Opinions: Valley of the Suns

 by Mike Pelton
 published on Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The Phoenix Suns will not win the NBA title.

And no, I am not one of you annoying Lakers fans. In fact, I'm a huge Suns fan, just as most of Arizona is.

However, after watching the Detroit Pistons mop the floor with Nash and the Suns on Sunday, I could not think of anything more important to write about this week. And yes, I realize I'm losing half my readers by writing about a mostly male interest.

First, I expect a massive amount of resistance to this column. I say that because the Suns are not just a basketball team grounded in the middle of a huge city. In recent years, they have become the essence of the city.

All of us have to suffer through Cardinals games year in and year out, and the Diamondbacks attendance is atrocious compared to most teams. But the Suns? Oh no, rarely a seat to be found. I tried to go to the Celtics-Suns game the other day … $130 was the cheapest ticket.

Look around Tempe. Suns bumper stickers have found homes on the rears of countless cars. The Valley Metro buses have "Go Suns" on their front digital screens. I watch endless commercials reminding me I'm on "Planet Orange," a fact that might very well confuse people on their next geology exam.

So the Suns just aren't a part of this city, they are what make this city. Long gone are the days of sitting in a vacant section at the arena, where you feel almost embarrassed for actually showing up to the execution … I mean, game.

So maybe the fan in me just rambled too much, but it is an interesting phenom when you really think about it. More people could name who our starting center is than who our mayor is.

But let me take you back to Sunday. I woke up early, around noon, just to watch the game. We had just convincingly beaten the Celtics, so I was almost sold on the big Shaq trade.

I made some food and sat down in front of the best invention of all time: high-definition television.

After several minutes, I was enjoying my ham sandwich more than the game. It was perfect — some ham and cheese baked in the oven on a bagel. See what I mean?

I watched the whole game … all 48 gruesome minutes of it. And yes, we lost (and lost badly), if you haven't picked up on that. It was then that I came to the stunning realization that after four years of being one of the best teams in the NBA, the Suns won't win a title.

And it's not Shaq's fault.

Although I am no Stephen A. Smith, I could spot the massive gaps on the team — a tough feat to accomplish with Shaq on the court. We can't shoot the three as well as we used to. We're old. We can't guard post-up players, just ask Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. And more importantly, we play half our games like we don't care. And we rarely beat other elite teams.

At the game's end, I sulked on the couch, listened to an onslaught of "boos" from our crowd and avoided logging on to ESPN.com at all costs. I already knew what the headline would be; "Sunset."

Ha ha, very funny.

I am not giving up on the team.

I am not departing from Planet Orange.

I am simply taking a reality check, along with some antacid to calm my stomach.

So I apologize to my four or five regular readers about the random article about basketball, but if you're a fan like me, you understand the need for it.

And if you still don't see how much this team can mean to people in the Valley, well, I just at this point in the article noticed that I repeatedly typed "we." And I can't be the only one who has done that.

So, for my sake and the entire city's sake, I hope we — I mean "they" — get it turned around so I stop feeling like I did on Sunday.

But hey, at least I had that ham sandwich.

Mike Pelton, like tobacco, is a personal foul. Tell him so at: michael.pelton@asu.edu.