Why I'm a Nuggets fan...
by Andrew Feinstein on Jul 29, 2009 12:59 AM MDT
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Knowing that Denver Stiffs would be coming over to SB Nation, lately I've been giving some thought to how I'd introduce myself to an entirely new group of Nuggets fans (and perhaps re-introduce myself to the readers from the original Denver Stiffs).
I've decided that the best way to start would be to share with everyone here why and how I became a Nuggets fan. Sure, I'm a fourth-generation Coloradoan and have been going to Nuggets games since I was in the womb (literally), but there has to be more to it than that, right?
Having recently read Malcom Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success it dawned on me why I'm a Nuggets fan: pure chance. In Outliers, Gladwell's thesis is that the majority of the world's most successful people became that way due to the circumstances they were born into: location, who their parents were/are and the year they were born. For example, as Gladwell points out Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Apple founder Steve Jobs and Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy were all born between 1954 and 1955 to families who encouraged them to hone their computer skills at an early age and in geographic regions that happened to have access to primitive computers.
Like those technology pioneers, I became a die hard Nuggets fan as a result of geography, family and a particular birth year. I was born in Denver to a family of Nuggets fans who happened to have tickets and encouraged me to watch and play the game of basketball. But perhaps most importantly, I was born in 1975. Meaning that during my "formative years" from say, six years old onward - i.e. the years I start consciously remembering things - the Nuggets were good. Damn good (by Nuggets standards, of course). From 1981 until 1990, the Doug Moe coached Denver Nuggets made the playoffs nine consecutive times, won five playoff series, had five seasons with 45-plus wins, won over 50 games twice and brought home two division titles.
Moe's Nuggets weren't just good, but very fun to watch. Beginning with Moe taking over the coaching reigns in December of 1980 through the entire 1984-85 season, the Nuggets scored less than 100 points just nine times. In fact, they didn't have a single sub-100 point game throughout the entire 1981-82 season. After routinely watching the best athletes in the world score 140, 130 and, worst case, 120 points, I was hooked for life.
Moe's nine year stretch also featured several of the most exhilirating Nuggets games ever played. Within a two-week span in 1982, the Nuggets defeated the Suns in overtime (135-133 on March 17th), again in double overtime (140-134 on the 27th) and defeated the Supersonics in another overtime affair (145-142 on the 30th). On December 13, 1983, the Nuggets lost 186-184 in triple overtime to the Detroit Pistons at McNichols Arena in what became the highest scoring game in NBA history. On May 14th, 1985 the Nuggets may have had their signature playoff victory of the 1980's by soundly defeating the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers in L.A. 136-114. And on May 8, 1986, the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs in six games after a 126-122 double overtime loss at McNichols to the eventual Western Conference Champion Houston Rockets. Even this recent spate of success we've experienced during the Carmelo Anthony Era doesn't compare to the consistency that we witnessed in the 80's.
Attending as many games as I could in person - often wearing my Alex English caricature T-shirt (pictured to the left) - while catching the rest on TV or the radio (believe it or not, only some Nuggets games were available on TV in the early 80's), I grew up rooting for a team of character, not characters. Players like Alex English, Dan Issel, Lafayette "Fat" Lever, Calvin Natt, Wayne Cooper, Kiki Vandeweghe, Theodore Roosevelt "T.R." Dunn, Mike Evans (and later Michael Adams, Jay Vincent and Walter Davis) and even Stiffs like Danny Schayes, Bill Hanzlik, Todd Lichti and Blair Rasmussen epitomized what it meant to be professional basketball players. They were gracious on the floor and off, played as a team, rarely dunked for showmanship and the most obnoxious thing about these guys were the rainbow colored uniforms that they wore.
Had I been born a decade later, I wonder if I'd have been as big a Nuggets fan as I am now. My "formative years" would have consisted of the abrupt and unnecessary teardown of Moe's team - including the firing of Moe himself - the dreadful Peter Bynoe/Bertram Lee Era which brought us Bernie Bickerstaff, Paul Westhead and the laughingstock 1990-91 Nuggets and years of futility. At nine years old I'd have finally seen a winning season and one of the greatest playoff upsets ever, only to watch the Nuggets implode on themselves and lose, lose, lose for eight consecutive seasons. And all of this took place when the shiny new Colorado Rockies joined Major League Baseball in 1993 and the Colorado Avalanche stormed into town in 1995 and won the Stanley Cup Trophy in 1996. In fact, the Nuggets remain the smallest NBA market to share the sports recreation dollar with three other professional teams. In other words, had I been born in 1985 perhaps I'd be writing a Rockies or an Avalanche blog today. FireDinger.com anyone?
For better or worse, you can't choose when and where you're born, and to whom you're born to. Fortunately (or unfortunately pending on your perspective) for me, I was born just in time to appreciate the golden age of Nuggets basketball and I've rooted passionately for this often frustrating franchise ever since.
Oh, who am I kidding? I'd have been better off being born in Seattle in 1955...
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I started out a little earlier; the “Rockets” were my ABA team and the Bulls my NBA team in the early 70’s. I think the Rockets had Marvin"Human Eraser" Webster. Soon after they renamed the team the “Nuggets” after an obscure pro hoops team from the 50’s(?). At any rate they drafted and signed one David Thompson and I was really hooked. Monte Tow throwing his creation the “alley oop” pass to a flying Thompson was must see entertainment. My family then relocated to Denver at the same time as the last ABA season, the opening of Big Mac, and the original “all-star weekend and dunk contest”. They began their inaugural season 8-0 and many thought that the Nuggets were the best basketball team on the planet. They would eventually lose in the playoffs to the Portland trailblazers, who would go on to win the Championship. this would happen many times to us fans in future seasons, losing in the playoffs to the eventual champ.
I figured we would get there someday, and still do. I agree with Andrew, the 80’s was the best time to be a Nuggets fan. I have been privileged to meet guys like Danny Schayes, Doug Moe, Dan Issel, David Thompson and Bill Hanzlick. All gracious towards us, the Fans. The Funny thing is, we are fans of the Jersey… players come and go, ownership and management changes hands, and we still live for the jersey and whoever puts it on. when they win, we win, when they lose, we defend our right to love the Jersey. My love for the Jersey began in the 70’s and will be there when I die.
Welcome to SB nation Andrew. I’m a long time reader of your blog (as I am of all Nuggets blogs) although I’ll confess I’ve never commented on it. You’ll find SB nation to be easily the format for NBA blogging, paticularly with regards to live blogging during games. I think all Nuggets blogs should be part of SB nation. Great article, go Nuggets.
am I the only person who liked the rainbow jerseys?
My story is quite different from yours Nate, largely because I WAS born in 1984 (not 1985 but hey close enough) and what’s more in Cincinnati, Ohio. I suppose I grew up a Bulls fan, after all, they were on WGN all the time and they were good. Cincinnati doesn’t have a team anymore but we’re not close enough to Cleveland for me to even care about the Cavs, who I still despise to this day. So I was left without a team, hence choosing the bulls. But as the Bulls kept winning and winning, I started to get sick of all the success. Michael Jordan was beginning to annoy me a bit for his arrogance. So around 1992 I decided to pick the underdog and for whatever reason, I picked the Denver Nuggets. I think it had a lot to do with the drafting of LaPhonso Ellis who I had seen play some while he was at Notre Dame. I wish things would’ve worked out better for him, but those first couple years he played for the Nuggets, alongside Abdul-Rauf and Mutombo, the trio gave me a lot of hope for a promising future. Then they came out with those navy blue/maroon/gold jerseys, which I find hideous now, but at the time mesmerizing. I’ve been a fan ever since. So in my case, my affinity for the Nuggets started because they were a BAD team, as opposed to yours because they were a good one. ha.
Born in '85
I was born in 1985 – and still managed to remain a lifelong Nuggets fan. I love the game of basketball, so when the Rockies came to town I barely noticed. When the Avs won the stanely cup – I spent most of the game trying to figure out where the puck was. So even though the Nuggets were terrible throughout the majority of my time as a fan – they still played the game I love. They may have been a really bad basketball team – but they were my really bad basketball team and If someday I end up moving away from Colorado, all that will change is how much I have to pay to see the games on TV. GO NUGGETS!
Hmmm.
In fact, the Nuggets remain the smallest NBA market to share the sports recreation dollar with three other professional teams. In other words, had I been born in 1985 perhaps I’d be writing a Rockies or an Avalanche blog today. FireDinger.com anyone?
I was born in 1985 . . . and I run a Rockies blog.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
It's a good idea, Russ
I like the sound of FireDinger.com.
"Speak softly and carry a big (hockey) stick." - Theodore Roosevelt
I had one of those shirts!
But mine was Joe Dumars. I too am from Ohio originally like NugNugz, but northern (Toledo, smack dab in between the Bad Boys and the loser Cavs) and am closer in age to Andrew than that young buck. LOL. So you can tell why I was a Piston fan. Toledo is basically Detroit-light – in all the worst qualities, and none of the good. So my city’s location being damn near dead center between the two and more similar to Detroit (many Ohioans wanted to “give” Toledo to the state of Michigan, and still probably do) is where my influences to be a Piston fan arose. But I too had an eastern conf team and a western conf team and when I chose where to relocate after a few years out of college, I can’t say that it was TOTALLY based on my sporting preferences, but it was a nice bonus to have the Nuggs in town. I think it was around the time that Mt. Mutumbo was lying on the floor with the ball in his hands after defeating the Sonics that made me like them out West (I had no real preference before the Nuggets and I think I became a westerner at heart after some family vacations out this way as a kid around that time.)
So that’s my story about being a Denver resident and Nugget fan in a nutshell… and I’m stickin to it!
30+ years a Nuggets fan
I was also raised a Nuggets fan. I’ve always been known as “that Nuggets fan guy”. Since the Nuggets joined the NBA in 1977, I’ve only missed 12 home games (gulp!) and have attended over 1250 home games. I managed to navigate my way through high school and college (snagged 2 degrees) while trying to never miss a home game. As Andrew pointed out above, very few road games were on TV back in the day and none of the home games were ever televised, so attending the home games was essential to following the team. Strangely enough, my greatest Nuggets memory ever wasn’t even a game that I could see in person because it was a road game that wasn’t on TV. It was a Sunday afternoon game in Detroit and I had to listen to it on the radio. DT put up 73 points in that game and I still remember going nuts listening to Al Albert call that game on the radio. I still have the audio cassette recording from that game. 73 points and there was no 3-pointer back then!! DT is still my all-time favorite Nuggets player and probably always will be. To this today, I’m still a total Nuggets addict. I go to the summer league games, the pre-season games, all of the home games and try to catch about five road games each year. If the Nuggets ever make it to the NBA Finals, I’ll be there for every single game. I’ve waited over 30 years for that opportunity and can’t wait for the chance to see the Nuggets holding up that Larry O’Brien trophy!
Very impressive BrianD!
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Jul 29, 2009 1:01 PM MDT up reply actions
Amazing stuff. Very impressed
As an Aussie I am yet to see my first NBA game for realsies. I’m goign to New York at the end of the year and have my fingers crossed that the Nuggets play the Knicks while I’m there.
Here's a Nugget fan from Spain
and why?
I don’t know, I just love them since Melo joined the team… and sometimes I’ve tried to be fan of other team, but I just can’t, the first team I always look for is the Nuggets.
GO NUGGETS!
"Do not rest in defense. You can spend 24 seconds in offense on resting. If you do good enough on defense, you will be able to rest on offense."
by Lucas Navarrete on Jul 29, 2009 2:05 PM MDT reply actions
Awesome Article Andrew
I too remember growing up a Nuggets fan (Born in 1983) I was pretty young so I somewhat remember the Alex English era but I became a fan during the 92-Present stretch. Been through the ups and the downs (Well a lot of that period was down). It’s a fantastic time to be a nuggets fan.
Great read as usual Andy
I feel like kind of a loser with all these die hards. I am pretty new to the Nuggets scene. I remember back when Melo got drafted in 03, I think I was in 8th grade. Anyways, my history teacher had us all fill out brackets and whoever got the most points got some free passes on homework or something. I didn’t follow basketball but I went on the net and copied some dudes bracket and ended up winning. I remember watching the NCAA finals between Cuse and Kansas and that’s when I first started following Melo. When he got drafted by the Nuggets I slowly became a fan, watching games here and there, but it wasn’t till about my Junior year in High School when me and my friends started watching the Nuggets religiously. In my eyes, Melo has sort of been my Alex English/David Thompson as he has saved this franchise in many ways. I hope he stays for an extention and brings us a title some day. I expect big things from him this next year.
I was a Laker fan but became a Nugget fan in Melo rookie year. Nuggets became pretty good and I couldn’t help look how they were doing every day. When they made the playoffs by beating Portland, they were so exciting.
I didn’t jump bandwagon as the Lakers were very good then in fact went to the Finals although lost to the Pistons.
Then the signing of KMart, wearing gold suit, holding that jersey really made me a Nugget fan. KMart was one of the better PFs then and I thought they’d be something to watch. Although it didn’t turn out as they’d hope with regards to KMart, I’m still a Nugget fan until today.
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