May 19th, 2004. I witnessed the single worst sporting event of my life at the same time I was witnessing the greatest sporting event of my life. It was Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. It was a close game that the Wolves ended up winning 83-80 when Chris Webber missed a tying three at the buzzer. It was the worst sporting event I had ever seen because it was so stressful. It was the best sporting event I had ever seen because the Wolves won, KG had one of the most dominant Game 7 performances ever and the Wolves were going to the Western Conference Finals. Sometimes it feels like yesterday. At other times it feels like decades ago.
The NBA Playoffs are about to begin. I was reading Bill Simmons’ annual article on who should be the NBA MVP (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080416), and I started thinking…..The feeling I had when Chris Webber missed that three and KG jumped up on the scorer’s table to salute the fans…I will never have that feeling again. Never. It is too bad Bill Simmons spent so many years saying Tim Duncan was better than KG. He missed the six straight years KG averaged 21-11-5.
KG is in Boston now and the Wolves are hoping for some luck in the lottery. I’m rooting for the Celtics and KG to win the Championship, but it just won’t be the same as it would have been in 2004. I will never love watching a player the way I loved watching KG in a Wolves uniform. I will never be 25-35 years old again.
Times change and priorities change as well. I guess that is how it is supposed to work. I’m still a sports fan, but clearly my priorities in life have changed.
One day the Wolves may win the NBA Championship. They may have a charismatic leader that plays all out on both ends of the floor every night. This leader may make others play harder just by existing. He may scare his teammates into doing everything they can to help the team win. And if I’m 104 years old sitting in a rocking chair when this happens, I’ll be happy without question. But a second after I digest the championship, I will be thinking, “what a great time to be 25-35 years old.”
The feeling I had May 19th, 2004….I will never have that feeling again.
Here is the recap of that game from ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=240519016
Look at the details of this (boxscore):
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=240519016
KG finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 5 blocks. As impressive as those stats are, they don’t tell the story of how well he played that game. They don’t show the block on Brad Miller’s layup with less than 10 seconds to play. They don’t show the three KG knocked down as the shot clock expired with just over three minutes to go. And they don’t show the 19,944 people who were chest-bumping and hugging like they had been friends for decades.
The feeling I had that night when Webber’s shot spun out…I will never have that feeling again.
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