those memories of sitting in a wheelchair playing Connect 4 loom in my head and prevent me from doing so. I just can't. They have no idea what a push they gave me so I almost feel like I need to be that push for them. 

    Now I am sure you are also curious if I am a season ticket holder. The team I love who wouldn't want to miss a game, right? Well the answer is no. We just do not have the money. Trust me if we did I totally would. But does that make me any less of a fan....NO! I probably cheer just as loud at home or at a restaurant than I do when I am there watching the game in person. Do I dress up like the Mr. Orange's of the world like I did in high school to show my spirit, no. But again me not painting my face does not make me a Suns fan. 

    Now we get to talk about the last two years. My favorite line in the musical Wicked is we can't all come and go by bubble well a year ago we did! Who would have thought a pandemic would have to happen for people to go wait a minute is that the Phoenix Suns! Finally we were in conversations that didn't end in laughter. FINALLY! But no one, no one could have predicted what would happen this season. 2021. Everyone is watching us to see if the bubble would burst. And here we are a game away from the NBA Finals (okay I just got goosebumps typing that)! My husband and I went to the game where we clinched a playoff spot and he recorded a video and at the end of the video he panned over to me and I was bawling my eyes out! My team, a team that was trash, the but of all jokes, after 11 years were going back to the playoffs! Since then I've cried when we beat the Lakers, I cried when we swept the Nuggets, I cried watching DA dunk the ball giving us the win in Game 2 vs the Clippers and yes I will tell you with the upmost certainty wherever  I am, wherever I am watching when that final buzzer sounds if we are winning, tears will once again stream down my face! I haven't pulled the trigger to say yes we can go all the way because I just don't want that bubble to burst. So I just say don't pinch me I don't wanna wake up because whether it ends in a few days or a few weeks, it is a dream I am not ready to wake up from. I will tell you though whatever happens my head will remain high because this has been one heck of a ride. One I wish my grandpa Mintz was a part of. The one who made me believe Al McCoy was in my television. But he is here. When we clinched that playoff spot, I swear to you I saw him. Sitting in his recliner with the nasty sweat stained black Suns hat he never let anyone touch. He is watching and loving every minute of this! 

    So you see for me it isn't about the amount of games you attend or if you a season ticket holder or if you paint your face orange. For me it is about what comes from your heart. And my heart the Suns have in spades. I am in it every second until that final buzzer. My heart bleeds for this team! We are connected in a way I am not connected to my other teams. I know this isn't TC or KJ or Hornacek, but they are still my boys. I might be wishing those guys or even JD or PJ Tucker were a part of this but that wasn't meant to be. WE are who WE are no matter what people will say, why not us taking it all the way! That will make this Suns fan's day! You see you will always do what you can for those who did the same for you and that is why I AM A Suns fan.....why aren't you! 

#WeAreTheValley #WeAreTheValley #WhyNotUs #IamAsunsFan